Chapter Summaries

Evenson explained to Carol that his campaign against Xandar was an authorized Asgardian operation, not an action on Earth’s behalf. He revealed his plan to help Frigga secure an alliance with the Kree in exchange for ending Earth’s nominal vassal status and making it an Asgardian ally.

• After Nick Fury’s call disconnected, Carol and Evenson recognized their shared connection to Earth and discussed their origins and powers.
• Carol told Evenson to leave Xandar, but he argued that his campaign was strategic defense against the dangers posed by extraterrestrial civilizations.
• Evenson revealed that he represented Asgard and explained how Asgard had protected Earth while retaining a nominal claim over it.
• Evenson said he had made a deal with Frigga: he would help her forge an alliance with the Kree by conquering Xandar, and she would recognize Earth as Asgard’s ally rather than its vassal.
• Evenson explained that he would enter Frigga’s service as a minister and claimed the arrangement would raise Earth’s standing and secure protection from Asgard and the Kree.

Evenson persuaded Carol to preserve Xandar’s people while keeping the alliance plan intact, then sent her to confront Ronan. Carol reached Ronan only after his ship had crashed and the Nova Corps had been wiped out, finding him watching an idiot dance.

• Evenson explained how an alliance between Asgard and the Kree Empire could protect Earth and leave room to redefine Xandar’s destruction.
• Carol questioned whether Xandar had to be destroyed, and Evenson argued that the agreement could mean ending Xandar’s political power rather than exterminating its people.
• Evenson told Carol that Ronan’s defeat would let him control the battle’s outcome and negotiate with the Kree Empire, and asked her to leave Ronan alive.
• Carol flew toward Ronan while Evenson told Gabriel to reorganize the troops and continue the plan.
• Carol arrived to find Ronan’s ship crashed, the Nova Corps wiped out, and Ronan staring at an idiot dancing.

Ronan’s attack on Xandar collapsed after the Power Stone destroyed the Nova Corps’ barrier and his own flagship, while Drax, Carol, and Quill fought him. Just as Quill and his friends used the Power Stone against Ronan, a portal rescued him and the arriving Valkyrie Corps took the Stone.

• Yondu used his Yaka Arrow to kill the Chitauri surrounding him, while the Nova Corps linked their fighters into a defensive barrier.
• Ronan shattered the Nova Corps’ barrier with the Power Stone, but the resulting destruction also crippled the Necro.
• Drax unleashed Fel-enhanced strength against Ronan, who blasted him away and accidentally destroyed the Necro’s controls, crashing the ship.
• Quill distracted Ronan with a dance while Rocket tried to fire a repaired cannon, but Carol arrived and fought Ronan until the Universal Weapon exploded.
• Quill grabbed the Power Stone, and Gamora, Drax, and Rocket joined hands with him to share its destructive force against Ronan.
• A yellow portal pulled Ronan away as the Valkyrie Corps arrived and took the Power Stone from Quill.

After Ronan’s defeat, Frigga’s Valkyries arrived on Xandar and staged a rescue of civilians while secretly coordinating with Evenson. Carol mistook the operation for Asgard’s betrayal and attacked Frigga, but Evenson exposed their plan, leaving Carol to realize she had been excluded from it.

• Frigga arrived with the Valkyrie Corps, took the Power Stone from Quill, and ordered Sif to lead the troops.
• Yondu approached to claim the Ravagers’ reward, but Frigga praised their service and challenged them to fight for the Power Stone; Yondu left with his men.
• Sif and the Valkyries staged a battle with Evenson’s demons, then followed a map to rescue civilians and destroy the demons’ base.
• Carol saw the Valkyries bombard the demon army’s location and attacked Frigga, believing Asgard had betrayed its agreement with Evenson.
• Evenson arrived and praised Frigga and Sif for saving Xandar, then told Carol to stop interrupting their plan.
• Carol understood that Evenson and Frigga had arranged the war and rescue from the beginning, and felt that her presence had been unnecessary.

Evenson and Frigga arranged Asgard’s takeover of devastated Xandar, while Carol asked Evenson to shelter Skrull refugees and was firmly refused. Nova Supreme accepted a referendum on whether Xandar would become an Asgardian province, and Evenson predicted the voters would choose submission.

