Chapter Summaries

Tony used the Arc Reactor patent to put Hammer Industries under pressure, while Justin Hammer looked to a covert military partnership to save his company. Lieutenant General Hogwarts arrived with a presidential order, but its contents gave Justin no details about the mission.

• Tony felt satisfied as Hammer Industries faced a costly infringement lawsuit over the Arc Reactor design.
• Ivan Vanko argued that changing more than eighty-five percent of the reactor would require Hammer Industries to develop a new one.
• Chang Wei wondered whether the world had changed from the original plot, while Justin Hammer grew anxious over the company's predicament.
• Military leaders discussed secretly forming an Iron Soldier unit, and Lieutenant General Hogwarts dismissed Tony Stark's objections as a minor obstacle.
• Lieutenant General Hogwarts presented Justin Hammer with a presidentially signed document, but it only authorized Hogwarts to oversee the mission without explaining its details.

Justin Hammer agreed to secretly supply Iron Soldiers for a military covert-operations unit, while Ivan Vanko secretly built a much larger Iron Legion of his own. At the Vampire underground palace, Makinos was attacked by people in steel armor and prepared to flee by helicopter.

• Lieutenant General Hogwarts told Justin Hammer that the military planned to use Iron Soldiers for covert missions and demanded strict secrecy.
• Justin Hammer accepted the military partnership, and Lieutenant General Hogwarts assured him they would monitor Stark Industries and respond if Tony Stark discovered the plan.
• Ivan Vanko secretly kept most of the Iron Soldiers he was paid to produce, amassing more than a thousand Mechanical Soldiers while delivering only a fraction to the Department of Defense.
• Makinos complained that his subordinates had failed to find the remaining Dragon Balls, then entered his blood pool to sustain his aging body.
• Gunfire and explosions reached the Vampire underground palace, and Makinos learned that attackers in steel armor were overwhelming his Vampire Soldiers.
• Black told Makinos to evacuate by helicopter, and Makinos suspected Iron Man and the White Emperor had come for him.

Ivan Vanko sent Hammer Industries combat drones to Makinos’s hideout and demanded the Dragon Ball. Makinos’s vampires were slaughtered, his butler was killed, and Makinos was left kneeling with the Dragon Ball in his grasp.

• Makinos raged at the humans who had taken his money but failed to act, until an explosion tore through his fortified wall.
• Hammer Industries artillery-support drones entered the hideout, and Ivan Vanko ordered Makinos to hand over the Dragon Ball.
• The armed vampires rushed toward the drones, which cut them down with rapid-fire machine guns despite their regenerative abilities.
• Makinos denied knowing about the Dragon Ball, but Ivan ordered an attack and an armor-piercing shell killed the butler.
• Makinos fell to his knees, trembling and clutching the Dragon Ball against his chest.

Ivan Vanko recovered his third Dragon Ball after killing Makinos and wiping out the base, while Nisha and Chadnomar reacted to the massacre. As Reaper Variants spread fear through New York, Tony set out to stop crimes and asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to monitor the city.

• Ivan Vanko forced Makinos to surrender the Dragon Ball, then had an Intelligent Humanoid kill him with a grenade launcher.
• Ivan Vanko inspected his ten Intelligent Humanoids at Hammer Industries and declared that he now had three Dragon Balls.
• Nisha learned that Makinos and the Blood Hunt elite unit had been wiped out, while Chadnomar discovered his father was dead and turned his revenge against the Vampires.
• Chadnomar began producing Reaper Variants, which attacked Vampires and humans across New York and spread panic.
• Tony decided to try stopping a hundred crimes in one night and told J.A.R.V.I.S. to monitor the city's surveillance cameras and phones.

Tony Stark confronted a group of Reaper variant vampires in Hell’s Kitchen and fought them after their leader, Chadnomar, fled. He activated the Iron Man suit’s Lethal Mode as the remaining vampires continued attacking.

• Tony arrived in Hell’s Kitchen and found a creature feeding on a person while a group of strange figures surrounded them.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. reported that the victim’s vital signs were weakening, so Tony fired a nonlethal Energy Cannon at the creature.
• The creature, Chadnomar, recognized Iron Man and fled, while the surrounding Reaper variant vampires rushed to block Tony.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. could not lock onto Chadnomar because his body temperature was near zero, and Tony’s Energy Cannons barely injured the attacking vampires.
• Tony used the Iron Man suit’s close-combat mode to break the vampires’ bones and then activated Lethal Mode.

