When this crew, already packed with experience from The Boys universe, arrived in the Invincible universe, they only needed a little information on Nolan before they launched into action at full speed.
The scriptwriters started writing. The camera crews started filming. The VFX teams started building effects.
Their efficiency was so high it even exceeded Jovian's expectations. It was the first time he had ever seen a movie being filmed while the script was still being written.
Of course, when Jovian saw this crew basically start working without even having to think, he had his doubts. He asked them whether the scripts they were filming were actually reliable in terms of quality.
The answer he got was simple: for a popcorn movie, what was there to worry about? As long as the visual effects were spectacular, it was a good movie. Shoot four or five films to build momentum, then add some emotional payoff at the end or force in a grand thematic climax, and just like that, you had a perfect popcorn blockbuster series.
As for the plot holes, those could always be patched up later with spin-offs.
After hearing that, Jovian stopped asking questions. When it came to filmmaking, it was better to leave it to the professionals.
Once he finished speaking with the film crew, Jovian went to find Cecil.
"We've already begun working on what you asked for," Cecil said as he looked at Jovian, reporting on the problems they had run into. "But bringing every country together under one banner is absolutely not going to be easy."
"Send word to the world's top leaders that a new alien civilization has been discovered, and that it's hostile to us. As for how to create the evidence..." Jovian let out a quiet laugh. "You people are the professionals when it comes to manufacturing evidence."
"If you want the whole world to unite, there's only one way to do it. Give everyone a common enemy. A terrifyingly powerful enemy. Under the pressure of an outside threat, the entire world will come together."
"And to defeat that invincible enemy, you naturally need someone who doesn't age, someone overwhelmingly powerful, and someone respected across all of Earth."
Jovian looked at Cecil as he calmly explained the solution.
"You mean..." Cecil froze for a moment after hearing Jovian's words, his mind immediately searching for someone who fit those conditions. But there was no need to think very hard. Someone powerful enough, ageless, and admired by all of Earth? The answer was obvious.
"You want Nolan to become the first president of the Earth United Forces?"
Cecil immediately understood what Jovian meant.
"That's right. No one is more suited to that role than my father, Nolan. Whether it's prestige or strength, in the decades he's spent on Earth, he's crafted a flawless image for himself."
"I think the whole world already accepts who he is. More importantly, it'll lay the perfect groundwork for me to inherit his position later."
Jovian looked at Cecil and explained the advantages of putting Nolan into that role.
"I understand."
After hearing Jovian out, Cecil indicated that he knew exactly what needed to be done.
"Good..."
Jovian nodded at Cecil's response.
For a while after that, movie theaters all over the world began screening disaster films, war films, and alien invasion movies. Alongside those came Nolan's personal biopics. Of course, since Nolan was a superhero, his so-called biopics were really just one popcorn action movie after another.
In the end, compared to the war films and disaster films, it was Nolan's biopic series that pulled in the biggest box office numbers worldwide.
Once the hype machine had done its job, the news that an alien civilization was preparing to invade Earth was announced to the entire world.
Tension spread everywhere.
In the end, under the leadership of Earth's five major powers, a fierce summit was held regarding the future of humanity.
With the support of the Global Security Agency and those five major powers, the Earth Security Alliance was formally established. And as for the first Supreme Commander of the Earth Security Alliance...
By a vote from more than half the world's nations, the choice was Nolan, who at the time was out hiking across the Sahara Desert with Debbie.
Nolan and Debbie, who had been traveling on foot, stared in shock as dozens of helicopters descended from the sky.
Then, still half-confused, Nolan was persuaded onto one of them and flown straight to Earth Security Alliance headquarters, where he was shown rows of newly built armored vehicles, aircraft, and an entire Genos Legion created by Dr. Kuseno.
Sure, Genos was kind of weak, but only by comparison. Compared to the vast majority of A-Class, B-Class, and C-Class heroes, Genos was overwhelmingly powerful.
With a full legion of Genos-style cyborgs, the nations of Earth seemed to gain a great deal of confidence in the Earth Security Alliance.
"So this is all you've accomplished after all this time?"
"You made a bunch of pointless toys?"
After Nolan smiled and inspected the equipment, he went to find Jovian. He genuinely didn't understand what the point was in helping Earth's people become stronger.
"Father, there are too few Viltrumites!"
"If we try to conquer the universe the normal way, it'll take forever."
"We need enough helpers if we want to rule the universe more efficiently and more effectively."
Jovian looked at Nolan and explained why he had done all this.
"From my perspective, what you did was a bit unnecessary, but I'll still say this: well done, son."
"At the very least, we took this planet without spilling any blood. That turned out far better than I expected."
Nolan patted Jovian on the shoulder and offered his praise.
"This is only the beginning..."
"What comes next is a long campaign."
After a brief sigh, Jovian seemed to think of something and looked at his father.
"Father, maybe you should notify Grand Regent Thragg and have him bring all the Viltrumites to Earth."
"Grand Regent Thragg..."
Nolan's brow twitched the moment he heard that name.
"Father, actually..."
Jovian stepped up beside Nolan, tugged lightly at his ear, and whispered something to him.
"Where did you hear that?"
Nolan's eyes trembled after hearing what Jovian said. He had no idea how Jovian could possibly know something like that.
"Father, just bring Thragg to Earth. I'll defeat him, and then we'll naturally retake Viltrum."
"It's the duty written into our bloodline."
Jovian smiled, his gaze sharpening. Once he defeated Thragg, there would be nothing left in this universe capable of stopping him. Unifying humanity across the entire cosmos would simply become a matter of time.
"Thragg is incredibly strong. To be precise, I've never seen a Viltrumite as strong as him."
