Recaps

In 2008, Li Chen celebrated the success of Superman: Man of Steel, the film he produced through Starlight Pictures to earn rewards from his Entertainment System. After gaining reputation points, he drew Superman Glasses and the Kryptonian Bloodline, leaving him thrilled at the prospect of becoming a man of steel.

• Li Chen defended his dark portrayal of Superman to reporters and ended the interview before entering Starlight Pictures.
• Li Chen recalled founding Starlight Pictures, acquiring MGM, partnering with DC Comics, and hiring Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill to make Superman: Man of Steel.
• The DC Comics representative and Zack Snyder praised Li Chen for the film's success, while Zack proposed bringing Batman to the big screen.
• Li Chen told Zack that Batman and Superman would meet eventually, but that they needed to build a shared universe gradually.
• Li Chen checked his Entertainment System and saw that Superman: Man of Steel had earned 2,300 reputation points.
• Li Chen used 1,000 points for a ten-draw and received Superman Glasses and the Kryptonian Bloodline.

After Superman became a hit, Li Chen accepted the Kryptonian Bloodline and drew a Superman Suit and two Faora Adjutant fragments. He decided to expand Starlight Pictures’ animation department so he could bring more of his ideas to the screen.

• Li Chen told Starlight Pictures’ executives to increase Superman’s promotion after its strong opening weekend.
• Li Chen returned to his Beverly Hills estate and accepted the Kryptonian Bloodline, waking later with greater strength and a much larger appetite.
• Li Chen checked his reputation points and used them for a ten-pull, receiving a Superman Suit and two Faora Adjutant fragments.
• Li Chen browsed American animation while sunbathing and called Starlight Pictures’ animation department to demand more hires.

Li Chen launched the animation department’s first comic projects, choosing Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World and Pirate King. After reviewing character designs, he approved them and ordered production to begin, with DC Comics set to handle distribution.

• Li Chen visited the animation department, promised bonuses, and introduced the two comic proposals to Katherine and the staff.
• Li Chen selected Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World for its female characters and Pirate King as a potential hit in the parallel world.
• Katherine questioned whether the comics’ styles differed too much from American comics, but agreed to proceed after Li Chen defended the fresh approach.
• Li Chen reviewed the character designs, requested more attractive designs for Re:Zero’s Ram and Rem, and praised Joseph’s drawings of Nami and Robin.
• Li Chen approved the character designs and told the animation department to start producing the comics, planning to use DC Comics for distribution.

Li Chen gained control of several Kryptonian abilities and attended Starlight Pictures’ celebration party, where he met Scarlett Johansson. He left with a possible game-company partnership and Scarlett’s agreement to show off her acting skills in private.

• Li Chen discovered that his vision, hearing, and breath had developed into Kryptonian superpowers, and he spent the day learning to control them.
• Li Chen attended Starlight Pictures’ celebration party, where he greeted guests and watched Zack Snyder and the cast celebrate the success of 'Superman.'
• Li Chen exchanged a business card with an executive from PlatinumGames to discuss a possible partnership.
• Scarlett Johansson approached Li Chen, and after he complimented her, she agreed to show him her acting skills in private.

Li Chen spent the night with Scarlett Johansson, promised to arrange an audition for her if a suitable role arose, and then went to Starlight Pictures. After learning that Tony Stark had gone missing in the Middle East and that people were anxious about safety, Li Chen saw the news as an opportunity.

• Li Chen brought Scarlett Johansson to his estate, and they spent the night together.
• The next morning, Li Chen assured Scarlett he would arrange an audition if a suitable role came along, and she thanked him.
• Li Chen arrived at Starlight Pictures and noticed employees whispering about Tony Stark.
• Harry Sloan told Li Chen that Tony Stark had gone missing in the Middle East, leaving people worried about their safety.
• Li Chen recognized the public fear as an opportunity and said, "This is a good thing!"

