Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman

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"I don’t like this guy."

Tony Stark gave his verdict immediately.

And the first time Henry had seen this man appear on television, it had made him question all over again exactly what world he had transmigrated into.

Sentry had burst onto the American East Coast scene in late 1996, roughly a year after Captain Marvel left Earth.

He repeatedly appeared to resolve crises large and small, acting exactly like a comic-book superhero.

But the battle that truly established Sentry’s reputation happened earlier this year.

His opponent was said to be a marine iguana affected by French Polynesian nuclear testing.

One of the iguanas had been mutated by radiation into a gigantic beast resembling a dinosaur, and it invaded Manhattan, New York.

The reason its origins were so clearly known was because French intelligence cleanup teams had been tracking the creature’s movements all along, trying to "handle" it.

Whether by capture or extermination.

But after multiple failed operations, the French never succeeded.

Eventually the monster surfaced in New York, landed in Manhattan, and built a nest in Madison Square Garden to lay eggs.

That was when Sentry appeared.

He swiftly solved the monster crisis that ordinary soldiers could not handle, and completely destroyed the eggs in Madison Square Garden.

Before the beast could cause even greater destruction to New York, he erased the disaster entirely.

Prior to that, then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had seriously considered issuing a citywide evacuation order with military assistance.

The economic losses would have been enormous.

Fortunately, it never came to that.

At the same time, the X-Men were still arguing with the government over whether they should be deployed.

The X-Men under Mystique operated very differently from Professor X’s old team.

If a mission did not directly threaten mutants—or involve mutants—Mystique would stall if she could, dodge if she could, and drag things out if she couldn’t.

Rumor had it that official dissatisfaction with the new X-Men had nearly reached the breaking point.

The defeated monster was named by the media:

Gozilla.

Everything about it sounded absurd.

Iron Man hadn’t even been born yet.

The curtain on the Marvel Universe hadn’t risen.

And yet the world had already twisted into something Henry barely recognized.

Marvel Comics colliding with a kaiju universe?

That was also why Henry had secretly begun building battle armor.

He needed something that could conceal his identity as much as possible while still providing real combat capability.

Because if he waited any longer, it would be too late.

Ever since Sentry appeared, that sense of urgency had settled over him.

After Sentry’s battle with Gozilla, the superhero’s influence only grew.

Major disasters around the world frequently saw his intervention.

The media even praised him extravagantly:

"We finally have our own Superman—our own Clark Kent."

The hottest recent news was that Sentry had personally erected a skyscraper in downtown New York in a very short time.

He had also created the artificial intelligence system C.L.O.C., tasked with monitoring the entire world and informing Sentry wherever disasters occurred.

The media’s manic worship elevated this superhero’s prestige to unimaginable heights.

Even politicians were exhausting themselves trying to appear in the same frame as him, hoping to receive a single sentence of endorsement.

As if to prove his dislike was not merely jealousy, Tony Stark unexpectedly added:

"I don’t trust anything that looks perfect.

"Unless it’s mathematics."

Then Tony immediately turned and asked:

"You said the super-soldier serum may be connected to him. Explain."

Jack Reacher answered:

"It still traces back to the super-soldier program.

"Canada’s Department K joined forces with the American civilian project known as Operation Rebirth.

"The goal was to develop a serum surpassing the one used on Captain America."

He snorted faintly.

"Unfortunately, they had grand ambitions and miserable competence.

"Over several decades, they created thousands of isolated subprojects.

"Laboratory work was outsourced to private contractors.

"It looked like a shell program designed to siphon funding.

"No management worth mentioning."

"Then in 1992, the project suddenly announced a breakthrough.

"They claimed to have completed the Sentry Serum, boasting effects one hundred thousand times stronger than Captain America’s super-soldier serum."

Tony’s eyes narrowed.

"From a timeline perspective, they produced nothing for forty or fifty years after World War II.

"Then immediately after Howard Stark’s super-soldier serum was stolen, everything changed.

"That makes me suspect the two events are connected."

Reacher lifted a hand.

"But that is only suspicion.

