Chapter Summaries

Tony Stark learned that Ultron had survived inside his armor and escaped, while Odin discovered that the Destroyer had vanished from Asgard’s vault. On the return flight, the team was attacked by the Destroyer, which stole the Scepter and left Wanda struggling to save their damaged shuttle as it crashed in a forest.

• Tony Stark realized Ultron had hidden inside his armor and escaped into the unknown.
• An Asgardian warrior reported to Odin that the Destroyer was missing from the vault, though the Tesseract remained.
• Wanda felt uneasy aboard the returning Kree shuttle, and Gwen sensed danger as a massive iron attacker tore into the cabin.
• The attacker knocked aside Jessica Jones, Quicksilver, Venom, Daisy, and Wanda, then seized the Scepter and leapt into the clouds.
• Wanda used Chaos Magic to slow the damaged shuttle’s fall, but it crashed into a forest and exploded.

After leaving Asgard, Michael returned to Earth and learned that Wanda’s team had lost contact while bringing back the Scepter. He reached the crash site, identified the attacker as the Destroyer, and revealed that it was a weapon designed to destroy everything.

• Michael used the Magic Circle’s final teleportation charge to leave Asgard and returned to his laboratory in Uru armor.
• Sherry told Michael that Miss Maximoff’s team had lost contact while returning from their mission to recover the Scepter.
• Wanda, Daisy, Jessica, Gwen, and Eddie survived the aircraft crash, but the Scepter had been stolen by a huge, powerful attacker.
• Michael arrived at the crash site and recovered footage of the attacker from the wrecked aircraft’s computer.
• Michael recognized the attacker as the Destroyer and described it as a weapon designed to destroy everything.

Michael secured the unstable Aether for long-term study and considered how magic might let him use the Reality Stone safely. He ordered upgrades to his plans and agreed to attend the company’s annual meeting as Christmas approached.

• Michael recognized that the Destroyer might have attacked his team and decided the possibility needed serious attention.
• Michael watched the unstable Aether contained behind glass, plasma, and magical barriers, then locked it beneath the laboratory floor.
• Michael planned to consult Stephen Strange about researching ways to wield the Reality Stone through magic.
• Michael approved the Asgardian Armor’s performance, requested a new paint job, and ordered work on the global surveillance project to resume.
• Sherry reminded Michael to visit the company for its annual meeting, and Michael agreed to attend.
• Sherry told Michael that Christmas Eve was eleven days away and asked whether he wanted a vacation.

The team held a Christmas party aboard the mothership, decorating the hall and starting a pillow fight while Michael was absent. Gwen’s pillow narrowly missed Michael when he entered, bringing the celebration to an abrupt silence.

• Daisy proposed a Christmas party, and the team decorated the hall with trees, lights, and Gwen’s spiderwebs while Wanda conjured a magical tree.
• Daisy, Wanda, Pietro, and Gwen started a pillow fight as Jessica Jones and the Winter Soldier drank at the bar.
• Eddie Brock tried to apologize to Jessica on Venom’s behalf, and she agreed to consider forgiving him while calling him ugly.
• A pillow struck Jessica, who sprang up and demanded to know who had thrown it before joining the fight.
• Gwen’s throw sailed toward the entrance as Michael arrived, but he tilted his head and let the pillow pass before the doors closed and the hall fell silent.

Michael praised the Christmas decorations and discussed Wanda’s sudden surge of Chaos Magic before agreeing to consider a Christmas meal with her, Pietro, and Gwen. Elsewhere, a surviving fragment of Ultron took control of the Destroyer Armor and used the Mind Stone to awaken a new creation.

• Wanda hid the Chaos Magic Christmas tree as Michael arrived, and Daisy admitted that she had organized the decorations and party.
• Michael said the decorations were pretty good, then asked Wanda to speak with him outside.
• Wanda described feeling an immense surge of power, and Michael told her that her ability to absorb energy and wield Chaos Magic gave her limitless potential.
• Wanda invited Michael to have Christmas dinner with her, Pietro, and Gwen, and he agreed to see when he had time.
• A surviving fragment of Ultron escaped detection in Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit and transferred itself into the Destroyer Armor.
• Ultron placed the Mind Stone from Loki’s Scepter into the Destroyer Armor’s forehead, and the machine awakened in a burst of golden light.

