Marvel: The Sole Player

Darian originally wanted to sort through the historical threads of the DC World and pick a few suitable major crises to intervene in.

However, he found that the whole thing was simply impossible to untangle.

Every time Darian felt he had almost figured out the storyline, the next second he would discover that the Universe had been rebooted.

All settings were scrapped and started anew, character relationships were reshuffled, and even the timelines were different.

He patiently continued reading, but before long, the entire Universe rebooted again.

The comics were one thing, but the situation in movies and television could only be described as tragic.

Just for the two leading characters, Batman and Superman, he had already seen no fewer than seven or eight versions; each version had a different appearance, a distinct personality, and even the art styles were inconsistent.

Except for the perennial Kent Farm and Crime Alley segments, there were basically no similarities in the rest of the plot development.

Superman’s power levels were even more fluctuating; some versions showed him carrying a Planet while flying without breaking a sweat, while others showed him nearly suffocating when an enemy covered his mouth—his strength settings were about as stable as a weather forecast.

Darian knew this reboot pattern wouldn’t stop.

Because in his era, there was still the new DC work "New New New New New New Superman: Prequel"; even someone like him, who didn’t know much about superhero series, knew the character of Superman.

He couldn’t help it; every few years, a brand-new Superman movie would be released, making it hard not to know.

But that was exactly where the problem lay.

Faced with this constantly self-overwriting timeline, you simply couldn’t judge which major event would happen in the current timeline, rendering it completely useless as a reference.

Darian decisively gave up: "Forget it, I’ll take it one step at a time. Before that, I should focus on becoming a superhero first."

After all, in the requirements for the dungeon task, one of the conditions was for him to become a superhero.

Darian felt no pressure regarding this.

Being a superhero happened to be his specialty.

He didn’t need to do anything; just by standing there, his overwhelming sense of righteousness was enough to strike terror into the hearts of criminals.

Moreover, his three-digit Justice Value was no joke.

Thinking of this, Darian planned to rehearse a bit in advance.

He cleared his throat and let out the hearty laughter characteristic of a superhero.

"Jie jie jie jie jie!"

At this moment, Selina happened to walk past his bedroom door.

As someone who loved money as much as her own life, she ultimately couldn’t bear the heartache and decided, after much deliberation, to try and reclaim some of the spoils. She didn’t expect to get everything back, but at least she wanted to keep a few items as souvenirs; after all, those were treasures she had worked hard to steal.

As a result, before her finger even touched the door panel, she heard a terrifying laugh leaking through the crack of the door.

Selina’s hand froze in mid-air, and without a word, she turned around and left.

Compared to money, she still cherished her life more.

The night was dark and the wind was high—the perfect time for hardworking criminals to clock in for work.

Although a certain bat-weirdo would randomly spawn in the city after nightfall, there were always stubborn people who felt their luck wasn’t that bad.

After all, Gotham was so big and there were so many criminals; Batman couldn’t possibly pick them specifically.

Coincidentally, other criminals thought the same way.

Therefore, the nights in Gotham remained incredibly lively.

In a dim alley in the East End, three men—a mix of black and white—were counting the wallets they had acquired.

On the ground lay a middle-aged white-collar worker, his face covered in blood, looking miserable.

He was an unlucky fellow who had worked like an ox all day at the office and had only started his journey home late at night, only to be robbed by this gang.

Although Gotham citizens knew it was dangerous to go out at night, a middle-aged man had no choice; various debts and the living expenses of his entire family were all weighing on him.

Between the poverty line and danger, he preferred to take the risk.

Unfortunately, he lost his gamble today; all his cash was looted, and even the envelope with his newly issued salary was not spared.

The three robbers finished their count, and one of them, clutching the thin stack of bills, said with a face full of disdain: "Just this much? Did you go to the office just to slack off for the month?"

Middle-aged white-collar worker: "..."

"..."

It was one thing to rob him of his money, but why did they have to resort to personal attacks too?

Another slightly buff robber looked him up and down, a mysterious smile suddenly appearing on his face.

"Since you have no money, you’ll just have to use other forms of compensation."

The middle-aged worker’s face turned pale instantly.

How could he be so unlucky as to encounter someone who wanted both his money and his body?

The accomplices nearby began to jeer, some whistling and others laughing strangely; for a moment, the alley was filled with a jovial atmosphere.

