"I am Iron Man!"
The moment Tony Stark, Stark Industries' current CEO, spoke those words at the press conference, the crowd erupted into an uproar.
As reporters excitedly spread the news, it quickly radiated outward.
No one had expected Iron Man—the superhero who had traveled to the Middle East to fight terrorists and helped resolve the Apple City crisis—to be Tony Stark, the man long associated with gossip columns and known as a playboy.
But when the armor appeared, all doubts in their hearts vanished, and the disbelief on their faces gradually turned into excited cheers!
Because of Stark's self-revelation, a ripple finally stirred in postwar Apple City's dreary atmosphere.
"Mr. Stark, may I ask how Merlin Shaw is doing now? We heard that after helping save the city, he was attacked by an alien Mechanical Lifeform."
After learning that Stark was Iron Man, a reporter hurriedly asked the question.
After the Lizard Crisis ended, Merlin and the others had also become superheroes.
Before that, however, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Punisher had already been superheroes. Only the Punisher was somewhat different because of his bloody and brutal methods, but no one could deny his heroic deeds.
Among the newcomers, Merlin attracted the most attention.
A genius high school student, a teenage hero—while being hunted by Lizardmen throughout the city, he had worked with a group of superheroes to develop the Serum and ultimately resolve the crisis.
There were simply too many legendary angles to dig into where he was concerned.
"Where is he now? Is he still alive?"
"We want to interview that brave kid."
"We heard that the Chaos Spawn was caused by Merlin Shaw. Is that true?"
"Why did he create the Lizard Serum?"
"Does he have some connection with the Lizardmen?"
At the mention