Chapter Summaries

Odin avenged his fallen companion by beating Garrett in a revenge duel, but Garrett repeatedly revived, prolonging the punishment. Coulson challenged Odin over his torture of Garrett, and Odin revealed his tyrannical nature before killing Garrett with the Lightning Tree of Torture.

• Odin removed his armor and challenged Garrett to an unarmed revenge duel, while Garrett confused him by asking whether other gods would join.
• Odin struck Garrett three times, apparently killing him, but Garrett revived because of the serum he had injected.
• Odin broke Garrett’s legs, cut off his nose, and peeled away his face as Garrett pleaded and rambled.
• Coulson confronted Odin and argued that a great ruler would not torture Garrett, despite Garrett being his enemy.
• Odin declared that he had never been a merciful ruler, summoned his armor and spear, and struck Garrett with lightning that destroyed his body and soul.

Evenson learned that Odin had awakened after Garrett’s people killed Moon, then feared Odin would blame him for his past ties to Frigga and Hela. Odin instead went to the New York Sanctum, where he challenged the Sorcerer Supreme, defeated Strange and Klayya, and demanded a place to stay by the sea.

• Moira told Evenson that Garrett’s people had killed Moon and Odin had awakened in anger.
• Evenson realized his past involvement with Frigga and Hela could make Odin hold him responsible as Odin rode toward New York.
• Odin changed course and arrived at the New York Sanctum, where he asked to duel the Sorcerer Supreme, believing Ancient One was still alive.
• Strange told Odin that Ancient One had died and declared himself the new Sorcerer Supreme.
• Odin struck Strange down with lightning, stopped Klayya’s attack, and said the Mages were far weaker than Ancient One.
• Odin asked the Sanctum’s Mages to find him a place to stay with fresh air and a view of the sea.

Odin arrived at Kamar-Taj's New York Sanctum seeking Gabriel to settle an old duel, but the mages were away building him a seaside home. Evenson brought Klayya back to his shop, where he found Nick Fury trying to pick the lock.

• Gabriel explained that Odin had come to challenge her over their humiliating past duel, and Evenson worried that Odin might take out his frustration on her disciples.
• Evenson found the New York Sanctum empty, then watched Strange, Klayya, Li Lin, and the other mages return from building Odin a house on a Northern European cliff.
• Klayya told Evenson that the mages had built the house themselves because they could not let ordinary people work on Odin's home, and Evenson invited her back to discuss Odin's arrival.
• Klayya left the Sanctum with Evenson, and they went to her old shop to spend the night.
• Evenson found Nick Fury lying outside his doorway with a piece of wire, apparently trying to pick the lock.

Nick Fury confronted Evenson at his shop, convinced that Evenson had manipulated S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigations and worked with Umbrella Corporation. Evenson denied joining the company, explained why he had not exposed Hydra more directly, and said Umbrella Corporation intended to follow a middle path rather than become another S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra.

• Nick Fury woke in Evenson's shop after its security measures knocked him unconscious, and Evenson questioned why he had come.
• Nick Fury accused Evenson of controlling him and pointed out how Evenson's connections reached the Avengers and other former S.H.I.E.L.D. allies.
• Evenson told Nick Fury that he had never joined Umbrella Corporation and denied that he had begun cooperating with it because of its two directors.
• Nick Fury asked why Evenson had not revealed Hydra's reach within S.H.I.E.L.D., and Evenson argued that Nick would not have believed him and that an earlier purge would still have destroyed the agency.
• Nick Fury asked what Umbrella Corporation intended to become, and Evenson said it would take a middle path between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra before trying to sell him two books.

Evenson explained Umbrella Corporation’s middle path between S.H.I.E.L.D.’s and Hydra’s ideologies, arguing that it would guide humanity toward unity and space while preserving a measured degree of freedom. Nick Fury left unconvinced but unwilling to oppose the plan outright, promising to watch Umbrella and stop it if necessary.

