Chapter Summaries

Steve used a furious burst of strength to pull Natasha’s escape pod away from the vortex, but Clint’s damaged pod was swept toward a reef with water pouring inside. Steve saw Clint unconscious inside the failing pod as Natasha cried out in terror.

• Steve fought the vortex with powerful strokes, dragging Natasha’s escape pod away from its pull.
• Natasha endured the violent shaking inside the pod and watched Steve struggle through the water.
• Steve heard a piercing metallic tear and Natasha’s cry for Clint.
• Steve spotted Clint’s badly damaged escape pod spinning toward a jagged reef.
• Steve saw seawater flooding Clint’s pod and found Clint unconscious, blue-purple, and bleeding at the mouth.

Steve Rogers used his new giant body and overwhelming willpower to keep Natasha and Clint’s failing capsules from being swept away or crushed. After he managed to seize both capsules, Chang Wei watched and wondered how Captain America could be without a fated opponent.

• Seawater flooded Clint’s capsule as Steve’s body strained to keep Natasha’s capsule anchored.
• Steve twisted toward Clint’s capsule and caught a sturdy protrusion moments before it struck a reef.
• Steve fought the vortex and the opposing pulls of both capsules, enduring extreme strain to keep them stable.
• Chang Wei watched Steve save Natasha and Clint and wondered who Captain America’s fated opponent would be.

Chang Wei chose Brock Rumlow as a future enemy for Captain Rogers, while Rumlow was swept away from Tony Stark and trapped in a failing escape pod in the Deep. As Rumlow faced death, he recalled how his mission had been derailed before he could reach the base’s secrets.

• Chang Wei considered turning Bucky Barnes into Captain Rogers’ enemy but decided to save him as a trump card.
• Chang Wei selected Brock Rumlow as a potential opponent for Captain Rogers and resolved to see what Rumlow could become.
• A violent deep-sea current hurled Rumlow’s escape pod away from Tony Stark’s armor, cutting off their communication.
• Rumlow’s pod buckled under the pressure, and cold and failing systems left him convinced he was about to die.
• Rumlow recalled his Hydra ambitions, Stark’s intrusive examinations, and the base’s collapse before he could uncover its secrets.

Trapped in a sinking vessel at a depth of fifteen hundred meters, Brock Rumlow underwent a terrifying transformation after Godzilla Blood entered his wounds. He emerged with a powerful new body and heightened senses, then began to consider whether he could use the seawater around him.

• Brock Rumlow struggled against the flooding compartment and feared he would die beneath the ocean without a trace.
• A dim blue substance entered Brock Rumlow through his wounds and triggered a painful bodily transformation.
• Brock Rumlow’s bones, skin, senses, and strength changed as he sensed Godzilla’s distant heartbeat and the vessel’s structural weaknesses.
• Brock Rumlow roared as his transformation reached its peak and found that the crushing water pressure no longer seemed irresistible.
• Brock Rumlow raised his newly transformed hand and realized he might be able to sense and use the surrounding seawater.

Rumlow tore open the hatch of his submerged prison and survived the crushing flood by adapting to the deep sea with his newly mutated body. As he swam toward the surface, he spotted a glowing blue giant carrying two escape pods.

• Rumlow used his claws and immense strength to rip open the hatch.
• Deep-sea water flooded the compartment, but Rumlow withstood the current and began absorbing oxygen and energy through his gills and skin.
• Rumlow recognized his transformed strength and escaped into the open sea, swimming toward the surface.
• Rumlow used his altered vision to spot a blue giant struggling upward with two escape pods in its hands.

Rumlow recognized Steve Rogers as a Blue Hulk and launched a stealth attack on the damaged escape pod trapping Hawkeye. He tore into the pod, pushing it to the brink of destruction as Steve tried to save his teammates.

• Rumlow recognized Steve Rogers beneath his mutated Blue Hulk form and realized that Steve, Black Widow, and Hawkeye were vulnerable in the deep sea.
• Rumlow decided to kill the three agents and targeted the damaged, flooding escape pod in Steve’s hand.
• Rumlow used darkness, currents, and wreckage to sneak around to Steve’s blind spot.
• Rumlow charged and drove his claws into the pod’s crack, then ripped it apart with his enhanced strength.
• The pod reached the critical limit of its structural strength under the combined water pressure and Rumlow’s attack.

Rumlow destroyed Hawkeye Clint Barton's escape pod, killing him, then used the blast and ensuing chaos to attack Steve Rogers while Steve struggled to keep Natasha Romanoff's pod secure. The chapter ended as Rumlow launched his ultimate killing move against the off-balance Steve.

