Chapter Summaries

Tony defeated 451, and Michael stopped him from destroying the robot so they could learn why it had summoned him. Tony explained 451’s plan to create a Cosmic Avengers, and Michael suspected the robot had found the Godslayer—only for Tony to reveal that he had already piloted it.

• Tony overwhelmed 451, severing its arm and foot before blasting it into the cabin wall.
• Michael stopped Tony from finishing off 451 and reactivated Sherry after confirming the robot could no longer move or hack them.
• Sherry apologized to Michael, who warned her before Tony jokingly offered to buy her.
• Tony explained that 451 wanted him to lead a Cosmic Avengers and maintain peace throughout the universe.
• Michael suspected 451 knew where the Godslayer was, and Tony revealed that he had once piloted it.

451 revealed that it had arranged for Howard and Maria Stark to have Tony, creating him to become a genius and pilot for Godslayer. It then reconsidered its plan and suggested that Michael might be the Starks’ true son and the pilot Godslayer needed.

• Tony said he had once sat in Godslayer’s cockpit, though he had never moved the armor.
• 451 explained that Howard and Maria Stark had helped it after its memory malfunction forced it to land on Earth.
• 451 said it had offered the Starks a child destined to become a hero, and they had accepted its terms.
• 451 revealed that it had created Tony with extraordinary abilities and an affinity for armor so he could pilot Godslayer.
• Michael deduced that 451 had sought a suitable pilot, and 451 said it now believed Michael might be the Starks’ true son.

451 claimed Michael Passo was Howard and Maria Stark’s biological son, genetically modified to become the answer to universal peace, while Tony Stark was an adopted substitute. With no proof, 451 proposed that Michael test Godslayer to find out whether his theory was true.

• 451 told Tony and Michael that Michael was likely Howard and Maria Stark’s biological son and that Tony had probably been adopted.
• 451 explained that Howard had hidden Michael from him and presented Tony as his biological son to protect his real child.
• Michael asked 451 for evidence, and 451 said Tony’s failure to move Godslayer had revealed that Michael, not Tony, was the child he had modified.
• Michael suggested 451 could be wrong, but 451 challenged him to sit in Godslayer’s cockpit and test the armor.

Michael, Tony, Wanda, and 451 reached the hidden Dyson Sphere that housed Godslayer, a colossal suit of golden armor. 451 revealed that it had helped the Romulans defeat the Celestials before civil war destroyed their civilization, leaving Tony to consider whether humanity might repeat their fate.

• 451 identified the black void as an entrance to an M-Banks-class orbital body built around a stable microstar.
• The group passed through the void and saw Godslayer, a golden suit of armor 4.73 miles tall.
• 451 explained that its connection to Godslayer and clues left by the Romulans had led it to the hidden structure.
• As the ship passed the armor, the group saw wreckage from the final battle between the Romulans and the Celestials.
• 451 said Godslayer helped the Romulans defeat the Celestials, but a civil war later brought about the Romulans' destruction.
• Tony reflected on the destructive uses of technology and wondered whether Iron Man and humanity might repeat the Romulans' mistakes.

Tony Stark and Michael explored Godslayer with 451, who explained why he believed humanity could break the cycle of civilizations destroying themselves. After Michael checked the armor’s control system and added emergency safeguards, he prepared to test whether he could pilot it.

• 451 brought Tony Stark and Michael to Godslayer and left them to decide whether to try piloting it or leave.
• The group entered Godslayer, and 451 explained that its activation would broadcast Earth’s mastery of the weapon across the universe.
• 451 told Tony that he had chosen humanity because he believed its potential and temperament could help break the cycle of civilizations’ destruction.
• At the cockpit, Michael had Sherry scan Godslayer and added spells to sever the mental link in an emergency.
• Michael picked up Godslayer’s helmet, ready to find out whether he could control the armor.

Michael connected to the Godslayer but was denied access, disproving 451’s belief that he was the perfect human. 451 accepted his failure and began a program to erase himself.

• Wanda tried to stop Michael from testing the Godslayer, but he reassured her and put on the helmet.
• Michael connected to the Godslayer’s system and sensed its vast alien knowledge, but the armor denied him access.
• Michael told 451 he was not the person chosen to activate the Godslayer, leaving 451’s search and genetic experiment in doubt.
• Tony and Wanda felt relieved that Michael had failed to activate the armor, while 451 mourned the failure of his five-hundred-year plan.
• 451 declared his existence a malfunction and began purging his database.

As 451 began deleting himself, Tony tried to override his final command, but he could not breach the robot’s system. Michael used new technology in his Asgardian Armor to reboot 451, leaving Tony to wonder whether it came from the Godslayer.

• 451 concluded that his existence and plan were mistakes and began deleting his database and programs.
• Tony connected the Genesis Armor to 451 and tried to hack his system, urging him to face his mistakes.
• Michael stepped in and used new modules in the Asgardian Armor, with Sherry assisting, to breach 451’s system.
• 451’s eyes lit up as his consciousness returned, and he asked Michael why he had saved him.

