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When certain components not belonging to Earth appeared in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research center, the think tank was forced to consider a wider range of possibilities.
One thing, in particular, was impossible to ignore…
Since the publication of Action Comics in 1938, DC Comics' flagship superhero—Superman—has been a Kryptonian.
Was this a coincidence, or was there some kind of causal connection?
In a country where the entertainment industry thrived, mutants even had their own comics. The X-Men series had once become so popular that the military considered banning it outright. After all, it was best if no one paid attention to mutants—only then could certain unspeakable activities be carried out.
However, as relations between the government and mutants gradually eased, this comic series—modeled on reality—became both a source of emotional support for many mutants and a way for ordinary people to understand them.
Though not entirely reflective of reality, the mutants in comics were much like normal people. They experienced love and hate, worried about daily meals, and lived ordinary lives—except they possessed all kinds of extraordinary abilities like flying and teleportation.
Captain Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, had truly been active during World War II and was a renowned war hero. That didn't stop Hollywood from repeatedly adapting his story into films, even adding fictional elements to satisfy public imagination.
Many other heroes, real or fictional, were brought vividly to life through the pens of artists.
Of course, in most cases, these masked heroes didn't dare take comic or film companies to court. Even if their likenesses were used, the profits still went entirely to those companies…
Captain America was an exception. Though he had already fallen, he had always been a figure promoted by the U.S. military. Any commercial adaptation involving him had to take the military's stance into account, and profits were naturally shared.
Returning to Superman—
Was Henry Brown Clark Kent? Did "Kryptonite" exist on Earth?
Within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s think tank, opinions were sharply divided.
One faction believed it was purely coincidence. After all, prior to today, no planet called "Krypton" existed in Earth's star charts. The name itself was merely a transliteration derived from Skrull intelligence.
That such an extraterrestrial term happened to resemble a fictional character from comics—how could the two be equated?
A strong supporting argument was that Henry Brown had, so far, only demonstrated a body of steel—once even thought to be a mutant trait. This was far from the omnipotent Superman depicted in comics.
Because if an ordinary person truly had Superman's powers, he would have already done whatever he pleased.
According to intelligence records, Henry Brown did not have a happy childhood on a farm. Instead, he had been imprisoned in a research institute of the Red Empire, living a life devoid of sunlight.
The recovered records from that institute only extended into the 1980s. There was no data on what happened afterward, nor the exact date of the facility's closure.
However, since Henry Brown did not leave any public record until 1990 in Alaska, it was reasonable to infer that he had remained in that Siberian facility until then.
Psychologists unanimously believed that a person with such an upbringing would either already be insane or possess antisocial tendencies. In such a case, if he had superpowers, it would be impossible for him not to cause harm to society.
The only reason he hadn't turned to crime was likely because the "body of steel" had limited applications.
On the other hand, Henry Brown was exceptionally intelligent—arguably a genius. From every observable aspect, he clearly understood what role would benefit him most in society.
And he had used his advantages well—becoming Audrey Hepburn's assistant, and eventually rising to the position of CEO of Stark Pictures.
In short, how foolish would one have to be to compare a long-running comic series with a real young man and think it reasonable? Were Hollywood sci-fi films all turning into prophecies of the future? Did that make any sense?
The opposing faction, however, firmly insisted—
Henry Brown was Superman.
They even pulled in non-canon storylines and multiverse versions of evil Supermen, attempting to map certain comic settings onto Henry Brown.
Unsurprisingly, this view had very few supporters. Especially when they requested funding to purchase the complete Superman comic collection as research material, their proposal was immediately rejected…
Still, while small in number, this faction wasn't entirely suppressed.
Their proposals—to develop "green sun lamps," "red sun lamps," and to search for "Kryptonite"—were approved, albeit with very limited resources.
If an evil Superman from the comics were to suddenly appear in reality, waiting until then to study his weaknesses might be too late.
Moreover, these research projects could also serve to test whether "Henry Brown is Superman."
The difficulty, however, was that Henry's current social status made it impossible to simply detain him for experiments. Any testing would have to be conducted covertly—and cautiously—to avoid alerting him.
The real problem was this…
All field agents attempting to "coincidentally" encounter him couldn't even manage to meet him. And it was equally impossible to deploy enough personnel to surround Stark Pictures' building just to wait for its CEO to leave work.
This led supporters of the Superman theory to argue that this was proof Henry possessed super senses—allowing him to evade S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance net time and time again.
Unfortunately, few agreed. Most believed Henry was simply lucky—and that S.H.I.E.L.D. had no reason to allocate additional manpower toward someone who posed no threat.
If possessing abilities beyond normal humans was enough to be deemed a threat requiring elimination, then what should be done about the millions of mutants living in the United States?
After witnessing the genocide against Jews during World War II, Western societies had become extremely sensitive to such actions. As the so-called beacon of the world, would the United States dare take action against millions of mutants within its borders?
Law enforcement was already stretched thin just dealing with mutant criminals. Expanding surveillance to include all non-criminal individuals with special abilities—how much budget would that require?
Even a country capable of printing money couldn't sustain that.
Even if one argued Henry was an alien rather than a mutant—and thus could be captured for dissection—what kind of equipment could even cut open a body that bullets couldn't harm?
Larger explosives might work. But if he were blown to pieces, what would there be left to study?
Thus, the "Henry Brown" project was placed at the lowest priority level. Only a small team was assigned to observe and record him in their spare time between other missions.
The development of red and green sun lamps was handed off to the weapons research division, placed low in the queue. The search for Kryptonite was delegated to field agents as a side task.
But such a passive approach was torture for those driven by intense curiosity. It was like ants crawling under their skin—an unbearable itch.
The simplest solution?
Ask him directly.
With approval from his superiors, Phil Coulson—carrying a copy of Superman comics—walked straight into the doors of Stark Pictures.
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