"Chaos."
Antony nodded slowly. "Not bad. Cheap, corny—and I love it."
"They saw your potential!" Screenwriter B launched into full performance mode.
"They turned you into a test subject! They tortured you! Injected you with synthetic chemical compounds! They wanted to make you their ultimate weapon!"
"Oh…"
Antony's eyes lit up.
Screenwriter C followed immediately.
"But your spirit! Your damn, unbreakable American spirit! That's what let you endure! You pretended to submit, learned to control your power—"
"And then you fought back!" Screenwriter D slammed the table.
"You fought back like hell! You destroyed their base! You slammed their leader into the ground and ground his face into the dirt!"
Screenwriter E raised his voice, triumphant.
"You rose from the flames! You flew across the Pacific! You returned to New York! You were no longer Antony Starr—"
Everyone in the room—including Antony—shouted in unison:
"—YOU WERE HOMELANDER!!"
"F**k yeah!!"
Antony jumped to his feet and drained his glass in one go.
"This—this is exactly what I want! This is me!"
(Inner monologue: Cliché! So damn cliché! Disney-level cliché! Whatever—audiences eat this stuff up!)
"The title!" Antony waved his hand decisively.
"It's called—Homelander: Origins!"
In his mind, he could already see it:
Standing on the Oscar stage in a tuxedo, holding a golden statue in this goddamn Marvel universe—his first Academy Award.
The writers erupted in applause.
They knew it. This payday was locked in.
….
The day after the film was officially greenlit, Vought International's media machine went into overdrive.
Antony gave one order only:
Maximize popularity.
….
Front One: Comics & IP Expansion
"Get me the best comic artists in America!" Antony roared at the publishing director.
"I don't care who they work for—buy them out!"
"I want my jawline flawless! My proportions better than Greek statues! Colors—bright red, white, and blue! I want those colors burned into children's retinas!"
"First issue—Homelander Adventures: Issue #1!
It hits every comic shop in America before the movie trailer drops!"
…
Three days later, Homelander Adventures: Issue #1 opened for pre-orders.
Cover art:
Homelander punching through a Chaos Organization aircraft, flames behind him forming a blazing American flag.
…
Front Two: Merchandise
Vought's toy factories went into full production.
"We need two action figures," Antony personally approved the designs.
"One: Hampton Playboy—Antony.
Removable sunglasses. Martini glass included."
"Two: Hero Descends—Homelander!
LED heat-vision eyes. Press the eagle emblem on his chest and he says:
'You are the real hero.'"
"And the villain—"
Antony pointed at the antagonist sketch.
"Make the Chaos Leader uglier. As ugly as possible. Kids need something they can smash."
Soon, supermarket shelves were flooded.
Homelander Breakfast Cereal.
Vought Energy Drink—Unleash Your Power.
Homelander Video Game—Preorders #1 Worldwide.
Antony's philosophy was simple:
"People don't just need to see me.
They need to buy me, eat me, play me."
"I want to seep into their blood.
Their dreams.
Their damn DNA."
-----
Avengers Tower
Steve Rogers was sketching quietly, trying—still—to adapt to the 21st century.
Natasha Romanoff cleaned her Widow's Bite in silence.
Tony Stark lounged nearby, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Until he saw the headline.
Thud.
Tony slammed his tablet onto the table.
"Are you seeing this?"
"Headline: The Power of Starr!
Homelander: Origins officially announced—Antony Starr to star as himself."
Tony mocked the announcer's voice:
"My God! The narcissism! He's making a movie about his own origin story—starring himself!"
"…I hate to admit it," Tony added, "but that's kind of impressive."
"He turned being a hero into a business!"
Tony stared at the screen.
"He started a company just to make a movie about himself—and it's basically a biopic?! JARVIS, get me Vought's stock ticker. I'm shorting it."
"Sir, Vought is not publicly traded. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Starr Group."
"…F**k."
Steve frowned, setting down his pencil.
"This doesn't feel right," he said slowly.
"He's turning heroism into a commodity."
"A commodity?" Tony laughed, pouring himself a drink.
"Buddy, look at this."
He flipped the screen to Vought's website.
"He's got his own comic now—Homelander Adventures!"
Tony pointed at Steve.
"How long after WWII did your comic come out? A year? Two?"
"This guy did it in a month.
One month and he's got a full IP ecosystem."
Natasha leaned in, scrolling through leaked plot summaries.
"Wait…" Her expression sharpened.
"Captured by a shadow organization. Tortured. Experimented on. Persecuted. Awakens his power."
She looked up slowly.
"That's the exact story he told Fury."
Tony froze.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Oh my God—he's a genius!"
Tony slapped his knee.
"He didn't even bother making up a new lie! He just took the story he fed S.H.I.E.L.D. and turned it into a movie!"
(Antony, somewhere: Don't blame me—that was the writers' idea!)
"Why lie twice?" Tony mused.
"This guy isn't a hero, Steve. He's a brand. A walking American logo."
Steve's brow furrowed deeply.
"This isn't right. Heroism shouldn't—can't—become a product."
"Really?" Tony gestured toward a display case in the corner.
Agent Coulson's prized possession—a 1945 Captain America lunchbox.
"You might want to take that up with the tin box."
Steve coughed awkwardly.
"Well… that was different. I didn't exactly have a choice."
Tony's expression grew serious.
"Listen, Cap.
Blondie's in space, Big Green's off-grid, and right now—we're the only ones keeping an eye on him."
And somewhere in Hollywood, Homelander: Origins had already begun reshaping the world.