DC Heroes in Marvel

Constantine's story isn't complicated—it's simply about wandering between Hell and Heaven and eventually slapping Satan, the King of Hell.

In Anton's mind, Constantine also includes the original Keanu Reeves movie version as well as Hell Detective as references. He figured he could just copy those and save a lot of effort.

For context, Hell Detective was released in 2005 with a $100 million budget, but its final box office only reached $230 million. 

While it received widespread acclaim and is considered a cult classic among many movie fans, its financial return was underwhelming, even losing money when accounting for expenses. 

However, with the right strategies, it still managed to break even over time.

In this world, Anton had just seen a report, and combined with the fan value displayed on his system panel (which only he could see), he confirmed that the magical world represented by Constantine didn't appeal to just a niche audience. 

Its potential was far broader.

Moreover, with DC's reputation under Anton's leadership and the popularity of the Justice League spearheaded by Batman, a properly promoted Constantine movie was unlikely to lose money.

 The real question was how much profit it could generate.

And truthfully, Anton wasn't making movies to turn a profit anyway.

So, he made the decision without hesitation.

"Constantine?"

On the other end of the call, Jim sounded surprised—and a little disappointed—when he heard Anton's choice.

As a DC employee, Jim was familiar with their catalogue of characters. To him, Constantine was a relatively obscure hero, far less popular among audiences compared to others.

In Jim's mind, the most logical choice for a movie right now would've been one of DC's bigger names—Batman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, or even Green Arrow. Better yet, The Flash.

The recent Flash TV series had ended on a high note. Following it up with a feature film seemed like a guaranteed success.

But Jim knew Anton couldn't be persuaded. Resigned, he graciously accepted the decision.

Anton's position in the DC ecosystem was unique.

To the public, he was a member of the Justice League—although not a superhero himself. He was often seen as the League's butler, responsible for logistics and operations.

The Daily bugle was the Justice League's unofficial media mouthpiece. DC, as a company, was a crucial channel for the public to engage with the League.

Anton controlled both.

He wasn't just making a personal decision; his actions inevitably reflected on the Justice League as a whole.

"Constantine..."

After hanging up, Jim rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement.

So far, every movie Anton had spearheaded had introduced a new superhero to the public. Could the production of Constantine mean that the Justice League was about to gain a new member?

John Constantine.

A magic wielder, rooted in theology, and potentially tied into Wonder Woman's mythological side...

To Jim, it felt like the doors to an entirely new world were opening for ordinary people like him.

Meanwhile, Anton didn't waste time worrying about Jim's musings.

He called Toby from the screenwriting department and spent the day outlining the plot with him. 

Anton provided the framework for the script, while Toby and his team of writers would handle the detailed development.

Since Constantine's story wasn't particularly complex and the core of it was inherently engaging, Anton expected a first draft to be ready soon.

After wrapping up for the day, Anton wandered home.

By now, the old man and John had returned to New York from Washington ahead of schedule.

After several days of negotiations, further collaborations between the military and Wayne Enterprises had been finalized, bringing substantial benefits to all parties involved.

Anton's cheap old man, John Jameson, really learned the details of Wayne's operations during this negotiation and was quite shocked by what he found.

After a period of absence from home, the house had undergone drastic changes.

The cheap son had become a world-renowned director and even the only non-superhero in the Justice League.

The cheap old man had become the chairman of an arms company.

The Jameson family's once-dominant business, Daily Bugle , now seemed to be the least important part of the family empire.

This series of changes took John a long time to get used to.

However, his adjustment was completely disrupted after the events in Washington a few days ago.

John realized he had underestimated both Anton and the old man.

Based on the content of the negotiations between Wayne and the military, Wayne had already built the foundation to become an arms giant. 

Within the next few years, Wayne would certainly carve out a significant position in the global arms industry.

From the discussions between John and the old man, it was clear that he would soon join Wayne Enterprises as the old man's deputy.

The ultimate goal was to transform Wayne into a conglomerate akin to Stark Industries, with the Jameson family playing a key role in the company's future.

"Anton, you did a great job this time," the old man said, smiling as Anton walked in. "The Avengers' reputation is in tatters. The military is thrilled, and they gave Batman a lot of respect during the negotiations with Wayne."

The Avengers, as a subsidiary of S.H.I.E.L.D., had long been a thorn in the military's side. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. operated in the United States.

Luckily, the military had successfully partnered with the Justice League, which had become a major player. The League's reputation and goodwill now far surpassed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s.

After this, many people saw the Avengers as vastly inferior to the Justice League. Even with Captain America's endorsement, the Avengers had lost the overwhelming appeal they once had when they first emerged.

Now, just mentioning Batman left Captain America's fans with nothing to argue.

"It was inevitable," Anton replied. "Without Batman, the military would have suffered a major setback."

After speaking, Anton asked, "So what's the final verdict? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. pull out of the U.S., or at least leave Washington? Did the military recognize that? For a Sky Mothership?"

"Of course, there's no way there's only one Sky Mothership—or the technology to make them."

The old man was well aware of this.

During the negotiations between Wayne and the military, there were also parallel discussions between the military and S.H.I.E.L.D.

John Keller didn't hide anything from the old man when it came to Anton and Batman. It wasn't something to be ashamed of.

Perhaps he knew that Batman was paying attention to the situation and hoped that, through the old man, Anton would be informed of the specific details of the negotiations, as well as the Batman behind him.

"All the technology to make the Sky Mothership..."

Anton raised an eyebrow. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is being generous. Won't the military just everything ?"

"It's not as simple as you think," the old man replied. "The technology behind the Sky Mothership is solely controlled within S.H.I.E.L.D. Even the World Council knows about it, but they don't know how it works or have access to the technology."

He continued, "But this time, Nick Fury directly shared all the technology involved with the permanent members of the World Security Council, in exchange for their forgiveness and support. Of course, the U.S. representative also used this as leverage to keep the only Sky Mothership in the Washington Military District and played his hand during the negotiations between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military."

Anton listened thoughtfully.

From this incident, it was clear that since Nick Fury wasn't dead, the conflict between the Avengers and the Justice League was mostly the result of Fury's deliberate indulgence.

Nick Fury understood the value of diplomacy and playing both sides, so he faked his own death and exposed the internal corruption within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Given his bold move, Fury must have anticipated the consequences.

"This is something Fury had planned all along..." Anton mused.

Regardless of Anton's thoughts, the old man continued, "In addition, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military have shared a lot of intelligence and even proposed a powerful research project named PEGASUS, hoping to get military backing. I don't know the details, but the military agreed to the terms."

He paused. "Lastly, Nick Fury stepped down as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, with Phil Coulson taking over. Maria Hill, who's trusted by the World Security Council representatives, replaced Alexander Pierce as S.H.I.E.L.D. Secretary-General. This is all public knowledge; I don't need to explain much. You should be aware of it..."

The old man noticed a subtle shift in Anton's expression. "Why? Do you have other thoughts on the matter?"

Anton narrowed his eyes, recalling what the old man had said, then shook his head. "Not really. I just think Nick Fury is colder and more calculating than I expected."

"Coincidentally, John Keller said the same thing about him," the old man replied, surprised.

….

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