• Rumlow shattered Hawkeye Clint Barton's escape pod, and the explosion and rushing seawater swept Hawkeye into the darkness.
• Rumlow confirmed that Hawkeye's life had ended.
• The blast struck Steve Rogers, wounded him with metal fragments, and made him lose his grip on Natasha Romanoff's escape pod.
• Natasha Romanoff watched Hawkeye die and Steve lose his hold on her pod, then pounded helplessly against its hull.
• Rumlow exploited Steve's pain, distraction, and loss of balance to roll through the water and launch his attack.

Steve faced Rumlow’s lethal underwater attack after Hawkeye’s sacrifice and answered with a desperate counterattack fueled by pain and fury. The chapter ended with Rumlow’s bone blade piercing Steve’s skin as Steve’s spinning kick closed in on Rumlow’s head.

• Rumlow charged at Steve with his plated tail and formed a massive bone blade aimed at Steve’s exposed spine.
• Steve roared as his rage and Hulk genes surged, then pushed Natasha’s escape pod and another pod toward safer currents to create a barrier.
• Steve spun with the shockwave and launched a full-powered kick at Rumlow’s head, neck, or flank.
• Rumlow’s blade pierced Steve’s skin as Steve’s kick came within inches of Rumlow’s head.

Steve and Rumlow traded devastating blows in the deep-sea fight, each badly wounding the other. As both began regenerating, Steve prepared to attack again while Rumlow vowed to kill him and Barton.

• Rumlow's bone blade cut a deep wound into Steve's shoulder and ribs, but Steve's spinning kick shattered Rumlow's left shoulder and stopped his charge.
• The collision hurled Steve into a sunken ship and sent Rumlow tumbling upward, leaving both fighters injured and bleeding.
• Steve saw that Natasha's escape pod was intact, then drew strength from her survival as his body began regenerating.
• Rumlow's damaged shoulder started healing, and he told Steve that he and Barton would die in the abyss.
• Steve rose into a fighting stance, intent on defeating Rumlow before his regeneration finished.

Rumlow confronted Steve Rogers in the Mariana Trench, taunting him and attacking with overwhelming underwater speed. Steve, clinging to his resolve to protect Natasha, braced himself to counter the charge.

• Rumlow and Steve floated in the deep sea, their altered bodies adapted to survive its crushing pressure and darkness.
• Steve held onto his mission to protect Natasha and get her out, while Rumlow mocked his conviction.
• Rumlow launched a fast, twisting attack toward Steve from about fifty meters away.
• Steve abandoned any attempt to evade and concentrated his Hulk Power in his right arm to meet the attack.

Steve trapped Rumlow’s bone claws in his wounded arm and struck him with a powerful left-handed punch, while Rumlow’s tail hit Steve and helped him break free. Both combatants suffered severe injuries, and the underwater fight continued with Rumlow’s claws released.

• Rumlow’s bone claws pierced Steve’s right arm, but Steve contracted his muscles around them and trapped them in his flesh and blood.
• Steve used his free left fist to smash Rumlow’s right ribs, shattering scales and bones and forcing blood from Rumlow’s mouth.
• Rumlow struck Steve’s head and left shoulder with his tail, staggering him and loosening his hold.
• Rumlow poured energy into his trapped claws and tore them free from Steve’s grip.

Steve and Rumlow’s underwater fight escalated as Rumlow exploited Steve’s rage to land a crippling strike and set up a lethal attack. Steve faced death with Natasha’s safety in mind and drew on his will and battle experience to survive.

• Rumlow taunted Steve about Natasha while recovering from his injuries, provoking Steve into abandoning his defensive stance and charging.
• Rumlow evaded Steve’s attack and drove his spiked tail into the back of Steve’s left knee, forcing him down onto one knee.
• Rumlow crossed his bone claws and launched a lethal strike at Steve’s exposed neck.
• As Rumlow’s claws closed in, Steve thought of Natasha and resolved that he could not die.

Steve and Rumlow traded devastating injuries in a desperate underwater fight, but Rumlow’s regenerative power let him recover enough to move toward Natasha’s escape pod. Steve, badly hurt and barely able to rise, reignited his resolve to protect her.

• Steve rammed his skull into Rumlow’s crossing bone claws and drove his right hand into Rumlow’s waist and abdomen.
• The collision sent both men flying apart, leaving Steve injured in the seafloor mud and Rumlow clutching his torn abdomen.
• Rumlow’s life force stopped his bleeding as he taunted Steve and began swimming toward Natasha’s escape pod.
• Steve struggled against his injuries and renewed his determination to stop Rumlow from reaching Natasha.

Steve awakened the savage power of Godzilla Blood and used Godzilla Power, Earth Crusher to collapse the seafloor and bury Rumlow in a mudslide. Exhausted, Steve crawled toward the escape pod where Natasha was trapped, but Rumlow survived and emerged behind him.