Li Chen capitalized on America’s fear over Tony Stark by promoting Superman, sending audiences to theaters for comfort and boosting the film’s popularity. S.H.I.E.L.D. recognized Hollywood’s influence but struggled to control public opinion while continuing its search for Tony.

• Li Chen ordered his publicity department to promote Superman with the headline that America would be safe if Superman were real.
• A wave of Superman promotion spread across America, and James Raymond went to see the film after worrying that ordinary people were in danger.
• James and the packed theater crowd were thrilled by Superman’s fight to protect Earth, and moviegoers left feeling reassured and eager to see the film again.
• Maria Hill told Nick Fury that Hollywood was using Tony Stark to attract attention and that public opinion was moving in the wrong direction.
• Nick Fury dismissed Superman as a potential alien threat and ordered Maria Hill to limit the public focus on Tony while S.H.I.E.L.D. continued searching for him.

Li Chen arranged for Starlight Pictures’ manga to be serialized and offered PlatinumGames funding to develop Bayonetta, NieR, and his own game concept, Stellar Blade. He demanded the games be released within a year so their contents could enter his prize pool.

• Li Chen read the opening manga chapters and told his staff to arrange publication through DC Comics; Catherine secured a place for both series in the next issue.
• Li Chen met Hideki Kamiya of PlatinumGames and read the studio’s game proposal.
• Li Chen saw Bayonetta and NieR on the proposal and asked how long they would take to make; Hideki Kamiya estimated at least three years.
• Li Chen demanded the games be released within one year and promised funding for expanded hiring; Hideki Kamiya agreed to the accelerated plan.
• Li Chen proposed Stellar Blade, describing a robot heroine with a changeable wardrobe and a great figure, and Hideki Kamiya agreed to develop it alongside the other games.

Li Chen secured the Transformers adaptation rights and tested whether his sun-charged body could fly. After learning to control his flight, he soared through the clouds and was briefly spotted by a boy on a plane.

• Li Chen reviewed the company’s finances, chose Transformers as its next film project, and told Harry to obtain the adaptation rights from Hasbro.
• Li Chen declined Scarlett’s invitation and went to a deserted beach to test his ability to fly.
• Li Chen put on his Superman suit, launched himself over the sea, and fell into the water before trying again.
• Li Chen learned to maneuver in midair, flew faster than a nearby plane, and rose into the clouds.
• William spotted a figure resembling Superman outside his plane, but his mother saw nothing and promised to take him to see Superman after they landed.

Li Chen tested his Kryptonian powers, then had Scarlett try on a Catwoman costume as an audition for the planned Batman project. Meanwhile, the new Pirate King comic caught on across America, while Re:Zero drew a different audience.

• Li Chen tested his speed, Heat Vision, and Freeze Breath before calling Scarlett and asking her to buy a Catwoman costume.
• Scarlett arrived in costume, impressed Li Chen, and he praised her as a perfect Catwoman before taking her inside.
• William discovered Pirate King at the back of Detective Comics and became an instant fan of Monkey D. Luffy.
• Peter Parker read Pirate King at school and shouted that he would become the Pirate King.
• Pirate King spread across America, while Re:Zero gained popularity among middle-schoolers and adults for its characters.

Li Chen spent his reputation points on lottery pulls and collected enough fragments to summon Rem. Rem arrived at his manor, learned that her sister Ram was not there, and asked Li Chen to bring her over; he promised he would.

• Li Chen spent most of his reputation points on lottery pulls, obtaining several summon fragments and the Blessing of First Strike and basic Observation Haki.
• Li Chen collected ten Rem summon fragments and summoned her in the manor garden.
• Rem appeared in her maid outfit, accepted Li Chen as her master, and followed him into the manor.
• Rem explained that she had been cleaning with Ram when she was summoned and asked Li Chen to summon her sister too.
• Li Chen promised Rem that he would bring Ram to the manor, and Rem thanked him.

