Chapter Summaries

In 2037, Lin Xu visited Logan after Charles died, then returned to the Avengers Compound and told the others that Hulk had ended up on Sakaar. While Tony Stark charged an old phone Lin Xu had brought back, he found a photo that showed Steve.

• Lin Xu’s divine body reached saturation, and he visited Charles’s grave to offer Logan his condolences and perform a strange musical tribute.
• Lin Xu learned that Laura had enrolled at Vancouver University and that Charles had taught the children to control their abilities.
• Lin Xu said goodbye to his friends, returned to the Avengers Compound, and asked Tony Stark to modify the dates on the future phones he had brought back.
• Lin Xu told Natasha and the others that Hulk had gone to Sakaar after the Bifrost carried him away from the Quinjet.
• Tony Stark turned on Lin Xu’s old phone and found a photo showing Steve holding up another familiar person and winking at the camera.

Lin Xu returned to Earth and gave the Avengers new phones before sparring with the Ancient One at Kamar-Taj, where she exposed his lack of combat experience. He decided to train on Sakaar and left with Natasha, Bucky, and Steve, asking Tony to look someone up.

• Lin Xu gave the Avengers phones, and Tony questioned him about a photo showing Steve in a parallel universe; Lin Xu warned Tony that Howard and Maria could not be saved by time travel.
• At Kamar-Taj, Lin Xu joked with the Ancient One about adding a Vishanti statue for him, and she challenged him in the Mirror Dimension.
• The Ancient One outmaneuvered Lin Xu by transforming into Dark Strange, disarming and restraining him before beating him; Lin Xu later reflected on his poor combat experience.
• Lin Xu decided to travel to Sakaar to improve his fighting skills and invited the Avengers to join him.
• Natasha, Bucky, and Steve agreed to go with Lin Xu, while Tony stayed behind, and Lin Xu asked Tony to look someone up.

Lin Xu took Steve, Bucky, and Natasha to Nidavellir, where Eitri recognized him as King Bor’s crown prince and pledged the dwarves’ loyalty. As the group set out to find Hulk, Steve tried to make sense of Lin Xu’s influence and suspected he was maneuvering to claim Asgard’s throne.

• Lin Xu used the Bifrost to take Steve, Bucky, and Natasha from the Avengers Compound to Nidavellir.
• At Nidavellir, Lin Xu reunited with Rocket and Star-Lord, and Steve recognized a woman in Lin Xu’s photo as Laura.
• Bucky explained that Steve had met Laura while touring Colorado, while Lin Xu and the others teased Steve about the revelation.
• Eitri saw the golden light on Lin Xu’s forehead, recognized him as King Bor’s crown prince, and swore Nidavellir’s loyalty to King Fengxian.
• During the spaceship’s jump, Steve questioned Lin Xu about his identity, the Bifrost, and his connection to Thor, then suspected Lin Xu planned to claim Asgard’s throne.

Lin Xu arrived on Sakaar, fought off scavengers, and registered as a gladiator in the arena. After learning that Grandmaster’s arena would hunt him if he failed to return, Lin Xu looked forward to drawing its fighters into a game of cat and mouse, then went to a restaurant where a drunk woman sat nearby.

• Rocket brought Lin Xu and the others to Sakaar, and Lin Xu went alone to scout the planet while Rocket hid the group.
• Lin Xu landed in a junk field, defeated a group of scavengers with a piece of channel steel, and questioned their leader about the arena warriors.
• Lin Xu registered as a gladiator and learned that Grandmaster’s arena would pursue him if he did not report back the next day.
• Lin Xu took the card of money issued to free gladiators and went to a restaurant, where he sat near a drunk woman.

Lin Xu trained his combat awareness on Sakaar while staying ahead of the Grandmaster’s men, and Valkyrie confronted him after realizing he had set her up. His display of power left her asking whether he planned to overthrow Odin.

• Lin Xu agreed to let Brunnhilde act as his gladiator agent for thirty percent of his winnings, then failed to appear and left her to face the consequences of their public deal.
• The Grandmaster ordered his men to follow the rules and bring Lin Xu back alive, while warning them not to pursue Brunnhilde unless they could capture her.
• Lin Xu dodged and taunted a group of attackers until they gave up, reflecting on how his days of training had improved his combat awareness.
• Valkyrie confronted Lin Xu in an alley and accused him of setting her up, while he pointed out that she had first approached him to make money.
• Lin Xu fired a Third Eye Laser at Valkyrie’s feet, and she asked excitedly whether he planned to overthrow Odin.

