S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated the people who had chased and ambushed Ronin, but they came up empty. The attackers seemed like a bunch of desperate criminals with no real identities or backgrounds.
That left them scratching their heads. Who would have the guts to go after someone under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watch? They briefly wondered if it was that group, but it felt too far-fetched. Hydra hadn't been active in years—how could they suddenly pop up out of nowhere? In the end, they decided it was probably just one of Ronin's business rivals.
After all, Ronin had taken a huge slice of the movie market pie. Plenty of people wanted him gone. Some couldn't attack him openly, so they did it in the shadows. That explanation made the most sense.
Lying low was the smart move.
These days, Ronin barely left the house. He had turned into a full-on homebody, spending his time glued to games and snacks. Life was pretty comfortable, honestly.
He skipped every movie award ceremony, sending the company's vice president instead. Lucy complained about it for days.
But what could she do? Ronin was too much of a target right now. If he went out, it could spark another bloodbath. The worst part was he couldn't transform in public—S.H.I.E.L.D. would never stop hounding him if they saw it.
At home, though, he didn't have to worry. Even if Hydra came knocking, he could handle it calmly. With Soldier: 76 and Winston at his disposal, he could protect himself just fine.
Luckily, no one came looking for trouble. He enjoyed a stretch of peaceful days until Iron Man finished filming. Post-production took about a month.
The Iron Man trailer dropped soon after, and major forums exploded with discussion once again.
It had been five months since Winston premiered. Overwatch Films usually released a movie every six months, so dropping this one a month early felt a little off to fans—but everyone was excited anyway. They couldn't wait to see what kind of sparks Iron Man would create with Overwatch.
Douban was completely flooded with Iron Man posts. Moderators on other forums were pulling their hair out too, because every time a new Overwatch movie came out, game forums, music forums, you name it—they all got hijacked by movie talk. One moderator joked that he felt like he was running a film forum instead of his own.
Even in the movie forum, you could find people talking about completely unrelated stuff!
Ronin had written the script based on the Iron Man story he remembered from his previous world.
It started with Tony Stark as an arrogant but brilliant arms dealer who had made Stark Industries the top weapons supplier for the U.S. military. But after a kidnapping, he realized how much harm his weapons were causing. He built the armor, escaped, and decided to stop making weapons altogether—only to face strong opposition from shareholder Obadiah Stane. That set the stage for an epic battle between iron suits.
The real-world news had only given fragments of the story, but Ronin pieced it all together into a full sci-fi blockbuster. The trailer was designed to grab attention, and it worked.
Douban was full of rave reviews.
The most popular post actually came from a low-level user. The title was: "Compared to Soldier: 76 and Winston, Iron Man feels friendly and real to me!"
Before the movie even came out, everyone already knew Iron Man existed in real life, so bringing him to the big screen was a bold move. It ditched over-the-top future tech in favor of something more grounded. If it wasn't done right, it could easily flop.
Ronin wasn't expecting Iron Man to break any records. He'd be happy if it matched Soldier: 76—that would be a solid win and a nice gesture for Tony.
On the other side of town, Tony was watching the trailer on repeat with a huge grin. He looked ridiculously pleased with himself, like he'd just discovered he was a natural-born actor.
The trailer met his expectations, and he was confident everyone would love the movie.
Ronin felt the same. With Iron Man's built-in fanbase plus Overwatch's existing audience, there was a real chance it could top Soldier: 76 and Winston.
As for how Iron Man connected to Overwatch, Ronin had left it vague on purpose. In the film, Iron Man shows interest in joining but is still hesitating. The truth was, Ronin knew Tony wouldn't have much time for acting, so he only planned a small cameo for him later.
Marvel had the Avengers. Overwatch would have its own team. Once all the individual hero movies were out, it would be time to bring the full Overwatch squad together. Tony could pop in occasionally after that. By then, he'd probably be sick of being an actor anyway.
While browsing, Ronin came across another post from that familiar Doudi-level user. Last time the guy had hyped Winston to the skies. This time he was praising Iron Man even more wildly, throwing out all kinds of bold predictions. Ronin just smiled and hoped the movie wouldn't end up embarrassing itself after release.
The day before Iron Man premiered, Tony called Ronin excitedly, inviting him to watch it together. Ronin turned him down flat. He was too much of a target right now. Going out wasn't safe for him—or for anyone around him.
"Don't worry, we won't go to a public theater this time. We can watch it privately with a small group," Tony said.
"No thanks!"
Seeing how firm Ronin was, Tony didn't push it. He knew Ronin had been targeted again recently, so staying home made sense.
Ronin wouldn't be watching alone. Tomorrow, Lucy and Thomas would join him at home. It was his way of enjoying the movie "with the fans" without actually going out.
Honestly, he would rather have been in a packed theater with everyone else. He hated feeling forced to stay inside. But he didn't want to cause trouble either. Once he was strong enough, he planned to make sure Hydra learned a hard lesson. It wasn't that he was scared—he was just being smart.
When the time was right, he would cut off all nine of Hydra's heads for good!