Chapter Summaries

Cherie refused to press the button, and the old Court of Owls leader tried to bargain with Schiller before choosing Batman. As the game’s stage seemed to consume him, Batman found that his clue ticket was blank.

• Cherie hesitated while Haru threatened to use his own button, and Joker ended the turn without a choice.
• The old man chose Schiller and offered to give up his button in exchange for a favor, but Schiller explained why the others would not follow his example.
• The old man withdrew his choice and selected Batman, prompting Joker to try and get Batman’s attention.
• Batman saw the people in the opera house as frozen figures in a spinning stage and wondered whether he was mad too.
• Batman opened his ticket and discovered that it was completely blank.

Batman realized Joker’s performance had been built to make him confront whether he had wanted to laugh at the humiliation of his enemies. After the captives’ release sparked a deadly brawl, Joker collapsed and asked Batman to laugh as the theater went dark.

• Batman recognized that he had mistaken scraps of paper for clues because his pride kept him from engaging with Joker’s performance.
• Batman explained that the solid stone stage could not have concealed bombs, but Joker revealed that he had strapped bombs to himself and threatened to detonate them.
• Batman cut the captives’ ropes and subdued Joker, but Haru was killed, Cherie shot a man, and the freed captives began attacking one another.
• Batman was splashed with blood while trying to stop the fighting, and Joker claimed the deaths were his gift to Batman and asked whether the performance had made him want to laugh.
• Batman asked Joker why he had done it, and Joker answered that he was a Joker who wanted to make Batman laugh before pleading with him as the lights went out.

Schiller interviewed Jack, recording a collection of detailed fake identities while Jack taunted him about trying to live an ordinary life. Jack was moved between wards to escape Cobblepot and then Evans, but ended the chapter arguing with Evans about opera.

• Schiller had Jack invent more than a dozen plausible origin stories and recorded them for use as fake identities.
• Jack mocked Schiller for chasing money and fame in an attempt to become ordinary, then discussed Batman and the Court of Owls’ rain.
• Schiller moved Jack into Cobblepot’s ward, but Jack complained about Cobblepot’s plan to open a restaurant with an iceberg and begged to be moved.
• Cobblepot warned that he would beat Jack if they stayed together, so Schiller arranged for Jack to share a ward with Evans.
• Jack argued with Evans about musical comedy and opera, climbed onto the observation window, and fell out when Evans hit him with a pillow.

Schiller discharged Jack from Arkham after catching him threatening an expensive brainwave machine, but the mob bosses who gathered around Jack drove him to hijack television broadcasts and beg to be readmitted. The chapter ended with Schiller agreeing to admit him if he signed a huge bill for the damage he had caused.

• Schiller scolded Jack for pranking the hospital, but Jack insisted he was trying to save Batman from a boring life.
• Jack held the brainwave machine hostage, and Schiller declared him cured so he could be discharged.
• Mob bosses surrounded Jack outside Arkham and treated him like an honored guest after Schiller gave him a medical-fee exemption.
• Jack hijacked television broadcasts to beg Schiller to readmit him, complaining that the mob bosses' money and business talk were torture.
• Gordon asked Schiller to admit Jack, and Schiller agreed on condition that Jack signed a bill for his damages.

Jack returned to Arkham Asylum and argued with Schiller about madness, order, and Batman’s refusal to embrace chaos. As Arkham struggled with overcrowding and Jack’s antics, Bruce witnessed Jack’s latest attempted fall and wondered if he was the crazy one.

• Jack told Schiller that Batman and Schiller were denying their own madness, while Schiller argued that chaos depended on order and Batman chose to preserve it.
• Schiller and Brand discussed repairing Arkham Asylum and expanding its outdated, overcrowded facilities.
• Cobblepot and Jack repeatedly fought, while Jack and Evans argued about art and sang loudly enough to prompt complaints.
• Jack stood over the seventh-floor balcony and claimed he was the Arkham Knight before jumping.
• Schiller caught Jack in midair and flung him aside, and Jack laughed at Schiller for calling himself ordinary.
• Bruce watched the incident and quietly wondered whether he was the crazy one.

The Ancient One showed Strange the power of magic and invited him to study at Kamar-Taj, worried that his sudden wealth and growing role in the Immortality Factor industry would keep him from becoming Sorcerer Supreme. Strange questioned the value of medicine and ordinary human effort, but Schiller encouraged him to test magic for himself while remaining connected to society.