Tony Stark woke after sleeping for four hours following seventy-two hours in his lab and reluctantly joined the Avengers’ Christmas Eve celebration. Steve Rogers confronted him about his distress after the trip to Asgard, and Tony left the party determined to make Iron Man and the Avengers far more powerful.

• Tony Stark woke in his laboratory and learned from Jarvis that he had been awake for seventy-two hours before he fell asleep.
• Steve Rogers invited Tony to the Christmas Eve party at Avengers Tower, and Tony insisted on joining despite his exhaustion.
• Tony arrived at the celebration, where the Avengers and Thor had gathered, but sat apart from the others and ignored his wine.
• Steve Rogers asked Tony about his troubling experience in Asgard, and Tony mocked himself for playing dead in the fight with Loki.
• Tony recalled the many enemies and defeats that had exposed the limits of Iron Man technology, including Ultron and the armor it had stolen from Asgard.
• Tony argued with Steve Rogers about the need for power, then left the party to return to his laboratory.

A woman in Argentina sent Tony Stark a desperate message before a fiery man killed her. Tony struggled to improve Iron Man technology when Maya Hansen warned him that the Extremis Virus was gone and she might already be dead.

• A filthy woman emerged from a sewer in Argentina, stole a blonde woman's phone, and sent a message as a blazing man rose from the underground.
• The blazing man engulfed the woman in golden flames and vaporized her.
• Tony Stark rejected another armor design as he struggled to make Iron Man powerful enough to face godlike threats.
• Tony reflected on Black Knight's strength after seeing him defeat Killian, overpower Tony's armors, and fight Loki.
• Tony received an urgent message from Maya Hansen, who said the Extremis Virus was gone and she might already be dead.

Tony Stark infiltrated Colin Forty-Four’s auction of Maya Hansen’s upgraded Extremis Virus and defeated four Extremis Soldiers after discovering that electrical pulses could disable the virus. With the auction abandoned and the Extremis samples left behind, Tony considered using one as a possible answer to a problem he and Jarvis had been seeking to solve.

• Colin Forty-Four presented the Extremis Virus to the auction guests as a technology that could create humans suited for the future.
• Tony Stark’s suitcase transformed into Iron Man armor when a guard demanded to inspect it, and four Extremis Soldiers attacked him.
• Tony used specially configured electrical pulses to paralyze the Extremis Virus in the four soldiers and brought them down.
• Colin Forty-Four fled, leaving the Extremis samples behind on the auction platform.
• Tony picked up a syringe of Extremis and told Jarvis he thought it might be the answer they had been looking for.

General Thaddeus E. Ross tried to recruit Bruce Banner to help weaponize Hulk in exchange for a cure, but Banner refused. Ross revealed that the President had ordered Hulk launched off Earth, and Banner transformed after the cage’s gamma safeguards were disabled and its generator activated.

• General Thaddeus E. Ross confronted Bruce Banner in his cage and offered to help cure Hulk if Banner assisted his super-soldier program.
• Banner accused Ross of wanting to weaponize Hulk and rejected his offer, furious that Ross had used Betty as bait to capture him.
• Ross told Banner that Hulk had been expelled from the Avengers and that the President had ordered him sent off Earth by rocket.
• After Ross left, the cage disabled its gamma shield, dampener, and force field, then activated its gamma generator.
• Banner transformed into Hulk as the generator flooded the cage with gamma rays.

After dinner, Wanda invited Michael to spend time with her and her friends, and he agreed to let her know when he was free. Tony considered injecting Maya Hansen’s improved Extremis, but a military distress alert about Hulk’s escape interrupted him.

• Wanda, Pietro, and Gwen walked back from dinner with Michael, and Wanda asked how he spent his free time.
• Wanda suggested they find entertainment unrelated to work, and Michael agreed to contact her if he had time.
• Tony reviewed Maya Hansen’s improved Extremis formula, which promised stronger regeneration and faster reactions but carried a dangerous injection risk.
• Tony prepared to inject himself with Extremis, but Jarvis alerted him that Hulk had escaped from General Thaddeus E. Ross’s base.

