American comics: Starting in Arkham, a system-based Batman

Chapter 122 First Encounter with the Kryptonite Metal Man

Who is this?

Jung Eun stroked her chin and pondered for a long time before finally finding a fragment related to the other party in a corner.

The Metal Man, whose real name is John Wayne Coburn, is a journalist. Zheng En can remember his name simply because it contains the character for Wayne. This man survived a near-death experience after a car accident and underwent human experimentation, resulting in his current appearance.

If I remember correctly, the stone on that person's chest should be kryptonite.

Looking at the glowing green light, Zheng En felt that her deduction was somewhat superfluous.

Any time traveler who knows a little about DC would recognize this; it's the most common type of green kryptonite.

If a stone is associated with Superman, it's either Kryptonite or a Kryptonite of a different color or with a unique appearance.

Superman is still relatively new and hasn't encountered any serious enemies yet. When Jung Eun was researching, she didn't find any information about Kryptonite. If nothing unexpected happens, the other party should suffer a setback today.

Superman, floating lightly in mid-air, stopped the car that was being thrown at him. His red boots landed on the ground, and he was impacted by the car's inertia, leaving a long drag mark on the ground.

The two shallower and wider marks were left by the car tires, while the two deeper and thinner marks were left by his legs and feet.

The instant he grabbed the car, Superman used his bio-force to protect it. Otherwise, given the force of the metal man's throw...

Due to the speed and the road conditions, the car would have two more holes in it the instant Superman caught it.

"Hey, can't we just have a proper talk?"

Superman parked the car aside and tried to reason with the Metal Man, "This is a crime. Can you please stop causing destruction?"

"What we want is destruction!"

Hearing Superman's words, the Metal Man became even angrier. The remaining half of his face and the mechanical parts on the other half twisted together, and one eye glowed red. "Only by killing you can I find liberation!"

He leaped, covering dozens of meters, and as he landed, his fist was raised high, aimed directly at Superman's face.

Superman instinctively tried to dodge, but as he retreated, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

His body felt as if it were under dozens of times the force of gravity, and he sank down involuntarily, causing him to be a step too slow in his escape attempt. The metal man's fist arrived first and slammed into his face.

Logically speaking, I should have been able to avoid it.

When Superman was punched in the face, he didn't even realize what had happened. Throughout his time as Superman, he has faced doubts and crises, but none of them have ever truly harmed him.

Police guns and bombs had no effect on him; he raised the plane to save others, even as his muscles ached and he clenched his teeth.

My jaw doesn't matter either.

This was the first time he had been harmed by the actions of humans, or rather, humanoid beings.

He was smashed into a nearby shop by the metal man's fist, the glass windows shattered all over the floor, and the rows of dolls and clothes racks all fell over.

Superman scrambled to his feet from the mess, unusually aware of his discomfort. Warm liquid trickled from his nose; he wiped it away, revealing a glaring red stain on the back of his hand.

His skin was very white, which made the blood appear even redder.

But why?

Clark was puzzled. He had experimented and found that his skin was virtually impervious to knives and bullets. When he was very young and became aware of his special nature, he had tried to cut himself with a knife. Although his adoptive parents scolded him for it, he was certain that nothing could hurt him.

Even when he's an adult and acts as Superman, and is shot by the police, he'll grab the bullets with his hands as if he were catching a fly, but even if he leaves them alone, the bullets won't hurt him.

Neither his skin nor his eyes posed the slightest threat to him, not even the most powerful bullets.

He could only reach out and grab it because he was capable of it; his eyes could see the trajectory of the bullet, and he could catch it with a simple reach.

Clark knew that, just as Lois described himself in the report, Superman was someone whose existence far surpassed that of humans.

in.

But even he was defeated by someone else.

Clark's thought lasted only a few seconds. He had just stood up when the metal man's figure enveloped him again.

