Chapter 136: The Fantastic Four

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As Thor was dragged back to Asgard by Loki, Gu Zhongyan also bid farewell to New Mexico and set out on his return journey.

Although he could have used Apparition to return home in an instant, there was nothing wrong with enjoying a leisurely vacation for a change.

Driving the Chevrolet he had acquired from Nick Fury, he made his way slowly back to New York. The road was clear all the way—until he reached the Brooklyn Bridge, where he encountered a massive traffic jam.

Looking at the seemingly endless stretch of backed-up vehicles, at least several hundred meters long, Gu Zhongyan frowned. How long was this going to last?

If he had known this would happen, he would never have driven back. Wouldn’t it have been better to simply use magic?

Besides, his physique was far beyond that of an ordinary person. He could vaguely hear the sounds of commotion coming from the bridge. Clearly, this was no ordinary traffic jam.

Had there been a serious accident?

As the traffic came to a complete standstill and people began getting out of their cars to watch, Gu Zhongyan hurried out as well and craned his neck toward the center of the incident.

He was tall and powerfully built, with long legs. Even among a crowd of white and Black people, he stood out like a crane among chickens. With his exceptionally keen eyesight, he easily looked through the long line of vehicles and saw what had caused the disturbance.

In the middle of the bridge, a huge humanoid creature, somewhat resembling the Hulk, was confronting the police.

He wore a pair of loose trousers and was bare-chested. Cracks covered his entire body, his skin was a scorched yellow, and his muscles seemed to have been piled together from chunks of stone.

His entire body looked as though it had swollen after soaking in water for seven or eight days. Even a single finger was as thick as an ordinary person’s wrist. His dark eyes were hidden in narrow slits, making him almost indistinguishable from an earth-element creature from a video game.

A rock man?

At the sight of him, Gu Zhongyan was momentarily stunned before recognizing his identity. He was the Thing from the Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four were one of the most classic superhero teams in the Marvel Universe. Before the rise of the cinematic universe, they were New York’s foremost superhero group, even overshadowing the Avengers.

As their name suggested, the Fantastic Four consisted of four members: the genius scientist Reed Richards, his fiancée Susan Storm, Susan’s younger brother Johnny Storm, and the pilot Ben Grimm.

Not long ago, during a space mission, they encountered a powerful radiation storm by sheer chance. The resulting disaster caused their spacecraft to crash, pushing the trillion-dollar company Latveria Industries—the very company where Gu Zhongyan had recently interned—to the brink of bankruptcy.

It could be said that the birth of the Fantastic Four had been built entirely upon the downfall of Latveria Industries. After the group was exposed to cosmic radiation, the company’s stock suffered the fastest collapse since the Great Depression. There had been no precedent before it.

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In the end, Victor von Doom’s entrepreneurial ambitions were ruined. Forced to leave New York in disgrace, he returned to his homeland of Latveria and eventually became the Fantastic Four’s lifelong nemesis—the notorious Doctor Doom, one of the most classic villains in the Marvel Universe.

After returning to Earth, the effects of the cosmic radiation began to manifest. Susan mysteriously disappeared and then suddenly reappeared. Ben transformed into a rocky monster. Reed’s body became elastic, capable of stretching like a rubber band. Johnny, meanwhile, turned into a blazing human torch and shot into the sky.

The four of them subsequently formed a superhero team and became the Fantastic Four.

“Imperfect” was what set the Fantastic Four apart from other superheroes. Though all four possessed superhuman abilities, each of them had significant flaws in personality.

Nor did they conceal their identities like most superheroes. Compared to Iron Man, who came from a powerful financial empire, the Fantastic Four were much closer to ordinary people, and their relationship with the public was therefore far more intimate.

For that reason, the Fantastic Four enjoyed much greater popular support than heroic groups such as the Avengers.

The scene before him was clearly taking place just after Ben’s transformation, before he had learned to control or accept his new body.

One could hardly blame the Thing. The others had also mutated, but Mister Fantastic had become a rubber man, the Invisible Woman had gained invisibility, and the Human Torch had become living flame. None of them had experienced any drastic change in appearance.

Only Ben had suffered such a fate. He had never been particularly handsome to begin with—just an utterly ordinary man among ordinary men—and after his mutation, he had been transformed into this monstrous figure.

His ferocious appearance made him look like some hideous creature from a video game. Even his fiancée could not accept the way he looked. Her first reaction upon seeing him had been to run.

The same was true of the current disturbance. Ben had merely seen a middle-aged man preparing to jump into the river and wanted to save him, yet the man had reacted as though he were looking at a ghost.

The police had been trembling so badly that they could barely hold their guns steady, shouting things like, “Put your hands up!” and “Drop your weapon!”

From the perspective of comic-book design, the Thing’s distinctive appearance might have guaranteed strong sales.

But once everything became reality, it meant nothing but endless suffering.

No one could possibly feel good under the frightened and disgusted gazes of the surrounding crowd.

Ben had wanted to save someone, only to be treated like a demon. With a ball of anger already burning inside him, the Thing naturally lost his temper. Ignoring the police’s threats, he turned and walked away. A burst of gunfire followed, causing an even greater commotion.

What happened next unfolded much as it had in the film. A fire truck arrived, only to skid and nearly fall from the bridge. The Fantastic Four worked together to save it, and amid the cheers of the crowd, they became the public’s newest darlings, dominating every news headline.

The birth of the Fantastic Four caused an even greater sensation than Tony Stark’s announcement that he was Iron Man.

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After all, compared with the Fantastic Four, who came from ordinary backgrounds, Tony Stark—despite his enormous fame—was still far too distant from everyday people.

Furthermore, Iron Man’s abilities came from his armored suit, supported by extraordinarily advanced technology and immense wealth. Ordinary people had neither the money nor the technical expertise required. All they could do was look on in admiration.

The Fantastic Four were different. Their powers came from their own mutations, with no additional requirements.

The rich relied on technology; the poor relied on mutation. Compared to Iron Man, who depended on technology, the Fantastic Four, who gained their powers through mutation, were naturally much more approachable.

In every country and under every system, heroes who rose from among the common people were always the most worthy of praise.

Why was Captain America a symbol of the so-called American spirit? Was it not because he had come from an ordinary background and ultimately become a superhero who saved the world, perfectly embodying the hopes of the American people?

Speaking of Captain America, the Invisible Woman and the Human Torch did indeed have a distant and convoluted blood relationship with him. Otherwise, Johnny would never have looked so much like Captain America.

None of this had anything to do with Gu Zhongyan. However, when he looked at the Thing—still wearing a dazed and dispirited expression despite the cheers of the crowd—a hint of amusement flashed through his eyes.

It seemed he would have to make some preparations and start dealing with the Fantastic Four.

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