Chapter 217: Military Trends (2)


    The revtion 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 yboy who waspletely irresponsible, and a viinous 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 be 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, thergest superhero scandal in history urred.


    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 spected 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 thergest constructionpany in America or even the heir of a certain oilpany, 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 imed to feel extremely disappointed and that Iron Man would no longer be their hero.


    At the same time, many people iming to be Iron Man fans sparked a wave of public opinion on the Inte, making videos andmenting their decision to unfollow Iron Man.Many online analysts began to specte 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 rtions attack was more than ten times stronger than thest one, and Stark seemed to have beenbeled 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 hisboratory and ignored everything else. He refused to listen, see, or feel anything rted to the attacks.


    From ancient times, every type of drama has included a concept called an opponent''s y. If the opponent doesn''t y along, then you may be 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 rify or fight back, but to y 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 rtions ns. However, the military''s attacksted for three days, and Stark remained as steady as a rock in hisboratory, singing to an audience of the blind.


    One n 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 n. 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 ck 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 imed 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 famouspanies refused to cooperate with them, they went to Hammer Industries, or rather, Hammer Industries was already apdog of the military, obedient to their orders.


    Hammer Industries was eager to prove themselves to the military in order to receive more orders, butpared 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 idental car test, but Justin Hammer, the boss of Hammer Industries, suspected foul y.


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


    Ivan Vanko, who imed 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 ted because itsck of proof made it easier to manipte.


    Stark ignored the negativements about him and continued his research in hisboratory. 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 sessfully found your weakness," said Schiller and Steve, ying chess in the Stark Towerboratory. Meanwhile, Stark sat at anotherb 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 theb table and stood next to the two who were ying 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 ourtest 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''se 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."