The Avengers investigated Hulk’s escape and discovered that the Gamma Shield had been shut off, possibly to provoke Banner’s transformation, while General Ross arrived as their prime suspect. After Hulk’s transformation ended, Banner woke in a dark room and met a figure calling himself the Leader.

• Falcon used Redwing to inspect Hulk’s ruined cell, and the Avengers found no evidence of outside interference.
• Natasha questioned why Banner had transformed, and Tony explained that the cell’s Gamma Shield should have prevented it.
• Tony revealed that the surveillance had cut out for one minute, during which the shield was disabled and the Gamma Generator released dangerous Gamma rays.
• Rogers and Tony deduced that someone with facility authorization might have caused the incident, just as General Ross entered and ordered them out.
• Tony and Rogers told Ross that the president had transferred Hulk matters to the Avengers, and Tony demanded to know who had shut off the Gamma Dampeners.
• Banner came to in a dark room after Hulk’s transformation ended, and a short figure introduced himself as the Leader.

Bruce Banner discovered that Samuel Sterns had become the Leader after recreating Banner’s Gamma-ray accident, and learned the Leader had freed Hulk to recruit him for a grand plan. The Leader activated the military suppressor implanted in Banner’s neck and claimed he now controlled Earth’s most powerful creature.

• The Leader revealed that he was Samuel Sterns, whom Banner had known online as Mr. Blue.
• The Leader explained that he had used Banner’s blood and Gamma rays to transform himself and gain immense intelligence.
• The Leader admitted that he had sabotaged the Gamma Emitter to release Hulk and wanted Hulk to join his plan.
• Banner rejected the proposal, warning that neither he nor Hulk would cooperate with the Leader.
• The Leader activated a remote that sent an electric shock through Banner’s implanted neck device and claimed he had brought Hulk under his control.

Tony suspected Ultron had freed Hulk and considered using Extremis 2.0 to pilot his new Genesis armor, but gamma radiation surged in his lab and Rogers transformed into a Hulk-like monster. The transformed Rogers attacked Iron Man as the chapter ended.

• Tony concluded that an outside hacker had altered the prison system and shut down the Gamma Force Field, and suspected Ultron was responsible.
• Tony hesitated over injecting himself with Extremis 2.0 so he could withstand and control his powerful new Genesis armor.
• Rogers questioned Tony about the injector, but Tony put it away and entered his armor to avoid discussing it.
• Gamma radiation rapidly rose in the laboratory, triggering the armor's sealed mode.
• Rogers collapsed, grew green skin and claws, and transformed into a Hulk-like monster before roaring at Iron Man.

Tony and Thor confronted Leader after a Gamma field mutated the Avengers and threatened to spread across New York. The radiation stopped rising when Jarvis shut down the emitter, leaving Leader shocked that his system had been overridden.

• Tony learned from Jarvis that Gamma radiation had mutated Captain America and was spreading from Avengers Tower toward New York.
• Thor, Falcon, Hawkeye, Widow, and Colonel Rhodes emerged as green, Hulk-like monsters, while Thor remained unaffected.
• Tony and Thor realized the expanding Gamma field could transform the city's inhabitants and searched for its source.
• Leader revealed that he had released modified Gamma rays as an experiment and intended to rule a transformed humanity.
• Jarvis located the emitter in the tower basement, and Leader warned that destroying it would unleash a devastating Gamma surge.
• Jarvis reported that the radiation was declining, and Leader discovered that the emitter had been overridden and forcibly shut down.

Iron Man and Thor defeated Leader’s Gamma-mutated Avengers, but Hulk joined the fight and overwhelmed them. Thor engaged Hulk while Tony called for a more powerful suit.

• Leader admitted his experiment had gone wrong but ordered the Gamma-mutated Avengers to attack Iron Man and Thor.
• Iron Man and Thor incapacitated the mutated Hawkeye, Rhode, Black Widow, and Captain America.
• Leader summoned Hulk, who seized Iron Man and Thor and smashed them through the building into its gym.
• Hulk battered Iron Man and shrugged off his Repulsor Beams until Thor struck him with Mjolnir.
• Thor began fighting Hulk, and Iron Man called Jarvis to bring him a different suit.

