Ch.325It used to be like that before.

“Are you really getting angry watching that again?”

“Do I look like I’m not angry? That’s Mr. Stark’s legacy!”

On TV, a colorful suit was continuing a spectacular battle.

Scenes that were emphasized repeatedly.

The news constantly speculating about connections to Tony Stark.

Even making conjectures about unconfirmed facts.

All of this.

“What’s the connection anyway! It’s obviously stolen! Does this make any sense?!”

It was really getting under the skin of my friend, Harley Keener.

“Calm down, getting angry won’t change anything.”

“I know, I know! But isn’t it weird not to be angry, right?!”

“Yeah, you’re right. But I’m just saying you should calm down first.”

“What’s so special about them, how much of a genius are they anyway!”

“They’re from MIT.”

“I’m from MIT too! Who isn’t a genius? I got a scholarship too! Huh?!”

“Yeah, I know, I know.”

After several more complaints.

Harley looked straight at me and continued.

“Honestly, we could do it too! If we wanted to!”

“…Please don’t tell me you want to do that again?”

“Is that so bad?”

“It’s not bad but….”

I thought about my friend’s words for a moment.

The Avengers no longer exist in the world.

Of course, they’ve recently reformed.

But even that doesn’t feel right with two separate groups.

And now that the original symbols, Iron Man and Captain America, are gone.

It’s questionable whether those who remain should even be called “Avengers.”

Perhaps because of this.

Many vigilante groups have emerged claiming to carry on their legacy.

Maybe because the biggest protective barrier is gone.

Crime rates are soaring again.

And citizens are trying to take part in catching these criminals.

But the problem was that the police didn’t particularly like this approach.

It was dangerous, for one thing.

What if someone gets hurt? In the end, the police would be blamed.

‘If they do well, the vigilantes get praised, if they do poorly, the police get blamed… honestly, from their perspective, they’re all just vigilantes.’

So the conclusion is.

“Let’s say you stop crime, but how will you escape from the police?”

The aftermath is impossibly difficult.

Someone like Stark could get away with it at a congressional hearing.

But two mid-twenties MIT graduates surviving that?

That’s nonsense.

“If you leave a trail, you’ll get caught, so you’d have to operate openly… but who’s going to take responsibility for that?”

Being a hero itself is easy.

Just put on a costume and beat up criminals when you find them.

The problem is taking responsibility for those actions.

Starting with the risks when your identity is exposed.

The impact on those around you and, in a broader sense, on society.

Only when you’re in a position to take responsibility for all of that.

Only then.

People will call you a hero.

“Harley, we don’t have that kind of resolve. You know that, right?”

“But, but….”

“We can’t be like Iron Man.”

“But, still….”

“I understand. Yes, we’re smart too. We got into MIT before our early twenties and graduated early.”

But you know what? Stark entered MIT at 15 and graduated at 17.

And that’s not all, he came from a wealthy family to begin with.

“Great talent, great environment. Compared to that, we’re… well, I’ll stop there.”

Harley hung his head at my words.

Even though we received state-of-the-art experimental equipment from Stark.

That was a long time ago.

The MIT scholarship?

It’s been used up for a long time.

We poured everything into that thing sitting in the corner of the garage.

That’s why.

“You don’t want to seek investment for that thing.”

I was about to suggest that it would be better to stop getting angry about this issue.

“…Other places won’t work. To get investment, it would have to be military-related… which means it would likely become state property. Since the government would provide the capital.”

“Right, so we should go back to focusing on robotics….”

“You could wear it, our masterpiece.”

Harley’s eyes were still burning with passion.

In the eyes of the boy who still hadn’t forgotten that winter.

There was trust in his hero’s words: “We’re connected.”

“….”

“Honestly, I can’t wear it. It’s heavy… and hard to bear that load, but you’re different.”

“How am I different? We’re the same.”

“The NFL was desperate to recruit you, but you didn’t go.”

For our dream, right?

How is it that he’s still the same as when he was young?

I shrugged at Harley’s words.

Maybe we’ve gone through too much for something that started in a garage.

Is having the skills to back up your dreams not always a good thing?

While I was thinking that.

“EJ!”

I jumped up at Harley’s shout.

Because it was obvious I wouldn’t win if we continued this conversation.

“Wow, you’re calling me that all of a sudden?”

“We’re friends who experienced the same thing that day!”

