In The DC World With Marvel Chat Group

Chapter 217: Military Trends (2)

The revelation that Stark is Iron Man caused quite a stir in the media, as both Stark and Iron Man were quite famous.

Stark's reputation was not very good, as the military had already led a campaign to smear him. He was called an unscrupulous arms dealer who profited from the chaos of war, a playboy who was completely irresponsible, and a villainous billionaire who indulged in extravagance and excess. If there was a star rating system for reputations, Stark's would hover between half a star and one star.

But Iron Man's reputation was very good, not only because he saved people in New York, but also because he was always on the front lines of major events that threatened the city. Many people had seen him in action and heard of his exploits, and many had become fans of his because of his cool mech armor.

Before the incident, Iron Man had even had his own fan website, with many people making charity merchandise and some fans even waiting on rooftops to catch a glimpse of Stark flying across the New York skyline.

So, when Stark's and Iron Man's identities were revealed to be the same, the largest superhero scandal in history occurred.

Generally, when people like an image, they tend to mix in a lot of their own fantasies about that person. Iron Man's fans were no exception, and they had long speculated about who Iron Man really was. His expensive mech armor indicated that he must be a rich person, so most fans believed he was one of several young billionaires who were passionate about charity work.

Some people guessed that he might be a son of the Osborn family, as the elder Osborn was passionate about charity work. Others thought he might be the owner of the largest construction company in America or even the heir of a certain oil company, but they all agreed that he couldn't be Tony Stark.

On the day the news was announced, Iron Man's fan website changed its background to a bloody red. The website administrator claimed to feel extremely disappointed and that Iron Man would no longer be their hero.

At the same time, many people claiming to be Iron Man fans sparked a wave of public opinion on the Internet, making videos and lamenting their decision to unfollow Iron Man.

Many online analysts began to speculate about Stark's motives, with some saying he was using small acts of kindness to whitewash his image, others saying he was trying to deceive the public, and still others saying he was just satisfying his own vanity. There was hardly anything positive to be found in the entire analysis.

This public relations attack was more than ten times stronger than the last one, and Stark seemed to have been labeled as a hypocrite. Even Iron Man's identity was pulled down from its pedestal and fell into a mud pit.

Originally, given Stark's personality, he should have been furious and counterattacked without regard for anything else. But now, he simply locked the door to his laboratory and ignored everything else. He refused to listen, see, or feel anything related to the attacks.

From ancient times, every type of drama has included a concept called an opponent's play. If the opponent doesn't play along, then you may become a clown performing a one-man show. This is the current state of the military.

The problem with public opinion attacks is that once the heat dies down, people tend to forget. Therefore, the best way to deal with public opinion is not to clarify or fight back, but to play dead.

Stark, who had seen through this, learned this tactic on his own. If they want to criticize, let them criticize. As long as I don't listen, see, or feel anything, all the public opinion will have nothing to do with me.

Stark's behavior exceeded the expectations of many people. Pepper was already prepared to clean up the rotten mess for him, and Obadiah's staff team had prepared three or four sets of public relations plans. However, the military's attack lasted for three days, and Stark remained as steady as a rock in his laboratory, singing to an audience of the blind.

One plan failed, so another was born. The military went to Osborn Industries, hoping to use interest to win them over and make them join forces against Stark.

But they didn't even get past the door of Osborn Industries.

Although Osborn was a businessman, he favored Stark over the military and only saw Osborn Industries' biotechnology as a backup plan. In addition, he was now working with Stark on the eternal life factor industry, so he wouldn't go begging to the military even if his brain was fried.

With Osborn Industries unwilling to cooperate, the military didn't have many options left. Coincidentally, the boss of the Life Foundation, Drake, was sent to SHIELD's black room along with Riot. The military saw this as an opportunity to take over the Life Foundation and support a new proxy.

After a lot of effort, they finally found a decent proxy who inherited some of Drake's reputation. He claimed to be a scientist who worked for the benefit of ordinary people, and he was used to make Stark look even more evil.

But he had only been in office for two days when Eddie used his connections to expose the detailed data on the Life Foundation's experiments with homeless people in Dora's hands. And just like that, the Life Foundation was ruined.

The military was not very skilled, but they were persistent and always wanted more. Even several famous companies refused to cooperate with them, they went to Hammer Industries, or rather, Hammer Industries was already a lapdog of the military, obedient to their orders.

Hammer Industries was eager to prove themselves to the military in order to receive more orders, but compared to giants like Stark or Osborn, they were just small fry.

Hammer Industries had to find a new way to dig up dirt on Stark, so they began a search for any possible dirt on him. Their efforts paid off when they discovered something.

A few days ago, there was a car explosion in the underground garage of Stark Tower. This event didn't cause much of a stir because no one was hurt. The only living thing in the car was J.A.R.V.I.S.

Most people thought it was an accidental car test, but Justin Hammer, the boss of Hammer Industries, suspected foul play.

He thought it might have been a crazy fan seeking revenge, but instead, they found something big.

Ivan Vanko, who claimed to be Stark's enemy, told Hammer that his father and Stark's father had developed the Ark Reactor together, but Stark's father had taken all the credit. Ivan's father was killed as a result.

This story was difficult to prove, but Hammer Industries and the military were elated because its lack of proof made it easier to manipulate.

Stark ignored the negative comments about him and continued his research in his laboratory. However, the military gambled that he couldn't ignore the negative news about his father. The story quickly spread.

The military exaggerated everything Howard had done, saying that all of his research had been denied and that Ivan's father's research had been stolen by Howard.

The only thing left was Howard's failed hovercar demonstration, which was described as his true level.

"It looks like they've successfully found your weakness," said Schiller and Steve, playing chess in the Stark Tower laboratory. Meanwhile, Stark sat at another lab table, pretending to be engrossed in his research.

"It makes sense," Schiller continued. "If they describe your father as a waste of space, you, who tried so hard to prove that you were better than Howard, would look like a clown."

"I want to make it clear that I didn't use mind reading. This is a problem that anyone can see. You seem to be emphasizing that Howard wasn't as much of a genius as you, but you still get angry when someone calls him an idiot. I bet you're thinking about why you're angry right now."

"But I can give you the answer directly because you don't actually hate him."

"Enough!" Stark stood up abruptly.

He walked out from behind the lab table and stood next to the two who were playing chess, then suddenly stopped. He looked at the two people who were fighting on the chessboard and wondered if it was beneath him to argue with them.

Then he stretched out his hand and said, "Okay, I'll hold a Stark Industries Expo to show them our latest achievements."

"I'll tell them that any Stark is better than those idiots a thousand times over."

"I know Ivan Vanko has an Ark Reactor, and I know he's come up with a stupid idea to use it. He actually made..."

"Do you know who my Sanatorium dislikes the most?" Schiller suddenly interrupted Stark.

"Who?" Stark asked.

"People who spoil the plot."