Tony Stark fought Reaper variant vampires, discovered that their destroyed remains could regenerate, and brought tissue samples to Stark Industries for study. Bruce Banner began investigating the virus, which Tony said could quickly infect humans and turn them into monsters.

• Tony used the Iron Man suit’s energy cannon and missiles to tear through the Reaper variant vampires while Chadnomar fled into the shadows.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. detected that the blasted Reaper fragments were merging and regenerating, prompting Tony to order tissue samples collected.
• Tony had Stark Industries seal the scene and transfer the samples to an underground laboratory for preservation and research.
• Tony invited Chang Wei and Bruce Banner to study the samples and told them the creatures carried an unknown, highly aggressive virus.
• Bruce Banner rapidly studied virology, and Tony revealed that the virus could infect humans and transform them into monsters in a short time.

Chang Wei explained how Eli Damakinos’s experiment transformed Chadnomar into the first Reaper and how the virus spread through those he bit. He warned Tony and Bruce Banner that the Reapers might have reproduced during an early stage of their mutation, leaving their eventual extinction uncertain.

• Eli Damakinos created the Reaper Virus to remove Vampires’ weaknesses, and his son Chadnomar volunteered as the first test subject.
• The virus gave Chadnomar immense strength and speed but transformed his body, intensified his hunger for blood, and ultimately destroyed his reproductive organs.
• Chadnomar turned partially drained human and Vampire victims into instinct-driven Reapers and secretly sought revenge against Vampire society.
• Tony asked Chang Wei whether the Reapers would die out from resource shortages, and Chang Wei said that remained uncertain.
• Chang Wei explained that Reapers might have briefly reproduced before their reproductive organs degenerated, and Tony and Bruce Banner recognized the possibility.

Chang Wei proposed replacing New York City's night lights with high-intensity ultraviolet lamps to hinder Reaper vampires while Tony Stark and Banner investigated how the creatures reproduced. As the city began its lighting overhaul, Chadnomar discovered the new lamps could burn him, but the damage made him even hungrier.

• Chang Wei warned Tony and Banner that Reapers might reproduce through unknown or alternative biological mechanisms and urged further research.
• Chang Wei proposed replacing New York City's night lights with high-intensity ultraviolet lamps, and Tony Stark and Chang Wei mobilized a crew to begin the work.
• The crew replaced one-third of the city's night lights in a day, exposing residents to potential ultraviolet-related health risks.
• Chadnomar noticed the new lamps' ultraviolet glow while hunting and retreated after it burned and blistered his skin.
• Chadnomar's wounds healed quickly but increased his hunger, so he lured a drug dealer into the shadows, drank half his blood, and left him to his subordinates.

Tony and Chang Wei used ultraviolet lamps and advanced surveillance to target Vampires across New York City. Tony tracked Chadnomar to an abandoned warehouse, where Chadnomar used one of his Reapers as a shield when Tony confronted him.

• Tony and Chang Wei replaced the Night Light System in selected districts with high-intensity ultraviolet lamps and monitored Vampire activity with quantum cameras.
• Megatron detected a suspected Vampire, and Tony tracked the figure and flew toward its location.
• Ultraviolet lamps burned Vampires across the city, causing terrified bystanders to flee.
• Tony followed the tracking marker to the abandoned warehouse where Chadnomar and his Reapers were hiding.
• Tony entered the warehouse and aimed beams of light at Chadnomar, who grabbed a Reaper Vampire to shield himself.

Tony modified his Iron Man suit with powerful ultraviolet lamps, destroying dozens of Reaper Vampires and driving Chadnomar into New York’s sewers. Tony ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to map and lock down every sewer entrance, while hundreds or thousands of Reaper Vampires surrounded Chadnomar underground.

