Recaps

He-El prepared a pair of high-frequency particle-vibration blades to cut through the recovering Destroyer after his earlier attacks failed to destroy it. Tony Stark and Thor watched as He-El readied his weapon for another strike.

• The Destroyer began recovering in the crater, and He-El floated back while Tony Stark fired particle beams that failed to damage it.
• Tony Stark asked Thor who he was, and Thor identified himself as Thor Odinson of Asgard and explained that Loki had sent the Destroyer after him.
• Tony Stark asked whether the Destroyer had a weakness, but Thor began to claim he could defeat it before He-El interrupted him.
• He-El summoned a three-meter white blade, split it into two weapons, and activated their high-frequency particle vibrations.
• Tony Stark realized He-El intended to cut the Destroyer, though he doubted the blades could pierce its Asgardian metal.

Thor explained that the Destroyer was made of nearly indestructible Uru Metal and believed only Mjolnir could defeat it, while Tony Stark agreed to cover Thor after He-El's blades failed. As the Destroyer rebuilt itself, Loki ordered it to self-destruct, and the sleeping Odin witnessed his command.

• Thor dismissed He-El's blades and explained that the Destroyer's Uru Metal armor was nearly indestructible and that Mjolnir could break it.
• Tony Stark asked Thor to wait for He-El's attack to fail, then cover him while he struck the Destroyer with Mjolnir, and Thor agreed.
• The Destroyer reassembled itself in the crater as He-El's High-Frequency Particle-Vibration Blade arrived.
• Loki saw Thor on Earth, blamed his father's favoritism and his own humiliation, and ordered the Destroyer to self-destruct.
• The sleeping Odin saw Loki's order.

He-El stopped the Destroyer from self-destructing with his Atomic Armor and twin High-Frequency Particle-Vibration Blades. He-El ultimately tore the Destroyer apart, leaving Thor and Loki stunned by his power.

• Odin watched over Asgard during Odin's Sleep and wondered why Mjolnir seemed to recognize He-El.
• The Destroyer began building energy to self-destruct, prompting Thor and Tony Stark to prepare to intervene.
• He-El slashed through the Destroyer's armor and severed an energy node, briefly halting its self-destruction.
• When the Destroyer rebuilt its energy node and resumed charging, He-El repeatedly struck its armor to keep its power from rising.
• He-El unleashed a flurry of blade strikes, broke apart the Destroyer's steel body, and came to a stop behind its collapsing remains.

Loki, Thor, and Tony Stark struggled to understand how He-El had defeated the Destroyer, while JARVIS explained that He-El had severed the tiny energy junctions holding it together. The chapter left Tony shaken by He-El’s detection technology, which he believed far surpassed anything humans could create.

• Loki lost control of the Destroyer’s image and reacted in disbelief when it vanished.
• Thor questioned how humans could have dismantled the Destroyer with swordsmanship and technology.
• Tony Stark asked JARVIS how He-El had defeated the Destroyer.
• JARVIS explained that He-El’s High-Frequency Particle-Vibration Blade severed the Destroyer’s energy junctions, preventing it from reshaping or gathering energy.
• Tony realized He-El must have used detection methods far beyond Earth’s technology and felt deeply unsettled by the gap between them.

He-El dismantled Odin’s Destroyer by severing its magical energy convergence points, astonishing Odin and leaving Thor and Tony Stark confused. Thor mistook a faint glow on a piece of Uru Metal for an attempt to reassemble the Destroyer and smashed it with Mjolnir, while Odin closed his eye, judging that his son still needed experience.

• He-El severed the Destroyer’s energy convergence points, preventing it from reassembling without damaging its Uru Metal components.
• Odin sensed He-El’s precise technique, opened his eye, and turned his attention toward Earth to question who He-El was.
• Tony Stark challenged Thor’s claim that human weapons could not harm the Destroyer, but Thor admitted he did not understand what had happened.
• Thor spotted a faint golden glow on a fragment of the Destroyer and struck it with Mjolnir, claiming he had destroyed its attempt to reassemble.
• He-El and Tony Stark stayed silent at Thor’s explanation, and Odin closed his eye, thinking his son needed more experience.