• Schiller called the sanatorium and learned that a bald woman in yellow had come looking for him, so he told his colleague to be polite to her and show up alive the next day.
• The Ancient One explained how vampires had used an old passage to bring a Morlun Family hunter to Earth, and how Strange’s success in the Immortality Factor industry had made him rich and influential.
• The Ancient One demonstrated her magic to Strange and invited him to study at Kamar-Taj, offering him time to decide and the option to commute.
• Strange asked Schiller whether medicine and years of human learning had any meaning beside magic, and Schiller argued that magic must have a price and urged Strange to try it himself.
• Schiller told Strange that becoming a Sorcerer Supreme should not require abandoning ordinary society, then insisted that wealth was still enjoyable even after encountering magic.

Strange struggled to learn magic until Schiller suggested using a Freeze Ray to subdue the training ribbon, after which Strange began negotiating with it. He then proposed that Stark combine borrowed magical power with armor technology, and the two agreed to pursue the scheme.

• Strange complained to Schiller about being beaten by a training ribbon while Wong urged him to focus, and Schiller threatened to dock his pay for unfinished medical records.
• Strange learned that Schiller's powers were innate and realized he had spent a week struggling with magic; Schiller suggested bargaining with the power behind the ribbon.
• Schiller gave Strange a Freeze Ray, which Strange used to freeze the ribbon and negotiate with it while The Ancient One praised his talent and patience.
• Strange concluded that magic and technology could complement each other and brought his idea for combining them to Stark.
• Stark and Strange planned to use magical power to modify armor, then use the armor to capture and keep more borrowed power, and Stark agreed to join him.

Strange, Stark, Nick, and Schiller devised a plan to use a cosmic investment scheme to gain power from Cosmic Demons, with the Sorcerer Supreme’s mysterious patron as a potential backer. They searched for someone knowledgeable about the universe, and Nick received news of a powerless Asgardian in New Mexico who might fit their needs.

• Strange and Stark discussed borrowing power from Cosmic Demons and refusing to repay them, then brought the idea to Nick and Schiller.
• Nick questioned whether the plan could work, and Schiller proposed using a Ponzi scheme disguised as investment to recruit Cosmic Demons.
• Schiller suggested using the birth of a new Beast Totem to attract investors and the being behind the Sorcerer Supreme as protection and a guarantor.
• Nick and Strange discussed the risks of the scheme and how borrowed magical power could help defend Earth.
• Schiller proposed finding someone who understood the cosmic factions, and the group learned that a powerless Asgardian claiming to be a god had attacked investigators in New Mexico.

Steve tried to question Thor about his banishment to Earth and help him understand Odin’s decision, but Thor remained furious and difficult to reason with. After Thor threatened him, Steve knocked him unconscious, calling it physical therapy.

• Natasha warned Steve that Thor was volatile and difficult to communicate with, then Steve entered the room where Thor was recovering from Anti-Wolf Spray.
• Thor introduced himself as Thor Odinson of Asgard and complained about humans, his imprisonment, and the damage caused by his landing.
• Steve questioned Thor about Odin’s banishment, and Thor admitted he had invaded Jotunheim and resented being stripped of his powers and weapon.
• Steve suggested Odin might have had a deeper purpose, but Thor reluctantly resigned himself to life on Earth and complained about having to find work and repay damages.
• When Thor became agitated and raised his fist, Schiller told Steve to use physical therapy, and Steve punched Thor unconscious.
• Natasha returned and found Thor unconscious; Steve explained that it was physical therapy while Odin watched.

Strange presented The Ancient One and Wong with a financial fraud scheme designed to target Dimensional Demon Gods. The Ancient One praised his insight and began explaining the Demon Gods and the nature of the universe.

• Strange told The Ancient One that he and his friends had devised a financial fraud plan targeting Dimensional Demon Gods.
• Strange showed The Ancient One and Wong a projection explaining how the plan would use a Ponzi scheme, refined with help from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finance professionals.
• Wong choked on his tea when Strange revealed the plan, while The Ancient One listened with growing interest.
• The Ancient One admired Strange for recognizing the situation's crux and began describing Demon Gods and their place in the universe.
• The Ancient One started explaining the truth of the world to Strange.

