Recaps

Allen secured the Darkhold and ordered Sky City to withdraw its people from Earth once Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One and All-Father Odin were dead. He then visited Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, where they discussed his date with Wanda and his violent fight with football players.

• Edna Bevin and the guardians sealed the Darkhold in a protected container and delivered it to Allen.
• Allen ordered Edna Bevin to recall Sky City's people from Earth, including Alesia, after Ancient One and Odin died, and learned that Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Thor had begun training with new powers.
• Allen visited Tony Stark's home and found him kneeling on a toy building-block board as punishment.
• Pepper Potts asked Allen about his date with Wanda, and Tony Stark revealed that Allen had badly injured football players who attacked him.
• Allen defended his actions and disparaged the football players, while Tony Stark advised him to avoid voicing such views around Falcon and the Wakanda King.
• Tony Stark teased Allen about Wanda, but Pepper Potts smacked him and confronted him about swimsuit magazines.

Allen explained that his immortality had eliminated his sexual desire, leaving him uncertain how to handle Wanda’s feelings. He agreed to let Tony Stark examine him and planned to attend former Secretary of State Ross’s trial with a Hydra operative before returning to the Azerath Universe.

• Tony Stark and Pepper Potts questioned Allen about his date with Wanda, and Allen said he felt no sexual desire because of his evolved, immortal state.
• Allen revealed that Tony had previously researched the Life Evolution equation and that Allen had erased Tony’s memories of it to prevent a disaster worse than Ultron.
• Tony proposed a comprehensive physical examination, and Allen agreed to visit his laboratory the following Wednesday.
• Tony told Allen that Ross’s trial would begin Monday, and Allen asked him to arrange two seats so he could attend with one of Red Skull’s subordinates.
• Allen defended directing Hydra toward targeting corrupt powerful figures, then opened a spatial rift and returned to the Azerath Universe.

Allen recognized the Darkhold’s disturbance as Sithorn’s attempt to provoke him into opening its seal, and hid it in an unknown extradimensional space. He explained his plan to pit his universe against Dormammu’s dimension, then prepared to test Grant Ward while Artoria trained for her fight with Hela.

• Edna Bevin reported that black fog from the sealed Darkhold had drawn Allen’s room into an apparent alternate space, but Artoria sensed no damage to Allen’s seal.
• Allen concluded that Sithorn had created a disturbance to trick him into inspecting the Darkhold, then moved the intact container into an unknown extradimensional space.
• Allen told Artoria that he planned to collide and erode Azerath Universe against a Dimensional Demon God’s dimension, and identified Dormammu as his intended prey.
• Allen explained Hela’s strength and said he planned to use Charm Magic to make her his servant, while Artoria looked forward to fighting her.
• Artoria gave Allen a Hydra badge bearing Grant Ward’s name, and Allen decided to test whether Ward deserved to keep his current identity.
• Allen left to find Grant Ward, while Artoria went to the training grounds and overwhelmed Sky City’s strongest close-combat Guardians.

Ross learned that powerful forces had abandoned him and that his trial would likely send him to prison, while his lawyer urged him to accept a reduced sentence. Allen and Grant Ward monitored Ross and prepared to make him transform into a violent red giant during the trial, leaving the plan ready as Allen reassured Ward that Daisy was doing well.

• Ross raged over the renewed investigation and, after consulting his lawyer, accepted a strategy of admitting some crimes and seeking a reduced sentence rather than threatening to expose others.
• Ross and his lawyer rehearsed answers for the upcoming hearings while Allen and Grant Ward listened to them through surveillance devices nearby.
• Grant Ward explained that Hydra had struggled to infiltrate the military and had monitored Ross since he worked on the Super Soldier Serum.
• Allen told Grant Ward to proceed unless Ross faced the electric chair and gave him a crimson injection that would turn Ross into a murderous red giant at the trial's verdict.
• Grant Ward asked about Daisy, and Allen told him that she led Earth's Inhumans, lived with her biological parents, and had an Inhuman boyfriend.