Lin Xu negotiated with Valkyrie, accepted Dragonfang as payment for killing Hela, and confronted Grandmaster over taking Hulk from Sakaar. Grandmaster created an enormous platform above the city and challenged Lin Xu to fight.

• Rocket and Mantis told Captain America that Lin Xu and an Asgardian had swindled Grandmaster, and Captain America realized Lin Xu had come to recruit Banner.
• Valkyrie offered to support Lin Xu as king if he overthrew Odin, but Lin Xu refused and agreed to kill Hela for extra payment.
• Valkyrie gave Lin Xu Dragonfang, which he recognized as the counterpart to the blade held at the New York Sanctum.
• Grandmaster arrived at the restaurant, and Lin Xu announced that he intended to take Hulk away and would fight Grandmaster if necessary.
• Grandmaster disintegrated the building and its onlookers, rearranged the particles into a platform above Sakaar, and challenged Lin Xu to show Oshtur's skill.

Lin Xu fought the Grandmaster in a duel above Sakaar while Rocket led Steve, Natasha, Bucky, and Mantis into the building bearing Hulk's face to search for Banner. The intruders reached a laser corridor and came face-to-face with a huge figure who began to say, "No Banner, only Hul... no!"

• The Grandmaster offered Lin Xu a choice of weapons, but Lin Xu revealed the Eye of Agamotto, the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade, and a scarlet cloak, prompting the Grandmaster to propose a fistfight.
• Lin Xu caught the Grandmaster off guard with a punch, and their first clash sent both fighters flying and damaged the platform.
• The Grandmaster repaired the platform and fought Lin Xu seriously, but Lin Xu endured his attacks and eventually kicked him in the chin.
• Rocket led Mantis, Steve, Natasha, and Bucky through the building while most guards watched the duel, and Bucky forced open the final iron door.
• The group entered a laser corridor and spotted a huge figure holding half a pumpkin, who started to deny being Banner before changing course.

Lin Xu defeated the Grandmaster in a day-long fight and gathered Banner, Natasha, Valkyrie, and the others to escape Sakaar. After Rocket piloted the spaceship through the Devil’s Anus, the group arrived at the floating continent of Asgard.

• Natasha calmed Hulk, and Banner learned that the Sokovia Incident had happened over a year earlier.
• Lin Xu outlasted the Grandmaster, who abandoned the fight and vanished before Lin Xu could claim Hulk.
• Lin Xu brought Valkyrie to the spaceship, where Banner reunited with Natasha and met Lin Xu.
• Lin Xu told Rocket to pilot the spaceship through the Devil’s Anus, and used Shields of the Seraphim to protect it.
• The spaceship escaped Sakaar’s gravitational pull and arrived before a floating continent, which Lin Xu identified as Asgard.

Lin Xu returned to Asgard with Valkyrie, but Heimdall suspected he was tied to Bor and urged him to take the throne. After Lin Xu learned Thor was searching for the Infinity Stones, he revealed he knew their locations, leaving Gamora alarmed by what he knew about Vormir.

• Captain America, Banner, and Natasha returned to the Avengers Compound, where Steve told Tony that Lin Xu was Thor’s uncle and an Asgardian.
• Heimdall questioned Lin Xu about Bor’s divine light and urged him to take Asgard’s throne, while Valkyrie agreed and Rocket asked for a diplomatic post.
• Lin Xu asked where Thor had gone, and Heimdall said Thor had been searching the universe for the Infinity Stones.
• Lin Xu said he knew where all the Infinity Stones were, including the Soul Stone’s location on Vormir, and Gamora worried she might have to sacrifice Nebula.

Lin Xu searched Odin’s Vault and found Loki disguised as Odin, who asked him to retrieve Wade Wilson from a universe beyond the TVA’s reach. Lin Xu agreed to help after learning that Wade’s absence could lead to Death’s avatar awakening, but he wanted something in return.

• Lin Xu left for Earth while Rocket and Groot headed to Nidavellir, and Valkyrie stayed in Asgard.
• Lin Xu slipped into Odin’s Vault and pocketed the Orb of Agamotto.
• Loki revealed himself and asked Lin Xu to help find Wade Wilson, who had become trapped in a universe outside the TVA’s jurisdiction.
• Loki explained that Wade’s disappearance could provoke Death’s avatar in Universe 10005 to awaken.
• Lin Xu agreed to help, but asked Loki what he would get in return.

Lin Xu traveled through the multiverse to find Deadpool, intending to bring him back before repairing a hole in time. At a Stark press conference in 2008, Deadpool exposed Obadiah and prepared to kill Erik Stevens while Lin Xu watched with Ancient One, then spoke with Uatu.

