Chapter 187: The “Big Boss” I

Team dynamics and all that truly don't start out well for most examples. The Anti-Creed Alliance was not exempt from that.

Although all of them were geared towards a goal to deal with Creed Comics and Alexander Creed, there were still mishaps that are bound to happen.

In any case, there were elephants in the room that needed to be recognized and the very elephants did their part in making it clear.

"Well, well, well... I never thought I'd see a day where Marvel and DC would join hands." The Charlton Comics representative commented with a joking intent but it seem to have run the wrong way.

"Heh!" A Marvel teammate scoffed. "I never really get why our Marvel always had to be in tandem with DC. Can't we just be separate? It would only lead to second-hand embarrassment when being associated with the embarrassing DC Comics. Their Alan Moore failure is still quite fresh after all."

"Why do you have to be some idiotic snob?" A DC-er clapped back. "You think you're better than us when we're pretty much in the same boat."

The aggressive Marvel-er truly had a vendetta for DC. "DC Comics is a fuc..."

"ENOUGH!" Jim Shooter couldn't take it anymore. This subordinate of his was just causing trouble. "We're here to cooperate. Not go against each other to the point of just destroying ourselves."

"Tsk... Why are you so demanding now, Shooter?" The insubordinate Marvel-er did not show respect to Shooter at all. "We wouldn't have been in this problem in the first place if it wasn't for your decisions."

Before Shooter could reprimand, Alan Hassenfeld chimed in with sarcasm. "It was rumored that Jim Shooter was hated by everybody at Marvel. I didn't believe it at first but now it seems to be true. Shouldn't someone like you be kicked out of the company already?"

Jim Shooter offered no denial to that. He was a person who was constantly hated and criticized at the company he works in. It was even to a point where a certain comic artist hosted a party to burn an effigy of him.

Of course, Shooter wouldn't take things lying down. "What's it to you, then? We are still talking about comic books now. How come a toy executive like you has to butt in?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you didn't act quickly on making our transforming robot comic book." Hasbro's Alan voiced out his grudge. "Our selection is now stuck with a rebranded toyline from Japan. Do you see how much damage you've given us, Mr. Shooter?"

Shooter did not hide his scorn. "Just admit that your the one's who's late for the "Transformers" commission. Why pass the blame when you should just look into the mirror?"

Alan was ticked. How dare a simple comic book editor defy someone like him? He represented Hasbro and to disrespect him is to disrespect a mega toy company.

Anyways, the back and forth between Alan and Shooter went on for a while.

Shooter took pride in being a self-made man who started comic book work at the young age of 14.

Meanwhile, Alan was born into a rich family with a mega-business. He found no shame in that as in his opinion it was something to take pride in.

Of course, the DC group was not one to feel left out as they teamed with Hasbro.

However, at some point in their debates, it became an intense triangle of big companies clashing.

The rest of the medium and small-timers could only take a backseat now. DC, Marvel, and Hasbro's grudges and tripartite battles were for them to deal with as any one of the three big bosses was not something that could be remotely offended.

In any case, the 'shaky start' cliche was embodied here.

It was like Batman being too broody, Superman being too positively sunny, and Wonder Woman being too Greek-y. It was hard to expect them to work together in one go.

Fortunately, there was a Doomsday or Darkseid guy to step in and force them to give their all into team power- the 'big boss' cliche!

-----

At some point, the bickering between the Anti-Creed Alliance's Big Three was mellowed and everything had inadvertently spread out to the rest.

"Why is Creed Comics so insidious? We just recently joined in. Why did the main antagonist have to be someone named Marvella Suprise?" The previously insubordinate Marvel-er complained. "What's worse is that Alexander Creed just had to make Marvella's boyfriend be Detective Charlton? Although it has freaking Charlton Comics in it, who doesn't know that it's related to DC's Detective freakin C?!"

"Do you know how much shame it is to be in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with your rival?"

The Archie Comics rep voiced out after that. "Bald Archibald is clearly our famous Archie... but totally fattened, balded, and depressingly decrepit. We we're just tailing you guys, why did Archie have to be represented in such a way."

Alan Hassenfeld had his complaints as well. "Why did Hasbros have to be those chubby Haz Bros kids? Our toy company is majoring in the child demographic, why did the Haz Bros have to be shown as bullies?"

"DC was much more aggressive than us but why was ours much more demonizing and attacking." Peter Laird of Mirage was indignant. "Creed is clearly the plagiarizers. Why is that crime directed to us now?"

The Thomas brothers and the RoboCop screenwriters nodded at Laird's indignation. Unlike the big and medium players who sued for the sake of it, those at the lower rungs had a much more solid case, so being painted as the new plagiarizers was not something they can just accept.

Eventually, the discordant group finally found their common ground on the hated Creed Comics.

Their team combos, however, were quite questionable. Instead of powers overlapping to a greater superpower, the Anti-Creed Alliance just took turns complaining, voicing out grievances, and cursing Creed out.

The meeting that was supposed to be discussing Creed countermeasures and whatnot had inadvertently strayed into something else.

It was supposed to be a formal and strategizing rendezvous but now, they seem like a drunk and hurting group of rambling men.

"Why is that Alexander Creed so buggy anyways? He just published a story that mirrors our circumstances and poof... we're now in this situation!" This was something Hasbro Alan was always confounded about. "We have a far-reaching media momentum on our side but 4 flimsy issues of drawings and speech bubbles beat that all. Creed Comics is even earning more money at the side of it!"

"It's because the man has used his skills to their fullest and masterfully manipulated things in a way that best suits him." A creator like Jim Shooter had much insight into this. "Alexander simply used a propagandic medium that he is undisputed in.

"Superman and Captain America were instrumental icons during the World Wars or any war effort. They inspired and evoked nationalism to the readers." Shooter was in admiration and dread. "Alexander Creed simply formed an instrumental icon like them."

"Do you mean that Phoenix Wright character?" A DC executive asked. "Our market research has no clear data on it yet but law practitioners and law professionals seem to approve of that guy."

"Attorney Phoenix has the makings of a law icon, however..." Shooter agreed but also disagreed. "That character is just one part of our problem as ten-year-old Aleksei Kreid is the tinkered icon that plagues us."

"Aleksei Kreid is inspirational and admirable in his own way but what stands out for that character is being pitiable, heart-tugging, and all that. In one manipulative icon-trick, Aleksei and Alexander overlapped in the minds of everyone in the comic book industry."

"Like Aleksei, Alexander Creed became the one to pity and his attackers, which is us, are the ones to dislike."

"We all know Hollywood and newspapers paint and enforce bias into our minds. This is why we went with the media publicity route in the first place." Shooter reiterated. "Just as we were manipulating things with that, Alexander Creed found a much effective medium that fit his manipulative needs."

Shooter's analysis was not anything new but it was a much-needed wake-up call to everyone in the alliance.

They had a 'shaky start' and a somewhat weird and 'coalescing midway'. However, they now turned serious as they realized that the 'big boss' they were up against was way too crafty and formidable.

In any case, Alexander Creed was now the 'big boss' that they had to take down with all that they have. Beating big boss Alexander should be most integral cliche to complete their alliance's development and purpose.