Allen and Red Skull decided Grant Ward was an unstable liability and arranged for him to die in an accident. At Ross’s trial, a disabled veteran shot him in the abdomen, and Allen and Tony tracked the gunman to his home, where Tony uncovered the tragedy behind his revenge.

• Grant Ward left Allen’s house after Allen warned him not to interfere in Daisy’s life.
• Red Skull offered to have Grant killed during a mission, and Allen approved the plan.
• Ross arrived at the Federal Supreme Court amid protests, where a gunman shot him in the abdomen and the crowd descended into chaos.
• Allen and Tony watched the shooting unfold, then used magic and tracking technology to find the gunman.
• Tony identified the shooter as Kirsten Bartlein, a disabled former Marine whose team and family had been killed during battles involving Hulk and Abomination.

Allen and Tony Stark confronted Kirsten Bartlein about his attempted assassination of Ross and the crimes he had committed as a soldier. After Kirsten exposed Tony’s guilt over Stark Industries’ weapons, Allen revealed that Kirsten’s wife had betrayed him, leaving him enraged and shaken.

• Allen told Tony that Kirsten Bartlein had killed civilians and committed sexual violence, and Tony’s sympathy for the veteran turned to anger.
• Allen and Tony approached Kirsten’s house to question him about the assassination attempt on Ross.
• When Kirsten denied involvement and tried to shut the door, Allen lifted him, took his shotgun, and bent its barrel.
• Allen confronted Kirsten with his past crimes, and Kirsten panicked as he remembered what he had done.
• Kirsten accused Tony of profiting from weapons that killed people, and Tony punched him.
• Allen broke Kirsten’s remaining arm and revealed that Kirsten’s wife had an affair with their neighbor, Mr. Tom, and that videos of them were on Tom’s computer.

Allen broke Kirsten Bartlein’s faith, altered him with Old God cells, and sent him to publicly expose military and government crimes, triggering nationwide riots. As the unrest spread, Allen revealed that he intended to use it to force Ross to face Kirsten and to target the hidden forces of capital.

• Allen revealed the crimes Kirsten Bartlein’s wife and daughter had suffered, leaving Kirsten devastated and weeping.
• Allen secretly controlled Kirsten’s mind, implanted Yogg-Saron cells in him, and explained the Old Gods’ threat to Tony Stark.
• Allen ordered Kirsten to turn himself in; Kirsten publicly confessed to military crimes and challenged Ross on camera.
• The revelations spread online despite the White House’s efforts to suppress them, prompting nationwide riots and international condemnation.
• Allen told Tony that the unrest was only the first step toward forcing a meeting between Ross and Kirsten and exposing the forces behind the government.
• Allen planned for Hydra, led by Red Skull, to find the hidden capitalists and eliminate or control them.

Kirsten Bartlein endured more than thirty hours of interrogation without revealing why he shot Ross, so FBI officials forced the injured former Secretary of State awake to question him. Meanwhile, Grant Ward and Lena prepared for Ross’s fate, and Ross failed to recognize the soldier whose family and unit had died in the Hulk and Abomination battles.

• Kirsten Bartlein remained calm through prolonged interrogation, leaving the FBI unable to extract useful intelligence before the President’s deadline.
• An FBI official secured White House permission to take Kirsten Bartlein to meet Ross in the hospital.
• Grant Ward arrived ahead of the convoy, and Lena prophesied that Ross would flee before dying alone and miserably.
• The FBI official forced doctors to inject Ross with a drug that rapidly woke him despite his serious injuries.
• Ross learned that Kirsten Bartlein had sought revenge for his wife, daughter, and comrades, but he did not remember him.

Ross agreed to meet Kirsten Bartlein after receiving a presidential Amnesty Order, but Kirsten transformed into a tentacled monster and attacked everyone in the intensive care unit. The chapter ended with bullets failing to hurt Kirsten as hospital security called for outside assistance.