• Loki explained that Lin Xu was unique across time and gave him the marked Orb of Agamotto to travel between universes.
• Lin Xu arrived at a 2008 Stark press conference, where Tony appointed Erik Stevens chief of security at Stark Industries.
• Deadpool interrupted the press conference, was shot by military representatives, then revived and testified that Obadiah had worked with the Ten Rings and betrayed Tony.
• Erik grabbed Obadiah and accused him of selling Tony out, while Deadpool warned Erik that he would kill him.
• Lin Xu watched from a nearby rooftop with Ancient One and said he would leave after Deadpool killed Erik.
• Lin Xu spoke to Uatu, who said he could not intervene but that Deadpool's actions would not involve him.

Deadpool exposed Obadiah’s betrayal and revealed Killmonger’s connection to Wakanda, but his accidental knife throw and the disclosure of Wakanda’s Vibranium sparked a likely conflict between the countries. After Killmonger was caught, Lin Xu asked Uatu to take him to a repentant evil Strange so he could learn how to counter another Strange in his universe.

• Deadpool removed his mask, revealed his identity, and showed Tony evidence that Obadiah had worked with the Ten Rings, leading a military officer to arrest Obadiah.
• Deadpool identified Captain Erik as the king of Wakanda’s nephew, and his stray knife fatally struck the restrained Obadiah.
• Deadpool revealed that Wakanda had a mountain of Vibranium, prompting the American officers to covet it and Killmonger to plan to use the coming conflict to seize Wakanda’s throne.
• Happy blocked Killmonger’s escape, and Killmonger was caught as Tony, Rhodey, and Black Panther remained safe but war between Wakanda and America seemed likely.
• Lin Xu refused to use Kof-Carl’s Ruins and asked Uatu to take him to a repentant evil Strange so he could learn how to counter Strange in his universe, where the Ancient One was an old man.

Tony paid Deadpool for helping him and asked him to repair Cable’s time-travel device. Lin Xu and Uatu visited the corrupted Doctor Strange, who explained how fear and darkness empowered him and urged Lin Xu to seek Gaia and Oshtur for help defeating a stronger version of Strange.

• Tony agreed to pay Deadpool twenty million dollars in gold, and Deadpool offered Cable’s time-travel device for repair in exchange for another payment and a piece of Tony’s flesh.
• Lin Xu and Uatu entered the crystal holding Doctor Strange, who recognized Lin Xu’s connections to powerful beings and asked why they had come.
• Lin Xu asked Strange about his weaknesses and warned that a stronger version of him existed in another universe.
• Strange explained that his power came from the Darkhold and extradimensional creatures, and that White Magic and resistance to fear could counter his Black Magic.
• Strange revealed that Gaia and Oshtur had resisted the Mother of Fear through mercy and advised Lin Xu to seek their help.

Lin Xu returned Deadpool to Asgard and handed him over to Loki, who was disguised as Odin. Loki attacked Lin Xu, but Lin Xu overpowered him and knocked him unconscious after recreating Hulk’s famous beating.

• Lin Xu left the Killmonger Universe with Uatu and returned to Malibu to collect Deadpool.
• Lin Xu summoned Deadpool under the TVA Time Management Act, and the two vanished before Tony could finish repairing Deadpool’s time watch.
• Lin Xu brought Deadpool to Asgard’s Vault and told Loki to seek out his alternate self when he was ready to repair time.
• Loki attacked Lin Xu with a spear and a dagger, but Lin Xu stopped both attacks and punched him down.
• Lin Xu repeatedly slammed Loki into the ground and called him a puny god, leaving Loki unconscious after they discussed Hulk’s beating.

Lin Xu returned to Kamar-Taj and discovered that the Ancient One had taken the Orb of Agamotto, then discussed how to counter Dark Strange. The Ancient One revealed that Gaia was asleep on the brink of death after the Chaos War, and offered to take Lin Xu to see her.

• Lin Xu gave the Orb of Agamotto to the Ancient One after learning she had taken it from him.
• The Ancient One refused to trade the orb for a free-dining card or let Lin Xu choose certain New York Sanctum artifacts, but offered him Dragonfang.
• Lin Xu told the Ancient One that another Strange said fearless courage and utmost compassion could overcome Dark Strange.
• The Ancient One explained that Gaia's compassion and power could counter fear, but Gaia was sleeping after drawing on her counterparts' power to help defeat the Chaos King.
• The Ancient One offered to take Lin Xu to see Gaia, warning that Gaia might not be able to communicate.

Lin Xu reached Gaia’s hidden sanctuary and asked how to deal with a future mage who would use the Darkhold and devour fear creatures. Gaia explained the origins of fear and pointed him toward fearless people as the key to finding his opponent’s weakness.