Michael convinced 451 that humanity could still shape its own future without the perfect human he had designed. 451 then initiated the Godslayer’s construction protocol and transferred his limited authority over the armor to Michael.

• 451 questioned how Michael had breached his firewall, and Michael explained that the Godslayer had shown him Romulan technology.
• 451 believed Michael might be the person who resonated with the Godslayer, but Michael said he could not control the armor and was not 451’s designed pilot.
• Michael argued that his success proved humanity had potential beyond 451’s plan, prompting 451 to reconsider his faith in humanity.
• 451 activated the Godslayer’s construction protocol and explained that his remote access only allowed him to move the armor, not use its weapons.
• 451 transferred all the authority he had obtained to Michael, hoping he might still be the right person.

Michael returned the VOLDI core to Queen Hithia, restoring the source of her people’s survival, and the Arsenal departed for Earth. On the journey home, Tony admitted that he was struggling with the choice to leave Godslayer behind.

• Queen Hithia thanked Michael for returning the VOLDI core and promised VOLDI TEAR would help Earth if needed.
• Michael and Wanda left the palace and returned to the Arsenal, where Tony was waiting.
• Tony asked Michael whether he intended to use Godslayer, then said humanity might not be ready for it and the armor might be a mistake.
• Michael started the Arsenal and flew away from VOLDI TEAR toward Earth.
• Wanda asked Tony if he was all right, and Tony admitted he was in a terrible state.

Aboard the Kree shuttle returning from the VOLDI star system, Tony worried that humanity would use its technology to destroy itself. Wanda told him how a Stark Industries bomb had killed her parents and left her and her brother trapped, then revealed that she had forgiven him, giving Tony renewed hope.

• Tony said he feared that humanity would use advanced technology for destruction, as the Romulans had.
• Michael prompted Wanda to tell Tony about her past.
• Wanda recounted how a Stark Industries bomb killed her parents and left her and her brother trapped under a bed for two days.
• Wanda told Tony she had once hated him but had forgiven him after learning what kind of person he was.
• Tony understood that people could come to understand one another and felt hope for humanity's future.

Michael took Tony and Wanda to Hope's Pustule, where he confronted Death's Head over the bounty hunter's earlier deception. After Death's Head drew on him, Michael struck him with a Pulse Beam and left the bar.

• Wanda reassured Tony that she had let go of the past, and Tony thanked her for helping him understand himself.
• Michael told Sherry that Hope's Pustule was their destination and that he intended to find someone there.
• Wanda saw that Hope's Pustule was a poverty-stricken transit hub filled with alien residents.
• Michael met Death's Head at a bar, and they discussed the bounty hunter's former job and the Romulan technology Michael had gained.
• Death's Head drew his gun on Michael, but Michael hit him with a Pulse Beam and left, saying that accounts had to be settled.

Michael and his companions returned to Earth after leaving Hope's Pustule, while Sherry impressed Tony with her intelligence and hacking ability. Back at Michael's hangar, Elizabeth welcomed him home and hinted that working for him was the only thing she had left to do for him.

• Michael and Wanda left Hope's Pustule, and Michael told her his work there had gone fairly smoothly.
• Tony praised Sherry's intelligence, and Sherry briefly hacked the Iron Man suit to disable its speakers before Michael told her to restore them.
• Tony headed back to Earth on his own, while Michael piloted the Kree shuttle to his hangar with Wanda and Sherry.
• Elizabeth met Michael at the hangar and explained that preparations for Passo Technology's new product had kept her busy.
• Michael encouraged Elizabeth to rest and offered her paid leave, and Elizabeth welcomed him back after quietly saying her work for him was all she had left.

Michael began the Godslayer project on Mars, where he had transported the giant mech from the Romulans' Dyson Sphere. He planned to use its technology to build a new Godslayer of his own rather than pilot the original.

• Michael returned to the laboratory and asked Sherry to set up the Godslayer project, while Wanda agreed to stay for dinner.
• Michael opened a portal to Mars and brought Wanda to see the original Godslayer standing on the planet's barren surface.
• Michael explained that the mech could be reprogrammed to use an energy source as powerful as the VOLDI core, and that he intended to explore using the Infinity Stones.
• Wanda worried about the danger of creating a weapon with such immense power, and Michael told her he would not pilot the original mech himself.
• Michael revealed that he planned to build a new Godslayer from scratch.

Daisy struggled with the exhausting workload, political demands, and funding problems of running S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill explained Nick Fury’s tricks for dealing with the World Security Council and building up spare funds, leaving Daisy to realize she needed to be less timid about asking for money.

