Superman in Marvel – Chapter 28: The Sun's Gift
The Morning After
Ethan Carter woke up on the couch.
Not that he remembered falling asleep.
The farmhouse was silent, except for the faint sound of his mother moving in the kitchen. The smell of coffee filled the air.
For the first time in a long time, everything felt normal.
Like the last seven days hadn't happened.
But they had.
And as Ethan sat up, the weight of it all came rushing back.
The battle. The pain. The moment his body gave out, floating in the vast emptiness of space.
The sun.
His rebirth.
And something else.
Something he couldn't explain.
The Change
Ethan stood and stretched.
And immediately, he felt it.
Something was different.
His muscles felt stronger. His skin tingled with energy. Every movement felt effortless, weightless.
He focused—just for a second—on the world around him.
And suddenly, he could hear everything.
A heartbeat miles away. The soft scratching of an ant beneath the floorboards. The wind brushing against a tree on the other side of the farm.
It wasn't just his strength.
Everything had grown.
The sun had done more than heal him.
It had evolved him.
Tony Notices
Tony Stark had spent the night in the guest room.
Well, tried to.
He had barely slept, too busy going over every detail of Ethan's return.
Something wasn't adding up.
The energy readings from when Ethan entered the atmosphere were off the charts.
Not just strong—impossible.
So when he saw Ethan standing outside the house, just staring at his hands, he knew something was up.
Tony stepped onto the porch, arms crossed. "Alright, Space Boy. Spill it."
Ethan blinked. "What?"
Tony sighed. "You think I wouldn't notice? You came back different."
Ethan hesitated.
Because Tony was right.
But how could he explain it when he didn't even understand it himself?
"I feel… stronger," Ethan admitted. "Like… like I was rebuilt from the ground up."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, no kidding. You landed like a nuclear bomb. I'm still getting calls from scientists trying to explain the light show you put on."
Ethan exhaled. "I think… the sun didn't just heal me. It changed me."
Tony stared at him for a long moment.
Then—
"Alright. That's terrifying."
Ethan chuckled. "Yeah."
Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, let's break this down. Are we talking, like, small upgrade stronger, or holy-crap-I-can-bench-press-the-moon stronger?"
Ethan's expression turned serious. "I don't know yet."
And that's what scared him the most.
SHIELD Takes Action
Elsewhere, Nick Fury stood in front of a massive screen at SHIELD headquarters.
The footage played again.
Superman returning.
The way he glowed. The sheer energy radiating from him.
Fury had seen powerful beings before.
But this?
This was new.
Maria Hill crossed her arms. "Do we make contact?"
Fury didn't answer immediately.
Then—
"No."
Hill frowned. "Sir—"
Fury turned to her. His expression was unreadable.
"Superman just came back from the dead. He's more powerful than ever. And we have no idea how much he's changed."
Hill hesitated. "…So we watch?"
Fury nodded. "For now."
Because if Superman had really changed—
They needed to know exactly what that meant