The Ancient One explained the cosmic hierarchy and why Demon Gods sought influence on Earth, then agreed to help Strange organize a conference to redirect their competition for power. She began contacting powerful beings and arranging a meeting at an Asgardian temple.

• The Ancient One explained the cosmic rankings and described how Demon Gods formed alliances and fought over territories.
• Strange asked why Demon Gods sought Earth, and the Ancient One explained that Earth was special because human faith provided them with especially pure power.
• The Ancient One told Strange that his plan could take advantage of the Demon Gods’ competition and explained how their powers could be converted, though with time and losses.
• The Ancient One agreed to contact the Vishanti and proposed meeting Odin to arrange a conference at an Asgardian temple.
• The Ancient One instructed Wong to have Mordo contact Dormammu, to contact Setar'ak herself, and to ask Lucas to invite Mephisto, while also checking on Vatumb and Kalakhan.

Strange and Schiller discussed their painful relationships with their fathers while Stark continued risking his life to perfect the Arc Reactor. After Pepper confronted him, Stark remembered a rare happy childhood moment and revealed to himself that he wanted the reactor to feel like something he and Howard had built together.

• Strange told Stark that he had traveled to Asgard, where Loki received him, and confirmed Thor was Odin’s son.
• Schiller explained that Stark was delaying replacing his chest reactor because he wanted to improve Howard’s technology, while Strange described his neglectful father and estranged family.
• Pepper confronted Stark for risking his life rather than replacing the reactor, and Stark promised he would solve the problem.
• After Pepper left, Stark recalled building a toy car with Howard and understood that he wanted the Arc Reactor to represent something they had created together.

Steve struggled to supervise Thor in New York because Thor’s archaic speech and unfamiliarity with Earth customs led him to cause trouble. Peter took over and, with Pikachu, brought Thor to an arcade, where Thor explained his anger at noisy cars and disorderly streets before agreeing to see Earth’s modern entertainment.

• Steve tried to stop Thor from damaging cars and disturbing construction sites, then got a call from Doctor Schiller requesting him for a strength test.
• Steve asked Peter to take over watching Thor and promised him a signed Captain America shirt as a reward.
• Thor ignored Peter’s directions, wandered into a mud pit, and Peter pulled him out before leading him toward an arcade.
• Peter met up with Pikachu, and Thor was shocked when he tried to pet him.
• Thor recalled his hunting dog and explained that he objected to noisy cars, roadblocks, and graffiti because of Asgardian rules.
• Peter invited Thor to the arcade, promising to show him modern entertainment.

Peter and Thor’s attempt to visit an arcade ended in a fight that injured a child and damaged several machines, prompting Peter to explain why good intentions still require care. Peter then took Thor to meet his friend Matt, while Thor agreed to teach Peter some fighting moves.

• A group of punks tried to extort Peter and Thor at the arcade, and Thor started a fight despite Peter’s warning.
• Thor’s fight damaged arcade machines and pinned a child, so Peter freed the child and took him to a clinic after paying for the damage and medical expenses.
• Peter told Thor that acting recklessly in the name of justice could hurt innocent people and leave others to deal with the consequences.
• Peter demonstrated his strength by lifting one side of a truck, and Thor learned that Peter was only sixteen while Peter learned Thor was nearly sixteen hundred.
• Peter invited Thor to meet Matt, and Thor accepted after Pikachu praised his punches and Peter asked him to teach him how to fight.

Peter, Matt, and Thor investigated The Hand’s plans by abducting one of Bullseye’s lackeys, then Thor struggled to find work and housing after striking out on his own. He eventually rented an apartment near Hell’s Kitchen and met his noisy, sick neighbor, Eddie Brock.

• Matt told Peter and Thor that The Hand was making moves and suspected its rift with Kingpin and Bullseye’s release were connected to a larger plan.
• Peter and Thor infiltrated a bar, where Thor started a brawl and Peter cut the power before they captured one of Bullseye’s lackeys.
• Thor refused Peter’s offer of money or a place to stay and left to find work, but he slept on the street after failing to get hired.
• Thor eventually found a warehouse job, received his first paycheck, and rented a cheap apartment near Hell’s Kitchen.
• After several sleepless nights caused by his new neighbor’s banging, Thor went to complain and learned the man was Eddie Brock.

Thor found his neighbor Eddie in a disheveled, distressed state and listened as Eddie explained how he had lost his career. Eddie began recounting the assignment that led him to interview Life Foundation boss Drake about the Immortality Factor.