• Carol criticized Evenson’s deception in Xandar, and he argued that his scheme had prevented a bloodier conquest.
• Carol asked Evenson to let a small group of Skrull refugees settle secretly on Earth, but he rejected the idea and warned that they could infiltrate human society.
• Evenson brought Nova Supreme to Frigga, who demanded that Xandar’s leaders resign, the Nova Corps disband, and Xandar become an Asgardian province.
• Nova Supreme hesitated to accept the terms, so Evenson proposed a referendum, which she agreed to hold.
• Carol questioned whether the people would vote to surrender their country, and Evenson predicted that Xandar’s voters would choose to become subjects of Asgard.

Evenson explained to Carol how he planned to use Xandar’s referendum to legitimize its submission to Asgard and fracture its population. The vote had not begun, but Evenson had already arranged the displayed results and laid out how suspicion and social divisions would help Asgard rule Xandar.

• Carol visited Evenson at the counting committee offices and questioned him about the crowds enthusiastically supporting the referendum.
• Evenson told Carol that many Xandarians were drawn by the promise of becoming children of the gods, while Nova Corps officials accepted the referendum to share responsibility for Xandar’s submission.
• Carol noticed that the referendum display already showed results for Approve, Reject, and Doesn’t Matter, and Evenson admitted he had decided the outcome before voting began.
• Evenson explained that the referendum’s process would let Heavenly Queen portray Xandar’s submission as voluntary and divide its people into hostile groups.
• Evenson described plans to turn those divisions into honorary castes and said he had learned his political tricks from CIA agents he met while working for S.H.I.E.L.D.

After Xandar’s referendum settled its fate under Asgardian rule, Frigga confronted Ronan over his failed campaign and demanded that he honor their agreement. Evenson persuaded Ronan to accept an alliance by offering the Power Stone to the Kree Empire, though he refused to hand it to Ronan personally.

• Carol left Xandar to rejoin her friends, while Frigga took charge of the Nova Corps headquarters and learned that Heimdall had returned Gungnir.
• Alfhil brought the injured Ronan before Frigga, who told him that Asgard had fulfilled its promise because Xandar would lose its identity and come under Asgardian law.
• Evenson argued that Ronan’s choices and failures had led to the war’s outcome, while Asgard had done everything it could to help him.
• Frigga offered the Power Stone as a gift to the Kree Empire, and Ronan agreed to form an alliance.
• Evenson stopped Ronan from taking the stone and insisted that the Kree Empire send an official envoy to arrange its transfer.

Evenson arranged for Asgard to hand the Power Stone to the Kree Empire, then helped Frigga sentence Quill’s group to life imprisonment on Xandar. The chapter ended with Frigga revealing that her angry outburst and apparent injury had been an illusion.

• Evenson persuaded Frigga to give the Power Stone to the Kree Empire, and Ronan left after the handover was arranged.
• Quill, Rocket, Drax, and Gamora entered expecting rewards, but Evenson called them criminals and listed their offenses.
• Evenson rejected Frigga’s attempts to excuse or pardon the group, and Frigga sentenced them to life imprisonment.
• Frigga restored the throne and healed her hand with illusion magic, then said she could use it better than Loki.

Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket were sent away from Xandar on a mission of atonement after Frigga staged their apparent punishment. Evenson learned that Frigga had spared them to avoid provoking powerful figures connected to Gamora and Quill, leaving him to worry that he would take the blame if Quill’s father became involved.

• Rocket proposed that the group learn the prison’s routines and escape, but Gamora warned them not to discuss it where they might be watched.
• Evenson announced that the group would serve their sentence by traveling in Quill’s ship and helping people suffering from war in Asgard’s name.
• After the group departed, Evenson told Frigga that her plan was complete, and Alfhil questioned why she had gone to such lengths to release them.
• Evenson explained Frigga’s decision as an exercise of royal authority, while Frigga claimed that she had deeper political and practical reasons.
• Frigga revealed that Quill had survived contact with the Power Stone and was the son of a powerful ancient being, so she had avoided provoking him or Thanos.
• Evenson realized Quill might blame him for the supposed attempt to imprison or kill the group if his father came after them.

Frigga ordered Sif to suppress Xandar’s protests and punish those who resisted, deepening divisions among the population. Evenson then proposed a scheme to crash Xandar’s currency with a forbidden rumor, allowing Frigga to later exchange it at a fixed rate and seize wealth while blaming Nova Corps officials.