• Evenson made Nick Fury read books on the Doctrine of the Mean, then explained that ideals must account for human nature and avoid extremes.
• Evenson criticized S.H.I.E.L.D. for indulging the public’s illusion of freedom and Hydra for seeking absolute authoritarian control, saying both produced hypocrisy.
• Evenson described Umbrella’s plan to limit freedom only enough to help people protect themselves, while using its technology and influence to advance humanity and pursue global unity.
• Nick Fury warned that Umbrella’s power could lead it to abandon its intentions, and Evenson insisted that its purpose would not change.
• Nick Fury asked Evenson to release the agents in custody; Evenson said Skye would go to Coulson, while Victoria Hand’s release was up to others.
• Nick Fury left without endorsing the plan, saying he would watch Umbrella and use every means to stop it if needed; Evenson doubted he could see through them.

Evenson’s plans for a night with Klayya were thwarted by her exhaustion, and onlookers mistakenly treated his shop as the former residence of the Black Scythe Lord. Meanwhile, Coulson and Melinda recovered Skye, who revealed that Quinn International’s political backers were linked to Hydra.

• Evenson found Klayya asleep after a long day of construction and went to bed beside her.
• A group bowed outside Evenson’s shop and left flowers, believing it was the Black Scythe Lord’s former residence, and Klayya teased him about it.
• Coulson and Melinda waited for the Black Badge Division to return Skye, who arrived by bus and immediately asked for money to buy hot dogs.
• Skye told Coulson that Luther had charged her for an extravagant meal and that she had spent the following days eating bread and drinking water.
• Skye gave Coulson emails implicating members of Congress in Quinn International’s proposed deal with the military, and he saw that each ended with “hail hydra.”

The Eredar Twins revealed how they had manipulated Skye into uncovering fabricated evidence against their political opponents, then discussed Odin’s awakening and Evenson’s tangled history with Asgard. The chapter ended when Sif arrived to summon Evenson to Asgard at the Heavenly Queen’s request.

• The Eredar Twins explained that Sambora had planted fish in Skye’s net and that they had arranged the signal and evidence to frame their opponents.
• Evenson complained that Moira had put the Eredar Twins’ photographs in front of him to ward off evil spirits, and the twins teased him.
• Klayya told the Eredar Twins that Odin had awakened, and Evenson asked whether they were stronger than him.
• Aurelles hit Evenson with her high heel after he pressed the twins about Odin, and Klayya kicked him too.
• Evenson, Klayya, and the Eredar Twins discussed how to respond to Odin, while Evenson admitted he might have to flee Asgard’s troubles.
• Moira reported a Bifrost reaction, and Sif arrived to tell Evenson that the Heavenly Queen had summoned him to Asgard.

Evenson was summoned to Asgard by Frigga, and Klayya appointed him Earth’s plenipotentiary envoy while the Eredar Twins sent him to pursue their alien-technology plans. The twins bound a Soul Stone to him to keep him alive, though they privately admitted it was their first attempt at making one.

• Frigga sent Sif through a secret passage to summon Evenson to Asgard, and Klayya appointed him Earth’s envoy with an official letter and token.
• Saloras and Aurelles reminded Evenson to resume the mercenary plan involving Tyrants and alien technology, explaining that the company was shifting its industrial plans toward Russia to reduce its dependence on the United States.
• The Eredar Twins gave Evenson a Soul Stone bound to him so he would survive his mission, and Evenson thanked them despite their protests that they were merely showing care.
• After the twins left, Saloras worried that their Soul Stone might not work because it was their first attempt, while Aurelles said she had followed the textbook process.

Evenson tried to recruit Victoria Hand to Umbrella Corporation, showing her the company’s plans and arguing that it was unlike Hydra. Hand accepted a position as Chief of Operations, then discovered the contracts came with a long term and stingy probationary conditions.

