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Chapter - 137
🕑 Added 2025-05-22 16:28:05 +0000 UTC[Title : MDC Reboot]
…..
Next Day(:after SDGC)
Los Angeles - A Random Book Store
…..
Wind chimes ring softly as the door swings open.
A trio of college boys steps in, their backpacks slung low, laughter trailing behind them as they head straight for the comic section.
The store isn’t flashy.
It’s quiet, the kind of place that smells like dust, paper, and time.
Rows of graphic novels and vintage sci-fi covers stretch out in dimly lit aisles.
The boys naturally gravitate toward the "Action & Superhero" section with loud and lazy conversation.
“I am telling you, [Star Wars: Dawn of Clones] completely crushed [Hyper Morphs] last week.” Said Rayan, flipping through a glossy issue of something with lightsabers and explosions on the cover. “Like, wiped the floor with them. Even the forums are pissed.”
“Of course they are.” Muttered Dev, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. “[Star Wars] has been way long back. [Hyper Morphs] is just - [Power Rangers] but sadder.”
“They have got better choreography though.” Rayan shot back.
As they bickered, the third boy, Arav, had wandered down another aisle. His voice cut through their banter.
“Found it.”
They turned. He was holding a fresh volume of [Solo Leveling], glossy cover gleaming under the store light.
“You still haven’t read that one?” Dev raised his eyebrows. “What have you been doing, man - living under a rock?”
Arav shrugged, giving a sheepish grin. “You know I am not that into comics anymore. When I was a kid, yeah… my dad used to read them to me all the time. I just… kind of fell off.”
The other two quieted. Rayan shot a glance at Dev, who shifted slightly, awkward. They had all grown up together.
They knew Arav’s dad had passed years ago, and though Arav never brought it up, it was one of those things that never fully left the room.
But Rayan recovered first. “You are gonna love this one, though. The art’s nuts.”
Dev nodded, catching the cue. “For real… like.. Like it’s awesome…”
Though he was not that good at it, even a bit awkward in the end.
Arav smiled, catching their effort. He didn’t say anything about it. Just gave a small, dry laugh. “Heh…”
Rayan raised an eyebrow. “Why are you laughing like that? Finally lost it?”
Dev jumped in. “Guess we are gonna have to explain that to your mom.”
They all chuckled now - easy, real. The tension dissolved as they flipped through the [Solo Leveling] volumes stacked on the shelf. Arav, mid-flip, paused.
“Hold on… what’s this?”
Right beside the [Solo Leveling] stack, half-hidden behind a pricing tag, was another comic. The cover caught the light just right - deep red and gold, sharp lines, metallic texture that looked almost embossed.
He handed his [Solo Leveling] copy to Rayan and picked it up.
Dev leaned over. “Looks like a robot.”
“Definitely a new series.” Rayan added, squinting at the unfamiliar art style. “Kinda cool, though.”
Arav stared at the title. Bold, sleek lettering.
He read the title aloud, slowly: “Iron Man…”
He blinked. Something about the name hit him strangely.
Not funny exactly. More like… familiar.
Rayan chuckled. “What kind of name is that? Is he literally made of iron?”
“Sounds like a weird cooking brand.” Dev added. “Like a pressure cooker that fights crime.”
But Arav didn’t laugh. Something about the red-and-gold armor, the arc of the pose, the faint whirr of a half-memory - it hit him somewhere deeper.
He couldn’t recall much, just a feeling. A warm voice, a bedroom lamp, a page turning.
“Nah…” He said quietly. “I don’t think it’s a robot. Might be a guy in the suit. I dunno.”
Rayan looked over at him, then back at the comic. “You serious?”
Arav shrugged. “It just… looks familiar. Like something I saw when I was small.”
The other two looked at him for a second, but said nothing. They knew better than to poke at a soft spot. Not directly.
“You taking that one too?” Dev asked instead.
Arav looked down at both comics in his hands. He nodded. “Yeah. I think I will give it a shot.”
Rayan smirked. “Hope it is so bad it ruins comics for you all over again.”
“And I hope it’s so bad I get to dance at your funeral.” Dev added cheerfully.
Arav grinned. “You guys are trash. But since I am dying anyway, why don’t one of you pay for these? Call it my last wish.”
Dev blinked. “You are actually using your death to skip paying the bill?”
They argued all the way to the counter, bickering like brothers.
The cashier, an older man with reading glasses and a soft smile, watched them from behind the counter.
He scanned the books without a word, let the boys toss crumpled bills on the counter, and gave them a nod as they left - still laughing, still shoving each other.
As the door shut behind them, the store quieted again.
The man glanced down at the copy of [Iron Man] still in Arav’s bag. Then he looked across the shelves - lined with old MDC issues, dusty and forgotten, worn from a different era.