• A middle-aged man told Ross that Kirsten Bartlein would reveal secrets if Ross met him, and Ross negotiated for an Amnesty Order in exchange for agreeing.
• Grant Ward left the room, and the middle-aged man brought Kirsten Bartlein into Ross’s intensive care unit.
• Kirsten explained that he blamed Ross for his injuries and the deaths of his wife and child, then revealed that Old Gods cells had given him a monstrous transformation.
• Kirsten’s tentacles burst from his body, grievously injuring several people as Ross and the middle-aged man tried to defend themselves.
• The middle-aged man’s bullets failed to pierce Kirsten’s hardened skin, and a ricochet wounded him as hospital security called for outside help.

Kirsten Bartlein used his Old God powers to turn hospital agents into servants and drain Ross and another man, but Grant Ward injected Ross with a serum derived from Hulk's blood. Ross became a Red Giant and killed Grant, while Lena contacted Red Skull to claim the promised leadership of Hydra in North America.

• Kirsten Bartlein revealed his transformed body and used his influence to infect agents, turning them into tentacled servants.
• Kirsten Bartlein drained Ross and the middle-aged man of their life force and emotions, leaving them near death.
• Lena urged Grant Ward to enter the intensive care unit and save Ross, assuring him the monster would not hurt him.
• Grant Ward injected Ross with a modified serum derived from Hulk's blood, causing him to transform into a crimson Giant.
• Ross killed Grant Ward with a single blow, and Lena called Red Skull, who confirmed she would become Hydra's highest-ranking leader in North America.

After betraying Grant Ward and taking command of Hydra's North American region, Lena fled the hospital as Old God cells spread through Hydra's forces. Ross battled the transformed Kirsten Bartlein while Allen kept the conflict contained and watched media helicopters broadcast the fight, leaving the public and the White House to face the crisis.

• Lena claimed John Schmidt had appointed her Hydra's North American leader, killed Grant Ward's loyalists who challenged her, and ordered the others to withdraw.
• A severed tentacle entered a Hydra soldier and spawned fast, wormlike creatures that infected and attacked the convoy, so Lena shot the driver and escaped alone.
• Ross, transformed into the Red Giant, fought Kirsten Bartlein, whose Old God cells let him regenerate and assimilate after being destroyed.
• Kirsten's mental influence caused three US fighter jets to crash, and Allen told Tony Stark that a nuclear weapon could kill Kirsten and that the battle remained contained.
• Two media helicopters filmed Ross and Kirsten fighting among the hospital ruins as Allen watched, anticipating the public reaction.

Reporter Diana recorded Ross admitting that the military had authorized his experiments, and the footage went live worldwide. After Kirsten Bartlein captured her, Ross tried to kill her, but a familiar voice interrupted him.

• Diana's helicopter was struck by debris during the battle, crashed, and killed the pilot and the Fat Photographer.
• Ross proposed a truce to Kirsten Bartlein, but Kirsten mocked him and prepared to attack, insisting that he wanted revenge.
• Diana secretly recorded Ross admitting that the military had approved his experiments, and TV station staff broadcast the footage live.
• Diana accidentally triggered an alarm while trying to escape, and Kirsten Bartlein caught her with a tentacle.
• Ross swung at the trapped Diana to silence her, but a familiar voice condemned his attempt to kill her.

Allen stopped Ross and contained Kirsten Bartlein’s Shadow Energy after Ross’s crimes were exposed to the public. He sent Tony Stark away with the reporter, then trapped Ross and Kirsten in a spatial lock and forced them to fight before the approaching Starlight could destroy them.

• Allen caught Ross’s fist and explained that he had made Ross reveal his crimes, while Tony showed him the footage spreading across social media.
• Kirsten Bartlein attacked with Shadow Energy, but Allen gathered it into a sphere and mocked Kirsten’s claim to godhood.
• Allen altered Diana’s memories and sent Tony to take her to safety, while the photographer died of a heart attack.
• Allen told Ross and Kirsten that the Starlight warship would arrive in about half an hour and that they had to kill each other to escape.
• Allen cast Spatial Lock over the area, and Ross and Kirsten launched simultaneous attacks.