• Evenson told Hand that Ward was a Hydra traitor and that Umbrella had secured her immunity from the US government.
• Evenson showed Hand Umbrella’s press conference announcing its purchase of the Triskelion and its plans to provide security services.
• Hand questioned whether Umbrella could be trusted, and Evenson pointed to its cooperation with Asgard and its plans for interstellar colonization.
• Hand agreed to join Umbrella as Chief of Operations after Evenson showed her the company’s alien mercenaries and described its partnership with Stark Industries.
• Evenson gave Hand two contracts, including a thirty-year agreement, and explained that her probationary period offered only a basic living allowance and no bonuses.

Evenson arrived in Asgard with Sif and saw signs of growing unrest under Frigga’s rule. Frigga acknowledged the turmoil and began discussing the changes sweeping Asgard.

• Evenson learned that Frigga had been studying Earth’s classics and history, while Sif explained how she and the Valkyries joined her lessons.
• Evenson and Sif traveled to Asgard, where ships escorted them and elite Valkyries guarded the Golden Palace.
• Evenson saw the Tong Gui, a device for submitting private suggestions to Frigga, and warned Sif not to contact Thor without permission.
• Fandral and another Warrior of the Three passed Sif without greeting her, and she refused to explain their strained relationship.
• Evenson met Frigga in the Golden Palace, declined her offer of a sword, and heard her confirm that Asgard was turbulent amid ongoing changes.

Frigga used the Valkyrie Corps to consolidate power and carry out sweeping reforms, purging Thor’s retainers and nobles through the Three Great Cases while centralizing rule and promoting commoners. After Gungnir vanished, she learned Odin intended to retire on Earth, but the chapter ended with Heimdall missing after secretly meeting nobles before descending to Midgard.

• Frigga expanded the Valkyrie Corps to ten thousand and used a disastrous exercise against the Einherjar to justify creating a new army.
• Frigga stripped Fandral and the bearded man of their offices, punished Hogun by cutting off his nose, and thereby weakened Thor’s power base in Asgard.
• Frigga reclaimed nobles’ titles and lands over impure tribute gold, then had more than thirty disgruntled nobles arrested after they insulted her in a tavern.
• Alfhil tortured the prisoners into confessing to a fabricated rebellion led by Hogun, and Frigga executed him, abolished his kingship, and made his kingdom a province.
• Frigga summoned Evenson after Gungnir vanished; Evenson told her Odin was building a palace on Earth and planned to retire, easing her concern about his intentions.
• Alfhil reported that Heimdall had disappeared after secretly meeting nobles before descending to Midgard, and Frigga angrily called her subordinates useless.

Heimdall found the real Odin on Earth and urged him to return to Asgard, but Odin refused and explained that Frigga’s ruthless rule served his own plans for the kingdom. Heimdall revealed that nobles had already sought foreign military aid against Frigga, and Odin decided they would all die.

• Heimdall traced Gungnir to Earth, discovered Odin was there, and brought Torrehond and Olaf to meet him.
• Odin killed Olaf and Torrehond when they urged him to reclaim the throne, then heard Heimdall’s plea to return to Asgard.
• Odin told Heimdall that he preferred his life on Earth and that Frigga’s actions advanced his plans for the succession.
• Odin revealed that he had once ruled through conquest and valued power above honor, and that Frigga embodied Asgard’s bloody traditions.
• Heimdall warned Odin that nobles had secretly sought help from the Kree Empire’s Accuser Fleet and the Nova Corps to oppose Frigga.
• Odin dismissed the nobles’ actions and said they all had to die.

Frigga learned that Asgardian rebels had invited the Kree and Xandar to intervene, and Evenson urged her to treat their betrayal as grounds to eliminate them. After assessing the foreign forces, Frigga asked Evenson how he would resolve her conflict with Hela and the succession, and he began outlining a plan to exploit Ronan’s hostility toward Xandar.

