Before long, Tony's attention was pulled back to the video, because the second person chosen by the Watcher was Star-Lord—only it wasn't Peter Quill, but T'Challa!
"Holy Hell—what kind of insane world is this? Why is the Black Panther Star-Lord now? And how the hell did he blow up Ego with just one bomb?"
Tony was once again dumbfounded. The animated worlds were just too wild—anything could happen!
Natasha, on the other hand, wasn't all that familiar with Star-Lord or Ego. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Looks like this world went through some kind of major crisis… I'm guessing it's because of this 'Ego' you mentioned. Wait a second—don't tell me this Ego is that same giant-faced planet we just saw get completely overrun by Ultron's robot army?"
Tony shrugged. "Bingo. You guessed it—Ego is that planet."
Homelander crossed his arms and scoffed.
"Pathetic. If it were me, I'd have taken care of them in no time."
Tony couldn't resist a snort. "Please, pal—you're still struggling on your own planet. These guys are interstellar fighters."
In the video, when the Watcher went to pick the third recruit, Tony Stark finally appeared on screen.
However, this world's Tony was wearing a much bulkier suit—nothing like the sleek MK-series armor everyone was used to. It looked more like one of those clunky, oversized contraptions Main Universe Tony had cobbled together when he was thinking too hard.
He wasn't on Earth either—he was on Nidavellir, the dwarven star-forge, alongside Gamora. The two were asking the dwarven king for help, working to melt down an Infinity Gauntlet.
From their conversation, it became clear that this version of Iron Man was considering building an intelligent defense system—and deploying it across the galaxy.
Natasha couldn't help smacking her forehead.
"Tony, it doesn't matter what universe you're in—you always seem to have the same dangerous ideas. Maybe that's exactly why the Watcher didn't choose you."
Erik chuckled. "If I were the Watcher, I'd choose him on purpose—just to make him face his own creation. Now that would be entertaining."
Tony scowled. "I swear, the Watcher is targeting me. He got smacked around by Ultron, so now he's taking it out on me!"
Bruce Banner, who had been quiet until now, actually nodded. "You know… you might be right. If I were the Watcher, and I saw you again, I'd probably Hulk out on the spot."
It wasn't entirely unreasonable. In the future video, the Watcher had indeed treated Stark with barely concealed irritation: "I'm not talking to you, Stark. Gamora, you've been chosen."
And Gamora really was impressive—she'd literally slain her adoptive father Thanos, inheriting his armor and double-edged sword.
The fourth recruit was even more surprising—Erik Killmonger, who had left Wakanda in ruins. That pick in particular made the r2,eal Tony Stark roll his eyes.
'Seriously, who is this guy picking?'
The fifth was Thor—arguably the biggest name so far—currently waging an all-out brawl against swarms of Ultron's machines.
It was obvious this wasn't the Thor from Ultron's world; in that timeline, both Thor and Iron Man had already been killed. And judging from the scope of the battle, Ultron's invasion of the multiverse was already in full swing.
Thor was so wrapped up in the fight that he ignored the Watcher's looming face and booming voice entirely. The man was a battle junkie—once he started swinging, the rest of the world might as well not exist.
In the end, the Watcher had to physically pluck him out of the fight. Thor screamed all the way until the scene abruptly shifted to a bar, where he was still yelling at the top of his lungs.
The players watching couldn't help but burst into laughter. Homelander chuckled, "Tony Stark, much as I hate to admit it, your assessment of Thor was spot on."
Tony smirked, then frowned suddenly. "Wait a second—we're missing someone. Where's Stephen Strange?"
Animated Doctor Strange was no joke. Long before Ultron, he'd destroyed his own universe single-handedly—and even managed to perceive the Watcher's presence.
If the Watcher was pulling together a team of 'Guardians of the Multiverse,' there was no way he'd skip a heavy hitter like the Dark Strange.
Sure enough, the video revealed that the first person the Watcher had approached—before Captain Carter—was the corrupted Doctor Strange.
At the time, the Watcher had been beaten to within an inch of his life by Ultron and forced to flee to a place where Ultron couldn't find him. The pocket universe created by Dark Strange was the perfect hiding spot.
It was there that the Watcher extended his invitation, recruiting Dark Strange to join the fight against Ultron.
And with that, the video ended.
Outside the screen, Natasha's expression turned grim. "Now that the future's been exposed, Ultron will almost certainly interfere with the Watcher's plan. He might even be accelerating his multiversal invasion."
Tony frowned. "I doubt it'll be that bad. If Ultron can see the livestream of the future, then so can the Watcher. With some preparation, he should at least be able to push back a little."
Erik folded his arms. "What I'm curious about is whether this patchwork team can actually take Ultron down."
Homelander sneered. "Not a chance. If the Watcher himself can't beat Ultron, we're supposed to believe this bunch of nobodies can? If that's true, then Ultron's just a joke."
Everyone else gave him a collective look of disgust—he was clearly just talking trash for the sake of it. No one bothered to reply.
Natasha thought for a moment. "I think they have a shot. Ultron's not invincible—Dr. Zola can infiltrate his mainframe, and Gamora has experience dealing with Infinity Stones. Like it or not, the Watcher's choices were… strategic."
Tony shook his head. "I'll grant you Ultron's beatable, but the Watcher's got a good eye? Please. Forget the others—what's Killmonger doing on that team? If I'm not mistaken, the guy's a straight-up villain."
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T/N:
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