The ominous feeling that had suddenly flashed through his mind returned. This time, Clark did not dodge. He tried to block the metal man's fist, but was met with an even more ferocious attack than before.

He had never received any training and had relied entirely on his excellent physical condition to withstand previous battles. Now, if he wanted to use any moves, he could only rely on what he had seen in fighting games, such as raising his arms to block.

Clark chose to block at his chest, whereas logically, the Metal Man should have used the opening in his head to attack.

But he didn't; his metallic fist slammed into Clark's outstretched arm.

The moment he was hit, Clark's suspicions became clearer.

Sure enough, the other party possessed something that would weaken his power.

Generally speaking, the bones in a person's forearm are relatively hard, so in boxing, raising the arm to block can greatly reduce the damage.

Clark's physical strength was already much greater than that of an ordinary person, so when his forearm bones were impacted and he experienced pain, he became certain of his guess.

It's not an illusion; he really has been weakened.

The moment the super brain begins to think, the metal man's next attack arrives.

This time it's the abdomen.

The powerful kick struck Clark squarely in the stomach, the softest and most harmless part of the human body, and also the most vulnerable spot for a Kryptonian who had lost his original powers.

With no bones to protect his abdomen, which contained only internal organs, he involuntarily coughed up a mouthful of blood after the violent impact.

He was kicked away by the momentum and flew out of the already half-broken shop window again, smashing into a car parked on the side of the road. He rolled several times before finally coming to a stop against the wall.

Fresh blood was spit out directly on the ground, splattering the blue fabric of his trousers and staining it dark.

Superman's costume is a one-piece bodysuit, with what appears to be underwear that also resembles a waist protector. It is tight-fitting, bright, and shiny, so it is particularly noticeable when covered in dust.

His once spotless cloak was now dusty and worn down by his legs. He knelt on the ground, trying to stand up by supporting himself with his arms.

Zheng En pressed her hand on the table, but before she could even put any strength into her legs, she was stopped by a shout: "Sit down."

Her buttocks, which had just moved up a few centimeters, fell back down.

"I don't know what you've learned from that Batman guy, but don't put your unnecessary need for control on him." Injustice clicked his tongue. "Kryptonians aren't that fragile. This little injury can be cured with some sun."

"He's in such a sorry state purely because he's stupid."

A max-level account that has conquered the entire server commented on a newbie alt account in the starting village: "The weakness is so obvious, it's embedded in the chest. Don't tell me he's blind and can't see it."

You're the one who did something so stupid.

Jung Eun was very fortunate that their thoughts were only communicated when they were clearly stated to be known by the other party; otherwise, given the frequency with which he complained every few days, it would be strange if Unjust Superman hadn't noticed.

After finishing his own fried chicken, he reached for the pile of food Clark had left behind. The amount Clark had ordered was more than three times his, enough for him to eat while watching the entire fight.

Just as Injustice Superman said, Clark over there had obviously noticed this as well.

He realized that the other party possessed something that could weaken him. The metal man was entirely mechanical, with only one unique feature: the stone embedded in his chest.

Clark initially thought it was just a decoration, like an indicator light on a machine, and that its existence or non-existence didn't matter much.

But after being beaten several times, his X-ray vision failed to find anything else inside the metal man.

This also means that the stone was very likely the culprit that caused his weakness.

Clark was kicked far away by the metal man this time. Although he was still a little uncomfortable, the weakness had lessened considerably. Before the metal man could get close, he flew away from him.

"Don't even think about running away!"

The metal man swung his arms and leaped, just like when he first attacked Superman. He doesn't currently have a flight suit, but his powerful jumping ability gives him fairly agile mobility.

Superman didn't fly very high; he was still within the range that the Metal Man could reach.

But just before he got close, two blinding red lights flashed before his eyes.

The ray damaged part of his body, but that wasn't the end of it. The moment Superman closed his eyes, the red light stopped, and the moment he opened his eyes, the Metal Man met his gaze.

