The Morlun Family, also known as the Successor Family, some even call them the "Cosmic Vampires".
To understand the origins of this family, one cannot avoid mentioning the Spider Totem.
Perhaps in many people's eyes, the birth of Spider-Man originated from a gene mutation triggered by a spider bite, but that's not entirely true, the power of Spider-Man lies on the magic side, stemming from the ancient Spider Totem.
Animal totems are a very mysterious and powerful force in the entire Marvel Universe. The Spider Totem is among the best of them. Faced with such power, naturally, some would want to steal it.
In the cosmos, there is a species similar to vampires. They traverse among various multiverses, killing all creatures related to the totems to absorb their power and strengthen themselves. This is the Morlun Family.
Shiller admitted to Nick over the phone, "I must admit, I didn't expect them to go after Spider-Man so quickly. We baited them, and it seems we caught a big fish."
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about how we're supposed to deal with them?"
"According to you, they even have the ability to travel through multiverses beyond human comprehension. Most of their targets can't hold a candle to them. So, what do you think we, ordinary humans, should do to deal with these powerful superordinary creatures?"
"The fact is, we don't really need to deal with them."
"What do you mean?" Nick asked him.
"You should also be able to guess that if there's a Morlun Family, there must be other superordinary creatures similar to them, and probably a whole bunch."
"Why do you think humans have managed to survive until now? If they really could do as they pleased here, one Earth wouldn't be enough, even several Solar Systems would be destroyed by them."
"Of course, I know that there have always been mysterious powers protecting the Earth. In fact, from the day I took over as S.H.I.E.L.D Director, I've been paying attention to this."
"But, if the guard of the Bat God has truly descended, doesn't that mean that they've found a way to break through Earth's defenses?"
"They're still far from it. If they really had found a way, why wouldn't they directly appear in Earth's sky and announce to all Earthlings that they were about to rule here...."
"Instead of acting in stealth, like they are guilty, they even need to wear a guise of the Bat God, and make Earth's vampires summon them here."
Finally, Shiller concluded, "They're not bank robbers, they're just a bunch of clumsy thieves who sneaked into ordinary houses and could only silently pick the lock without making a sound."
"Fortunately, the owner of this house has a bad temper and a very good memory."
When the sky grew dark, Stark floated in the air above a block before the Brooklyn Bridge. There was a strangely shaped vehicle beneath him.
Stark pressed a button on his arm, the vehicle's armor unfolded, and a group of oddly shaped robots walked down from it.
They had four robust mechanical legs, the upper half had a ring of mechanical arms, equipped with gear grippers and hooks, and the main body resembled a hexagonal nut.
Steve, standing beside him, said: "Is this the result of your recent work? Are you sure this thing can fight?"
"No, it's not designed for combat." Stark snorted disdainfully, "You typical meathead soldiers only think of fighting. It's a multi-functional battlefield robot."
"So, what can it do?"
"It can handle any logistical work you can think of."
"After tonight's battle, I recognized a significant problem — the weakness of humans might not be that we can't fight, or that our aim is off or evade slowly, but rather, we waste too much manpower on logistical support."
"It takes two strong people to carry a fallen soldier, trudging through the heart of the crossfire to save the wounded. If either of them gets hurt, then someone else needs to take over."
"Of course, in a typical war, this might not be a problem, because the enemy is on the same level as us and won't deliberately target retreating casualties."
"But those Bats are different, they can fly. As soon as they see someone on the ground or someone trying to save a casualty, they attack those people like mad."
"Once we abandon our wounded, our morale will plummet and our casualties will get worse."
"I thought about a lot this afternoon..." said Stark, arms crossed, "This is my first war, so there are many flaws and incompatibilities in my design of the Mecha. I have tried to adjust these problems as quickly as possible."
Steve heard a great deal of confidence from his tone. That was different from his usual hard-headed attitude. At this moment, Stark, or rather Iron Man, indeed possesses a charismatic personality.
He is extraordinarily gifted in his field, and openly discusses his mistakes and weaknesses. This rigorous mindset contrasts with his casual demeanor, giving him a unique charisma.
Stark continued, "Shiller gave me a lot of inspiration. We really need a battle-adaptive algorithm with enough intelligence to anticipate these weaknesses before we even notice them. We need to be one step ahead of the enemy."