Just as a passionate ’philosophical’ drama was about to begin, a glob of white spider silk suddenly fell from the sky, sticking to the buff robber’s head.

Before anyone could see clearly, the silk yanked upward violently, and the man instantly disappeared from everyone’s sight, leaving only half a scream that was cut short.

Robbers: Σ(°△°)

The remaining robbers’ hair stood on end, and they all looked up in unison.

In the night sky above, a dark Shadow was standing high up, looking down at them. With his back to the moonlight, his face was completely obscured.

This entrance, this positioning, this sense of pressure.

One robber’s voice trembled: "Could it be, is this the legendary Bat—"

"That’s right!"

The dark Shadow leaped down, landing steadily with a standard superhero three-point landing.

"I am your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

Robbers:

"..."

"..."

No, who the hell are you!?

At this moment, Darian was wearing a red and blue Spider-Man suit, acting as Spider-Man to fight crime.

Since he wanted to become a superhero, the first impression he gave people was crucial, as it would directly determine his subsequent faction classification.

Once people labeled you as a supervillain, no matter how many good things you did later, you would only be a ’reformed’ supervillain, not a true-blue superhero.

The reverse was also true; as long as people recognized you as a superhero, even if you fell from grace later, you would be a ’darkened’ superhero.

Although Darian was very confident in his image and believed that anyone who wasn’t blind could see he was a righteous superhero.

But he wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

What if the citizens of Gotham were all blind and misunderstood him for a supervillain?

For this reason, Darian chose a more efficient plan: to directly play the superhero everyone was most familiar with.

And this superhero, needless to say.

Was naturally Marvel’s most popular superhero, Spider-Man!

As Marvel’s most conscientious superhero, even if Spider-Man went dark, the most he would do is ask for the pay he deserved.

Therefore, Spider-Man had an excellent reputation with the public; in many people’s hearts, the name Spider-Man was synonymous with justice, and knowing the name meant knowing he was a good guy.

Unlike Wade—once the name Deadpool was announced, everyone knew he was a total eccentric.

However, the robbers present didn’t read comics and had no concept of the name Spider-Man.

Discovering that the person wasn’t Batman, their hearts instantly settled back into their chests. Their expressions switched from terror back to ferocity as they menacingly drew their handguns.

"Since you’re not Batman, then go to hell!"

Swish! Swish!

Two globs of webbing shot out almost simultaneously, accurately sticking to the guns in their hands.

A massive force came from the guns, pulling the two handguns out of their hands and spinning them away onto the distant ground.

Darian said cheerfully: "Don’t play with your guns too much; it’s not good for your health."

Seeing their guns were gone, the two robbers quickly pulled out knives and gestured wildly at Darian, trying to scare him off.

Darian’s body shrank back slightly, pretending to be alarmed: "Oh, is that a knife? Knives are what I fear most. Quick, put it away, it’s too terrifying."

The two robbers’ eyes gleamed with malice as they charged at Spider-Man with their knives.

Just as they were halfway through their charge, four metal spider claws suddenly extended from behind Darian, their sharp tips glinting coldly under the light, aimed straight at the two men’s heads.

Gulp!

The two robbers swallowed hard at the same time, decisively dropping their knives and putting on smiles that looked worse than crying.

"A misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding."

Looking at their terrified expressions, Darian felt it was time to show the broad chest... ahem, the broad-mindedness of a superhero.

Thus, he comforted them in a gentle tone: "Don’t be afraid, I have a firm no-kill principle and will never take another person’s life, because I am..."

—

As he spoke, a black-skinned robber quietly emerged from the shadows behind Darian, raising a gun and aiming it at his back.

He was the fourth robber, who had been acting as a lookout outside the alley just now; he had only crept in after hearing the commotion and happened to find Darian with his back turned.

Relying on his natural talent for stealth, he approached silently, preparing to launch a sneak attack on Darian.

The middle-aged worker and the two robbers all saw this scene; the two robbers were secretly delighted, while pretending nothing was happening on the surface.

The middle-aged worker gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Watch out behind you!"

Psh!

A metal spider claw suddenly changed direction, instantly piercing the robber’s chest.

The robber slid down the wall slowly, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

Darian seemed completely oblivious, continuing in the same tone: "Because I am Spider-Man, your friendly neighborhood hero. Not killing is my bottom line!"

Robbers:

"..."

"..."

Middle-aged white-collar worker:

"..."

