After reaching a consensus with the World Security Council, Anton first approached the U.S. representative. Based on the minor request he had just made, he managed to get someone from the American military.
Jason Wynn.
This guy was the superior of Al Simmons—Spawn—whom Anton had just investigated.
Jason Wynn was a villain in the Spawn movie, the kind that fully deserved his fate.
Cunning and ruthless, he framed Al Simmons and even collaborated with demons.
Completely devoid of humanity, he was a textbook villain.
However, Anton didn't take Jason Wynn from the military just to deal with him ahead of time. Instead, he wanted to keep him within his control.
In Spawn story, Jason Wynn was like a lighthouse in the vast ocean.
It was obvious that once Al Simmons returned from Hell, his first target would be the man who had betrayed him—Jason Wynn.
When that time came, Anton could step in and take control of the situation.
If Jason Wynn were eliminated now, there was a chance that after Al Simmons crawled out of Hell, he would lose his primary target, making him more susceptible to demonic influence.
Furthermore, killing Jason Wynn prematurely would disrupt Spawn storyline.
If that happened, it would take events out of Anton hands, forcing him to face unpredictable variables—something he preferred to avoid.
Anton was even considering whether he could recruit Spawn into the Justice League Dark.
The transfer order was processed swiftly.
Although Jason Wynn was a high-ranking military official, his importance paled in comparison to the Men in Black.
Besides, the U.S. was more than happy to plant their personnel within the organization.
With Jason Wynn joining, along with Agent Z—who was already recruited from the military—plus a significant number of logistics and field personnel, the Men in Black had practically become a subdivision of the U.S. military, wielding considerable influence.
This was very much in line with the U.S. usual way of doing things—always ensuring they stayed in control.
Of course, the Men in Black were already rooted in American soil, with most of their reach extending into Europe.
Their influence in the East, however, was virtually nonexistent.
Thus, Anton didn't particularly care about the heavy U.S. presence within the organization.
After all, anyone in the Men in Black could be replaced—except for him.
Anton was the heart of the organization.
Without him, the Men in Black would be like a rudderless ship, drifting aimlessly and waiting to be capsized by the storm.
And so, Jason Wynn found himself recruited into the Men in Black, utterly bewildered by the turn of events.
As Wynn was on his way to his new assignment, Anton instructed his deputy, Agent Z, to keep an eye on him—and not to trust him too easily.
After confirming that Z understood his orders, Anton left Men in Black headquarters.
He had more important matters to attend to.
A Few Days Later
DC Studios announced its new movie project:
Shazam!
The news immediately grabbed the attention of global media and countless fans.
By now, the Justice League was no longer just a name known within the United States—it had spread across the world through the power of the internet.
Not to mention, every DC Studios film release created a worldwide cinematic frenzy.
In a way, this was a cultural invasion from another world, imprinting the letters "DC" into people minds, along with everything those two letters represented.
However, Shazam was a character unfamiliar to many.
Only a niche group of fans had a strong interest in mystical superheroes.
And niche characters were, by nature, different from mainstream ones.
Otherwise, even with the unfortunate timing of Constantine premiering just as the Battle of New York erupted—leaving audiences too grief-stricken for entertainment—the film box office performance wouldn't have been the worst in DC Studios' history among its major projects.
Given that, Shazam position within DC lineup already signaled that he was a lesser-known character.
As the initial buzz around Shazam! faded, a new rumor began making the rounds.
The reason?
The director for the movie was not Anton Jameson—the man some media outlets had dubbed "Hollywood Most Powerful Man" after Dawn of Justice—but rather another well-known Hollywood filmmaker hired by DC Studios.
Rumors claimed that Anton was originally set to direct the film but suddenly stepped down after the project entered full production.
Fans were deeply disappointed by the news.
For most people, a Justice League movie wasn't truly "official" unless Anton was the one directing it.
Curious to learn the truth, reporters swarmed DC Studios.
Anton, caught off guard by the media ambush, listened to their questions and, with a calm expression, confirmed:
"It not a rumor. It a fact. I've just been too busy lately."
With that, he walked off, leaving the reporters staring at each other in confusion.
Anton was incredibly busy.
As the rumors had suggested, he had originally planned to direct the movie. But at the last moment, he changed course.
The reason?
Dr. Jane Foster astrophysics laboratory had made a breakthrough in their research on the Convergence of the Nine Realms.
They had begun to uncover specific patterns—clues related to the Reality Stone.
Beyond the Reality Stone, Anton also had other missions to carry out.
With multiple pressing matters piling up, he realized he simply didn't have the time to dedicate to filmmaking.
After some consideration, he decided that since he wasn't particularly excited about Shazam! in the first place, he might as well hand the project off to someone else.
Current Shazam Fan Value: 7.02 million.
Fan Value needed to unlock Shazam: 30 million.
The gap was 23 million—which was much better than Anton had expected.
According to the schedule, Shazam! would begin filming next week, with a three-month production timeline.
The schedule wasn't too rushed.
With Quentin Beck holographic projection technology, the workload for post-production special effects had been drastically reduced.
In just three months, they could produce a high-quality visual effects film rather than one with cheap, subpar CGI.
With Jim, whom Anton deeply trusted, serving as the producer, he could completely let go and allow the production team to handle everything.
The 23 million fan points gap wasn't a difficult hurdle to overcome with the boost from the movie release.
Summoning Shazam was part of his strategy to better handle the changes in the magical world.
As for Spawn, in the original timeline, Al Simmons only returned to the human world five years after his death.
Right now, Al had only been dead for a few months…
Even if circumstances changed, it shouldn't happen so soon.
As for Hellboy, Anton had yet to gather any relevant information on him. He figured that if Hellboy were to appear, it wouldn't be anytime soon either.
