Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman

Chapter 755: Chapter 755: Empire State University

Although the Tightening Spell from Journey to the West is famous, no one has ever known exactly what the incantation was. Until today, Henry could confirm that Stephen Chow’s movie was absolutely right.

Just listening to Gwen ramble on like this was enough to give even this Kryptonian a headache. No wonder Sun Wukong would writhe on the ground in agony.

Henry hurriedly raised a hand to stop Gwen from continuing and said, "Enough, enough! Can I take back what I said and say that I’d be honored to accompany you to your high school prom?"

Gwen deliberately put on a cold tone. "Oh, do you really want to go? I’m not forcing you."

"No, no, I’m not being forced at all. I just think that this is an experience missing from my life, and that’s a real shame. So I’m genuinely eager to see what a high school prom is like, with all those teenagers running wild."

Ignoring Henry’s final jab, Gwen’s expression softened slightly. "Really?"

"Couldn’t be more real." The Kryptonian, who had learned his lesson, answered decisively.

"Catherine, see? Henry agreed, right? You have to be my witness." Gwen turned to the matriarch of the household for confirmation.

The old lady, however, looked somewhat peculiar. "Gwen, are you sure you want to ask Henry?"

"Of course. I don’t have anyone else to invite. This way, the two tickets I bought in advance won’t go to waste. They cost me a hundred and twenty dollars of my allowance!"

Henry was stunned. "What? Sixty dollars for one ticket! Are you serious?"

Gwen wasn’t nearly as surprised. "That’s normal, isn’t it? Our high school is a public school with a lot of students, so the prom costs are shared among more people, which keeps the ticket price relatively low. Some private high schools with smaller student bodies have ridiculously expensive tickets."

Holy crap! Neither movies nor television had ever shown this part. Henry felt as though he had really broadened his horizons.

In any case, Henry had agreed, so Gwen naturally remembered to give him a few instructions.

"I don’t know whether there’s some special significance to your beard, so I’m not going to insist that you shave it off.

"But remember to make yourself look presentable. Don’t show up dressed like Marilyn Manson. For some reason, I have a feeling you’re exactly the kind of person who would do that."

Little girl, who do you think you’re talking to! Am I really the kind of person who would do that?

I am!

But now that his little trick had been exposed in advance, deliberately doing it would be no fun. Henry began thinking of other ways to liven things up.

On the other hand, to keep this girl from treating him like a genie granting wishes—and even more importantly, to avoid getting dragged into another endless discussion about the prom—Henry changed the subject.

"Gwen, have you heard back about your college applications?"

"Yes! I got accepted into Empire State University," Gwen happily replied.

Empire State University (ESU). Despite its impressive-sounding name, this is actually a real university. It is part of the State University of New York system and is a public university.

There is an interesting anecdote behind this.

The Spider-Man comics debuted in August 1962. Their protagonist was a high school student who, like an ordinary teenager, went on to attend the fictional Empire State University created by Stan Lee.

Then, in 1971, Empire State College was founded in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was later absorbed into the State University of New York system, becoming part of it and eventually being renamed Empire State University (ESU).

Thus, the name of a university that had originally been fictional ended up being adopted by a real-world third-tier community college.

Why call Empire State University a third-rate school? The reason is simple. In the American education system, private universities generally rank above public universities. Famous schools such as Harvard, Yale, and MIT are all private institutions, as is another world of prestige, money, and connections.

Empire State University hasn’t fallen to the level of a diploma mill, but in reality, it is basically a community college. Its advantages are government subsidies, relatively low tuition as a public institution, and the ability to obtain degrees through distance-learning centers.

In this universe, however, Empire State University was founded in 1773. Although it has quite a few famous Marvel alumni, such as Norman Osborn and Emma Frost—the mutant known as the White Queen—the school’s standing hasn’t improved much.

In most people’s eyes, it is still essentially a community-college-level institution.

Its unique advantage in this universe is that Empire State University has a campus in Manhattan. It is located in Greenwich Village, next to Washington Square Park, with New York University—not SUNY, but the prestigious private university—right next door.

So when Henry heard that Gwen had chosen it, he didn’t feel much about the decision. He simply felt that the world always seemed to follow its established trajectory.

Empire State University would also become the stage for Peter Parker, Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, and others.

Catherine Hepburn, however, was far from calm.

The old lady exclaimed, "Gwen, really? You got accepted into Empire State University? Have all the other prestigious schools gone blind? A student as outstanding as you should have your pick of them!

"How about Bryn Mawr College? It’s in Pennsylvania, and it was my alma mater. It’s also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Although it isn’t part of the Ivy League, it’s a women’s college with a long tradition and excellent faculty.

"The application deadline has already passed, but I’m a distinguished alumna. With my recommendation, I’m sure they’d be willing to accept an outstanding student like you. And it wouldn’t delay your college education."

The old lady’s enthusiasm could sometimes be a little overwhelming for young people.

Gwen’s attention immediately shifted from discussing the prom with Henry to Catherine Hepburn’s suggestion.

"Catherine, thank you for your kindness. But choosing Empire State University was a decision I made after thinking it through carefully. Besides the lower tuition at a public university, the scholarship I can apply for, and its location in Manhattan—which means I don’t have to leave town for college—

"the most important factor is that Professor Curt Connors is an adjunct biology professor at Empire State University. He’s also a senior researcher at Oscorp and independently leads one of their projects.

"During my high school internship, Professor Connors was my supervisor at Oscorp. He told me that as long as I maintain excellent grades in college, he’d be willing to recommend me and bring me into Oscorp as a researcher."

Catherine Hepburn immediately understood the reasoning behind Gwen’s choice.

There was a term that few ordinary people encountered, but which genuinely existed in certain fields: academic patronage.

Most people chose prestigious universities and relied on the reputation of those schools to secure good jobs.

Others, however, chose to follow someone who had already achieved a certain level of success in their industry. Under that person’s guidance, they would become the talent that person needed and eventually enter the field alongside them.

Put simply, ordinary college students bet on the reputation of their school.

Those who followed the academic-patronage route bet on the person leading the group being sufficiently capable—and capable of leading everyone around them toward success.

In that case, whether Empire State University itself was an excellent school hardly mattered.

All that mattered was whether Professor Curt Connors was an excellent leader.

Once Catherine understood that Gwen hadn’t made this choice blindly or out of desperation, but rather had a clear objective behind it, she naturally stopped trying to persuade her.

But was Curt Connors really a good choice?

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