Rem proved highly capable at managing Li Chen’s estate and asked to learn his favorite dishes, while Li Chen planned to reunite her with Ram. Starlight Pictures’ comics gained popularity, and Li Chen pushed to expand production and move forward with a live-action Transformers film.

• Rem handled the estate’s housekeeping and cooking, then asked Li Chen to name dishes she could learn to make for him.
• Li Chen kept the Filipino maids on other duties and hoped to summon Rem’s sister Ram so the sisters could be together.
• Harry Sloan told Li Chen that Pirate King readers wanted a standalone publication and that Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World had a devoted readership.
• Li Chen told Harry Sloan to arrange a standalone Pirate King publication, raise animation staff pay, and keep hiring so production could move faster.
• Harry Sloan reported Hasbro’s interest in a live-action Transformers movie, and Li Chen urged him to finalize the deal and invite Michael Bay to direct.

Li Chen kept control over Zack Snyder’s Batman film plans and reviewed DC characters before receiving an invitation to the Hellfire Club. After discovering that the White Queen had invited him, he decided to attend that night.

• Li Chen told Harry Sloan to let Zack Snyder prepare the sets and cast actors while Star Studios and DC retained control of the script.
• Li Chen considered Tony Stark’s likely return and read Batman comics, deciding that the film needed characters such as Poison Ivy and Catwoman.
• Harry Sloan gave Li Chen an invitation to a private club and advised him to respond politely, even if he declined.
• Li Chen recognized the invitation’s white queen emblem and learned that the club was the Hellfire Club, whose leadership was made up of Mutants.
• Li Chen saw that the White Queen had invited him and decided to attend the gathering at eight that night.

Li Chen met Emma Frost at the Los Angeles Hellfire Club and learned that Tony Stark was the senior member she wanted him to find. He left with the chance to earn the position of White Rook if he helped her.

• Li Chen arrived at the Hellfire Club wearing a Batman mask and was admitted after showing his invitation.
• A bunny-girl attendant led Li Chen through the club to meet Emma Frost, the White Queen.
• Li Chen confronted Emma about probing his mind, and she discovered that he was immune to her telepathy.
• Emma offered Li Chen senior membership and explained that he could earn the position of White Rook by finding a senior member.
• Li Chen asked who he had to find, and Emma named Tony Stark.

Li Chen agreed to locate Tony Stark after Emma Frost used the request to test his abilities, then returned home and spent the next day waiting on his company’s slow-moving projects. He transformed into Superman and flew to the Middle East to search for Tony Stark.

• Emma Frost explained that Tony Stark was only a senior Hellfire Club member and said she had no reason to search for him herself, so Li Chen agreed to do it.
• Li Chen left Emma Frost’s company, rejected the bunny girl’s offer because he did not like women with too much experience, and returned home.
• The next morning, Rem woke Li Chen and served him noodles and soy milk before he went to work.
• Li Chen inspected DC Comics’ busy animation department and reflected that films, comics, and games all took too long to produce.
• Li Chen transformed into Superman, flew across the Pacific Ocean, and arrived above a barren region in the Middle East to search for Tony Stark.

Li Chen found Tony Stark imprisoned in a cave but chose not to rescue him, then gave the White Queen Tony’s location. Emma Frost discussed her abandoned dream of becoming a movie star, and she offered Li Chen a place in Hellfire if his information proved true.

• Li Chen used his enhanced perception to locate Tony Stark in a cave but decided to leave him there.
• Li Chen visited the Hellfire Club and asked Emma Frost why she had given up her dream of becoming a movie star.
• Emma Frost recalled leaving Boston for Hollywood, where she crippled a man who tried to force her to sleep with him for a role, before joining Hellfire.
• Li Chen told Emma Frost that he had found Tony Stark and handed her a slip of paper with the location.
• Emma Frost said Li Chen would become Hellfire’s white rook if the information was accurate, and the two toasted with champagne.