So while filming Shazam was an established goal, it wasn't an urgent priority. Anton could instead shift his focus toward the Infinity Stones.
As previously mentioned, aside from setting up for the Reality Stone, he also planned to use his Superman identity to venture into space, hire the Ravagers, and locate the Orb.
In fact, after experiencing the events of Men in Black, encountering the Bug Aliens and Aqilonian race, and even meeting the Ancient One—who explained the glass marble containing the so-called "Galaxy"—Anton had developed a growing curiosity about the universe.
Earth might be the central stage of Marvel story, but the vast cosmos undoubtedly held an even greater expanse of possibilities.
He decided to head into space and explore the unknown.
Thus—
He made contact with the Cybertronians from Cybertron and obtained the coordinates for Knowhere from them.
…
Knowhere, also known as the Expanse.
At first glance, it resembled a planet, but in reality, it was a colossal head, one that looked like a celestial body.
In the comics, this head belonged to a Celestial.
The movie depiction wasn't much different—it was an ancient divine relic, likely also referencing the Celestials.
Simply put, Knowhere was a lawless land.
Thousands of alien species lived here, and any traveler passing through shouldn't expect to understand their bizarre and diverse social customs.
Misunderstandings between species were inevitable, but as long as one had money, anything could be solved.
Most importantly, Knowhere was a paradise for intergalactic drifters—neutral yet chaotic.
A quarter of the area was a marketplace that operated 24/7, offering rare goods, many of which were illegal.
Of course, every planet had its own laws. In Knowhere, illegality itself was ingrained in its very foundation.
Anton didn't know much about this place, but he understood one thing—this was the most infamous black market in the universe.
Using the Teleportation Device on the War Bastion, he entered the coordinates.
With a single thought, Anton transformed into Superman and successfully arrived at Knowhere.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in a place teeming with a diverse mix of beings.
The area was crowded with all sorts of sentient lifeforms—aliens, as far as Anton was concerned.
Some resembled octopuses, while others bore a striking resemblance to humans.
The sheer variety was dazzling, a true eye-opener.
Standing in the middle of the road as Superman, Anton curiously observed the passing crowds.
Of course, these beings weren't particularly interested in his arrival. Instead, they deliberately kept their distance.
Because from the way Anton had just arrived, he clearly looked like a wealthy individual.
In Knowhere, there existed a mode of transportation known as the Continuum Cortex.
The cortex cables were directly linked to the Celestial brainstem, allowing individuals to be rapidly transported across known and unknown universes using extradimensional energy.
In other words, it was an intergalactic teleportation system similar to teleportation of the war fortress.
This technology was typically reserved for the wealthy.
Anton entrance wasn't entirely unique, but his distinctive teleportation mannerisms made it clear to everyone—he was someone best left alone.
In Knowhere, being rich meant being untouchable.
As a result, every passing alien instinctively kept their distance, wary of inviting trouble.
Anton fully understood their reasoning.
With his enhanced hearing as Superman, he could easily pick up conversations from hundreds of meters away—people were glaring at him with envy, jealousy, and even resentment as they whispered among themselves.
"I bet he some rich young master from a planet… maybe even a prince."
"These guys always love coming to Knowhere for thrills. Heh, I love seeing rich brats like them get humiliated."
"Knowhere might be a paradise for the wealthy, but not everyone here bows to them. Take me, for example… unless he offers me a Kree as a slave, I wouldn't even give him the time of day."
"A Kree as a slave? Damn, bro, I didn't think someone as ugly as you could dream so big. Hahaha!"
…
"Boss, give me a discount."
"This is a rare item, even on your home planet. Even in Knowhere, it scarce—this is already the lowest price. Take it or leave it… Hey, are you trying to start a fight?"
"Hahaha, I love you off-worlders. Hope you brought enough cash today…"
"Carol, are you sure we can get information about Superman here?"
"If we can't find anything here, then nowhere else in the universe will have it. Do you even realize how big the universe is? If you did, you wouldn't have been dumb enough to come all the way from Earth just to ask about a planet I've never heard of and a person I don't even know."
A flood of voices crashed into Anton ears from all directions.
In the black market district, merchants and tourists were haggling. Further down the alleys, thieves were robbing unsuspecting visitors…
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Anton suddenly turned his head, locking onto a location several kilometers away.
Carol?
And that familiar voice… was that Fury?
He hadn't expected to run into an old friend here.
What a rare occasion.
They were looking for Superman?
Well, wasn't that convenient?
A strange smile appeared on Anton face as he played his role.
He had the idea of staging a coincidental encounter.
Nick Fury was curious about Superman, and he, in turn, was curious about Carol Danvers—the so-called Captain Marvel.
Carol was one of Earth strongest defenders, yet she spent most of her time wandering the cosmos, helping intergalactic refugees and fighting against the Kree Empire tyranny…
Sure, she left Fury with a pager capable of summoning her across multiple star systems.
But what if an extreme situation arose and she couldn't return to Earth in time?
Not to mention, Fury himself had already left Earth.
Anton was genuinely interested in finding out what this old lady was thinking.
Did she see Earth as nothing more than a stepmother?
As these thoughts raced through his mind, he shot into the air.
A thunderous boom erupted behind him, sending shockwaves through the atmosphere.
BOOM!
A blast wave expanded outward, scattering dust in all directions.
By the time it settled, Anton was long gone.
The spectacle didn't go unnoticed.
Nearby aliens, who had been casually discussing Anton just moments before, instantly fell silent.
Their throats seemed to tighten as if something had lodged in them.
"Damn… Knowhere got another powerhouse."
"Did you even see how fast he moved?"
"If I could see that clearly, I wouldn't be standing here talking—I'd be out making a fortune as an interstellar mercenary."