• Tony activated his suit’s ultraviolet lamps and killed dozens of Reaper Vampires.
• Chadnomar tried to escape the ultraviolet light, but it burned him as he fled into a sewer.
• Tony realized the Vampires were hiding underground and told J.A.R.V.I.S. to locate and lock down New York’s sewer entrances.
• Chadnomar entered the sewer and found hundreds or thousands of Reaper Vampires closing in around him.

Chadnomar fed on nearly a hundred Reaper Vampires to recover from his injuries and ultraviolet radiation, while the Reaper Virus rapidly strengthened his body and developed resistance to the radiation. His adaptation continued at a cost: his accelerated metabolism required more food and rest.

• Chadnomar seized a Reaper Vampire and drained the translucent life essence from its neck.
• Chadnomar slaughtered and devoured nearly a hundred Reaper Vampires, restoring his Life Force and healing his wounds.
• Chadnomar's muscles, bones, strength, speed, and reflexes improved as the Reaper Virus accelerated his body's regeneration.
• Chadnomar began developing ultraviolet resistance, with his skin adapting and his eyes forming a mechanism to filter harmful radiation.
• Chadnomar's rapid metabolism placed a greater burden on his body, increasing his need for food and rest.

Mysterious Person experimented on Chadnomar by combining Perfect Blood with the Reaper Virus, creating a Vampire who could withstand ultraviolet light. By morning, Tony prepared to hunt the Vampires in New York’s sewers with Chang Wei and Bruce Banner.

• Chadnomar abandoned plans to seek revenge on Iron Man before Mysterious Person appeared and froze the surrounding Reaper Vampires.
• Mysterious Person immobilized Chadnomar, extracted a large amount of Reaper Virus, and injected him with Perfect Blood.
• Perfect Blood and the Reaper Virus reacted violently, and Chadnomar gained a new power that made him immune to ultraviolet light.
• Mysterious Person left, while Tony told Chang Wei and Bruce Banner that he planned to eliminate the Vampires hiding in the sewers during the day.
• Bruce Banner said they needed a detailed model of New York’s underground pipes and branches to find the Vampires.

Tony, Banner, and Chang Wei used Tony’s detailed sewer maps and anti-vampire equipment to hunt vampires in New York’s underground maze. As the Iron Legion began searching the predicted hideouts, Chadnomar sensed the intruders and reflected on the injection that had restored his appearance and given him new strength.

• Tony revealed J.A.R.V.I.S.’s detailed sewer model and identified likely vampire hideouts.
• Tony offered Banner an Iron Man suit, and Chang Wei reassured Banner before the group prepared for battle.
• Tony deployed the Iron Legion while he, Banner, and Chang Wei followed it into the sewers.
• Chang Wei attached ultraviolet emitters to the sewer walls, and Tony shared mapped routes as they reached the dark maze.
• Tony sent the Iron Legion along the marked routes while the three waited to act.
• Chadnomar sensed the intruders and stroked his restored hair, recalling that an injection from a Mysterious Person had renewed his appearance and strength.

Tony and the Iron Legion destroyed the Reapers with ultraviolet light, but Chadnomar proved immune to ordinary ultraviolet rays and tore through the suits. Tony fought him with intensified lights and weapons in the sewer, then called Chang Wei and Banner over after Chadnomar survived the blasts and fled.

• Chadnomar discovered sunlight no longer hurt him and ordered the Reapers to attack Tony and the others.
• The Iron Legion used ultraviolet searchlights to burn the Reapers to ash, while Tony, Banner, and Chang Wei discussed their reaction to the light.
• Chadnomar smashed Iron Man suits and resisted ultraviolet light, prompting Tony to fly over and investigate.
• Tony exposed Chadnomar to his more powerful ultraviolet lamps, then blasted him back with a Repulsor Ray and fired micro-missiles.
• The explosions shook the sewer and hurled Chadnomar into a wall, but he survived and fled as Tony called Chang Wei and Banner over.

Tony, Chang Wei, and Banner cornered Chadnomar, and Tony killed him with a remotely operated heavy sniper rifle. Chang Wei then noticed Thor’s arrival in New Mexico, where Odin had sent Mjolnir and imposed a restriction that prevented anyone from lifting it while he remained awake.

