Chapter 375: Instant Sharing

The silver Rolls-Royce pulled onto Fifth Boulevard, its speed inevitably slowing to a crawl. Though it wasn't rush hour, the congested Manhattan traffic was as terrible as ever. Sitting in the spacious backseat, Duke checked his watch. He had plenty of time; even if he was stuck in gridlock for an hour, he wouldn't be late.

As the largest shareholder and a board member of Marvel Comics Company, he had come to New York specifically to discuss future plans with Marvel's senior executives.

Marvel might have been lost in recent years, unable to see the direction of its future, but the first X-Men film grossing over 150 million dollars at the North American box office was more than enough to wake them up.

Anyone who had reached the upper management of a nationally renowned company—even those who had made the poor decisions that led to its losses—was exceptionally shrewd.

Manhattan's daily routine played out right on cue as the car ground to a complete halt. Duke simply leaned against his seatback, closed his eyes, and thought about the agenda for today's meeting.

As Marvel's largest shareholder, Duke had done his homework before flying to New York.

Without a doubt, Marvel had reached a historic turning point.

Starting in 1995, the North American comic book industry had entered a bitter winter. Marvel wasn't the only one suffering; DC and Dark Horse Comics were also going through a rough patch. Sales plummeted across the board, and during the industry's lowest point, total comic sales nationwide were less than 300 million dollars!

While things had slightly improved since last year, the winter for print comics was far from over. If the industry wanted to claw its way out of this slump, relying purely on comic books wouldn't be enough.

Expanding into broader entertainment was the only way out for comic companies. In this regard, DC Comics was far ahead of Marvel. Superman and Batman were both classic examples of successful multi-media franchises.

However, even with the past box office success of Superman and Batman, and the spectacular debut of the first X-Men film, comic book movies were still a long way from the mainstream market.

For comic book movies to truly become a part of mainstream films, they would inevitably have to go through a lengthy process of research, analysis, integration, preparation, and compilation.

Now that X-Men was a massive hit, Duke could offer Marvel a few suggestions to accelerate this process. But for Marvel to reach its former heights, it would take far more than two or three years.

Although his life experiences were extraordinary, he still possessed a completely normal human brain. He couldn't just search and access information on demand like a computer. As time passed, he had even forgotten some details regarding Marvel. It was only Ian McKellen's Magneto that had jogged the relevant memories.

Perhaps omnipotent super-geniuses really did exist in this world, but Duke knew perfectly well he wasn't one of them. He could offer recommendations based on his awakened memories, but those suggestions would require Marvel's professionals to summarize and execute them. Furthermore, given Marvel's years of decline, the company inevitably needed internal restructuring and consolidation. That wasn't a problem that could be solved just by one person standing there and talking endlessly.

This nation worshipped individual heroism, but even titans like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffett needed equally capable teams to act as executors.

In fact, anyone with a passing understanding of the comic book industry could see that Marvel's current problems wouldn't be fixed by a single successful movie.

Half an hour later, the silver Rolls-Royce pulled up to 417 Fifth Boulevard. The moment Duke stepped out of the car, Marvel staff members hurried over to greet him, escorting him into the elevator and up to Marvel's office floor.

Although he wasn't late, it wasn't early either. Duke followed the staff straight into the conference room, greeting the Marvel board members and the other executives attending the meeting one by one.

Of course, among all the people seated in the conference room, there was only one Duke truly recognized: a man wearing sunglasses with a face full of age spots—Stan Lee.

Even though he deeply admired the man for creating so many comic heroes, Duke maintained a measured demeanor, treating him no differently than anyone else. This was a business event; acting overly familiar would not only be unbefitting of his status, but it would also be somewhat impolite.

Just five minutes later, once everyone's attendance was confirmed, the Marvel board meeting officially commenced. The meeting was chaired by Marvel's CEO, Kevin Feige.

After a few simple agenda items, the meeting swiftly turned to the topic of comic book heroes.

"I'm sure everyone has seen the charm of our heroes. The ones capable of succeeding on the big screen aren't just DC's Superman and Batman, but our superheroes as well!"

Sitting at the head of the long conference table, Kevin Feige spoke with forceful conviction, "Gentlemen, we absolutely cannot carelessly sell off the rights to our superheroes anymore!"

This CEO, who had only taken the top job during a time of crisis, was not your standard corporate executive in an immaculate suit and tie. He was heavily built and casually dressed in a Marvel character hoodie, paired with bulging, half-faded jeans and gray sneakers. He didn't look like a corporate decision-maker in the slightest.

Unsurprisingly, his proposal received support from everyone, Duke included.

