DC Heroes in Marvel

The news of the Washington incident is still fermenting, and at this stage, everyone is talking about Batman and the Justice League.

However, Anton is no longer concerned about this matter. He has returned to his normal routine, commuting to work as usual.

The operations of DC remain steady. The only notable development is that by the end of the first season of The Flash TV series, the system panel shows that the Flash's fan value has reached 23 million. 

Although it's still far from the goal of 50 million, Anton has clearly seen the impact of the show.

With the conclusion of the first season, preparations for the second season of The Flash are now underway. 

At the same time, the scripts and production for SmallVille have been finalized, and filming has begun.

Currently, Superman's fan value sits at 42 million. The last time Anton checked, it was at 37 million—an increase of 5 million in just two months, which is a reasonable progression.

 Based on this trend, Anton predicts that by the end of the first season of Superman, its fan value should exceed 60 million.

Meanwhile, DC's next big movie, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, is about to begin production. 

With Batman's global renown soaring, Anton plans to leverage Batman's popularity to boost Superman's fan value significantly. This strategy could push Superman's fan value to over 80 million.

The remaining 20 million could be achieved through intensified promotion, utilizing novels, comics, animation, and other media to further build Superman's audience. 

Anton estimates this entire process will take roughly six months.

After pondering for a moment, Anton checked the fan values of other heroes:

Aquaman: 5.24 million Green Lantern: 6.71 million Constantine: 10.13 million Shazam: 8.14 million

The relatively low fan values of Aquaman and Green Lantern didn't surprise Anton. DC and Anton have no immediate plans to produce film or TV content for these heroes. 

Their current fan value primarily comes from novels, animations, and comics. For IPs without major media exposure, having over 5 million fans is actually quite respectable.

Fan value doesn't equate to overall popularity—popularity is almost always much greater. For example, a fan value of 5 million suggests that tens of millions of people are at least familiar with the characters.

Thanks to the efforts of DC's big four heroes—Batman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and cyborg —many people have started paying closer attention to the DC Universe. 

This growing interest has naturally contributed to Aquaman and Green Lantern's fan numbers.

What surprised Anton, however, was the higher fan value of Constantine and Shazam. Unlike Aquaman and Green Lantern, these two magic-based superheroes have grown faster than expected. 

Constantine, in particular, now boasts over 10 million fans—more than a third of its overall target of 30 million.

"How did it grow so fast?" Anton wondered.

Curious, he picked up his phone and called his secretary.

"Betty, I need a report on the recent stats for Constantine and Shazam—clicks, comments, fans, everything. I want the most accurate data possible."

Being the boss had its perks. Anton sipped coffee in his office, doing little else while waiting. Two hours later, the report was delivered to him.

After reviewing the data, Anton discovered that initially, Constantine and Shazam had lower numbers compared to Aquaman and Green Lantern. 

However, following the release of the Wonder Woman movie, interest in Constantine and Shazam surged. Their stats quickly overtook Aquaman and Green Lantern's.

The report included a two-page analysis suggesting that Wonder Woman's story appealed to audiences interested in theology and the mystical world. 

These viewers, after discovering Wonder Woman, were drawn to Constantine and Shazam within the DC Universe and became avid fans.

"It makes sense," Anton thought.

Although Wonder Woman, Batman, and others exist in the same universe, the fundamental source of Wonder Woman's power belongs to the theological realm, which is completely different from the science-based origins of Batman and others. 

Even Superman's abilities can be explained by genetic science—except for Wonder Woman.

Similarly, Constantine's and Shazam's powers are rooted in magic, fundamentally opposing the scientific explanations that ground other heroes. Yet, many people are drawn to these magical settings.

Wonder Woman's appearance in the real world has led people to consider the possibility that magic might actually exist. Theology might truly be the ultimate destination.

"That being said, since magic-based heroes are gaining popularity, it might be worth considering making a magic-focused hero movie first..."

After reading the report, Anton realized the appeal of magic-side heroes, despite their challenges. 

While their audience may be smaller compared to the Justice League's heavy hitters, magic-side heroes have an undeniable advantage: fan loyalty.

The fans of these characters are incredibly dedicated, and as long as the movie is well-produced, the fan value gained could rival, or even surpass, that of the standard DC heroes.

Moreover, magic occupies a significant role in the Marvel Universe. The Ancient One, for instance, safeguards the multiverse and monitors Earth. Sooner or later, Anton knew he would cross paths with her.

Anton couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy about someone like the Ancient One. While he doubted she could see through his "cheat," her ability to foresee the future and correct the course of fate could pose a problem. 

What if she saw his actions as a disruption and decided to reset things?

During the climactic events of Avengers: Endgame, the Hulk had to convince the Ancient One to hand over the Time Stone, which she initially refused, citing disruptions to the timeline. 

Only after careful reasoning did she agree. This demonstrated the Ancient One's reverence for fate.

Anton couldn't predict her attitude toward him. By now, his actions had significantly disrupted the Marvel timeline. 

Even the original protagonist team had been altered—he'd already taken advantage of them enough to draw attention. By logic, the Ancient One should have confronted him long ago. Yet, she hadn't made a move.

This lingering uncertainty was unsettling.

Perhaps it was time to prepare for their eventual encounter by creating a magic-based hero.

"Constantine... Shazam..."

Anton pondered for a long while before picking up his phone and calling the company's producer, Jim.

"Anton? What's up?"

Jim was surprised to hear from Anton.

Not long ago, Anton had told him he was taking a break and didn't plan to jump into another project immediately. 

Jim hadn't been shocked; with Anton's wealth and family background, filmmaking was more of a hobby than a career. After all, selling arms and running Wayne Industries was far more lucrative.

Since then, Jim had been promoting other projects and rarely saw Anton at the company. He would occasionally send in a report to keep Anton updated but hadn't expected much beyond that.

Now, hearing from Anton out of the blue was unexpected. Was this a work check-in?

The next words Anton said caught him completely off guard.

"Jim, I want to make a movie," Anton said casually. "Same as before—I'll handle the script. You just need to get the crew ready."

"No problem! What's the project?"

Jim was surprised but intrigued. He hadn't expected Anton to come up with a new idea so soon. He'd assumed Anton was tired of filmmaking and would take at least a year or two—if not a decade—before jumping back into it.

Even though Anton had gained worldwide recognition as a director, everyone knew it was just a side passion. No movie he made could ever generate as much revenue as one of Wayne Industries' contracts.

"Constantine," Anton said lightly.

….

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