• Tony pursued Chadnomar through the sewers with J.A.R.V.I.S. tracking every route, while Chang Wei and Banner helped corner him.
• Chadnomar broke through a manhole, but J.A.R.V.I.S. fired a heavy sniper rifle that tore him apart.
• Tony confirmed sunlight no longer harmed Chadnomar, then recovered his remains for research and ordered the sewers monitored.
• Chang Wei considered finding stronger opponents for Tony after Chadnomar proved no match for him.
• In Asgard, Odin sent Mjolnir through the Rainbow Bridge, and Chang Wei noticed the hammer's arrival in New Mexico.
• Odin remained awake, placing a restriction on those who sought to lift Mjolnir.

Coulson contained the crowds gathered around the immovable hammer and established a S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility, but scientists could not explain its immense weight or strange electromagnetic signals. Nick Fury suspected the hammer might be an alien probe and wondered what its arrival meant for Earth.

• People flocked to New Mexico to try to lift the hammer, but every attempt failed, including one using a pickup truck.
• Coulson intervened, calmed the crowd, and oversaw the construction of a temporary research facility around the hammer.
• Scientists found that the hammer’s weight defied known physics and that it continuously emitted complex electromagnetic waves.
• Nick Fury considered whether the hammer was a disguised alien probe and questioned whether its arrival posed a threat or signaled contact.

Tony Stark, Chang Wei, and Banner went to S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate a mysterious hammer discovered in New Mexico. Fury let them into the facility, where Tony began scanning the hammer’s electromagnetic signals.

• Tony Stark detected a hammer that had fallen from the sky in New Mexico and told Chang Wei and Banner about it.
• Tony, Chang Wei, and Banner arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D., where Coulson tried to stop them from entering.
• Tony argued that they had a right and responsibility to investigate, and Chang Wei agreed.
• Fury ordered Coulson to let the three men in while monitoring them and preparing contingency plans.
• Coulson led them to the hammer’s electromagnetic-shielded containment space and explained its signals had yet to reveal its origin.
• Tony directed J.A.R.V.I.S. to receive the electromagnetic signals emitted by the hammer.

Tony, Banner, Coulson, and Chang Wei examined the mysterious hammer that had fallen to Earth, finding evidence of its extraterrestrial origin and impossible properties. Tony failed to move it, while Chang Wei considered making a technological version of Mjolnir.

• Coulson explained that the hammer emitted unknown electromagnetic waves and had survived its passage through Earth's atmosphere without damage.
• Tony and Coulson considered the hammer's immense energy and likely origin beyond the Solar System.
• Banner examined the hammer's scan data and learned that its unusual weight could not be explained by its mass distribution or ordinary physics.
• Tony tried to lift the hammer with his Iron Man suit, but it remained fixed in place.
• Chang Wei said the hammer's abnormal weight did not come from conventional gravity and privately considered building a replica of Mjolnir.

Chang Wei examined the runes on Mjolnir and discovered the hammer’s enchantment, a declaration by Odin that whoever was worthy would possess Thor’s power. He recognized Odin’s Father-class authority as formidable but only a small part of his own immeasurable power.

• Chang Wei identified the meanings and powers of the runes carved into Mjolnir.
• Mjolnir awakened and released a dazzling golden radiance that carried words directly into Chang Wei’s soul.
• Chang Wei heard the enchantment declaring that whoever wielded the hammer, if worthy, would possess Thor’s power.
• Chang Wei understood the words as a manifestation of Odin’s Father-class authority and judged it insignificant compared with his own power.

Chang Wei assessed Odin’s immense power while he, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner examined the mysterious hammer’s runes. Tony’s analysis suggested the markings were original Norse runes, leaving the group with a possible clue to the hammer’s nature.

• Chang Wei compared Odin’s power with his own and said they should use TREE(3) against Odin.
• Coulson asked Chang Wei, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner whether they had discovered anything about the hammer.
• Chang Wei said the hammer’s symbols were deliberate and might be a code concealing how to activate it.
• Tony revealed that J.A.R.V.I.S. had analyzed the runes and found a likely corresponding target.
• Coulson objected after Tony admitted he had accessed the base’s system, and Tony offered to upgrade its firewall.
• Tony said the runes were at least 95% similar to those in Norse mythology and might be the original runes.