Iron Man’s Destiny (Bonus for 1 Monthly Ticket)

Tony had finally set foot on his own path. This was his destiny—or rather, the destiny of Iron Man.

After gaining a sense of responsibility, he had ultimately become that "man cursed by knowledge."

It sounded difficult to understand, but in reality, it was quite simple: his ideas were too far ahead of their time!

Being half a step ahead of the world made you a genius; being one step ahead made you a madman.

But Tony Stark could be ten steps ahead of the world!

He simply didn’t know whether being so far ahead would be good or bad for the future.

He was deeply worried that being too far ahead might make the future better while making the present a complete mess, causing everyone to reject and oppose him.

But he was also worried that if he restrained his abilities, then when disaster struck, he might be unable to handle the dire situation because he hadn’t worked hard enough beforehand.

He was caught in a dilemma!

So, from this perspective, he was actually quite suited to become the Sorcerer Supreme. By wielding the Time Stone, he could know what the future would look like after every decision he made, and whether the result would be good or bad.

No longer troubled by uncertainty about the future, Tony Stark could freely unleash his talents and completely break free from the fate of being "cursed by knowledge."

Unfortunately, in this world, the Sorcerer Supreme wasn’t him. He was Iron Man. He couldn’t see through the mists of time, and he would forever be caught between indulging himself and restraining himself.

He and Thanos were actually quite alike.

In the MCU, Thanos had once said that they were all "people cursed by knowledge."

Thanos could see the ultimate fate of the universe, so in order to extend its lifespan, he had to snap his fingers and randomly erase half of all life in the universe.

Of course, there was another explanation in the comics: Thanos had snapped his fingers to please his lover, "Death," one of the five great gods.

That was a different matter entirely, so he couldn’t really be called "a person cursed by knowledge."

Tony was now preparing to develop a new suit of armor to deal with the possible planet destroyers of the future—Magneto and Zhan Liu.

His actions couldn’t escape S.H.I.E.L.D.’s notice, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was naturally delighted to see it happen.

The battle between Zhan Liu and Magneto had destroyed the entire planet. Although Nick Fury had no memory of it, the alien warships hiding in space had recorded the entire process.

After the previous Time Reversal, Nick had specifically sent a mission to the alien warships, ordering them to pay closer attention to Earth.

The moment Magneto stopped, Nick received the video sent specifically by the alien warships.

When he saw that Earth had shattered again, Nick’s hands began to tremble.

Captain Marvel was dead. When Magneto used Time Reversal, he had only reversed time to before the mutants were slaughtered, so Carol hadn’t come back to life.

This left Nick in so much pain that he could barely breathe.

She was his greatest trump card, yet she had disappeared for no reason at all. What a tremendous loss!

But he also knew that he was completely powerless against the Sorcerer Supreme. The Sorcerer Supreme couldn’t possibly help him revive Captain Marvel.

Nick was a rational man. Since the loss couldn’t be recovered, he had to stop the bleeding as soon as possible!

Peter might have harbored some resentment because of what had happened with Captain Marvel, but Nick had plenty of ways to manipulate a good kid like Peter. Especially now that Carol was dead—when someone died, their importance came first. Peter would forgive her.

As for Tony, he was an entirely unexpected delight.

Tony was now standing at the same level as Zhan Liu. They were both in the Fifty Heavens. Tony might still be slightly inferior in terms of actual combat ability, but in Nick’s eyes, Tony was more important than Zhan Liu.

That was because Tony’s scientific research abilities were simply too unscientific!

Take the Strong Magnetic Armor, for example. It could mass-produce experts capable of manipulating magnetic fields.

Once S.H.I.E.L.D. had thousands of law enforcers wearing Strong Magnetic Armor, every criminal in the world would have to behave themselves. Even Magneto and Zhan Liu wouldn’t stand a chance!

At least, that was what Nick believed.

What was even more remarkable was that the master-and-disciple pair of Tony and Zhan Liu had finally developed a rift between them. Tony had finally realized that his master was the source of the world’s chaos.

Nick had already decided to focus the next stage of his work on helping Tony develop new armor materials.

There was far too little Vibranium. It was nowhere near enough, so they still had to develop and search for substitutes.

Meanwhile, in the distant eastern part of Africa, in the agricultural nation of Wakanda, His Majesty King T’Chaka was lecturing his son.

"Do you see now? This world is full of hidden experts. There’s no need for you to step forward and play the hero! Leave saving the world to those great powers. The most important thing for us is to keep the existence of Vibranium hidden and prevent disaster from finding us."

T’Challa was young and hot-blooded, and he completely failed to understand his father’s painstaking efforts. He argued:

"We’re clearly a great power ourselves. Our military strength is more than enough to protect us, and we can help our neighbors live better lives. Why must we shut ourselves off from the world and watch our fellow countrymen suffer?"

"My child, human greed is limitless." T’Chaka earnestly educated his son.

"Vibranium is too powerful. Anyone who sees it will never give up pursuing it. We must prioritize protecting our own people and let them live in peace."

"But once Vibranium is exposed, ambitious people will come one after another. Unless you’re willing to share Vibranium with them, war will follow. When that happens, our peaceful days will be gone forever."

T’Challa, however, had a different opinion.

"But Father, the world is changing too quickly."

"A thousand years ago, our technology could have easily led the world into civilization, but we missed that opportunity."

"A hundred years ago, our technology could have easily saved the world and made us the leaders of the civilized world, but we missed that opportunity too."

"Our population is too small, and there are even fewer people who can devote themselves to scientific research. Our technology has advanced far too slowly over the years."

"If we don’t connect with the rest of the world, will our technology still be ahead of its time ten or a hundred years from now?"

"Are we really going to continue living like this, without changing at all?"

T’Chaka fell silent. Clearly, he had considered this question before, but he was already old and no longer had the courage or energy to do these things.

He sighed and shook his head helplessly.

"T’Challa, once you become king, you can handle these matters according to your own ideas. However, you must understand that these actions go against tradition and will inevitably provoke tremendous opposition. The other tribes in particular are extremely resistant to anything related to technology."

"Don’t worry, Father. Once I become Black Panther, I’ll be able to suppress every opposing voice." T’Challa spoke with confidence.