Tony Stark thought of how, in Brian Carter's diary, he was referred to as Iron Man. At first, he had no idea what it meant—why was he called Iron Man? He even thought he might have awakened some kind of power to control iron. Now, he more or less understood!

So this is what so-called Iron Man means.

The scene continued. In a conference room, Tony Stark was reading a newspaper. The front-page headline read: Who is Iron Man?

While he and Pepper were quietly chatting, Coulson, the village chief of the beginner's village, came forward and handed a small slip of paper to Tony Stark, then said, "Alibi!"

"Alright!" Tony Stark took the slip and replied.

"At the time, you were on your yacht. The port authority can confirm you were docked at Avalon Harbor all night, and there are testimonies from fifty guests!" Coulson explained.

"Actually, I think it would be better to say that only Pepper and I were on the island that night!" Tony Stark glanced at the obviously fake alibi and said directly.

"We can't falsify things!" Coulson smiled faintly. "Just read it as it is."

"Alright!" Tony Stark shrugged indifferently, then looked at the slip and said, "It doesn't mention Obadiah!"

"We've taken care of it. He went on vacation. You know, the safety of small planes is really terrible!"

Coulson replied.

"But how do you explain the bodyguard that was made up out of thin air?" Tony Stark asked. "That was me—I mean, how do you explain this weak link?"

"This isn't my first time doing this. As long as you stick to the official statement, everything will be fine. You only have ninety seconds!" Coulson said, and immediately prepared to leave. In the scene, Tony Stark walked to the press conference, where War Machine Rhodes was already waiting and said, "Next, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement, but he will not answer any questions. Thank you!"

With that, Tony Stark stepped up and said to the reporters, "I haven't appeared in public for a while, so I'll just read the script!"

"Some people speculate that I was personally involved in the incident on the expressway and the rooftop..."

He had just started to read the script when a reporter rudely interrupted him, saying, "Excuse me, Mr. Stark, do you really think we would easily believe that it was just a bodyguard?"

This female reporter, full of confidence, tried to expose Tony Stark's lie, saying, "Wearing the armor, appearing at just the right moment, and in fact, you usually..."

But before she could finish, Tony Stark interrupted her as well—he wasn't about to indulge her.

Tony Stark said directly, "I know what you mean. There's nothing wrong with questioning the official statement, but no matter what, you shouldn't make wild guesses and, for no reason, call me a superhero!"

"I never said you were a superhero!" the female reporter smiled faintly and replied.

"You didn't? Good, because if that were the case, it would be ridiculous. I—I—I'm not cut out to be a hero!" Tony Stark took a deep breath and said, "Obviously, I have too many character flaws, I've made too many mistakes, and had a terrible influence..."

He hadn't finished when Colonel Rhodes beside him reminded him to stick to the script.

He then took a deep breath, looked at the slip of paper, made an important decision, and said, "The truth is, I am Iron Man!"

In an instant, the entire press conference erupted, and everyone went wild.

Before this, everyone thought Tony Stark would never admit it—this was always the official routine. But no one expected that he would actually admit it just like that.

Tony Stark thought of the video title: I am Iron Man. So this is the line that started the Marvel era.

Is the line that ended the Marvel era also this one?

At this moment, the scene shifted again. In the midst of a desolate battlefield, Tony Stark was wearing a suit of armor never seen before, looking even more high-tech, but it was badly damaged, clearly after a cataclysmic battle.

He was kneeling on the ground with his legs apart, his right hand glowing with currents of light.

Several gems could be clearly seen attached to it, and Tony Stark seemed to be convulsing as if electrified. After a moment, he came to his senses, stared intently into the distance, and said, "I... am... Iron Man!"

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers. In an instant, the entire screen turned white, and the video ended.

Chapter 14 Tony: So this is my ending?

"So this is my ending? My future? The last line that ended the Marvel era?" Tony Stark looked at the scene, at his obviously middle-aged or older self, the high-tech armor, and the battlefield that had clearly seen a brutal fight. For a moment, he didn't even know what to say.