• Evenson congratulated Frigga on the rebels’ betrayal, arguing that their collusion with foreign powers gave her grounds to purge them as traitors.
• Alfhil explained that the rebels had offered Hogun’s former kingdom to the Kree and Xandar, hoping to turn the two longtime enemies against each other.
• Alfhil revealed that the Kree and Xandar had already signed a peace treaty because of the Skrull threat, though Ronan’s Accuser Fleet remained hostile to Xandar.
• Frigga asked Evenson whether Hela would accept a joint-rule arrangement and what would happen to Frigga if Hela claimed the throne.
• Evenson proposed allying with Ronan by promising Asgardian help against Xandar, then whispered a second step that Frigga approved despite expecting strong resistance.

Frigga appointed Evenson as Asgard’s Plenipotentiary Envoy and sent him to the Land of No Law with Alfhil to negotiate with The Collector. Evenson struck a mercenary-business deal, obtained coordinates for Ronan, and left after The Collector asked him to secure the treasure Ronan was seeking.

• Frigga accepted Evenson’s proposals and ordered him to carry them out, appointing Alfhil as his deputy envoy.
• Evenson brought Alfhil and his Tyrant mercenaries to The Collector’s territory and proposed a mercenary-business partnership.
• Evenson agreed to split the mercenary profits evenly with The Collector, who would handle any tax issues from his share.
• Evenson asked The Collector for Ronan’s exact location, and Alfhil threatened Asgardian military action when The Collector refused to help.
• The Collector gave Evenson coordinates where Ronan’s people would be searching and asked him to obtain the valuable object Ronan sought.

Evenson and Alfhil waited on Morag for Ronan, then followed his trackers to the Dark Aster, where Evenson challenged Ronan after witnessing him execute a Xandarian prisoner. The chapter ended with Ronan learning Evenson came from Earth and dismissing the planet as too backward to interest him.

• Evenson and Alfhil arrived on Morag, scanned the area, and hid near the ruins while waiting for Ronan.
• A scavenger entered the ruins, escaped from Ronan's trackers, and flew away before they could catch him.
• Evenson identified himself and Alfhil as Asgardian envoys, and the tracker escorted them to the Dark Aster.
• Ronan executed a Xandarian prisoner and declared that he would destroy Xandar, while Evenson ignored his speech and spoke with a green-skinned woman.
• Evenson confronted Ronan about the execution, revealed that he came from Earth, and heard Ronan dismiss Earth as too backward to interest him.

Evenson negotiated with Ronan on behalf of Frigga, exposing that her envoys had offered the same territory to the Nova Corps and persuading Ronan to consider an alliance with Asgard. Ronan became tempted by the promise of a joint attack on Xandar and the prospect of a powerful alliance, though he had not yet signed the list of alleged rebels.

• Evenson questioned Ronan about the Kree Empire’s abandoned Terrigen Mutation program, but Ronan dismissed Earth’s lingering troubles as its own affair.
• Bouchard interrupted the talks and insulted Evenson and Alfhil, so Ronan struck him with the Universal Weapon and demanded that no one question his authority aboard his ship.
• Evenson argued that Ronan should distrust the offer of Hogun’s territory, then revealed that Frigga’s envoys had offered the same terms to the Nova Corps.
• Ronan suppressed his anger at being deceived, and Evenson offered an alliance in which Asgard would send troops to help the Kree attack Xandar in exchange for Ronan signing Frigga’s list of rebels.
• Alby warned Ronan that the list could help Frigga purge her opponents, prompting Ronan to question why she needed his signature.
• Evenson explained that Frigga sought a lasting alliance between Asgard and the Kree Empire, and Ronan considered the prospect of defeating Xandar and dividing the universe with Asgard.

Evenson offered Ronan an alliance between Asgard and the Kree Empire, but Ronan hesitated because he had promised Thanos the Power Stone in exchange for help destroying Xandar. Ronan arranged for Gamora and Tracker to accompany Evenson in the search, while Evenson killed Bouchard and Alby and declared that they had already won.

