American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

“Actually, I did even more.” Luke was completely enveloped in a silver-white steel suit that was two meters tall and slightly bulky. “I even created a ghost persona called 'The Manufacturer' to leak information and provide Obadiah with some technical assistance. Of course, for a fee!”

“What are you trying to do?” Yina Sandra watched as the silver-white helmet lowered, covering Luke's face in steel, and she asked with some inexplicable curiosity.

“Testing.” Luke's steel suit began its final module self-check. The exposed parts modules were complex and intricate, stacked and combined within the limited space, revealing an extraordinary level of industrial capability. Unfortunately, the only audience present was Yina Sandra.

“What about Pepper Potts? She holds a special place in Stark's heart. If Tony Stark manages to escape this time and discovers some clues, aren't you afraid of incurring his wrath?” Yina Sandra asked. She was quite fond of Pepper Potts.

“White Queen and Terra will be responsible for cleaning up any traces online. The Manufacturer persona has nothing to do with me. What's there to be angry about? Angry that I gave him clues? That I let him know and face the cruel reality?” Luke's voice sounded through the suit's built-in external speakers. With deliberate adjustments, it was somewhat muffled and distorted, making it impossible to recognize the original voice.

“He's at least a dozen years older than me; he can't be more childish than I am, right?”

“As for Pepper, don't worry, someone will rescue her. If no one does, I have another layer of insurance. Didn't I have you leave two Mechanic teams in California? White Queen will assign them tasks.”

“It seems you've arranged everything well.” Yina Sandra watched the steel suit complete its self-check. Before she could say anything further, a gust of metal wind swept past her, causing her to instinctively shield her disheveled hair. When she looked back, Luke and his prototype were gone from the lab.

...

Stark Industries Park.

“You are being targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and they are coming to deal with you. Good luck! Your loyal partner—The Manufacturer.”

Obadiah Stane looked at the message on his phone, his face grim. As soon as he saw the message, it quickly disappeared and self-deleted. This wasn't the first time Obadiah Stane had received a garbled message with the suffix 'The Manufacturer.' The sender was like a ghost on the internet. Even with Stark Industries' capabilities in electronic information technology, they couldn't trace any information about him in the real world.

But this Manufacturer was quite capable. The first time they connected, he was worried about restoring Tony's steel suit, and this Manufacturer helped solve many technical problems, even helping to improve it, or rather, helping to redesign a steel suit based on the Mark I as a template.

Except for the energy source.

In the Manufacturer's words, he was a technical broker on the internet, as well as a technical thief. He didn't reject technical exchanges, assistance, or support with any organization, company, or even individual, provided they could offer what he wanted. Fortunately, when doing business with the Manufacturer, all he wanted was money.

Obadiah wanted to win over the Manufacturer. After all, if Tony was gone, it would be best to have a replacement. This replacement didn't need to have too many shares, nor could he pose a threat to his position and power, while his technical strength had to be top-notch. The Manufacturer was Obadiah's ideal choice.

However, he couldn't contact the Manufacturer at all. Each time the Manufacturer contacted him, he acted like a cold and rigid machine. Their communication process was to raise a problem, solve it, and then wait for the next contact. All information other than technical details would be completely deleted from the internet.

The Manufacturer also told him about Hebron Industries' private investigation into his arms orders. Therefore, even though Obadiah was very suspicious, he instinctively gave the Manufacturer some trust. Especially after the Manufacturer mentioned S.H.I.E.L.D., Obadiah was even more convinced.

As the person who founded Stark Industries with Howard Stark, he was well aware of S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization hidden in the shadows. Today's series of accidents had caused his emotions to fluctuate greatly, and with the new generation of arc reactors in his hands, and a bright and beautiful future on the horizon, Obadiah's past composure and experience had all vanished at this moment. His mind was filled with only one sentence.

No one can stop me!

He needed to take a gamble!

As long as he could escape, with arc reactor and steel suit technology, his connections would be enough to guarantee his safety. Coincidentally, the military was also dissatisfied with Tony Stark's decision to no longer sell arms, which had caused him to fall from grace after being a darling of the military. But first, he had to demonstrate compelling technology! Thinking of this, Obadiah Stane looked at the approaching Stark Industries Park and made up his mind.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was indeed troublesome, but as long as he could get military support, the follow-up would be nothing more than wrangling and exchanging benefits.

...

Malibu Villa.

“Thank you for your help.”

Guiding Phil Coulson step by step to reinsert the first-generation arc reactor, which existed as an exhibition souvenir, back into his body, Tony Stark finally felt a bit of his strength return. He stood up and thanked Coulson hastily, then ordered Jarvis to start helping him put on his steel suit.

“Where are you going?” Phil Coulson watched as the robotic arms assembled the parts of the steel suit onto Tony, and asked from the side.

“To save Pepper, and to stop Obadiah.” Tony replied with a cold expression, without blinking.

“Actually, our people have already gone. You don't have to worry about Ms. Potts' safety,” Phil Coulson said.

“That's a great help.” Tony Stark didn't put all his hopes on the stranger in front of him, even though he had indeed saved him. Once assembled, the dim 'eyes' on the metal face under the faceplate lit up. Then, as Phil Coulson was about to say something, he directly controlled the steel suit to fly out, stirring up a flurry of flying papers, leaving Coulson alone amidst the falling papers in disarray.

...

Stark Industries Park.

A steel giant more than three meters tall violently broke out from the ground. The parts of its legs and feet transformed, gradually spewing out intense flames, driving its seemingly bulky and heavy body to fly into the sky little by little. However, before it could adjust its position, another steel figure in the distant sky had already trailed a long tail of fire and collided with the newly rising steel giant, directly dragging it back to the ground.

“Boss, another Iron Man has arrived. Do you need us to intervene?” The leader of the Mechanic team, Snoke, who was hidden in the surroundings, sent a message to Luke.

“If the new Iron Man is in danger, then you can help. Do you understand what I mean by help? It means you can assist from the sidelines, but you can't take the kill.” Luke's voice came from the other end of the communication.

“Understood.” Snoke hung up the communication.