• Thor checked on Eddie, who stumbled around his apartment, vomited, and refused Thor’s offer to take him to the hospital because he could not afford an ambulance.
• Thor sat with Eddie and shared beer while Eddie guessed that Thor was a former special-forces soldier and described his own past success as a reporter.
• Eddie said his fortunes changed a month earlier, when his editor criticized his coverage of river construction projects and warned that the publication needed more popular stories.
• The editor told Eddie that the Daily Bugle had drawn huge sales with stories about Spider-Man and Iron Man and urged him to pursue a major new topic.
• The editor assigned Eddie to interview Life Foundation boss Drake about the Immortality Factor and its reportedly improved treatment.

Eddie told Thor how his investigation into the Life Foundation’s human experiments had ruined his career, then revealed that something seemed to be controlling him. Thor recognized a Symbiote inside Eddie, but before they could resolve the situation, The Hand’s Ninja attacked; Spider-Man arrived, and Eddie transformed into a black monster.

• Eddie explained that he had exposed the Life Foundation’s experiments, punched Drake during an interview, and lost his job, girlfriend, and apartment.
• Eddie convulsed and briefly showed black veins, leading Thor to conclude that he was parasitized by a Symbiote.
• The Symbiote spoke through Eddie, said it was allergic to Thor, and recovered after Thor poured beer into Eddie’s mouth.
• Two of The Hand’s Ninja attacked Eddie and Thor, but Spider-Man arrived and helped drive them off.
• Peter revealed himself as Spider-Man and asked why The Hand wanted Eddie dead.
• Eddie convulsed again as the Symbiote erupted from his body, and Spider-Man recognized the black monster.

Matt, Spider-Man, Thor, and Eddie traced The Hand’s attempt to kill Thor to Eddie’s conflict with Life Foundation and the Immortality Factor serums. They planned to investigate Life Foundation from within and keep Drake under surveillance, while Venom’s influence surfaced in Eddie in a disturbing new way.

• Matt stopped Spider-Man, Thor, and Venom from arguing and gathered them to discuss The Hand’s attack on Thor.
• Eddie explained how Venom had come to live with him and suspected Life Foundation boss Drake had sent The Hand after him.
• Matt connected The Hand, Kingpin, and Life Foundation through the Immortality Factor serums and proposed investigating their relationship.
• Eddie outlined several ways to investigate Life Foundation, including posing as volunteers and tracking Drake; the group decided to pursue both approaches.
• Venom spoke to Eddie in his mind and prompted him to insist that he could surveil Drake, ending with Eddie declaring, “Because I'm Eddie Brock.”

Eddie called Anne for help investigating Drake, then met Life Foundation researcher Dora, who revealed that Drake was experimenting on humans to extract an Immortality Factor from an extraterrestrial creature. Dora offered to take Eddie to see it.

• Eddie called Anne and told her that Hand assassins were hunting him because of his investigation into Drake and the Life Foundation.
• Anne gave Eddie the contact information for Dora, and Venom pointed out that Anne had been angry because Eddie had failed to communicate with her.
• Eddie wore Venom’s black, bat-eared armor and went to Dora’s Manhattan apartment, where he persuaded her that he opposed Drake’s experiments.
• Dora told Eddie that Drake was conducting cruel human experiments to extract an Immortality Factor from an extraterrestrial creature rather than vampires.
• Dora offered to take Eddie to see the creature.

Eddie organized a team to infiltrate the Life Foundation, and Peter entered the base as a volunteer. When Drake exposed Peter to a purple Symbiote, it recognized his connection to Venom and fled from him.

• Eddie criticized Dora's unprepared plan and returned to his apartment with her to recruit Peter, Matt, and Thor for the operation.
• Dora explained her high-level access and the risks to volunteers, and the group planned to use Peter and Thor as insiders while she and Eddie gathered information.
• Three days later, Dora used her pass to enter the Life Foundation base while Peter listened to Drake describe the Life Cornerstone Project.
• Drake sent Peter to retrieve a box containing a purple Symbiote, which covered Peter before realizing he had worked with Venom.
• The Symbiote fled back into the box, but Peter broke the experimental platform while trying to catch it and demanded to know what Venom had said about him.
• The Symbiote called Peter a lunatic and hid in a corner after a sudden noise erupted in the laboratory.