• Frigga ordered Sif to disperse the protesters, execute ringleaders, and punish those accused of inciting dissent.
• Evenson argued that Asgard needed to sever Xandar’s economic roots and explained how private interests controlled its currency.
• Evenson proposed spreading a rumor that Xandar’s currency would be abolished, then arresting people who repeated it to make the rumor travel farther.
• Frigga realized the rumor would undermine confidence in Xandar’s currency while letting her deny responsibility.
• Evenson proposed delaying the exchange until the currency crashed, then exchanging it at the rate in effect when the order was issued.
• Frigga approved the plan, intending to blame Nova Corps officials for the resulting upheaval.

Frigga rewarded Evenson by declaring Earth independent and tasked him with severing Xandar’s economic lifeline, while placing Sif in charge of the handover. Evenson revealed that Frigga intended to relocate her court and loyal subjects to Xandar, leaving Asgard to Odin’s opponents and any coming doom.

• Frigga declared Earth independent and refused to bring Evenson into Asgardian service, explaining that they would be allies instead.
• Frigga authorized Evenson to handle Xandar’s economic takeover as he saw fit and ordered Sif to oversee military affairs and the Nova Corps handover.
• Frigga left half the Valkyrie Corps with Sif and told her to consult Evenson on domestic affairs and Richter on foreign affairs.
• Alfhil complained that Sif had been chosen to govern Xandar, and Evenson explained that Frigga’s farewell words had warned Sif against pursuing Thor.
• Evenson told Alfhil that Frigga planned to build a palace, settle permanently in Xandar, and move her administration and loyal Asgardians there to establish her own empire.

Frigga planned to relocate Asgard’s capital to Xandar, while Sif struggled to avoid taking over the Nova government as rumors about the Heavenly Queen spread. Evenson met Ronan with the Power Stone, delivered safely by the Bifrost, and left the Kree Empire ready to secure it.

• Frigga planned to move her subjects and the capital to Xandar, leaving Asgard’s throne for Hela.
• Sif refused Nova Supreme’s repeated requests to hand over governmental affairs and accused her of aiding rumors about Frigga.
• Nova Supreme named Evenson Richter as the suspected source of the rumor, while she and her associates planned to sell their assets and leave Xandar.
• Evenson traveled to the Kree Empire’s fleet, where Ronan received him to finalize their treaty.
• Evenson had Frigga send the Power Stone through the Bifrost, and Ronan retrieved it from the Orb.

Evenson signed an alliance treaty with Ronan and learned that Cassius and the Alliance had come seeking financial help for their collapsing bank. Evenson refused to lend them money without taking control of the bank, leaving Cassius to decide whether to accept his demand.

• Evenson and Ronan quickly read and signed the ceremonial alliance treaty, while Evenson stamped it with Frigga's collection of seals.
• Ronan told Evenson that Cassius and five Alliance members had come aboard, and Evenson learned that Cassius's bank was trapped in a disastrous Xandar currency deal tied to him.
• Cassius and the Alliance approached Evenson for a loan, but Evenson injured Carlson after Carlson interrupted him.
• Evenson rejected a conventional loan and demanded eighty percent of the bank's shares in exchange for depositing money into it.
• Cassius called the demand excessive, and Evenson walked away, telling him to decide how much time he had left.

Cassius realized Evenson’s harsh offer was part of Asgard’s plan to take control of the Alliance’s failing bank and use it to enter the Kree Empire’s economy. Facing ruin or death if they refused, Cassius decided the Alliance should sell most of its shares and accept a position under Asgard’s protection.

• Cassius prepared to bargain with Evenson when he overheard Evenson urge Ronan to kill people who deserved to die.
• An attendant told Cassius that Nova Supreme and former Nova Corps officials were dumping their external assets, deepening fears that Xandar’s economy was collapsing.
• Cassius explained that the Alliance’s bank faced exposure of its bad debts, a depositor bank run, and possible government seizure or execution of its leaders.
• Cassius concluded that Asgard had engineered the crisis to use the bank as a foothold in the Kree Empire’s financial system.
• Cassius persuaded the Alliance that selling eighty percent of the bank’s shares would preserve their remaining stake and bring them Asgard’s protection.

Evenson negotiated to take control of Cassius’s failing bank, while Cassius proposed using Ronan’s prestige to restore public trust. The deal left Ronan backing the bank for a share of its profits, while Cassius mistakenly concluded that Evenson had orchestrated the arrangement to influence the Kree military.

• Cassius told Evenson he accepted all his terms, though he refused to explain what he believed Evenson’s intentions were.
• Cassius proposed that Ronan buy the bank’s long-term wealth management products and lend his prestige to restoring confidence in the bank.
• Ronan agreed to support the bank after bargaining with Cassius and Evenson for a fifty-fifty split of the proceeds.
• Evenson encouraged Ronan to partner with financial magnates to fund and strengthen his military forces.
• Cassius concluded that Asgard had deliberately arranged the partnership to gain influence over the Kree Empire’s military, and he toasted Evenson.

