So, the ranking was clear. Tony Stark reigned supreme at the top. Following closely behind was the currently frozen Captain America, Steve Rogers, and the Asgardian Prince, Thor.
These three were undeniably the core pillars of the Avengers that Lucas frequently referenced in his diary. They were the "Big Three."
Below them were the various popular female characters, including Black Widow, an unknown powerhouse referred to as "Olsen," and Spider-Woman, Gwen Stacy.
Finally, scraping the bottom of the barrel, was that bald pirate Nick Fury, and Hawkeye, Clint Barton.
Yes, among the named, active superheroes on the roster, Barton was dead last in popularity.
Clint held a very deep grudge about this fact. How could his real-world popularity possibly be lower than an old man who had been frozen in ice since the 1940s and hadn't even debuted yet?
But then again, who could blame the audience? He didn't have any actual superpowers. Well, unless "aiming really well" suddenly counted as a superpower.
"If this weren't a Series of Stories, what right would we have to turn the tide of battle?" Natasha Romanoff continued her analysis. "We couldn't even solve a standard alien invasion on our own, let alone a universe-level crisis. The only reason these threats are resolved here on Earth is because of narrative convenience."
Natasha pointed at the diary. "That is why Tony Stark is the Main Character among Main Characters. He solves the alien invasion. He solves the universe-level crisis. That kind of narrative treatment is reserved exclusively for the author's golden child."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents couldn't help but nod in agreement. A golden child indeed. What better plot armor could a character ask for?
"That explains why Lucas always complains in his diary about the 'Phase Two' successors being increasingly disappointing," Agent Hill noted, her arms crossed. "They simply can't compare to Tony Stark's absolute narrative weight. Though, personally, I still don't understand what's so great about him. Why does he have such insane popularity?"
As a woman of strict discipline, Maria Hill was naturally repulsed by playboy billionaires who treated women like disposable accessories.
"Who knows what the people outside the Fourth Wall are thinking?" Natasha shrugged. "Maybe the actor who plays him is just incredibly charismatic."
A few months ago, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had been fiercely resistant to the concept of the "Fourth Wall." They had desperately tried to rationalize it, convincing themselves that their universe existed first, and their reality had somehow psychically inspired the comic book writers in the other universe. It was a coping mechanism to keep their worldviews from completely collapsing.
But now? They had completely discarded the masquerade.
So what if they were a Cinematic Universe? So what if they existed for the entertainment of an audience outside the Fourth Wall?
It didn't matter anymore. Could that knowledge change the history they had already lived? Could it erase the reality they were currently experiencing? No. They just had to deal with it.
"Back to the main point," Natasha said, refocusing the room. "We cannot assume that just because the Asgardians were nerfed, the technological alien invaders will also be weak. They were weakened specifically to match the Phase One power ceiling. If we lose our Plot Armor, or even our Supporting Character Armor, a single elite Asgardian squad could likely wipe us all out."
Natasha smirked. "But we should be incredibly thankful that we do have that Plot Armor. Even if the Asgardian soldiers are mathematically vastly superior to us, the narrative will always find a way to make them look incompetent so we can defeat them."
"Viewing it from that angle... I just remembered something," Nick Fury suddenly interjected, his one eye wide. "Do you remember one of Lucas's earliest diary entries? He wrote, Thank god I transmigrated to Earth-199999 and not the comic book universe."
Fury leaned over the table, his expression grave. "He said that if he were in the comic book timeline, his current strength wouldn't even be enough for basic self-preservation. That means the comic book version of our universe—the original Marvel lore—is exponentially more dangerous than ours."
"He joked that in the comics, literal world-ending crises happen every other Tuesday," Fury recalled. "If we look at it from a meta-perspective, we are incredibly lucky compared to our comic book variants. Comic writers don't need to worry about budgetary constraints or maintaining a grounded, realistic tone. They just care about making the story as explosive and absurd as possible. They don't even bother balancing the power scaling!"
"Imagine if we lived in a comic book universe," Fury continued, a chill running down his spine. "We wouldn't be facing a nerfed Asgard, or weakened Dark Elves. We would be facing them at their absolute, unhinged peak. They would genuinely possess the power to casually vaporize the Earth on a whim."
Nick Fury felt a profound sense of dread just thinking about it. A universe like that would be pure, unadulterated despair. There would be absolutely no hope for survival.
"Exactly," Natasha agreed. "That's why I think living in this specific Cinematic Universe isn't so bad. At least here, no single villain can randomly one-shot the entire planet without a massive, convoluted buildup."
"Because the Writers had to nerf the gods and the cosmic entities to maintain a balanced ensemble cast, the overarching threat level of our reality has been significantly reduced."
"When you put it like that, the Battle of New York doesn't sound quite as terrifying anymore," Barton muttered, feeling slightly better. "At the very least, it's a threat that can be neutralized by a single nuclear missile. If Natasha's theory is right, and Tony uses the nuke to wipe out their fleet, it's actually a manageable crisis."
"We are drifting way off-topic here," Nick Fury snapped, reigning in his agents. "We still don't definitively know who fires the nuke. But more importantly, while it's true that we live in a story world with 'Plot Armor' and pre-destined fates, we cannot ignore the Butterfly Effect."
Fury slammed his hand on the table. "Lucas's existence is a massive anomaly. Yes, his diary allows us to glimpse the future, but our reactions to that knowledge will inevitably alter the timeline. The original script might be completely void now."
"We need to be hyper-aware of this," Fury warned. "What if, during the invasion, Tony Stark's armor suddenly malfunctions because he tinkered with it differently this time? What if he runs out of power and can't fly the nuke into the sky? The slightest deviation could completely derail the 'guaranteed victory' the original story promised. And if that happens... do we have a backup plan to clean up the mess?"
The agents fell silent, slowly shaking their heads.
A wave of crushing despair returned to the room. Yes, the original timeline gave them a Main Character they could rely on. But right now, did those Main Characters still possess their invincible Plot Armor?
No one knew. They didn't even know if Plot Armor was a guaranteed physical law anymore.
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