He murmured to himself, half-smiling.
“Let’s hope this new generation finds what we once did.”
He wasn’t just talking about stories.
He meant the feeling.
That unexplainable spark you got flipping through a comic that made you care. The kind that opened your imagination, made you stay up late thinking about it, and brought you back week after week - not out of habit, but because it mattered.
And for the first time in a long time, that thought didn’t feel naive.
Because something had changed.
He had noticed it yesterday, the moment the new issues hit his desk - fresh prints of [Spider-Man] and [Superman].
Both had been rebooted.
At first, he felt nothing but contempt.
Just months ago, the publishers had butchered a hero for real and the other one’s character - warping the young heroes to fit short-term sales trends, betraying the tone and spirit that once made them iconic.
And now? Less than a year later, they reset everything? Pretending none of it happened?
It felt cheap.
Disrespectful.
But then he saw the covers.
And more importantly, he turned the pages.
It wasn’t just a reboot. It was a return.
The [Superman] issue was the same.
Familiar, yet different.
The writing had restraint, and the panel flow had rhythm. The character felt grounded again - without being diminished.
Then came [Iron Man].
That one caught him off guard.
How many years had it been since they had even tried something new with him?
He couldn’t remember. Honestly, it felt like even MDC had forgotten they owned the character.
That was how far he had fallen into irrelevance.
And it wasn’t just these three.
All across MDC’s lineup, subtle shifts were emerging.
Not every series had transformed, but the undercurrent was unmistakable.
Tighter scripts. Cleaner dialogue. Smarter pacing. Panels that gave the art space to breathe. Emotion that didn’t need explanation.
It felt like someone finally remembered how to make comics matter again.
And the reason was no mystery.
Because just yesterday, MDC’s first creative wave under Regal’s quiet direction had landed.
Not a full takeover.
Most books were still helmed by their old editorial guard, still clinging to safe formulas.
But influence doesn’t knock - it seeps.
A sharper line of dialogue here.
A riskier layout there.
And when even one writer dares to raise the bar, the rest feel it - whether they admit it or not.
Good work is contagious.
And MDC? It always had the writers. Talent was never the issue.
What it lacked - until now - was leadership. Vision. Direction.
Now, they had Regal.
And for the first time in years, the wheels were turning with purpose.
…..
Regal had burned through a massive chunk of EP - over 10 million - in a relentless gamble, using [Force Refresh] again and again on the [Bulletin Board].
His goal was clear: locate better source material for [Iron Man], [Spider-Man], and [Superman] - something that could truly anchor MDC’s first creative shift.
It took dozens of tries. Hundreds of resets. But finally, he struck gold.
•-------[PURCHASED ITEMS]-------•
» [Comic: The Invincible Iron Man: Extremis] ×1
→ (Rank: A | Cost: 220K EP)
» [Comic: All-Star Superman] ×1
→ (Rank: A | Cost: 210K EP)
» [Comic: Ultimate Spider-Man] ×1
→ (Rank: S | Cost: 450K EP)
•--------------------------------•
The purchases weren't just valuable - they were iconic.
To anyone who understood comics, this was a creative jackpot.
When Stan received the rough drafts Regal had assembled based on the material, his reaction was immediate.
The art? Could barely call them art. Crude. Early. Rough.
But the writing? Stan hadn’t seen anything that strong in five years.
Still, he couldn't include those exact drafts in the board meeting packet - not yet.
They were too raw, too unfinished.
Instead, he used a simpler version Regal had first pitched.
It wasn’t far off from the source, but it lacked the sharpness of the updated takes.
Not that anyone could blame him.
Regal had thrown these together between tight filming schedules on [The Hangover], barely carving out time to remember full arcs or perfect panel pacing.
He was improvising, remembering fragments, and rebuilding from instincts alone.
It was rushed, yes.
But the content? Solid.
Stan knew that once the art team got their hands on the real scripts - the Extremis storyline, the emotional backbone of All-Star Superman, the raw energy of Ultimate Spider-Man - they would be able to deliver something exceptional.
Especially, the [Ultimate Spider-Man] - just top writing.
Was Spider-Man always this fun? What have they been doing?
Anyway, despite his wantingness to put forth these volumes to the world, all three comics would take time.
They would need care, polish, revisions.
But with material like this, Stan had no doubt.
Given enough room to work, they would produce the best volumes MDC had released in years.
Maybe even the best of this generation.
.
….
[To be continued…]
●──────●◎●──────●
Comments
Stephen
I will admit that it's a good intro to spiderman though...
Stephen
Ultimate spiderman? It's kind of a meh for me. I liked the ending for that storyline though... The only good thing in the ultimate universe was miles morales.
Rohit Reddy
As of now... It's just comic volume(version)
Luiz Oliveira
You will bring the ultimate universe ?