After He-El defeated the Destroyer, the president and senior officials celebrated his survival and assessed the damage to New York. The president grew alarmed that He-El had become indispensable to the United States and began treating him as a serious national risk.

• The president and senior officials watched footage of He-El defeating the Destroyer and rejoiced that he had survived.
• The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development described the costly damage to central New York, while officials weighed reconstruction and its benefits.
• The president noticed that the officials were focused on He-El and wondered whether the nation had become dependent on him.
• The president recognized that He-El could address major national problems that no one else could solve or finance.
• The president raised his assessment of He-El's danger, fearing that abandoning He-El's projects could plunge the United States into an economic crisis.

The president weighed He-El’s immense contributions to the United States against the danger of him becoming irreplaceable and gaining political power. Suspecting He-El might ultimately want the presidency, he contacted Alexander Pierce to ask whether he knew him.

• The president sent his Cabinet to handle He-El’s affairs while he remained alone in the Oval Office.
• He recognized that He-El’s investments and technology had addressed the country’s fiscal, healthcare, employment, and energy problems, making the United States dependent on him.
• The president realized that politicians and voters might support He-El if he ran for president, while opposing him could cost the country the benefits he provided.
• He concluded that He-El’s influence needed to be restrained, divided, and absorbed so that no single person could threaten the nation.
• The president called Alexander Pierce and asked, “Do you know He-El?”

Alexander Pierce learned that the president planned to investigate He-El and suspected he wanted to seize He-El’s interests. To protect the funding He-El provided to S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce ordered Hydra to monitor the president and vowed to protect He-El.

• The president asked Pierce about He-El, and Pierce directed him to He-El’s Level Ten classified files.
• The president reviewed the files describing He-El’s battle with Loki and ordered Pierce to watch He-El closely.
• Pierce suspected the president intended to move against He-El and immediately ordered his subordinates to monitor the president’s plans.
• Pierce decided Hydra would protect He-El because He-El’s funding supported the Helicarriers and Project Insight.

After defeating the Destroyer, He-El worried that a powerful Asgardian had noticed him and asked Tony Stark to claim responsibility for building his Atomic Armor. Tony initially refused, but He-El offered him a complete Gravitational Magnetic Levitation System, leaving Tony furious and the deal unresolved.

• He-El sensed that the mysterious gaze watching him had vanished and resolved to build stronger armor before Asgard or other powers targeted him.
• He-El contacted Tony Stark and reminded him of the times he had saved or helped him, prompting Tony to realize He-El wanted a favor.
• He-El asked Tony to tell reporters, the military, and the government that Tony had made the Atomic Armor for He-El's safety.
• Tony Stark refused, questioning why He-El would hide his role in building the armor.
• He-El offered Tony a complete Gravitational Magnetic Levitation System in exchange for his cooperation, but Tony angrily claimed he could improve the technology himself.

He-El returned to the Super Technology Group factory after the battle with the Destroyer and ordered upgrades to the Atomic Armor and Sensor Suit. General Ross tried to recruit him to help develop super soldiers, sending him Hulk videos as proof of their power.

• Tony Stark told reporters that he had built He-El's armor to protect him, then insisted his own armor was more attractive.
• He-El returned to the factory district in the Atomic Armor, where robotic arms dismantled the suit.
• He-El ordered Vivian to send Tony Stark the Gravitational Magnetic Levitation System data and requested upgrades to the armor's stealth and cushioning systems.
• He-El moved the Sensor Suit up the production list and ordered a mind-control disruption function added to its design.
• General Ross urged He-El to join his team and research super soldiers, then sent him videos of the Hulk displaying his strength.

He-El ordered Vivian to establish a nanomaterials company so he could develop safer armor, then received calls from the president and Hydra leader Alexander Pierce. Pierce invited He-El to the Triskelion to share his knowledge of gods and other extraordinary events.

• He-El ordered Vivian to establish a company that would manufacture nanomaterials exclusively for his armor.
• The president called He-El to check on his safety and remind him of his importance to the country.
• He-El realized that his financial support for S.H.I.E.L.D. might have indirectly helped Hydra grow.
• Alexander Pierce contacted He-El, thanked him for helping Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., and invited him to visit the Triskelion.