Superman's eyes were glowing red.

This is why he was created. In that instant, the metal man realized what kind of monster was standing in front of him.

John Wayne Cobain, the Metal Man, has a rather aristocratic middle name, but he has absolutely no connection to the wealthy old-money family in Gotham.

Like most people, he graduated with student loans and found a decent job in the hope of paying them off as soon as possible.

He became a journalist, but unlike Clark, he wanted money, sales, and sensational stories. To grab exclusives and attention, he would do anything: fabricate fake news, forge evidence, and conceal the truth.

Of all the choices, he only picked the parts that were advantageous to him. He fabricated and concocted stories, whether they were rumors or scandals, as long as they were sensational. He would do anything that could grab people's attention.

His ruthless pursuit of damaging information about others has ironically become his own source of scandal. Just as he extorted money from others, he also became the target of extortion.

So he knew how to keep something a secret forever.

John Wayne Cobain killed someone.

He was in a car accident while fleeing; he was so panicked that he fell off a cliff. Dr. Emmett Valéry happened to be passing by and saved his life.

Living comes at a price.

Through painful transformation, the metal man learned this.

Upon waking, he possessed immense strength and a body that was not easily injured or killed, but at the same time, he also lost all of the senses that humans should have.

Taste, touch, smell, pain—he could no longer return to society with this inhuman appearance, his original social life...

With all his connections and savings wiped out, the metal man could only console himself that at least he survived and at least he gained power.

Then he saw Superman.

He rescued hundreds of people who should have perished in the plane crash, and all of them survived thanks to his efforts. He was so radiant and majestic, with a near-perfect appearance and immense strength.

Super speed, super strength, flight, X-ray vision, heat vision—he has only been around for a few months, yet the abilities he has displayed are already beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The metal man was extremely jealous and angry.

"Why didn't you come to save me back then?" he thought. "Why did you have such great power without having to become a monster?"

Metal Man loathed this perfect superman.

When he woke up, he was unaware of the brainwashing program Dr. Emmett had put on him, and that Superman was the enemy.

The order in which this idea was supposed to be reached was this: the powerful Kryptonians, being of a different race, would pose a threat to the entire world.

Kill him, for the sake of humanity.

However, due to the extremely twisted psychology of the Metal Man, his hatred for Superman stemmed solely from jealousy and resentment.

Now, the Metal Man has realized the emotions that Dr. Emmett originally wanted him to feel.

fear.

And after the fear, there was that intense humiliation and hatred.

"I absolutely, positively want to kill you!"

When the kryptonite in his chest was nearly shattered, the metal man felt an overwhelming rage and resentment. His fingers, gripping the ground, curled up due to the immense force, and large chunks of concrete were torn up.

Superman quickly withdrew his heat vision. This move was too powerful, and he wasn't skilled enough at using it. He wouldn't use it lightly unless absolutely necessary.

Previously, he mainly used thermal imaging for things like welding and breaking ice; this is the first time he's used it on people.

He was very afraid of doing something irreversible, so he used it very cautiously. Therefore, when the metal man lifted the ground and smashed it to create a large amount of rubble, Superman stopped using his heat vision.

Using his X-ray vision, he quickly spotted the metal man, but as the man appeared, a new heat source appeared on his hand.

That's a girl.

It's the girl who asked him for his autograph before, showing him a photo.

Before the battle, Superman cleared the area of ​​people, and during his fight with Metal Man, their positions shifted.

Unbeknownst to them, they gradually left the original street.

While people from other neighborhoods would leave after hearing the commotion, for the young children, who were full of curiosity and a spirit of exploration, "it was an adventure."

Superman's X-ray vision isn't always on, so he didn't notice the child who had wandered in immediately. The Metal Man was closer to the child, and when he realized he was no match for Superman, he started thinking about how to get out.

"Stay here and let me leave."

The metal man ruthlessly grabbed the girl by the throat. "That's the only way to save her life."