Maria Hill told Nick Fury that the Hellfire Club had informed the military about Tony Stark, prompting S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military to plan a joint search and rescue. Meanwhile, Li Chen’s comics gained popularity, the Transformers deal moved forward with Michael Bay attached, and Li Chen settled in to draw while waiting for news of Tony Stark.

• Maria Hill told Nick Fury that the Hellfire Club had passed information about Tony Stark to the military.
• Nick Fury ordered Maria Hill to contact the military so they could investigate Tony Stark’s whereabouts and plan a rescue.
• Star Animation’s collected editions sold well, and advertising helped “Pirate King” and “Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World” raise Li Chen’s reputation points above four thousand.
• Hasbro finalized its Transformers deal with Starlight Pictures, and Michael Bay agreed to direct; Li Chen declined to pursue a G.I. Joe film with Hasbro.
• Li Chen checked for news about Tony Stark, hoping to sell his stocks when Tony returned, then stayed home to draw.

Li Chen used his reputation points to summon Ram, reuniting her with Rem at his estate. The sisters began settling into their new home, while Li Chen also obtained a fragment for Boa Hancock.

• Li Chen made several ten-pulls and obtained an Eternal Pose, more Ram and Nami fragments, and a Boa Hancock summon fragment.
• Li Chen teased Rem by claiming Ram had told her to take care of him, and Rem burst into tears.
• Li Chen apologized to Rem and immediately summoned Ram.
• Ram and Rem embraced and cried as they reunited.
• Ram called Li Chen a pervert and promised to protect Rem, but Rem defended him.
• Li Chen asked Rem to show Ram around their new home.

Hideo Morita hired the Hand to intimidate Li Chen and force him to give up Starlight Pictures, while Li Chen welcomed Ram into his home and grew closer to Rem. The chapter ended with Ram declaring that she would take over Li Chen’s daily care.

• Hideo Morita decided to have the Hand scare Li Chen into becoming Sony’s subordinate so Sony could acquire Starlight Pictures.
• Li Chen invited Ram and Rem to share dinner with him, and Ram reluctantly agreed.
• Li Chen considered making Bayonetta and NieR games to attract attention and earn prestige points.
• Rem thanked Li Chen for bringing Ram to live with them, kissed his cheek, and was kissed by Li Chen before she ran away.
• Ram told Li Chen that she would take care of his daily needs from then on and criticized Rem’s work.

Li Chen discovered that his solar energy could replenish Ram's mana, restoring her strength. Rem interrupted them after sensing intruders, and Li Chen spotted black-clad ninjas entering the estate garden.

• Li Chen attempted to transfer his solar energy to Ram, and Ram absorbed it through her forehead, regaining her color.
• Rem wondered why Ram was taking so long in Li Chen's room and grew jealous at the thought that Ram might be getting close to him.
• Rem heard approaching footsteps, transformed into her battle maid form, and rushed to warn Li Chen.
• Rem found Ram in Li Chen's arms, but then reported that someone was approaching.
• Li Chen used his super vision to spot a group of black-clad ninjas slipping into the garden.

Rem fought off a squad of Hand ninjas who had attacked Li Chen’s home, but they killed themselves before she could learn why they had come. Li Chen contacted Emma Frost, who revealed the Hand’s Los Angeles base and asked him to spare Psylocke if he encountered her.

• Rem asked Li Chen to let her handle the intruders, and he agreed while watching over her with his super vision.
• Rem attacked the ninjas with her meteor hammer and nearly defeated the entire squad in the garden.
• The injured ninjas took poison and died before Rem could question them, and Ram comforted Rem as she returned to normal.
• Li Chen searched for information on the Hand and called Emma Frost to ask what she knew.
• Emma Frost explained the Hand’s history and gave Li Chen the location of its Los Angeles base.
• Emma Frost asked Li Chen to spare Psylocke, a Mutant who had joined the Hand, and he agreed to spare her life if they met.

