After being in theaters for a month, Lucy settled at a final box office of $1.872 billion.
However, since cinemas worldwide would continue screening the film, surpassing $2 billion was only a matter of time.
Norton Eye and Ethan had truly proven their ability to produce blockbuster films, bringing indirect benefits to United Artists and MGM as well.
Many film studios immediately extended invitations for their projects.
Marvel's Iron Man series, Paramount's Transformers series, and Sony's Spider-Man series were all among them.
Additionally, Digital Domain, which handled Lucy's visual effects, finally reclaimed its position at the forefront of Hollywood's VFX industry, securing a substantial market share and returning to profitability.
However, Ethan had little interest in these superhero blockbusters. Instead, he publicly announced that he would direct the new installment of the 007 series, Skyfall.
In the original timeline, this film was greenlit in 2010, filmed in 2011, and released at the end of 2012.
Due to MGM's financial crisis at the time, Sony was responsible for its distribution. But now, that was no longer necessary.
This James Bond film, which had grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, would now be co-produced by Norton Eye, United Artists, and MGM, with Ethan as the director of this iconic franchise.
When fans heard the news, they were thrilled.
This was Ethan—the director of Lucy and Inception. With him at the helm, the film was guaranteed to be revitalized with new energy.
Shortly after the news broke, the fan community had already listed Skyfall as a must-watch for 007 enthusiasts, even before its release.
Ethan had proven, through his skills and box office performance, that every film he directed was undeniably spectacular.
But unlike the excited fans, Ethan himself wasn't too focused on altering the film significantly. He believed the original was already well-made.
At most, he would fix some plot holes and continuity errors while enhancing the action sequences and cinematography.
For Ethan, directing Skyfall was merely a way to make money and add another accolade to his career.
Thus, he didn't invest too much effort into it.
Recently, he had been dividing his time between being with his children and accompanying Kyoko Fukada, who had traveled all the way from Japan.
Since her visit was short, she did everything she could to ensure Ethan had a pleasurable time.
Before leaving the U.S., she even asked Ethan for a supporting female role in Skyfall.
To Ethan, this was a trivial request. At his current status, no one in Hollywood would ignore his recommendations for casting.
After seeing Kyoko off, Ethan began focusing on new films within the SuperCyc universe.
His plan for the next five years was to release three new films, each named after a hero within the SuperCyc world.
Of course, the comics would be launched first.
Ethan hired a team of professional writers to create scripts and introduced a lucrative bonus system for Valiant Comics' artists. If their comics exceeded sales expectations, they would receive a percentage of the profits.
This strategy aimed to encourage the artists to maintain high quality in their work.
Once a few comic series were released, Ethan would identify the most popular heroes and adapt them into films.
For now, though, the Lucy comic had already been released.
After the movie had remained a sensation for a month, the comic adaptation finally hit the shelves, ready for scrutiny from die-hard comic fans.
Vincenzo was among the first readers to get his hands on a copy.
"It looks exquisite," he said as he tore off the plastic seal, feeling the high-quality texture of the pages. Holding it close, he could even smell the ink and paper.
The cover depicted the moment Lucy transformed into a black organic supercomputer. Large swaths of black, purple, and red blended together, outlined with sharp, clean strokes, creating a visually striking effect.
Vincenzo opened to the first page and immediately noticed a difference from the film.
The comic dedicated several pages to Lucy's backstory.
She was born into an ordinary family and worked part-time to support herself. Because of a scholarship for studying abroad, she ultimately chose to attend university in Seoul.
Unfortunately, she met a terrible boyfriend—one who partied, drank excessively, and did drugs.
Under his influence, Lucy picked up these bad habits, but she never abandoned her studies.
This was why, at the start of the movie, she was reluctant to help her boyfriend—she had to go to class.
The rest of the story closely followed the film, though the comic featured more intense depictions, especially during fight scenes, where blood splattered dramatically.
Vincenzo found these moments thrilling.
By the time he reached the fifth-to-last page, the story had already progressed to Lucy resolving everything and handing the USB drive containing her consciousness to Professor Norman.
"So what happens next?" Vincenzo wondered as he flipped to the fourth-to-last page.
This page contained Lucy's inner monologue.
"I thought I had shed all human emotions."
"But as I traced human genes back to their origins, reaching the moment of our creation, I realized this world was far more complex than I had imagined."
"I was overwhelmed by shock and an indescribable fear."
"Because I saw…"
"Them…"
In the illustration, the tiny figure of Lucy sat on a chair, surrounded by an endless ocean and mountains hidden behind the clouds.
Looking up, one could see a group of blurred figures encircling the Earth.
It was as if she was at the banquet table of the gods, and Lucy was the meal being served.
"Who exactly are they?"
"What is their purpose in coming to Earth?"
"Why has our exploration of the universe never discovered them?"
"What is the real truth of this world?"
"I don't know, so I intend to search for the answer, to return to the very origin of humanity and find out."
This part of the story was illustrated in a fast-paced manner, taking only half a page to briefly describe Lucy's journey.
From modern cities to medieval Europe, then to ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, and finally to primitive human tribes.
In the end, she stopped in front of a stone stele.
Surrounding her were large numbers of primitive people bowing in worship. They were dressed in rough clothing but displayed an attitude of deep reverence.
Rows upon rows of people knelt from the mountaintop down to the foothills, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Lucy was stunned. She did not understand why these people were worshipping an ordinary stone stele. She turned to look and noticed that the stele was surrounded by various flowers and plants in strange colors.
That deep blue color was eerily similar to CPH4.