• Evenson proposed that Asgard and the Kree Empire become allies, leaving Bouchard and Alby afraid that their failed mission would cost them their lives.
• Nebula and Tracker reminded Ronan of his agreement with Thanos, who had promised to help destroy Xandar in return for the Power Stone.
• Ronan explained that whoever found the item he had promised Thanos would earn his cooperation, and he assigned Gamora and Tracker to accompany Evenson while keeping Nebula by his side.
• After leaving the hall, Bouchard and Alby mocked Evenson and boasted that their connections would help them find the item first.
• Evenson used Evil Soul Scythe to cut Bouchard and Alby into pieces, then told Gamora that they had already won.

Evenson, Alfhil, and Gamora arrived on Xandar to find the Broker and track down the Power Stone, but Evenson’s costly ice cream stop and Gamora’s anger over a joke delayed their covert search. As they observed Xandar’s lax security and complacent society, Evenson and Alfhil reflected on how the Nova Corps’ arrogance and misplaced devotion to freedom had left the planet vulnerable to the Kree Empire.

• Ronan suspected the Nova Corps had secretly arranged the Power Stone deal and hurried Evenson’s group to Xandar, leaving the conspicuous Tyrants aboard their ship.
• Evenson bought thirty-dollar ice creams for himself, Alfhil, and Gamora, then worried about the cost and possible alien food allergies.
• Evenson joked that Gamora could join the Skullsplitter Clan, prompting her to warn him not to bring up her origins.
• Alfhil explained that Xandar’s first immigrants had declared the planet free of intelligent natives just three years after arriving.
• Evenson and Alfhil noted that Xandar’s relaxed atmosphere and weak security reflected a broader decline, as the Nova Corps’ arrogant promotion of its political system had helped leave the planet exposed to Kree invasion.

Evenson and Alfhil followed Gamora to the Broker, where Peter Quill’s attempt to sell the Power Stone fell apart after he mentioned Ronan. As Gamora and Quill fought over the Stone, Rocket and Groot intervened, and Evenson arranged for Alfhil to be arrested so he could approach the Nova Corps with a diplomatic claim and the Heavenly Queen’s decree.

• Evenson suspected Gamora had hidden motives and watched her meet the Broker while he and Alfhil stayed at a distance.
• Peter Quill brought the Power Stone to the Broker, but the Broker returned it and threw him out after hearing Ronan was involved.
• Gamora tried to take the Stone from Quill, but Rocket and Groot arrived to capture Quill for the bounty Yondu had placed on him.
• Evenson sent Alfhil to help Gamora and told her to surrender if the Nova Corps arrived; Alfhil tore off Groot’s arms before the Nova Corps arrested everyone.
• Evenson revealed that he was Asgard’s Plenipotentiary Envoy and asked the Nova Corps to take him to their commander so he could deliver the Heavenly Queen’s decree.

Nova Supreme struggled to protect Xandar’s sovereignty while the Kree ignored Ronan’s attacks, then rejected an Asgardian alliance despite Evenson’s offer. Evenson praised Xandar’s commitment to peace and prepared to speak frankly, leaving his next move unknown.

• Nova Supreme failed to persuade a Kree diplomat to condemn Ronan, then ordered Gamora, Quill, and the others sent to Kree High-Security Prison without trial.
• Nova Supreme met with Evenson and Gabriel, and Evenson dismissed the captured Asgardian Alfhil’s case as a matter for Xandar’s laws.
• Evenson identified an earlier Asgardian delegation as traitors and asked Xandar to sign an extradition treaty and hand them over.
• Evenson offered an alliance against the Kree, but Nova Supreme rejected it, fearing Xandar would become a battleground and lose its independence.
• Evenson praised Xandar’s commitment to peace and said he could now speak sincerely.