• Steve awakened Godzilla Blood as his right arm blazed with molten gold light.
• Steve struck the seafloor with Godzilla Power, Earth Crusher, triggering a collapse and mudslide that swallowed Rumlow.
• Steve, nearly drained of strength, crawled toward the escape pod, driven by the need to save Natasha.
• Rumlow broke free of the rubble, badly wounded, and fixed his remaining eye on Steve with killing intent.

Steve narrowly escaped Rumlow’s suicidal charge and caught Natasha’s escape pod, but both of them remained trapped in the deep sea as Steve struggled to move through his injuries and the backlash of his Godzilla Power.

• Rumlow used his remaining strength to charge at Steve, who hurled himself toward Natasha’s escape pod just before the impact.
• The shockwave sent Steve tumbling, but he caught the pod beneath his left arm and shielded it with his body.
• Steve found Rumlow broken and near death, then sensed Natasha’s faint, failing heartbeat inside the pod.
• Steve tried to escape with the pod despite his severe wounds and the petrifying backlash spreading through his body.

Tony Stark’s Iron Legion located Steve transformed into a blue giant, struggling to lift Natasha’s escape pod from the seabed. With Natasha nearly out of oxygen, Tony tried to persuade Steve to let the suits tow her to safety.

• Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S. sent Deep Sea Stalkers through violent currents to search for survivors, losing seven suits.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. reacquired the weak signal from Natasha’s Black Widow’s Nest and guided the remaining suits toward it.
• Tony spotted Steve, transformed into a blue giant, holding Natasha’s damaged escape pod above the seabed.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. identified Steve and warned that Natasha’s oxygen was nearly exhausted.
• Tony ordered the suits to tow the escape pod and broadcast a plea asking Steve to trust him and let Natasha go.

Tony Stark and Steve Rogers struggled to get Natasha Romanoff’s damaged escape pod through deadly deep-sea currents while Steve endured conflicting transformations from Godzilla cells and Hulk’s blood. Steve remained in control enough to help, but the battle inside his body continued as they began their ascent.

• Tony used his damaged armor to tow Natasha’s escape pod through violent underwater currents as her vital signs flashed warnings.
• Steve, transformed into a giant blue-scaled figure, braced the pod and helped Tony stabilize it.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. reported that Steve appeared to retain his reason and that his support improved the pod’s stability.
• Steve fought the Godzilla cells spreading through his body as Hulk’s gamma energy attacked and neutralized them.
• Steve’s will resisted the Green Goblin Serum’s attempts to corrupt his mind.

Tony and Steve struggled to keep the escape pod from being swept away by the deep-sea torrents, while J.A.R.V.I.S. revealed that Chang Wei had answered their distress call from near Jupiter. With no hope of Chang Wei arriving soon, Tony and Steve committed all their remaining strength to pushing toward the surface.

• Steve used his mutated strength to help Tony haul the escape pod upward through the high-pressure water.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. reported that Chang Wei had received the distress signal and said he was leaving immediately, but his location was near Jupiter's orbit.
• Tony realized Chang Wei was hundreds of millions of kilometers away and could not rescue them in time.
• A powerful torrent tore Tony away from the pod, but Steve caught it and anchored it against the current, suffering an injury.
• Tony ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to reroute them and divert nonessential power to propulsion and stabilization, despite the risks to the armor.
• Tony and Steve pushed the escape pod upward together, relying on their own strength to survive.

Tony and Steve struggled to push Natasha’s escape pod upward through the deep sea as their bodies and equipment neared their limits. When the pod’s hull cracked and seawater began pouring in, Steve used his own arm to plug the breach.

• Tony overloaded his armor’s thrusters while Steve drove the escape pod upward with his mutated legs.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. reported that Natasha’s vital signs were weak but stable, while Steve’s energy conflict worsened.
• A new fracture opened in the pod near Steve’s grip, and high-pressure seawater began entering Natasha’s refuge.
• Steve stabilized the pod with his left hand and slammed his right palm and forearm over the crack to stop the leak.

Steve held a breach in the escape pod shut with his arm while Tony urged him to endure the seven minutes needed to reach the Safe Zone. Meanwhile, Hulk’s battle with Dr. Curt Connors and Norman Osborn continued in the Mariana Trench, where Connors realized Hulk grew stronger as he fought.

• Steve pressed his arm against the breach, reducing the seawater surge while suffering severe injuries.
• Tony asked J.A.R.V.I.S. for the fastest route, learned the escape pod needed at least seven minutes to reach the Safe Zone, and urged Steve to hold on.
• Steve stayed wedged against the rock and kept the breach plugged as Tony’s armor and the Bio-Engine drove the pod upward.
• Hulk continued fighting Dr. Curt Connors and Norman Osborn in the Mariana Trench.
• Connors watched Hulk’s body regenerate and grow stronger with each injury, feared his limitless evolution, and turned his envy into killing intent.
• Norman Osborn became the weakest link in the battle between Hulk and Connors.