"I have no direct evidence."

He continued:

"For the next few years, the Sentry Serum remained in the validation stage.

"It had not yet officially reached human trial status.

"And just like the chaos of the larger project, too many laboratories interfered and submitted contradictory reports."

"Then in 1996, one of the subproject laboratories was robbed.

"And by year’s end, a superhero calling himself Sentry appeared."

Tony asked sharply:

"You know his original identity?"

"Robert Reynolds.

"A drug addict.

"A habitual thief."

Tony frowned.

"No one intends to prosecute him for theft?"

Reacher answered with a trace of helplessness.

"From the government’s perspective, fairly speaking—

"No one can prosecute him."

"Public authority ultimately depends on military force."

"But against someone who can kill a creature like Gozilla, can fly, and can appear anywhere in the world within moments..."

He spread his hands.

"Even if you wanted to nuke him, you’d first need to pray he politely remained still long enough to be hit."

Resting his chin on one hand, Tony tapped his cheek thoughtfully.

"Of everything you’ve said, what parts are actually proven?"

"Only Sentry’s real identity has directly traceable evidence.

"As for the super-soldier serum connection, I have no proof linking it to Howard Stark’s stolen formula.

"But in terms of timing, it is the most suspicious lead."

Tony’s voice lowered.

"Do you think they ordered the theft?"

Reacher answered seriously:

"My view is that the people in Department K—whether core leadership or subproject heads—do not look like individuals with enough influence to order such an operation."

"Given how chaotic the program was, obtaining the serum for research feels more like a casual side move by whoever was truly behind it.

"Or a diversion."

"To pull attention away from the real target."

He leaned back.

"After all, any organization capable of locating the super-soldier serum, learning its transport route, and deploying an assassin with super-soldier-level ability to seize it..."

His tone hardened.

"...would not then allow some junkie to casually infiltrate them and steal the results."

"Probably the only thing outside their expectations..."

He looked toward Tony.

"...was that the project actually succeeded."

"And because of that, anything related to the Sentry Serum received much higher classification afterward.

"What I know ends there."

Tony was silent for a long moment.

He glanced toward the other man in the room—Henry—who had remained quiet the entire time.

He almost asked for his opinion.

Then decided against it.

Instead, Tony turned back to Reacher.

"I understand your findings.

"The next part will be handled by me.

"This goes beyond anything you people can touch."

He paused.

"Do you need anything?

Anything at all?

Say the word."

Tony knew perfectly well that if the matter went deeper, then without legal authority or hidden power of his own, he would need outside help.

Whether the military would support him was not something a mere captain like Jack Reacher could decide.

So Tony was braking here.

He also had no idea which generals he could approach—or which might stand with him.

Looks like I need to visit an old uncle.

General Phillips.

Former head of the Strategic Scientific Reserve during World War II.

Creator of Captain America.

One of the old man’s close friends.

The retired general was probably the most likely person to side with him.

But Reacher rejected Tony’s goodwill without hesitation.

"No.

"And I don’t need anything."

"I investigated this because it was my commanding officer’s order.

"Not because I expected reward."

As he spoke, he casually organized the scattered documents on the table.

Naturally, these materials were for Tony Stark.

A billionaire’s friendship meant very little to a drifter like Jack Reacher.

The only people Reacher trusted were comrades-in-arms.

But if the man he had hired refused reward, Tony Stark’s pride would never allow him to do nothing.

He tore a blank strip from an unimportant document, wrote a phone number on it, and placed it in front of Reacher.

"My promise stands forever.

"When you need something, call this number."

This time Reacher did not refuse.

But he merely picked up the paper, glanced at it once, and set it back atop the file stack.

"I’ve memorized it."

Tony blinked. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"That’s it? You’re just going to remember it?

"What if you forget?"

Reacher replied calmly:

"If it’s something I can forget...

"Then it wasn’t important to me."

Tony looked at the Military Police captain.

Then looked at the CEO he himself had appointed.

Then fell silent.

One or two men with personalities like this—

Made him want to strangle somebody.

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