Phil positioned himself perfectly: the role of an outsider.
Since he had no vested interests with the superheroes, looking down at everything from a god’s perspective, Phil himself had no vulnerabilities. The public also fully supported and encouraged his behavior. Even if other superheroes were displeased and wanted to teach Phil a lesson, they had to consider public opinion.
Ten months passed just like that.
The fans Phil accumulated as a mentor on the show SUCCESSOR were perfectly converted into his personal followers. Large portions of the public genuinely believed Phil possessed real talent and expertise.
Everyone knew Phil had advisors, but which superhero didn’t have their own staff and agents? Having advisors was completely normal, and most people still believed in Phil’s personal abilities.
After ten months, Phil finally found another opportunity.
This time, the Black apprentice from SUCCESSOR ended up in a coma after being severely beaten by a super-criminal more powerful than himself during a mission—he had misjudged the criminal’s strength.
As Phil was this Black apprentice’s mentor and essentially his guide, his comments on this incident naturally carried enormous weight in the public’s eyes.
Phil first visited the Black apprentice at the hospital, his sorrowful expression deeply moving. In that moment, the barriers between white and Black, between the wealthy and ordinary citizens, seemed to dissolve—everyone saw only the genuine bond between a mentor and his student.
Phil met the Black apprentice’s girlfriend, presented her with many precious gifts as consolation, and generously promised to cover all the apprentice’s medical expenses.
Deeply touched, the girlfriend shared everyday details about her relationship with the Black apprentice in front of the cameras.
The apprentice deeply respected Phil and was grateful for Phil’s recognition. Before every mission, he would ask himself: If Mentor Phil faced this situation, what would he do? After completing missions, regardless of the outcome, he would wonder: If Mentor Phil faced this situation, would he have handled it better?
Finally, the girlfriend quoted a famous superhero saying: “With great power comes great responsibility,” and expressed hope that Phil would become a superhero to truly contribute to changing the world.
Phil remained silent for a long time, didn’t give an immediate answer, and said he needed to think about it before announcing his decision on Twitter.
Two days later, Phil posted an inspiring tweet.
He said his current life was comfortable and easy, with a career he was willing to fight for. Becoming a superhero meant giving up his media company and his current carefree lifestyle—a huge sacrifice for him.
But then his tone shifted.
Now, Captain World’s successors had become corrupt and ineffective, and the superhero system that the public took pride in was gradually declining.
Long-established superheroes were obsessed with fame and fortune, increasingly indifferent to ordinary people’s lives. Despite their high positions, they did nothing, completely out of touch with common citizens.
The Superhero Association extracted massive commercial value from superheroes, becoming more eager to create stars, package images, and cover up negative news. They often deceived the public, and their foolish arrangements frequently resulted in ordinary people being hurt by crime.
Then there were earnest young people like this Black apprentice who became superheroes with noble intentions but lacked sufficient power to change the status quo.
In his tweet, Phil stated that while becoming a superhero represented a huge sacrifice, he was fed up with superheroes’ inaction and the suffering crime brought to the city. He decided to step forward, become a superhero, and change things.
He hoped all citizens would support him in reviving Captain World’s spirit, reducing crime, preventing future tragedies, and getting superheroes back on track.
This tweet immediately sparked intense reactions, and he used it to skip directly to the first stage, gaining superhero powers.
Phil’s actions alarmed the Superhero Association. To them, Phil was an unpredictable factor—they worried he might disrupt their existing system even more once inside. Rather than extending an invitation, they denied him entry citing “association regulations.”
Phil actually welcomed this rejection.
For regular superheroes, joining the Association was the only option—not joining meant no recognition, no exposure, no missions, and difficulty connecting with sponsors for next-stage campaign funds.
But Phil didn’t need any of this. Joining the Association would actually restrict him.
So Phil chose to be a “lone wolf,” operating outside the superhero system, only engaging in events where success was 100% guaranteed.
Not only that, but Phil continued spending lavishly through intermediaries to bribe criminals, gaining advance knowledge of their plans to perfectly prevent crimes.
Since most of his missions were safe or pre-arranged, without the Association forcing unknown missions on him like other heroes faced, Phil’s success rate was exceptionally high.
Whenever Phil successfully completed a mission, he arranged for his media company and friendly TV stations to extensively cover it. He frequently shared action details on Twitter with his supporters.
Additionally, Phil made a big deal of not joining the Superhero Association, gaining three benefits:
First, he created a “volunteer” image for his fans—compared to those seeking fame and fortune, Phil appeared more noble and independent.
Second, he could avoid high-difficulty, low-success-rate events he didn’t want to handle. Fans wouldn’t question his selectivity since being outside the Association meant not having access to detailed event information. Phil could claim he learned too late to intervene.
Finally, he could continue commenting on events he didn’t participate in while freely choosing which missions to complete. This satisfied critics saying “if you can do better, try it,” without risking exposure in uncontrollable situations.
Through these methods, Phil continued building his reputation. In fans’ eyes, he was a true hero with ability, conviction, and purpose—the only issue was insufficient support, limiting his powers and preventing bigger achievements.
The Association’s “envy, suppression, and obstruction” of Phil made him seem unfairly treated, causing fans to rally around him. His supporters increasingly radicalized into an echo chamber.
But Phil knew this state couldn’t continue indefinitely.
Constantly challenging the Association would eventually provoke superhero backlash. He needed to quickly advance to the next stage and gain more powerful abilities.
He entered the third stage, preparing his superhero platform and beginning preparations for the superhero election.
After Phil announced his intention, many superheroes scoffed—his credentials were completely insufficient for such high-level competition.
Other superheroes typically needed two to three years of experience before attempting such elections, but Phil was clearly rushing, lacking solid foundation.
In other superheroes’ view, Phil faced three insurmountable problems in running for election to gain more support and stronger powers:
First, no major corporation would fund his campaign. Though Phil could self-fund, this was relatively manageable.
Second, since he wasn’t in the Association, he couldn’t give public speeches or participate in debates at Association venues. His name would be nominated, but only symbolically. Without platform opportunities, gaining votes would be nearly impossible.
Finally, Phil lacked a clear demographic constituency. Minorities, transgender individuals, immigrants—all had their representative heroes. Phil’s image clashed with these groups’ interests. Even with his fans’ strong support, he could only count on one person, one vote, advancing at most one round before elimination.
Therefore, most superheroes and even Association election officials dismissed Phil’s announcement as another publicity stunt, not taking it seriously.
But soon, they realized their mistake: Phil had clearly anticipated all these challenges.