Lucy pondered for a moment and then stepped forward to examine the stele.
The stele bore a series of incredibly strange characters.
"It seems alive, constantly shifting before my eyes."
"A few simple words, yet they contain knowledge far beyond all that humanity has accumulated."
"I cannot understand them, but I know I have found the key."
"Deciphering these words might explain the existence of those extraterrestrial beings."
"And I… need help."
Unknowingly, Vincenzo had flipped to the final page, where several mysterious silhouettes appeared.
Clearly, these were the allies Lucy intended to find.
"Damn it, why are there still more mysteries?"
Even though Vincenzo had found some answers, he was left itching with curiosity.
He desperately wanted to see the second Lucy movie immediately.
But that was, of course, impossible for now.
All he could do was keep an eye on Valiant Comics' upcoming releases. Fortunately, the website provided an answer.
Next month, a new issue would be released.
After reading all the information, Vincenzo quickly started recording a video to explain the comic's content to his channel's followers.
He also speculated on the plot of the next movie based on the comic.
Valiant Comics' sales exceeded Ethan's initial expectations.
Perhaps it was due to Lucy's success in theaters that comic store owners were highly confident in this title, leading them to stock large quantities.
In America, comics had gone through various developmental phases.
Before the Great Depression, comics were primarily sold as books or newspaper strips. Since readers generally had disposable income, they could afford the high prices of comic books, allowing the industry to thrive.
However, after the Great Depression, expensive comic books stopped selling. In response, some companies started releasing 10-cent periodical comics.
This format was a massive success and gradually took over the market.
Yet, compared to collectible comic books, periodicals were criticized for lacking long-term value due to their cheap production quality.
It wasn't until 1935 that DC Comics emerged, bringing collectible value to periodicals.
The first collectible comic magazine in American history, New Fun, measured 250mm × 380mm, had 36 pages, a cardstock matte cover, and a character encyclopedia.
From then on, periodical comics became the mainstream, and many teenagers developed the habit of buying them regularly.
This also explained why DC frequently rebooted its series in recent years. A new #1 issue always had collectible value, and reboots could stimulate the collector's market.
Anniversary editions and major crossover events worked the same way.
However, in the 1950s, Marvel's Fantastic Four and Daredevil, with their themes of horror, romance, and violence, sparked public controversy, leading to a comic book ban.
This forced many adult-oriented and non-mainstream periodicals into the underground comic scene—much like underground magazines of the same era.
In 1974, the U.S. passed an anti-paraphernalia law, further restricting the distribution of underground comics.
This led to the rise of the direct market era.
Distributors prohibited retailers from returning unsold comics for refunds.
In exchange for better purchase terms, retailers and distributors had to gamble on accurately predicting customer demand.
As a result, comic book stores received new issues a week earlier than newsstands and provided better service. More importantly, they could prevent minors from accessing restricted content, allowing adult-themed comics to flourish.
This system also meant that high-profile comics received heavy stocking, while lesser-known titles struggled to gain shelf space.
Luckily, Lucy was already a well-known name thanks to its success in theaters, making it popular among comic store owners.
However, Ethan and Valiant Comics still had to worry about retailers reducing their stock orders if future issues didn't maintain strong sales.
To counter this, Ethan planned to take a different approach:
Graphic novels.
This wasn't a new concept in America.
Graphic novels were pioneered in the 1970s by Will Eisner—one of the leaders of the underground comic movement and the namesake of the Eisner Awards.
Simply put, graphic novels present comics in a literary format.
DC's Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns were prime examples.
The Dark Knight Returns even stayed on the UK's bestseller list for 40 weeks, proving the appeal of graphic novels.
With the rise of Amazon, independent bookstores, and book chains in the 1990s, graphic novels saw a resurgence.
By 2005, graphic novel sales had surpassed periodical comics, which was why Ethan wanted Valiant Comics to pivot.
In the rigid, saturated periodical market, ValiantComics would struggle against the titans of DC and Marvel.
But in the emerging and less-defined graphic novel market, their dominance was not yet solidified.
This was an open field where Valiant Comics could overtake them.
To achieve this, Ethan struck an exclusive deal with Amazon.
Going forward, Valiant Comics' graphic novels would be sold exclusively on Amazon, which, in return, would give them premium placement and promotional support.
A win-win situation.
Once this deal was finalized, Norton's Eye issued another publishing announcement:
"Norton's Eye will soon release Lucy's official art book and a Cybernetic Prosthetics Design Guide. We understand that many fans love the cybernetic enhancements featured in our film. After discussion, we've decided to share these designs with you. Every prosthetic structure will be meticulously illustrated and published as a collector's edition—our gift to fans."
Surprisingly, the first to react were not the general movie fans—
But the cosplay community.
The moment they heard the announcement, they practically erupted with joy, wishing they could run to Norton's Eye and kiss Ethan on the spot.
"Wow, this is amazing!"
"I can finally recreate the cybernetic limbs from the movie! So cool!"
"I never expected Norton's Eye to be this considerate! I won't have to freeze-frame every scene anymore!"
Many skilled prop-makers called it the smartest move Norton's Eye had ever made.
Meanwhile, executives at other studios were baffled by Ethan's decision.
Selling an official Lucy art book was standard practice.
But breaking down the painstakingly designed props into a reference guide for the public?
That was unheard of.
Would fans really buy such a technical product?
After much debate, they could only conclude that Ethan was simply showing his appreciation for the fans.
But in reality, Ethan's vision extended far beyond that.
"This is the most powerful weapon in the IP war," he told Yuffie.
....
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