“I’m grateful that you accepted my apology, and I still feel sorry about what happened then.”

Maybe it’s time to wake up from this dream.

With those final words, I left the garage.

“…But I won’t give up.”

With my friend’s faint words.

Crash.

The world I was immersed in shattered.

+++++

“…Starting really from the bottom, huh.”

That’s my first impression as soon as the immersive world ends.

These days, when they introduce a new hero.

Usually they quickly power up and show off their strength from the beginning.

But this.

‘This is really before the starting line, with lots of foreshadowing.’

Above all, my character’s name, EJ.

This name was briefly mentioned in a deleted scene.

‘Wasn’t he the friend who bullied Harley?’

And now that’s becoming a story about a new hero?

Of course, since it’s a deleted scene, it can be smoothed over and changed.

But from the perspective of someone who’s watched recent Marvel films, it felt like an incredibly new approach.

“What do you think? Is it good?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure yet.”

But an approach is just an approach.

Since I can’t see the rating.

I couldn’t give a clear answer to that question.

‘But what does it mean that the rating hasn’t been determined?’

It should be either low or high.

Pending.

‘Does that mean external factors are involved?’

Maybe the filming itself might fall through or something like that.

It didn’t seem completely impossible.

Marvel was still burning with PC issues.

And there must be people who want to continue producing in that direction.

In the midst of that, a new Iron Man film is coming out?

And one that treats Ironheart as a thief?

‘Making existing protagonists look stupid is common in PC, but.’

I didn’t think they’d let the same thing happen to them in reverse.

“So how should I respond? Say I can’t do it?”

“No, um… I’d like to receive the complete script or… the script whenever it’s revised, please tell them that.”

“And?”

Seokho hyung, through our established rapport.

Sensed that my words wouldn’t end there.

After thinking for a moment, I added:

“Tell them I strongly want to do this, that I’ll do it without going against the flow of this story… this script.”

“What else?”

“Actor casting, tell them I want to be involved. Strongly.”

If they want to make me the protagonist.

They should be prepared for this much.

“What if they refuse?”

“Well then…”

In the past, I wasn’t in a position to speak up properly.

But now I had tremendous influence.

Frankly speaking, an actor above the director.

Someone at a level where everyone would have to tolerate even blatant power abuse.

Of course, that wouldn’t happen, but still.

It was better to express my intentions clearly in matters like this.

“Tell them I won’t do it.”

+++++

Kim Donghu’s answer quickly reached Marvel.

Melvin, who was the first to confirm it, let out a long sigh.

“Hmmmm….”

Marvel, recently criticized for being too PC.

The card they pulled out to save this universe, Kim Donghu.

But the conditions Kim Donghu set were quite demanding.

Of course, from a previous standpoint, there would be no problem at all.

They would even beg for such conditions.

But these days.

‘Involvement in actress selection…’

Melvin was worried whether Disney would accept this.

They claim to respect diversity, but why do they insist on Black actors?

And they weren’t even selecting based on appearance.

So from the fans’ perspective, it just seemed to come out of nowhere.

‘And now he wants to get involved.’

Like in the old days.

It meant making a hero film with handsome men and beautiful women again.

‘The public sentiment seems to be shifting back in that direction lately, so the reaction might not be bad.’

The question was whether Disney would just sit quietly and listen.

And Melvin’s concerns:

“That’s ridiculous! We might as well not use Donghu Kim at all!”

Became reality.

“…We’ve already leaked internet articles about it, and you’re saying we won’t use him?”

“That’s right!”

“Donghu Kim’s side could sue us over this matter.”

“Maybe it’s better to face that? No, does it make sense to ignore the previous works in the first place?”

That’s exactly what you’ve been doing.

Holding back those words, Melvin.

Calmly continued his opinion in the Disney conference room.

“We’re going for something like a competing work, is that still a problem?”

“The least PC-like approach is the biggest problem. There are no Black people at all.”

“There are Asians. Isn’t that enough? And the lead doesn’t necessarily have to be Black.”

There’s already Ironheart occupying that lead role.

“….”

At Melvin’s words, the conference room fell silent for a moment.

‘If it’s going to be like this… should we just make it without Disney’s capital? Like we used to.’

Like in the old days when they released the first Iron Man series.

What if they mortgaged to the bank and self-produced like in the past?

Just as Melvin was having these thoughts.

Ding!

-[Working Title-Arc V’s rating has been updated]

Sims responded.