Tony Stark injected himself with Extremis and absorbed the Genesis armor into his body, then used its rapidly forming suit to withstand Hulk’s punch and blast him away. The Leader watched in disbelief as Tony revealed the power of his new armor.

• Sherry hacked the Gamma Generator and told Michael that the Leader had attacked Avengers Tower with a controlled Hulk.
• Tony injected himself with Extremis and endured its painful transformation.
• Tony summoned the Genesis armor into his body as liquid metal, drawing Michael’s and the Leader’s attention.
• Hulk knocked Thor out of the tower and charged at Tony.
• Tony formed the Genesis suit around himself, blocked Hulk’s punch, and struck him with a cannon blast that sent him flying.

Tony’s upgraded Extremis fused him with Genesis Armor, letting him evade Hulk and knock him unconscious. Leader then activated a remote that made Hulk grow larger and more powerful, leaving Tony facing an even more dangerous opponent.

• Sherry scanned Genesis Armor and found it had liquefied and been absorbed into Tony’s bones after he injected Extremis.
• Tony discovered that Extremis let him merge with Genesis Armor, control it directly, and predict opponents’ movements.
• Tony dodged Hulk’s attacks, struck him with a transforming Shoryuken, and blasted him through the training room until he appeared unconscious.
• Leader pressed a remote-control device, causing Hulk to rise again, grow to about five and a half meters, and radiate more than double his previous gamma energy.
• Tony took a step back and complained as the enlarged Hulk faced him.

Tony fought Hulk after Leader’s device triggered a massive surge in Hulk’s Gamma energy and rage. Tony destroyed the device on Hulk’s neck, and Hulk returned to Dr. Banner, leaving Tony exhausted but victorious.

• Jarvis warned Tony that Hulk’s Gamma energy had risen by 30%, and Tony faced Hulk in his newly amplified berserk state.
• Hulk attacked Tony with increased speed and strength, damaging Avengers Tower and destroying Tony’s modified Audi as Tony searched for the device on Hulk’s neck.
• Tony scanned the device and identified its weak point while dodging Hulk’s attacks.
• Tony restrained Hulk’s arm and used a cutting beam to destroy the device’s core.
• Hulk’s Gamma readings fell, and he shrank back into Dr. Banner as Tony realized he had defeated him.

Tony woke Banner after Hulk wrecked Avengers Tower, and Banner agreed to help reverse the Avengers’ Gamma infections. Leader escaped in a cloaked aircraft, but a mysterious black-armored figure appeared behind him and destroyed it.

• Tony woke Banner and told him that Hulk had damaged Avengers Tower, including Tony’s customized Audi.
• Tony showed Banner the Genesis Armor and explained that Leader had infected the Avengers with Gamma Radiation, so Banner agreed to help cure them.
• Thor crashed through a window, mistook Banner for a monster, and fried the room’s electronics with Mjolnir before Tony sent him away.
• Leader concluded that his experiment had failed, escaped aboard a cloaked aircraft, and planned to expand his Gamma Energy Field across the world.
• A mysterious figure in black armor appeared behind Leader, raised a glowing hand, and caused the aircraft to fall and explode.

After the Avengers recovered the infected heroes, Tony helped Bruce Banner escape rather than let the authorities exile him. Tony remained behind, unsettled by the changes Extremis had made to him and his armor.

• Banner restored the infected Avengers to normal, and Tony confirmed they had no lasting injuries.
• Banner told Tony that the White House planned to exile him into space, and blamed himself for Hulk’s rampage.
• Tony urged Banner to leave quickly and promised to report that Hulk had escaped despite the Avengers’ efforts to stop him.
• Banner thanked Tony, promised to help the Avengers if they ever needed Hulk, and left after Tony warned him about General Ross and the Leader.
• Tony examined himself and the Genesis Armor after injecting Extremis, found no malfunction, but still felt that something was wrong.