"Ah, this... Iron Man without a protagonist aura is indeed a bit fragile!"
Lin Feng sighed.
In the movies, watching those superheroes seemingly hold their own against anyone might seem normal, but that's a compromise made for the sake of balancing the superheroes' power levels. This was something Kevin Feige had planned early on, to ensure consistency in the style and strength of superheroes from different power systems.
If you were to understand it within the Marvel world, it's the effect of their protagonist aura, making it seem like they can go toe-to-toe with anyone. For example, Captain America, Steve Rogers, is a prime example, holding his own against the Winter Soldier, Bucky, and Iron Man, Tony Stark, even trading blows with Thanos. They all have a knack for being evenly matched.
But what's the reality?
Aside from the true protagonists on the Sacred Timeline, other superheroes don't have the protection of a protagonist aura. For instance, in the zombie Marvel universe, Tony Stark, who couldn't die from a stab by Thanos, easily became a zombie and ended up getting his head chopped off.
Captain America, Steve Rogers, wasn't doing any better, and Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange, was the epitome of a disaster, messing up countless universes and meeting his end countless times.
So, this whole "protagonist aura" thing is truly a mysterious concept.
Lin Feng was very self-aware. He knew he wasn't the protagonist and wouldn't have a protagonist aura protecting him. Therefore, he had to play it safe, only daring to make a move when he was absolutely sure he could protect himself.
As he joked about himself, if he were the protagonist of a book, he'd probably be, well, the cowardly type? (Winking emoji).
In the real world, unlike the film universe where power levels are ambiguous, it's a matter of reaching a certain level or not. The power tiers within the original Avengers were very clear.
The first tier, of course, included the Hulk and Thor. They weren't just the current powerhouses of the Avengers; their strength was evident from the Avengers 1 storyline. They could likely take down a Chitauri army single-handedly. However, in the Avengers 1 plot, the Chitauri invasion was far from a single army; they kept coming, leading to fatigue.
In the Marvel world, while individual strength is crucial, if you haven't reached at least a Skyfather Level or Single Universe Level of power, you'll still be overwhelmed by a large army.
And neither of them had reached their limits. The Hulk's setting meant he grew stronger the angrier he got, with his power constantly increasing. In battle, his rage would only escalate, theoretically without limit. Of course, that's the comic version; the movie version does have limits.
Thor, on the other hand, hadn't fully grasped his Lightning Law, leading to some jokes. Being deprived of Mjolnir by Odin meant he immediately lost his divine power, making it unclear if he was Thor, the God of Thunder, or Thor, the God of the Hammer.
It was quite amusing, but later, in Thor: Ragnarok, after he completely understood his own thunderbolt power, his strength took another leap. Although he was still getting beaten up by Hela, he eventually had to use the power of Surtur the Fire Giant to destroy Asgard, finally killing his sister.
And then, when facing Thanos, he was beaten up again, forced to watch his people slaughtered until only a few managed to escape to Earth.
He seemed a bit useless, but that was only because he was up against two of the strongest beings in the first phase of the MCU.
In reality, Thor's combat power at that time was already firmly the strongest of the original Avengers. Coupled with the later acquisition of Stormbreaker, he even severely injured Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, nearly killing him.
It's clear that Thor's combat power, combined with Stormbreaker, had begun to threaten Skyfather Level beings. Furthermore, his inherent bloodline gave him infinite possibilities.
The Asgardian Royal Bloodline theoretically only has three members, and two of them were Skyfather Level. There was no reason why Thor shouldn't possess such talent.
Lin Feng knew that in the comics, the Asgardian bloodline had a "the older, the stronger" setting. Even without cultivation, the Asgardian royalty's strength would continuously increase with age. If the movies also had this setting, then Thor entering Skyfather Level was only a matter of time.
Whether in terms of strength or potential, he was the number one of the original Avengers!
The only problem was his poor judgment in the early stages, which made him seem a bit dim-witted.
The second tier included the early Iron Man, Tony Stark, and Captain America, Steve Rogers. Both, with the help of their armor and the Super Soldier Serum respectively, possessed combat power far exceeding ordinary people.
The third tier was Black Widow, Natasha, and Hawkeye, Barton. Without the protagonist's halo from the Sacred Timeline, they were only at the level of super soldiers.
Lin Feng wasn't quite sure what to say. This world was truly a case of the rich relying on technology, the poor relying on mutations, or relying on their own bloodlines.
If he hadn't had the diary, a magical thing, he'd probably be a perfectly ordinary, well-off third-generation heir, staying far away from New York and definitely not getting involved in any of these superheroes' major events.
Just as Lin Feng's thoughts were racing, Tony Stark was sent flying. Jarvis' warnings filled his ears.
"Armor damage at eighty percent. Energy critically low. Continued combat not advised, continued combat not advised!"
Tony Stark crashed heavily, feeling as if his brain was about to be shaken apart.
He had originally wanted to see the Destroyer Armor's power for himself, but after a real fight, he realized it was different from what he'd seen in the videos.
In the videos, the Destroyer Armor's combat effectiveness wasn't that outrageous, especially since it was later defeated by Thor, who had regained the power of Thor. It seemed nothing more than that.
But after a real fight, he realized how terribly wrong he was.
After only one exchange, cracks appeared on the surface of his highly durable alloy armor. Then, his speed couldn't keep up with the Destroyer Armor. After another direct hit from the Destroyer Armor's cannon, his armor was almost completely destroyed. One more punch and it would shatter into countless pieces.
This was the first time he'd encountered an opponent of this level. Compared to the Destroyer Armor, Obadiah's Iron Monger was just a supersized toy.
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(End of Chapter)