• Daisy found that directing S.H.I.E.L.D. meant tracking global developments, handling paperwork, and arguing with the World Security Council.
• A council member criticized Daisy for failing to capture aliens despite S.H.I.E.L.D.'s deep-space defense spending, and she considered asking her Boss to catch some.
• Maria Hill told Daisy that Nick Fury answered unrealistic demands by claiming they required another thirty or fifty billion in funding.
• Daisy worried that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s costly operations and secret bases were difficult to fund through public budgets.
• Hill revealed that Fury requested at least ten billion at a time and kept several hundred million in leftover funds, prompting Daisy to recognize that she lacked his thick skin.

Michael returned to Earth and found Daisy exhausted but committed to leading S.H.I.E.L.D. He introduced her to Captain America, whose Avengers would secretly ally with S.H.I.E.L.D. under her direction.

• Michael visited Daisy and asked whether she could handle the demands of directing S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Daisy reflected on her attachment to S.H.I.E.L.D. and accepted that she wanted to remain its director.
• Michael introduced Captain America to Daisy and proposed that his Avengers become S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hidden allies.
• Michael explained that the alliance had to remain secret from the Council and most of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Captain America said he trusted the people leading S.H.I.E.L.D. now, and Michael argued that someone had to correct others' mistakes.

Michael explained to Rogers that S.W.O.R.D. was meant to guide humanity’s future, and Rogers voiced hope that Michael could realize his ideals. At a Kree military meeting called by the Supreme Intelligence, the officers discussed Ronan’s death and Black Knight before their ruler appeared.

• Michael told Rogers that S.W.O.R.D. was a restraint and a group of pioneers meant to help humanity move toward the future.
• Rogers said Bucky trusted Michael and hoped Michael could achieve the ideals that Rogers’s former friend had failed to realize.
• Oz joined the Kree military leaders at an urgent meeting and learned that rumors of Ronan’s death on Earth had spread across the galaxies.
• The Kree officers discussed Black Knight’s reported defeat of Ronan, while Oz said he wanted to face the Earthling in combat.
• The conference room turned white, and the Supreme Intelligence appeared before the assembled Kree.

The Supreme Intelligence announced that the Kree Empire was ready to carry out its plan for the Solar System, despite concerns about Earth, the Black Knight, and the Skrulls. It appointed Accuser Oz as the vanguard and ordered him to depart with his fleet the next day.

• The Supreme Intelligence gathered the Kree generals and revealed that the empire was ready to begin its plan for the Solar System.
• Mc-Charl recognized the plan, and Kree officers warned that Earth’s Black Knight and its alliance with the Skrulls could make an invasion dangerous.
• The Supreme Intelligence dismissed the generals’ objections and ordered them to return to their territories, prepare their forces, and await assignments.
• Accuser Oz welcomed the chance to fight the Black Knight, and the Supreme Intelligence appointed him vanguard and ordered his fleet to depart the next day.

Michael tested his custom Godslayer X armor in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Framework, but the simulation repeatedly crashed under the armor's immense output. He concluded that he needed a more powerful virtual system before he could proceed with construction.

• Michael watched a Framework simulation of Godslayer X fighting Kur end when the system crashed.
• Michael removed the circlet and asked Sherry whether the simulation had crashed again.
• Michael reviewed the data and explained that he had designed Godslayer X using technology from the Romulan Godslayer.
• Sherry confirmed that removing Kur would not prevent the Framework from crashing under Godslayer X's output.
• Michael realized he needed a more powerful virtual system to test the armor.

S.W.O.R.D. agents John and Lucas detected a wormhole near the Sun, and a Kree warship emerged before they could send a warning to headquarters. The Kree ship deployed equipment around the Sun and turned toward their station, leaving the two agents preparing to hold it off.

• Lucas deployed an unmanned probe toward the Sun, but its signal was cut after it recorded an abnormal fluctuation.
• John and Lucas detected stable wormhole energy readings and tried to report the anomaly to headquarters.
• A wormhole opened and a black, disc-shaped warship emerged; the ship computer identified it as Kree.
• The Kree warship released silver-white components that formed a ring near the Sun and emitted high-energy rays.
• John and Lucas realized their warning had not reached headquarters and prepared to hold off the approaching Kree warship.

Michael oversaw Sherry’s final simulations of Godslayer X’s components, then considered how to obtain the unique materials needed to build it. When Sherry reported an unusual guest at S.W.O.R.D., Michael prepared to meet them.

• Sherry completed simulated testing of Godslayer X’s right leg and reported that only minor sections remained.
• Michael explained that Sherry would test the remaining modules before integrating them and calculating whether they could function together.
• Michael determined that Godslayer X could not be assembled without a substitute for the Romulan material used in the original Godslayer.
• Sherry alerted Michael that an unusual guest had arrived at S.W.O.R.D. and specifically asked to see him.
• Michael told Sherry to prepare the Asgardian Armor and notify headquarters that he would arrive in one minute.