Loki brought Laufey into Asgard, killed him in Odin’s bedchamber, and attacked Thor after Thor discovered his scheme. At the Rainbow Bridge, Loki redirected its planet-destroying power from Jotunheim toward Earth, seeking vengeance against the mortal who had humiliated him.

• Loki used the Rainbow Bridge to bring Laufey and several Frost Giants from Jotunheim to Asgard while Heimdall remained frozen.
• Heimdall broke free, summoned Thor from Earth, and warned him that Loki had let Laufey into Asgard and they were heading for Odin.
• Thor reached Odin’s bedchamber and found Laufey dead, while Loki tried to prove his worth to his mother and Odin.
• Loki attacked Thor with his scepter, then went to the Rainbow Bridge and prepared to destroy Jotunheim.
• Loki remembered the mortal who had humiliated him, redirected the Rainbow Bridge toward Earth, and fired its planet-destroying energy.

Ancient One investigated He-El after sensing that his arrival had altered the future, then discovered he was an outsider from another universe. As she headed toward New York, she diverted the Rainbow Bridge into a dimensional demon’s realm.

• Ancient One watched He-El battle Destroyer and sensed that something about him was unusual.
• Ancient One worried that He-El’s Medical Rebirth Project might prevent Stephen Strange from becoming her successor and began investigating the altered future.
• Ancient One used the Eye of Agamotto to observe the future and past, discovering that He-El was an outsider who had appeared in the desert and later fought Destroyer.
• Ancient One set out for New York, but when the Rainbow Bridge’s energy approached Earth, she opened a rift and redirected it into a dimensional demon’s realm.
• The dimensional demon roared at Ancient One and threatened that she would die a horrible death.

Thor confronted Loki after Loki aimed the Rainbow Bridge at Earth, but discovered its firing mode could not be stopped. He resolved to destroy the bridge himself and raised Mjolnir to strike it.

• Thor saw the Rainbow Bridge firing toward Earth and rushed to Himinbjorg to confront Loki.
• Loki said he had targeted Earth because he saw humanity as a future threat to Asgard, and he fought Thor.
• Thor defeated Loki, took his scepter, and tried to stop the Rainbow Bridge, but found Loki had locked it to fire for at least half an hour.
• Loki admitted he wanted He-El and Earth destroyed out of anger and humiliation, while Thor said he would not let their mistakes destroy Earth.
• Thor retrieved Mjolnir, leaped into the air, and brought it down toward the crystalline bridge surface as Loki shouted in alarm.

Thor shattered the Rainbow Bridge to stop its beam from reaching Earth, but the explosion sent him and Loki into the World Tree’s abyss before Odin rescued Thor. Ancient One arrived on the damaged bridge, and Odin confronted her over Asgard’s actions against Earth.

• Thor ignored Loki’s warnings and smashed the Rainbow Bridge, cutting off its energy supply and triggering a massive explosion.
• The blast damaged the Rainbow Bridge’s control mechanism and exposed the World Tree’s abyss, whose pull dragged Thor and Loki toward it.
• Odin caught Thor and Loki, but Loki broke free from Thor’s grip and fell into the abyss after realizing Odin had never intended him to become king of Asgard.
• Odin pulled Thor to safety as the abyss closed, and the two mourned Loki’s disappearance.
• Ancient One stepped through a portal and told Odin that Asgard had taken actions that could destroy Earth; Thor urgently asked whether Earth was safe.
• Odin summoned Gungnir and told Ancient One that she had crossed the line.

Ancient One confronted Odin over Asgard’s attack on Earth and the broken agreement between Asgard and the Sorcerer Supreme. After Odin rejected her demand for equality and an explanation about Loki, Ancient One sent Thor through a portal and warned Odin that their conflict could bring about Ragnarok.

• Ancient One accused Odin of violating Asgard’s agreement by firing the Rainbow Bridge at Earth.
• Odin dismissed the agreement as a favor and ordered Ancient One to leave Asgard, insisting that humans were forbidden from entering.
• Ancient One opened a portal beneath Thor and sent him away as Odin tried to reach him through the Mirror Dimension.
• Odin shattered the Mirror Dimension and emerged furious, ready to fight Ancient One.
• Ancient One said she had wanted to learn what happened to Loki after he encountered He-El, then warned Odin not to make her bring about Ragnarok.

