Chapter 1405 - The Foundation and Justice
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
When the tycoon heard that it was about money, he immediately relaxed. As long as it had to do with money, it wasn’t an issue for him.
Also, he was very familiar with using money to return a favor.
So, Tony simply asked, “How much do you want?”
Luke chuckled and shook his finger. “No, you don’t need to fork out money for this fund.”
Tony: “Huh?”
Luke said, “On behalf of all the superheroes who appeared yesterday, I authorize the establishment of a foundation to help with superhero operations. All proceeds will go toward helping innocent people who were injured in various related incidents.”
Tony: “What?”
Natasha: “…”
After a long while, Tony shook his head. “This isn’t really something we can do. First of all, how are you going to prove that this authority comes from Batman himself?”
Natasha nodded.
The biggest problem with Luke’s proposal was that under the law, Batman wasn’t a real American citizen.
That was because… nobody knew who Batman was.
As for Bruce Wayne? Hehe, did he think they were dumb?
Neither Tony nor Natasha had heard this name before, and anyone with a similar name didn’t have Batman’s combat ability.
Even if Luke said that he was Batman with this appearance and name, he had to first prove that Bruce Wayne was Batman.
Only then could Bruce Wayne give authority to someone else to use Batman’s image.
This was a legal matter, and couldn’t be brushed aside using the title of the number one superhero.
Batman’s friends all faced the same problem, except for Tony.
Tony Stark was the only superhero who had disclosed his real identity. Naturally, the “copyright” that came with using his real identity was legally binding.
If this legal “copyright” didn’t exist, other people wouldn’t need to pay a fee to use his image.
In any case, would Batman sue someone for using his image without his approval? Obviously not.
This was also the reason why there were so many unscrupulous Batman “peripherals” on the market
Hearing that, Luke smiled. “It’s very simple, since you’ll be the one to set up this foundation.”
Stumped for a moment, Tony subconsciously shook his head. “That’s not legally valid either.”
Luke chuckled. “I don’t need it to be legally valid; it just needs to be recognized as an ‘official’ foundation endorsed by Batman.”
As Tony mulled over the idea, he immediately got the gist of it. He couldn’t help but glare. “Are you playing at being a celebrity with fans?”
It was like a certain famous sneaker brand manufacturer which lost a supply contract; the shoes which they produced after that were essentially the same as before, but no longer “genuine” versions.
Even if the shoes were identical, the company would use all kinds of anti-counterfeit codes and verification codes to differentiate between the genuine and fake versions.
The prices of both types were completely different in the hands of fans and collectors.
Luke shook his head with a smile. “Do you think everyone is like you, whose biggest interest is sleeping with female stars? Hm, there’s also female models, female reporters, female doctors, female professors…”
“Stop!” Tony was a little unhappy. “You’re just jealous. Also, what’s with Sheerah? There’s also a rumor that you’ve done the dirty with Jennifer Perry as well.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “So, you do read those cheap tabloid rags.”
Tony: …
Natasha: …
A decent newspaper wouldn’t publish that sort of news. Even Sheerah, Batman’s so-called “girlfriend,” wouldn’t be officially labeled as such.
Only tabloids and online media with no integrity would use this to attract attention.
So, Tony had definitely seen those gossip rags.
Luke returned to the topic. “Alright, you’re not wrong. I’ll supply you some ‘prizes’ regularly to ensure that the foundation has genuine authority.”
Tony asked, “Such as?”
Luke said, “My ‘personally made’ bat darts, the rod exclusively used by Bastet, or other special equipment.”
Tony thought for a moment, then nodded grudgingly. “Fine, if you say you made them yourself, so be it.”
Luke spread his hands. “Even if no one believes me, they’ll believe Iron Man, since you’re not interested in that small amount of money.”
Tony was unable to respond.
Of course, he understood that he was ultimately the most important person in the foundation.
Without him, the only superhero with a real identity who was wealthy enough to be a guarantor, it would be very hard to make others believe in the authenticity of the foundation’s authority and “products.”
However, he wouldn’t reject this proposal.
This was a much more important favor than simply giving out money.
Tony Stark’s reputation wasn’t something that could be exchanged with money.
At that point, they stopped talking about the details of the foundation.
Luke and Tony were investing their “fame”; how that fame could be used to generate gains would naturally be left to the professionals to accomplish.
Luke also added, “Also, this foundation doesn’t accept any external contributions.”
Tony frowned. “Do you have to be so cautious?”
This was unnecessarily cautious, and didn’t match Tony’s understanding of Batman.
If Batman cared so much about reputation, he wouldn’t have gone in the face of the law and crippled countless gangsters throughout this year.
It had to be pointed out that the United States was a country of human rights, and gangsters had human rights.
Luke drank his glass of wine and poured himself a little more. “I’m setting up the foundation to resolve some issues, not to increase the number of enemies who can attack us.”
After thinking about it, Tony nodded solemnly in agreement. “That’s true, but is it really that serious? We saved a lot of people.”
Luke smiled lightly. “Tony, do you think it was just for us to kill the test subjects and save civilians last night?”
Tony nodded without thinking. “Of course. We’re superheroes.”
He then added mockingly, “Also, you’re the ‘knight’ of the people.”
In this regard, the tycoon was quite envious, because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to obtain this title.
Luke tapped the counter. “Do you think America is just?”
Stunned for a moment, Tony’s lips moved, but he shook his head in the end. “No.”
Stark Industries used to sell weapons. If “justice” in America was so dependable, why would he have announced the closure of the company’s weapons division and fought terrorists himself?
Luke spread his hands. “Do you think the American government needs us to preserve ‘justice’? Or do you think those bigshots are willing to give the power to mete out ‘justice’ to a bunch of ‘vigilantes’?”
Tony lowered his gaze. “No..”