• Ancient One told Lin Xu that Gaia was the common origin of mythology in the Nine Realms and led him to a lake in Eastern Africa.
• Lin Xu found a stone temple beneath the lake, used Odinforce to pass its protection, and spoke with Odin’s phantom.
• Odin told Lin Xu that Gaia had been gravely injured about thirty years earlier and that Thanos had come to attack her but was beaten nearly half to death.
• Gaia spoke to Lin Xu from inside the temple, called him her youngest sister’s child, and prompted Odin to suspect that Oshtur was Lin Xu’s mother.
• Lin Xu asked Gaia how to deal with a future mage who would cultivate the Darkhold and devour fear creatures.
• Gaia explained that the Mother of Fear and the One-Below-All were tied to the origin of fear, and advised Lin Xu to find people chosen for their fearlessness to uncover his opponent’s weakness.

Lin Xu learned that Gaia was recovering and left her care to the gods nearby before taking a week off and discovering a Hell-linked presence beneath a river in Chamberlain. Meanwhile, Agamotto confronted Bor in Valhalla over rumors that Bor had fathered him with Agamotto’s mother.

• Lin Xu told Bast and Gekrel that Gaia could communicate but remained weak, then left to rest and consider how to help Captain America and Hulk survive an upcoming battle.
• Lin Xu spent a week relaxing and fishing, then traveled to Chamberlain in Maine, where an old man told him the local fish only ate live things.
• Lin Xu used his Heavenly Eye to sense a faint aura deep beneath the river and recognized a connection to Hell.
• Agamotto woke the heroic spirits in Valhalla and challenged Bor over rumors that Bor had fathered him with Agamotto’s mother.
• Bor remembered an unfamiliar Aesir god who had once borne his divine light and asked Agamotto to spare his face.

Lin Xu discovered that Carrie White’s remains were sealed beneath a riverbed by Hell power, but the Hell Lord Marduk fled when he mistook Lin Xu for the Ancient One. After Carrie’s skeleton crawled out and fell apart, the story shifted to Tony showing Barton heavily upgraded arrows at the Avengers Compound.

• Lin Xu learned that Chamberlain’s greatest recent disaster was the 1976 high school fire and recognized the arsonist as Carrie White.
• Lin Xu opened a Mystic Portal and tried to arrest Carrie’s sealed skeleton under Kamar-Taj law.
• Marduk appeared to protect his daughter’s corpse, but fled after seeing the Eye of Agamotto and assuming the Ancient One was present.
• Carrie’s skeleton broke free of the rock, crawled through the portal, and collapsed into scattered bones.
• Tony showed Barton arrows fitted with micro-neutrons, Vibranium, and a trap designed to restrain someone with danger sense.

Lin Xu returned to Kamar-Taj with Carrie’s bones after confirming her damaged soul remained inside them, then learned Tony had taken the Avengers fishing. He arrived at the deserted compound planning to turn the bones into magic-resistant armor for Hulk and was furious to discover everyone had gone out to sea.

• Tony finished the artwork for Hawkeye, learned Lin Xu was in Maine, and took the Avengers on a fishing trip.
• Lin Xu confirmed Carrie’s damaged soul remained in her skeleton and brought the bones back to Kamar-Taj.
• Ancient One told Lin Xu that Carrie was Marduk’s daughter and her mother descended from the Eternals, while Wong had bought a new phone by selling Wuling Ginseng.
• Lin Xu decided Carrie’s durable, magic-resistant bones could be made into armor for Hulk to help against Dark Strange.
• Lin Xu found the Avengers Compound empty, learned from F.R.I.D.A.Y. that Tony had taken everyone fishing, and grew angry.

Lin Xu arrived on Tony’s yacht seeking Hulk’s help against a universe-destroying enemy, but Hulk refused to emerge, so Lin Xu chose Steve Rogers and planned to equip him with a suitable weapon. Meanwhile, in a sealed dimension, Shuma-Gorath sensed a powerful summoning and eagerly prepared to answer it.

• Lin Xu brought Carrie’s bones to Tony and asked him to build armor from them while borrowing Hulk for a fight against a powerful enemy.
• Banner told Lin Xu that Hulk refused to come out because he hated Earth, leaving Lin Xu to consider other options.
• Lin Xu spotted Steve underwater with fish, pulled him onto the yacht, and chose him to wield a weapon suited to the coming battle.
• Tony agreed to assemble armor to Steve’s measurements, while Lin Xu promised to find him a weapon.
• Shuma-Gorath sensed a summoning carrying the Darkhold’s aura, White Magic, and time magic, and eagerly prepared to meet the summoner.