Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman

”When crime boss Andrew Saxon was taken down, the Fixer played a significant role. But he also walked away with around six hundred thousand dollars in dirty money, which put him on the radar of both the police and the FBI.

”Same problem, though—no direct evidence linking him to the Fixer identity. The FBI even searched his home during the chaos caused by the Skrulls. They didn’t find the money.”

Coulson tried again, ”The Continental—”

”Drop it. That’s an order of its own on the other side of the world. The U.S. can declare war on the world, but it can’t survive another civil war.”

”...Understood. Does he still operate as the ’Fixer’?”

”Now? Of course not. As CEO of Stark Pictures, his position carries weight. His umbrella has shifted from the Continental to Stark Industries—a far more powerful backer. At least, that’s what most people think.”

”Most people?” Coulson asked.

Fury smirked. ”At first, everyone assumed that film-grade digital imaging technology was Tony Stark’s work. But does anyone still believe that now?

”Even with Stark Industries behind him, how solid is that backing? Anyone capable would want to test it. Maybe their partnership is just surface-level. So when Sony had an urgent need, they made a move.”

Coulson followed, ”Which led to the Los Angeles Sony building explosion.”

”Exactly,” Fury said dismissively. ”They signed off on a lost property inventory—then boom, the building exploded right after.

”Who’s the prime suspect if not him? But again—no direct evidence. The FBI, for its own sake, didn’t push too hard.

”And the incident sent a clear warning: his property isn’t easy to take. At least until someone figures out how he detonated those explosives, no one will dare covet his things.

”Honestly, if it weren’t for the Skrulls exposing a few cracks, has this man ever truly suffered a loss?

”He doesn’t need Superman-level abilities to live well. Maybe he has used such abilities—but there’s not even indirect evidence, let alone direct proof.

”If you want to suspect him, you can’t base it on a comic that existed before he even arrived on Earth.”

Coulson frowned. ”So there’s really no evidence at all?”

Fury paused. ”If we’re talking about Superman-like individuals, it’s not that there’s nothing.”

Coulson’s eyes lit up. ”There is?”

”In ’92, during the X-Men’s defense against extraterrestrial forces, there was a ’Clown’ figure reported by U.S. soldiers. His abilities closely resembled Superman’s.

”But he only appeared once. We reconstructed his face—possibly actor River Phoenix. But he’s already dead.

”Then there was the end of the Skrull–Kree conflict. When Maria Rambeau, myself, and Skrull refugees were returning from space, we were pursued by Kree fighters.

”At that time, a mysterious figure dressed in black—able to fly freely in near vacuum—shot down multiple enemy craft. That’s the second Superman-like individual. Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch up, and there were no ground sightings.”

Coulson asked, ”Was it him?”

Fury shrugged. ”Same answer—no direct evidence. At that time, Henry Brown should have been in Louisiana, while we were in California.

”Unless we can confirm he can fly and has super speed, there’s no way to connect him to that black-clad figure across such a distance.

”And this kind of logic doesn’t work in reverse. We can’t use it as proof that he is Superman—it’s not reasonable.

”Besides, he’s not the kind of super-criminal we’re tasked to handle. The most we can do is classify him as a potential threat and conduct non-contact investigation with minimal surveillance.”

Coulson added, ”But I’ve heard many within the agency support taking action—even without sufficient evidence. That’s why I wanted to confirm whether he’s Superman... not Ultraman.”

Fury let out a short laugh. ”With only circumstantial evidence, we can suspect and investigate. But without direct proof, no decision that violates civil rights will ever be approved.

”If we approve action against Henry Brown today, tomorrow we can use the same logic to accuse the White House, the Pentagon, or Congress of treason—and purge them.

”J. Edgar Hoover already burned that path for everyone who came after. No agency will ever be granted that kind of power again. After twelve years of McCarthyism, no one wants a repeat.

”And if someone does try to give such an order, they’d better be ready for the consequences. This is a man confirmed to have a body of steel—not a mutant, but an alien.