As Ross and Kirsten Bartlein fought amid the hospital ruins, Allen explained to Tony Stark that the approaching crisis would force the US Government to negotiate with the Avengers. Tony secured the Avengers Alliance’s independence and sweeping law-enforcement authority in exchange for their help, and the Avengers reassembled as Steve and his companions remained unaware of events.

• Ross and Kirsten Bartlein traded blows in the hospital ruins as Kirsten used Shadow Energy and Old God corruption against him.
• Allen told Tony that the government planned to kill Ross with its space battleship, Starlight, and outlined how the crisis could pressure the government into concessions.
• The US President ordered Starlight to accelerate and, after Tony refused to help at first, asked him to name his terms.
• Tony negotiated the Avengers Alliance’s return, independence, and law-enforcement authority in the United States, with a promise to seek worldwide authority.
• Tony summoned the Avengers, and Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Spider-Man arrived in Washington, while Steve and his companions continued searching the frozen north for Bucky’s control codebook.

The Avengers reunited in Washington as Allen prepared them for future threats and gave Black Widow a sphere of Shadow Energy. Ross defeated Kirsten Bartlein, then escaped the Avengers and the US super battleship by using civilians as cover, while other nations revealed their own battleships.

• The Avengers assembled in Washington, and Tony Stark explained that their mission was to protect civilians and signal their reconciliation with the government.
• Black Panther rejected Tony's political plans and teleported back to Wakanda after arguing with him about the Ultron incident.
• Ross killed Kirsten Bartlein, and Allen destroyed the Old God cells before giving Natasha the resulting Shadow Energy sphere.
• Allen told Natasha he would soon seal off his universe and take Wanda with him; Wanda eagerly agreed to help him.
• Tony, Peter, and Quicksilver fought Ross before the US super battleship arrived, and Ross fled toward civilians to prevent it from firing.
• Other nations on the International Security Council revealed their secretly built battleships within twenty-four hours.

Allen confronted the dying Ross and offered him a new Red Giant serum in exchange for eliminating the interest groups that had betrayed him, while warning that Betty was in danger. Allen also restored Lena’s appearance and entrusted her with Ross and the serum, leaving her to secure Ross’s agreement.

• Allen told Ross that the government had placed a ten-billion-dollar bounty on him and that the scandals had put Betty at risk.
• Allen offered Ross a new serum and protection for Betty in exchange for killing the interest groups behind the government, and explained that Ross would spend the rest of his life being hunted.
• Lena emerged from hiding, admitted she had foreseen Allen’s arrival, and presented him with a plan devised with magic apprentices at the International Security Council.
• Allen accepted Lena’s plan and used a permanent Shape Transformation spell to restore her original appearance.
• Allen gave Lena the serum and left, while Lena refused to let Ross take it until he agreed to her terms.
• Ross, desperate to survive and protect Betty, agreed to Lena’s demands.

Tony Stark examined Allen’s extraordinary body and discovered that it contained vast numbers of fused genes, extreme durability, and abilities far beyond ordinary humans. The tests also revealed why Allen lacked sexual impulses, while Stark began considering what Allen’s biology might mean for humanity.

• Tony Stark prepared advanced medical equipment and began a full-body scan of Allen, who explained the gene-devouring Chimera Ants.
• The scan showed that Allen’s tissues and brain contained immense energy and substances tougher than Vibranium and Uru metal, with almost no physical weak points.
• Allen explained that his body was disposable and that he could create another one in seconds, then helped Stark draw a blood sample by lowering his protective energy fields.
• After analyzing Allen’s blood and monitoring his hormones, Tony Stark concluded that Allen’s immortality and bodily control suppressed his sexual responses.
• Tony Stark reported that Allen had tens of thousands of chromosomes, genes from countless species, and abilities including surviving in a vacuum and manipulating electric charge.