Nolan shook his head, clearly unconvinced by Jovian's proposal. No one understood just how powerful Thragg was better than an old Viltrumite like Nolan. And because he understood that power so well, he couldn't accept Jovian's plan. Deep down, he believed that Jovian, who had only recently awakened his powers, could not possibly be a match for someone like Thragg, who had lived for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.
"Father, I already surpassed Thragg. To be precise, I've surpassed every Viltrumite in the history of the universe."
Jovian smiled faintly as he looked at the still-shaking Nolan.
"Surpassed every Viltrumite in the history of the universe?"
"Jovian, I didn't realize you were this arrogant."
Nolan was stunned by what Jovian had said. Surpassed every Viltrumite in history? Jovian really dared to say it.
"Want to test that?"
Nolan took the initiative and challenged Jovian to a spar.
"Sure."
Jovian rolled his shoulders and loosened up. Nolan had been the one to ask for this fight, so even if he hit a little hard, that should be fine, right?
"Should we take this into space?"
Nolan didn't want to damage the base and ruin his glorious public image there.
"No need. We can spar right here."
Jovian waved his hand after hearing Nolan's suggestion, making it clear that there was absolutely no need to go into space. The base would do just fine.
"A fight between us is going to cause a lot of destruction. That could create all kinds of bad consequences."
Nolan raised a brow. He was worried that a battle between them would destroy everything they had worked for.
"It won't. Relax, Dad. Our fight will be over in an instant."
Jovian looked at Nolan and said it in the most punchable tone imaginable.
"Over in an instant?"
"You've really got nerve saying that."
As Nolan listened to his son's cocky words, veins bulged on his forehead. He felt that if he, as the father, didn't properly discipline Jovian right now, his authority as head of the family would be gone for good.
"Jovian, let me teach you what it means that there's always someone stronger."
The instant Nolan's words fell, his body blurred into an afterimage and appeared in front of Jovian at once. His right fist tore through the air with a sonic boom as it smashed toward Jovian's head.
"Heh..."
Facing that fist, bigger than a sandbag, Jovian simply raised one hand.
Boom!
A violent gust of air exploded outward as Jovian casually caught Nolan's punch.
"What?"
Nolan's eyes widened as he stared at the fist that had been stopped so easily. He was a Viltrumite who had lived for over a thousand years, and yet some brat barely in his teens had just caught his punch. If that got out, the other Viltrumites would laugh themselves to death.
"Come here..."
Before Nolan could recover from his boundless shock, Jovian grabbed his arm, yanked him upward, and then slammed him down with brutal force.
In an instant, Nolan felt a terrifying power surge through his arm. He couldn't resist it. His body was flung off the ground, and then that irresistible force tore through him again, turning his entire body into something like a rag being whipped around before smashing him straight into the floor below.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, a human-shaped crater appeared in front of Jovian.
And Nolan himself dropped straight through into the next level down.
"Uh..."
"Commander-in-Chief, sir... are you okay?"
A group of scientific personnel in white coats, laptops still in hand, looked at Nolan after he crashed through the ceiling and landed among them.
"Cough, cough..."
Under all those staring eyes, Nolan exploded into motion at a speed faster than sound and instantly rose to his feet. He brushed the dust off his clothes and coughed lightly.
"Don't mind me. I just slipped because I wasn't paying attention. Nothing serious..."
"You should all get back to work. As for the ceiling, I'll cover the repairs."
Nolan felt utterly humiliated. He had come here planning to show off in front of his eldest son, only to get shown up instead. He felt like he had lost every shred of face.
"What are you talking about? It's only a damaged ceiling. We can have someone fix that easily."
The scientists laughed. How could they possibly let their Commander-in-Chief, the president of the global alliance, pay for something like that?
"Dad, are you okay?"
"Sorry, I didn't control my strength well enough. I only used a tiny bit too much."
Just as Nolan was chatting with the scientific staff, Jovian appeared at the edge of the human-shaped crater above them, holding up two fingers to indicate just how little extra force he had supposedly used. He absolutely was not going to tell Nolan he had done it on purpose.
"Huh..."
"I think I just heard Mr. Jovian's voice!"
"Could it be that you and Mr. Jovian were doing some combat training, Mr. Nolan?"
"You two really do have a great father-son relationship."
"But judging by how you look, it seems like you lost, right? I guess Mr. Jovian has already surpassed his father."
After hearing Jovian's words, one particular scientist, blessed with an IQ of 250, put his brain into overdrive and instantly pieced together exactly what had happened. He looked at Nolan and spoke with a smile.
"You heard wrong."
Nolan's body froze slightly. That genius's words struck him like a sword through the heart, especially the part about what a wonderful father-son bond they had. That line genuinely broke him.
Yes, he and Jovian did indeed have a very special bond. Special enough that Jovian could punch him through the floor from one story up.
Nolan stared fixedly at the man in front of him, the man who clearly knew far too much. Sometimes being too smart was not a good thing.
For example, Nolan was already considering finding a dark and windy night to send this overly perceptive genius on a one-way trip to Pluto.
"Uh..."
The scientist felt Nolan's faint killing intent in those eyes and shuddered inwardly. His brain started spinning at high speed, and in the end he reached a conclusion: maybe he had said the wrong thing and offended an older man's pride.
"I definitely heard wrong!"
"Right, I've got something else to take care of, so I won't disturb you any longer, Mr. Nolan..."
"Hehehe..."
The scientist forced a laugh and immediately hurried off into the distance.
"Mm."
Watching the man's retreating back, Nolan nodded. At least the scientist knew how to read the room. He wasn't hopelessly stupid.
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