"Mr. Stark is now ready with his speech, but he won't be taking any questions. Thank you for your cooperation."
After saying that, Rhodey walked off the stage, and Tony came in from the other side.
"I haven't made a public appearance in a while, so I guess I'll just stick to the script."
Tony then pulled a stack of papers out of his pants pocket, and his movement made the crowd below chuckle.
"As for the previous events… some people said I was a superhero… well, I'm actually quite traditional—not really the hero type. I've got a lot of flaws, made plenty of mistakes, and had quite the impact on society."
At this point, Tony paused, seemingly lost in thought, lips pressed together, unsure what to say next.
Rhodey came over and reminded him to just read the script.
Tony picked up the speech prepared by Coulson: "The truth is…"
Looking at the paper, Tony fell silent for a moment, then looked up at the crowd. Something different flashed in his eyes. (This, I think, is the essence of Iron Man 1—that look.)
"I am Iron Man." Tony said calmly. That line wasn't in the speech Coulson had prepared.
As soon as Tony said it, the crowd went wild. Reporters rushed the stage, holding microphones up to him. What he said just now was headline-worthy—massive news that could dominate front pages for days.
Watching this from the back of the hall while delivering flowers, Clark couldn't help but smile. To him, witnessing the birth of Marvel's Iron Man was a thrilling moment.
Yes—Clark believed that from this moment forward, Tony would truly begin his journey as Iron Man.
Clark turned and left after watching the scene. But what he didn't know was that the real drama was just about to unfold.
"Mr. Stark, since you've admitted you're Iron Man, do you know the Superman-like person who fought alongside you yesterday?"
"Mr. Stark, was that person really Superman? Isn't Superman a character from D-comics?"
"Mr. Stark, do you think this Superman is like the one in the movies?"
Among the crowd of reporters, a few latecomers shouted these questions. Tony, still basking in the glow of his Iron Man reveal, immediately felt annoyed when he heard them.
"I don't know any Superman. This is my press conference."
Tony walked off the stage, frustrated. He hadn't expected his moment to be overshadowed by someone who wasn't even present.
"I am Iron Man."
That night, just as Tony returned home and entered his living room, a slightly mocking voice greeted him.
"Do you think you're the only superhero in the world?"
Tony turned to see who was speaking, then asked,
"Of course not. There's Superman, isn't there?"
He laughed to himself at his own joke.
"And you are?"
From the shadows, a man stepped forward.
"I'm Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."
"What initiative?"
"A team. The Avengers. A group of extraordinary individuals coming together to protect the world."
"Sorry, not interested. You can leave now."
Tony dismissed him. Nick Fury only smiled, then quietly left.
Just outside the Stark residence, a black sedan was waiting to pick up Fury.
"Did you find any info on Superman?"
The moment he got in, Fury asked the driver—Agent Coulson.
**"We did. Although a lot of surveillance footage showing him was wiped clean—probably by Tony—thanks to some info we collected last night, we've managed to identify Superman's true identity."
"Here's the file."**
Coulson handed Fury a dossier.
"Clark Kent? That's such a Superman name!"
Fury opened the file and saw the name at the top. As he skimmed through, everything about Clark seemed perfectly normal—his school history, background, and impressions from classmates, all recently verified.
But when he read that the Kents had lost a premature baby during delivery, only for Jonathan to bring home a healthy baby the very next night, claiming their child hadn't died—that raised a red flag.
"Twenty-four years ago… twenty-four years…" Fury muttered."Coulson, back to HQ."
As he mentioned "24 years ago," Fury was reminded of a distant figure. (The Captain Marvel timeline has been pushed back 10 years—either way, she's not around right now.)
"Coulson, I want every record we have on meteorites from 24 years ago. Bring me everything."
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Fury gave Coulson the order.
"Sir, do you think Clark is an alien too?"
Coulson immediately understood Fury's train of thought—he suspected that Clark, just like in the comics, might be an alien.
But Fury said nothing more and went back into his office.
Behind closed doors, he pulled out a sealed folder. Inside was a photograph—a man standing next to a strange aircraft.
"Where are you now?" Fury murmured, his expression softening as he looked at the photo.
He placed the picture and file back into the folder.
Knock knock knock
"Come in."
"Sir, we found it." Coulson entered and handed Fury a series of photos.
Fury examined the pictures. They showed fragmented meteorites. Despite the damage, Fury could mentally piece them together, noticing that the center of the meteorite was hollow.
"Based on reports from the time, the meteorite was missing a section. Either the center was taken out, or it was hollow from the beginning."
Coulson's comment confirmed Fury's suspicions.
"Looks like tomorrow we're paying Superman a visit."
The next morning, Clark was sunbathing when he suddenly felt something block the sunlight. Opening his eyes, he saw a man in a suit standing in front of him.
"Hmm? Can I help you? If you're here to buy flowers, talk to the lady inside."
"Mr. Kent, may we speak in private?"
"And you are?"
"I'm Coulson, from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division." He handed Clark an ID card.
"What kind of name is that? Sounds like a bad joke—way too long. You guys named it like that on purpose just to make it hard to remember, huh?"
Honestly, Clark didn't even realize what he was saying. The name was just too long.
Coulson was slightly exasperated that Clark didn't recognize it from the "game" either. Clark wasn't the only one who'd ever complained about their name. Thankfully, they now had a new one.
"S.H.I.E.L.D."
"…"
"Alright. S.H.I.E.L.D. So what do you want from me?"
"This isn't the right place to talk. Please come with me."
"Sure."
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