Allen and Tony Stark discovered that stimulating energies might restore Allen’s lost sexual desire, but they stopped experimenting when Allen revealed Dormammu’s coming invasion and took Wanda to Sky City to prepare for the hunt. The chapter ended with Allen and Wanda arriving there just as Sakura returned.

• After hours of testing, Allen and Tony Stark found that different energies could trigger emotional impulses in Allen, and a distorted energy gave him a fleeting sensation.
• Allen told Tony Stark that Dormammu would invade after Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One died, and that he would wait for her successor to face the trial before intervening.
• Allen met Wanda at her apartment and explained that energy had replaced hormones in his body, so he needed further experiments to awaken his desires.
• Wanda offered to try her Chaos Magic, but Allen refused because it was too dangerous and unpredictable.
• Allen took Wanda through a portal to Sky City, promising to prepare what she needed there; Sakura returned at the same time.

Wanda met Sakura in Sky City and learned how complicated Sakura’s bond with Allen was, while preparing to help him confront Dormammu. At Kamar-Taj, Ancient One showed Stephen Strange Earth’s new living Source of Magic Power before Kasilas attacked, forcing her to send Stephen away as the lake began to awaken.

• Sakura ignored Wanda’s greeting and openly showed jealousy over her closeness to Allen, but Allen calmed Sakura and reminded her that they were family.
• Sakura left with Allen through Sky City as residents celebrated her return, while Artoria explained to Wanda why Sakura was protective of Allen and took her to the Central Tower.
• Ancient One showed Stephen Strange the Source of Magic Power Allen had created as a safeguard for Earth’s sorcerers and warned him that powerful forces surpassed them.
• Kasilas killed a fleeing sorcerer outside Kamar-Taj after binding himself and his followers to Dormammu in exchange for power and promised immortality.
• Ancient One sent Stephen through a portal and left the hidden chamber, where the lake rippled and formed a female figure created with the Soul Stone.

Allen sealed every connection between Earth and the outside dimensions while preparing Wanda for Dormammu’s arrival. On Earth, Stephen Strange nearly died fighting Kasilas until Mordo intervened, but Kasilas recovered and prepared to fight him.

• Allen ordered the universe’s connection points to be severed so Dormammu would not discover Sky City, and said he expected Ancient One to signal him through her death.
• Allen began training Wanda in Chaos Magic while Artoria warned Sakura that her New Empire might collapse after Sakura left.
• Stephen Strange struggled to survive Kasilas’s attacks in the Mirror Dimension, and Kasilas claimed that serving Dormammu could grant humanity eternal life.
• Stephen recognized that Ancient One had also drawn on Dark Dimension energy but argued that she had retained her humanity, unlike Kasilas and his followers.
• Kasilas overwhelmed Strange with a storm of arrows and nearly stabbed him, but Mordo appeared and struck Kasilas with Tier Magic.
• Mordo stepped forward to face Kasilas, who recovered from his burns with Dark Dimension energy and rose with glowing red eyes.

Mordo used Holy Energy magic to defeat Kasilas’s followers and force Kasilas to abandon his human body, but Dormammu intervened and nearly killed Mordo and Stephen Strange before Ancient One arrived. Mordo declared that he would defend Earth alongside Lord Allen and opposed leaving humanity’s fate to dimensional Demon Gods.

• Mordo rejected Kasilas’s claims about Ancient One and revealed his ambition to become a dimensional Demon God by combining two magical systems.
• Mordo’s Holy Energy spell destroyed Kasilas’s fanatics, healed Stephen Strange, and left Kasilas transformed into a giant being of Dark Energy.
• Mordo severed Kasilas’s arm through a portal, but Dormammu attacked through the Dark Dimension and overwhelmed Mordo and Stephen Strange.
• Ancient One appeared and extinguished Dormammu’s Magic Flame, then challenged Mordo for using the souls of the dead.
• Mordo defended his necromancy and affirmed his loyalty to Lord Allen, insisting that Earth’s fate should be decided by humanity.