Evenson secured Ronan’s agreement that Earth could handle Kree facilities and illegal Kree residents on its own, then prepared to return to Xandar. Thanos’s warship intercepted him, and Evenson nervously boarded it with Gabriel for the demanded meeting while keeping an escape plan ready.

• Evenson asked Ronan to recognize Earth’s right to handle its own affairs, including Kree facilities and any Kree found on Earth, and ordered the agreement recorded in an official memorandum.
• After the Kree fleet departed, Evenson told Gernos to take the ship back to Xandar, but a huge golden warship appeared and locked its cannons on them.
• Thanos’s ship demanded an immediate meeting, and Evenson abandoned his plan to flee and brought Gabriel aboard with him.
• Evenson revealed that his pants contained a Black Stone portal and used them to prepare an enhanced teleportation escape in case the meeting turned dangerous.
• Gabriel deduced that Evenson had treated his ship and its crew as expendable bait, while Evenson insisted he hoped the meeting would end peacefully.

Evenson met Thanos aboard his ship and used flattery and careful arguments to deflect blame for the Power Stone. Thanos invited him to serve and retrieve two Infinity Stones from Earth, then revealed that he sought to erase half of all life for the sake of balance.

• Evenson and Gabriel entered Thanos’s hall, where Thanos’s adviser Ebony Maw accused Evenson of ignoring Thanos and interfering with his pursuit of the Power Stone.
• Evenson denied responsibility for the Power Stone and argued that he had only helped Ronan while Ronan sought it for Thanos.
• Thanos laughed at Ebony Maw’s defeat in their verbal exchange and offered Evenson any reward if he brought him the two Infinity Stones on Earth.
• Evenson asked why Thanos wanted the Infinity Stones and repeated the rumor that Thanos planned to kill half the universe to win Death’s love.
• Thanos denied that motive and said he wanted half of all life to disappear for the sake of balance.

Thanos told Evenson how his plan to save Titan by randomly killing half its population had failed, and Evenson explained that the plan had united everyone against him. Thanos refused to abandon his belief in fairness and challenged Evenson’s claim that his current campaign also had no chance.

• Thanos showed Evenson visions of Titan and explained that overpopulation had driven him to propose killing half its people.
• Evenson reasoned that Thanos’s plan had failed before target selection because its randomness made everyone fear they might die and turn against him.
• Thanos confirmed Evenson’s explanation and said he would not use deception or compromise on equal treatment.
• Evenson realized he had begun advising Thanos on how to make mass killing politically viable and stopped himself.
• Thanos confronted Evenson, asking whether he believed Thanos had made himself the enemy of everyone and stood no chance.

Thanos explained to Evenson that he planned to use the Infinity Stones to eliminate half of all life and save the universe from resource scarcity. Evenson praised Thanos’s conviction but refused to join him, leaving Thanos demanding an explanation.

• Thanos admitted that he had failed before because he lacked the means to carry out his plan, and said the Infinity Stones would let him enact it instantly.
• Thanos argued that universal resource shortages would soon threaten life, and that his plan was preferable to wars of conquest and the destruction of entire civilizations.
• Evenson challenged Thanos’s reasoning and asked what he would do after his plan; Thanos said he would destroy the stones and retire to watch the universe flourish.
• Thanos asked Evenson to join him, but Evenson refused, prompting Ebony Maw to protest and Thanos to ask why.

Evenson challenged Thanos’s plan to kill half the universe, arguing that population limits and renewable energy could prevent the crisis without mass death. He revealed the Third Magic, which he claimed could free all life from bodily limits and death, and asked Thanos to choose between his plan and universal immortality.

• Evenson told Thanos that his plan was premature and proposed population limits, greater productivity, and renewable energy as alternatives.
• Thanos rejected Evenson’s suggestion to distribute the Infinity Stones among powerful nations, warning that it would provoke a devastating war.
• Thanos accused Evenson of secretly opposing him out of fear and of wielding a power that encouraged chaos.
• Evenson admitted that he feared death and said he had already begun addressing the crisis from Earth’s perspective, with Asgard and the Kree Empire able to support a wider response.
• Evenson showed Thanos a Soul Crystal and revealed the Third Magic, which he said could turn all life into immortal spiritual beings free of scarcity and conflict.