After receiving Duke's investment, Marvel's financial pressure was greatly relieved. Naturally, they had no desire to foolishly sell off the rights to any other comic heroes now.

It was obvious that Kevin Feige had the support of the vast majority of the board. As long as his decisions aligned with Marvel's interests, Duke would support him as well.

With enough support, Kevin Feige rolled out a series of reform proposals aimed at optimizing Marvel internally and gradually resolving the conflicts and problems that had piled up over the years.

What truly made Duke see him in a new light was that he proposed the concept of Marvel's multi-media expansion, wanting to push for corporate restructuring—specifically, the creation of a dedicated Marvel Pictures to produce their own Marvel superhero films.

His plan was certainly inspiring, but Duke knew this could only be a long-term vision. Just as he had thought in the car on the way over, the problems currently facing Marvel couldn't be fixed by films alone. Given Marvel's current situation and capabilities, independently producing a successful film was temporarily still a pipe dream.

However, some people were always blinded by immediate profits. Two executive directors directly suggested that Marvel join the ranks of the film industry to rake in money as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Kevin Feige and his deputy, Avi Arad, were both clear-headed enough.

"When it comes to the film industry, everyone at Marvel is an amateur," Kevin Feige said, his gaze landing squarely on Duke. "We have one of Hollywood's most successful directors right here. Why don't we hear Duke's suggestions?"

Every eye in the room turned toward Duke. No one appearing at this meeting would be a genuine idiot or a fool; they all understood that Duke had more say in this field than all of them combined. Furthermore, as Marvel's largest shareholder, it was impossible for him to say anything unreliable.

"Kevin, have someone pass out the materials I brought," Duke said.

This was also a long-term meal ticket for his future. Just as he understood the comic industry, Duke had drawn upon his hazy memories and the future development of the film industry to draft a detailed proposal before arriving.

Two assistants opened the two thick manila envelopes that Duke's driver had brought in earlier. They walked down both sides of the long conference table, placing a copy of the document in front of each executive.

Many people eagerly flipped open the documents. The two impatient executive directors merely skimmed through before unconsciously furrowing their brows.

"A five-year preparation period?" one of them said. "Isn't that a bit too long?"

The others looked at Duke again. Duke slowly rested his arms on the table. "Quite the opposite. Only if everything develops exactly as we anticipate will five years meet Marvel's needs. Otherwise, it will take even longer."

Since the meeting began, Duke had remained largely silent, acting more like a mascot. But now that the topic had reached his domain of expertise, his voice was no weaker than Kevin Feige's.

"Gentlemen, keep flipping to the later pages in your materials," Duke instructed. His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear. "This isn't just a plan for a single movie. It's to take our superheroes and use films to link them into a single world!"

"Marvel's internal restructuring will take time. Establishing a brand-new Marvel Pictures will take time. Finding production partners and distributors will take time, too!"

He directly addressed the timeframe issue. "Marvel is just a newcomer to the film industry. Even with me looking after things, the company still needs time to familiarize itself with this circle. Gentlemen, there is never a shortage of shady dealings in the film business. Hollywood is no simpler than any fiercely competitive business circle."

"And here are the most crucial points!" Duke's gaze shifted to Stan Lee. "The Marvel Universe is incredibly chaotic, and the relationships between the protagonists are incredibly complex. Currently, the rights to many of these heroes aren't completely in our hands. If we want to maximize future profits, we must reclaim the rights to all the superheroes I've listed in this proposal—and negotiating that will also take time!"

Stan Lee had been flipping through the proposal. When he reached the final few pages, his hands began to tremble slightly. His voice carried uncontainable excitement: "Duke... your plan... your ultimate plan..."

"Yes, that's right!" Duke said with absolute conviction. "We take Marvel's popular characters and place them within the same universe. We link them together film by film, and then we use new comics, animated shows, and television series to supplement that world's framework. Finally, our superheroes assemble to face the most difficult challenge, forming—The Avengers!"

"And this isn't the end!" Duke continued. "If the plan goes smoothly, we can step entirely off Earth and set our sights on Marvel's ultimate universe!"

Neither his words nor his proposal were overly complicated. This was just a suggestion. The best person to actually realize this plan was undoubtedly the man who had created the Avengers and understood the Marvel Universe better than anyone else.

"But out of all these film plans, the most important one is the first," Duke said. "If the first movie fails, the subsequent plans will suffer a major setback. We must treat it with caution! Ample preparation time is the basic condition for success."

Duke's proposal drew extreme attention from Marvel's management. The board meeting was extended from its original single day to three days, with the latter two days basically devoted to discussing the feasibility of this plan.