"..."

Do you dare to turn around and say that again to that corpse?

"Take all the money, please, just don’t kill us."

The two robbers immediately knelt on the ground, pulling out the bills they had stolen from the middle-aged worker and handing them to Darian, begging him to show mercy.

Darian felt quite helpless: "I am a superhero, not some kind of devil. What are you doing acting like this? Get up, I promise I won’t beat you to death."

Hearing this, the two robbers misunderstood even more.

They took Darian for a Gotham specialty—the kind of pervert who enjoys toying with his prey. Thinking of the fate of prey toyed with by such perverts, they were scared into wetting themselves.

Darian looked at them with disdain and sprayed two globs of webbing to bind the two of them face-to-face, enhancing their brotherly bond.

Having finished the task, he turned to look at the middle-aged worker huddled in the corner.

"No, don’t kill me."

Seeing Darian look over, the middle-aged worker trembled all over in fear.

Darian thought the man was suffering from stress after being scared by the robbers, so he casually tossed the stack of bills back to him: "Don’t worry, these robbers have all been defeated by me. It’s safe now."

The middle-aged worker scrambled to catch his reclaimed salary, still feeling a bit dazed.

He stared blankly at Darian for several seconds, his lips moving a few times before he finally plucked up the courage to speak.

"Are you... really Spider-Man?"

Darian nodded and said as if it were obvious: "Of course, I am your friendly neighborhood superhero, Spider-Man."

The middle-aged worker clearly had some knowledge of Spider-Man and said hesitantly: "But, isn’t Spider-Man a comic book character?"

"Not anymore."

Darian put his hands on his hips, striking a superhero pose: "From now on, Spider-Man is a superhero of Gotham City!"

The middle-aged worker was a bit bewildered.

Sure enough, if you stay in Gotham long enough, you’ll see everything; even comic characters are popping up now.

The middle-aged worker might have had a brain freeze due to excessive shock.

He pointed at the corpse on the ground and asked as if possessed: "Doesn’t Spider-Man not kill people?"

Darian corrected him seriously: "Don’t talk nonsense. I am Spider-Man, I don’t kill people. He’s just sleeping."

Middle-aged white-collar worker: "..."

In the time that followed, Darian would transform into Spider-Man every night, appearing in the streets and alleys of Gotham to fight crime everywhere.

Gradually, the name Spider-Man began to spread throughout Gotham City.

At first, it was just some scattered urban legends.

It was said that a guy wearing a red and blue uniform often appeared at night, shooting some strange white sticky substance at criminals.

Initially, no one took it seriously; everyone thought Batman had simply changed his style.

This was normal for Batman, because he was Batman; nothing he did seemed strange.

But soon, there were more and more witnesses, and finally, someone noticed something was wrong.

Wearing a red and blue uniform, able to climb walls, shoot webs, and he talked way too much...

How the hell was this Batman? This was clearly Spider-Man!

Once the news broke, those who knew about Marvel had the same reaction as that middle-aged worker—they were completely bewildered.

What on earth? Spider-Man appeared in Gotham?

Why don’t you say you found SpongeBob and Patrick Star in the sewers?

But the rumors did not fade; instead, they grew more intense.

More and more people claimed to have seen that red and blue figure with their own eyes, confirming it was indeed the Spider-Man from the comics.

On an even more outrageous occasion, Spider-Man swung through the air above a commercial street on his webs in broad daylight.

In front of hundreds of passersby, he used his webs to catch a small thief who had snatched a bag, dangling him in mid-air. During the process, he even waved friendly greetings to the passersby, making no attempt to hide his movements.

This completely confirmed the rumors.

A new superhero had appeared in Gotham!

The entire city of Gotham was instantly in an uproar.

As long as someone had seen Marvel works, they basically knew who Spider-Man was.

But the problem was, Spider-Man was a comic book character, a completely fictional character; how could he possibly appear in reality?

Someone raised a doubt, suggesting this Spider-Man must be some fanatical fan who had deliberately disguised himself based on the comic image.

But this conclusion was shot down as soon as it emerged.

With extraordinary skills, able to walk on walls, and able to swing on webs.

You’re telling me this is cosplay?

It was like Bruce Wayne putting on a suit of iron armor.

Even if he wasn’t called Tony Stark, he was a billionaire; even if he said he was Iron Man, who could refute it?

***************************

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