American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

In a sparsely populated and remote tavern, beside the dimly lit bar, a disheveled old man in military uniform was silently downing drinks one after another, the fumes of alcohol and tobacco swirling around him. The waitress who handed him a drink frowned and moved away slightly.

The tavern door was pushed open, the bright daylight outside rendering the doorway into a portal of light. A well-dressed man with highly recognizable features walked in through the light.

“The scent of booze, cigarettes, and failure.” Tony Stark stood before General Thaddeus Ross. “Another failure, only this time the price was far too steep, wasn't it?”

“Don't be silent, huh? I remember telling you, don't be obsessed with the Super Soldier program. Its termination was not without reason. Someone shares my view that machinery is more reliable.” Tony Stark looked at the silent General Ross, then glanced at the news report playing on the bar's television.

It showed a grotesque monster wreaking havoc.

Also the source of General Ross's current misfortune.

He had, after all, cultivated an Abomination. That excellent soldier named Emil Blonsky possessed unwavering will, outstanding military qualities, exceptional skills, and extensive combat experience, yet he still couldn't resist the side effects of the Super Soldier Serum. The serum amplified his inner desire for combat. He had created an uncontrollable, extremely destructive battle maniac!

Strictly speaking, this was much more serious than the Hulk, who at least tried to avoid crowds.

Ironically, the fact that he could still sit here in his uniform, drinking away his sorrows, was entirely thanks to the Hulk, whom he was so eager to capture.

It was the Hulk who helped stop the Abomination's destruction and tyranny!

“Stark.” General Ross exhaled a smoke ring, turned around, and stared at him with somewhat cloudy eyes.

“I'm listening, General.” Tony spread his hands, signaling the old man to continue.

“You're not off making money with that little guy from Hebron, so why come looking for me?” General Ross smiled sarcastically.

“Someone asked me to come.” Tony shrugged, unhesitatingly betraying a man named Nick Fury. “We want to form an organization and are recruiting people everywhere, and he has his eye on your soldiers.”

“My soldiers?” General Ross laughed heartily.

“I don't think it's a good idea. Because it seems this big guy isn't easy to deal with.” Tony looked at the monster Abomination on the TV screen.

“Familiar tactics, that Director is still as unscrupulous as ever.” Ross curled his lip dismissively. “If I were you, I'd stay away from him. His methods are ten or a hundred times worse than mine.”

“I don't trust him, this is just a collaboration.” Tony frowned.

“Anyway, at this moment, you're the first person to come see me, so consider it a visit.” General Ross propped himself up on the bar, his body swaying slightly. “For that, I'll give you a piece of information: not everyone is happy to see you making a fortune with that kid named Luke. Especially when it comes to sensitive things like energy.”

“Someone's targeting us?” Tony asked knowingly.

“I didn't say anything.” General Ross waved his hand.

“You definitely know who it is?” Tony walked to General Ross's side, offering a steadying hand to help him stand.

“Stark, don't be too greedy.” General Ross pushed away Tony's support. “Solve your own problems first. I hope you can emerge unscathed from the hearing. Don't become a failure like me.”

...

Washington D.C.

Hearing Venue.

Reporters from all over the world, armed with their cameras and equipment, had packed the area around the venue.

“Here they come!”

The surrounding reporters received messages from their colleagues and became energetic.

A van and a red sports car stopped one after the other in the open space in front of the venue. Tony Stark, in a neat suit, and Luke, each with their own bodyguards and female companions, stepped out of the cars one after the other. While the bodyguards and security guards held the reporters firmly outside the cordon, Tony walked over to Luke with a teasing smile.

“How's the feeling of your first hearing? Nervous?” Tony Stark's joking question earned Luke an eye roll.

“Hahaha, don't be nervous, just treat them like wooden men who say stupid things.” Tony put his arm around Luke's shoulder intimately, introducing him to his experience.

“You're the host of this hearing, what do I have to be nervous about?” Luke shook off Tony's arm from his shoulder and quickly stepped up the steps with Ina.

“Wait for me! I think those things you told me before were very interesting, and I agree with them.” Tony, who had been shaken off, put on his sunglasses and quickly chased after him, saying urgently: “Space program? This is grand and fits our positioning. I can even use those words you said to me to slam those people today. If you were someone who needed to attract investment, then your speech would be enough to impress me, and I would definitely invest in you. I don’t invest in others easily, you know that's rare!”

“Thank you very much.” Luke said perfunctorily. He obviously didn't have any good solutions for Tony, who stuck to him like glue as soon as he saw him. Although he was still so proud, he was never venomous in front of him, except for being annoyingly talkative.

“One more question, have you found out who is secretly targeting us and constantly causing trouble for our energy plan during this period?” As Tony spoke, he suddenly reached out to stop Luke from answering, and said quickly: “Don't say it yet, I'll count one, two, three, and we'll say it together. Let's see who investigated it accurately.”

Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes again in his heart at Tony, whose desire to win had reached this point.

“One, two, three, Roxxon Oil.”

“Roxxon Oil.”

“It can only be them.” Tony sighed, not surprised that Luke's answer was the same as his own. “When my father was still alive, Stark and Roxxon Oil had a lot of cooperation.”

Luke gave Tony a meaningful look.

Roxxon Oil Company, this is a very large giant with tentacles that are unknown how deep! Its main business seems to be the extraction and sale of oil and other energy sources from the outside world, but in fact, they are involved in materials, military weapons, various high-tech weapons, as well as semi-biochemical humans, semi-mechanical humans, super soldiers and other technologies.

They do whatever industry makes money, and their shadow is in every field.

A deeply hidden and thorny opponent.

PS1: The world line is still mainly movies, but it will combine some comics or fabricated plots. Because there are really few people watching movie plots now, it's not like a few years ago. Writing more recommendations and collections doesn't really increase.

PS2: Roxxon Oil has actually appeared many times in movies and TV series in obscure forms such as GG brand. I looked at the settings in the comics. It was the murderer behind Howard's death. It seems to be related to Hydra. The author will try his best to make the plot self-consistent in the later stage.