Li Chen went to a Hand-operated hotel in Los Angeles to confront Hideo Morita, rescuing Gwen Stacy from two armed men along the way. After entering the hotel casino and locating Morita’s men, Li Chen knocked out two Hand ninjas guarding a hidden passage.

• Li Chen left Ram and Rem to clean up and flew to the hotel the White Queen had identified.
• Li Chen crushed two men’s pistols and rescued Gwen Stacy, who pretended to be his girlfriend so they could get past the hotel guards.
• Li Chen exchanged names with Gwen, then went downstairs to the casino while Gwen returned to her room and told Jane about her encounter.
• Li Chen used Super Hearing to identify Hideo Morita and a Hand associate discussing the plan to teach him a lesson.
• Li Chen approached a hidden passage and knocked out the two Hand ninjas guarding it.

Li Chen attacked the Hand’s underground casino, killed Hideo Morita after learning he had targeted a Chinese businessman out of prejudice, and slaughtered the Hand’s ninjas with his powers. As he left, Psylocke ambushed him, and Li Chen recognized her.

• Li Chen entered the casino room and struck Hideo Morita with a beer bottle guided by Divine Protection of First Strike.
• Hideo Morita admitted he had targeted a Chinese man because he considered Chinese people beneath the protection of the rules, and Li Chen snapped his neck.
• The potbellied Japanese man ordered disguised assassins to attack Li Chen, but Li Chen defeated them and declared he had come to wipe out the Hand.
• Li Chen used Heat Vision and freezing breath to kill the Hand’s ninjas in the darkened casino.
• Psylocke attacked Li Chen with a purple blade, but he caught it and identified her.

Li Chen defeated Psylocke, took her to his manor, and declared her his spoils of war and a future maid. Psylocke resolved to endure her captivity and seek revenge, but her feelings began to shift as Ram and Rem prepared to educate her.

• Psylocke attacked Li Chen with her psionic weapons, but he resisted them, seized her, and subdued her.
• Li Chen carried Psylocke from The Hand's hotel, while The Hand's leaders ordered their people not to retaliate until they understood his strength.
• Psylocke began rationalizing her capture as she traveled with Li Chen, and she felt a faint anticipation after seeing his face.
• Li Chen assigned Psylocke a room at his manor, ordered her to wear her ninja suit, and told her she was his spoils of war and his future maid.
• Ram and Rem agreed to teach Psylocke how to be a maid, and Li Chen went to prepare items to help her accept her new identity.

Psylocke woke up in Li Chen’s home and was forced by Rem to accept the role of his pet, while Li Chen continued overseeing Starlight Pictures’ film projects. The chapter ended with Zack Snyder preparing to direct Batman and Li Chen insisting that the film include several classic supporting characters.

• Rem brought Psylocke pet accessories and made her put them on and crawl downstairs to Li Chen.
• Li Chen took Psylocke’s leash, praised her obedience, and heard her call him Master.
• Li Chen continued work on the Transformers production as Starlight Pictures secured a budget of over a hundred million dollars.
• Zack Snyder asked Li Chen to begin preparing a Batman movie, and Li Chen agreed because Batman was important to the DC Universe.
• Li Chen required the Batman screenplay to include Robin, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Joker so he could try to draw those characters in the lottery.

Li Chen attended the final auditions for Batman, where Ben Affleck was chosen for the title role. Scarlett auditioned for Catwoman, but Li Chen held off on deciding until he had seen the other candidates.

• Li Chen went to the studio for the final Batman auditions with Zack, DC representatives, and producer Jeff.
• Christian Bale auditioned, but the group felt he lacked Batman's imposing presence.
• Ben Affleck auditioned with a brooding demeanor and won the group's approval for Batman.
• Li Chen and Zack discussed the film's story, a Superman and Zod fight as an ending easter egg, and future DC films featuring Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Wonder Woman.
• Scarlett auditioned in a Catwoman outfit, and Zack and the others considered her suitable for the role.
• Li Chen reserved judgment on Scarlett and asked to see the remaining Catwoman candidates.