Ancient One freed Mordo from Kamar-Taj and confronted Dormammu in the Dark Dimension, where Stephen Strange joined her and received the Eye of Agamotto. Ancient One was killed and Dormammu seized her soul, but she insisted Strange and Earth’s defenses would stop him.

• Ancient One released Mordo from Kamar-Taj after he promised not to seek its destruction, and Mordo planned to establish his own magical school.
• Ancient One warned Dormammu to leave Earth, but he dragged her into the Dark Dimension and attacked her.
• Mordo and Stephen Strange watched the battle, and Strange leaped into the Dark Dimension to help Ancient One despite Mordo’s warning.
• Ancient One gave Stephen the Eye of Agamotto and declared him Kamar-Taj’s new Sorcerer Supreme.
• Dormammu killed Ancient One, seized her soul, and vowed to devour Earth, but Ancient One calmly predicted that Strange and Earth’s defenses would stop him.

Stephen Strange used the Eye of Agamotto to trap Dormammu in a time loop and force him to leave Earth and release Ancient One's soul. As Allen and his allies invaded the Dark Dimension, Ancient One revealed that she had planned her death and entrusted Earth’s future to Strange.

• Stephen Strange set a time loop with the Eye of Agamotto, and Dormammu killed him repeatedly until he accepted Strange’s demands to leave Earth, release Ancient One’s soul, and never return.
• Stephen Strange ended the loop, but Allen appeared and launched an assault on Dormammu with Artoria and Sakura, using Holy Light to erode the Dark Dimension.
• Allen declared war on Dormammu and fired a golden arrow, triggering an explosion that Stephen Strange contained with the Time Stone to protect Earth.
• Ancient One told Stephen Strange that she had chosen her death after foreseeing the events with the Time Stone.
• Ancient One named Stephen Strange as Earth’s future protector and warned him never to make an enemy of Allen.

Allen overwhelmed Dormammu as the Azerath Universe devoured the Dark Dimension, proving that a dimensional Demon God could be killed. He revealed that Dormammu was only a test for his plan to make the sources of Dark and White Magic collide, leaving Allen poised to pursue Hisoka and the Vishanti.

• Stephen Strange learned that Allen had supplied Mordo with magic for controlling the souls of the dead, but the soul beside him disappeared as the Dark Dimension passage grew more dangerous.
• Tony Stark and the Avengers investigated the energy surge above Earth, unaware that the Time Stone had trapped their actions in repetition.
• Allen directed the Azerath Universe’s forces against Dormammu and severed a tenth of the Dark Dimension with a sword strike.
• Dormammu’s attacks destroyed Allen’s hand, but Allen regenerated it and used space and time to prevent Dormammu from fully restoring a severed arm.
• Allen mastered Dormammu’s Dark Energy, scattered his gathered power, and told him he intended to make Hisoka and the Vishanti’s sources of Dark and White Magic collide.

Wanda found and marked Dormammu’s hidden vessel in the Dark Dimension, allowing Allen’s plan to enter its final stage. As Sakura’s forces continued eroding the dimension, Vilnalasath joined the battle and disrupted Dormammu’s war of attrition.

• Wanda searched the Dark Dimension’s core under Artoria’s protection while Artoria explained the dimension’s timeless nature and described Allen’s former teacher, Hisoka.
• Wanda spotted Dormammu’s blackish-purple vessel and marked it with Chaos Magic, then Artoria took her to notify Allen.
• Sakura’s army and Sky City forces attacked Dormammu’s territory, while Edna Bevin reported that they had eroded about one-fifth of the Dark Dimension, including the area Allen had cut away.
• Vilnalasath told Sakura that devouring the Dark Dimension had intensified Allen’s desires and that the battle could last years without progress from Wanda and Artoria.
• Vilnalasath unleashed a breath attack that annihilated Dormammu’s advancing forces and undermined his plan to drag the war into a prolonged attrition campaign.