After Ancient One diverted the Rainbow Bridge before it destroyed Earth, He-El ordered Vivian to help build an emergency spacecraft without stopping armor production. Thor suddenly arrived through a portal and revealed that Ancient One had confronted Odin over the attack, leaving He-El to wonder whether the two were fighting.

• Vivian reported that the Rainbow Bridge would have destroyed Earth if Ancient One had not diverted its energy through a portal.
• He-El ordered Vivian to design a self-sustaining spacecraft, and she determined that modifying a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier could shorten construction to under a year.
• He-El decided to acquire a Helicarrier from S.H.I.E.L.D. and prepare materials for the spacecraft.
• A portal opened in He-El's factory and deposited Thor, prompting He-El to ready the defenses and question why Thor had been sent to him.
• Thor told He-El that Ancient One had confronted Odin in Asgard about the Rainbow Bridge attack and that he needed to return.

Ancient One confronted Odin over his anger at her sending Thor to He-El and trying to discuss Loki’s fate and the future. Odin attacked her, and the chapter ended with him declaring that no one in the Nine Realms could harm his son.

• Odin accused Ancient One of crossing a line and attacked her with Gungnir after she brought up Ragnarok and Loki’s mutation.
• Ancient One deflected Odin’s first strike through a spatial rift and said she wanted him to consider the future and Loki’s distortion.
• Odin blamed Ancient One for sending Thor to He-El, then explained that Loki’s death and his own mistakes had left him unwilling to let Thor approach He-El.
• Odin shattered Ancient One’s magical defenses and sent her flying, but she steadied herself and promised Thor would be unharmed.
• Ancient One summoned a meteor more than five kilometers wide, and Odin pierced it with Gungnir before declaring that no one could harm his son in the Nine Realms.

Ancient One fought Odin across Asgard’s sky and demanded that he swear on Gungnir to kill He-El if he threatened Earth or the universe. When Odin refused, she began opening portals throughout the sky and threatened to bring Ragnarok at once.

• Odin attacked Ancient One with Gungnir, but she evaded the spear and revealed her magical abilities.
• Odin and Ancient One battled across Asgard for half an hour while Asgardians watched and prayed for Odin to win.
• Ancient One called for the fight to end and demanded that Odin swear on Gungnir to kill He-El if he harmed Earth or the universe.
• Odin questioned the demand and refused to let anyone command him.
• Ancient One threatened Ragnarok and opened countless portals across Asgard’s sky, drawing demonic auras and laughter through the rifts.
• Odin’s expression changed as the portals spread across the sky.

Ancient One opened spatial cracks across Asgard’s sky, summoning countless Demon Gods and forcing Odin to consider accepting her demand that Gungnir be used against He-El. She then closed every passage, revealing that she had only been toying with the Demon Gods.

• Ancient One’s magical formations spread across Asgard and opened spatial cracks that drew in the Demon Gods.
• Odin questioned why Ancient One needed Gungnir when she could deal with He-El herself.
• Ancient One told Odin that Gungnir would be compensation for Asgard nearly destroying Earth with the Rainbow Bridge.
• Odin realized Asgard was at fault and prepared to accept Ancient One’s terms to avert Ragnarok.
• Ancient One closed the spatial cracks, leaving the Demon Gods furious and begging to enter Asgard.
• A Demon God recognized Ancient One’s aura, and the gathered Demon Gods fell silent.

Ancient One ended her threat to unleash dimensional demons after Odin admitted Asgard was at fault for using the Rainbow Bridge against Earth. She left Odin to decide how to deal with He-El, whom she would observe from another dimension.

• Ancient One closed the spatial rifts, and the dimensional demons fell silent when they learned she controlled them.
• Odin acknowledged Asgard's mistake and offered to compensate Earth by hanging Gungnir above He-El as a warning.
• Ancient One released Odin from that condition and warned him that He-El's unpredictable presence had changed the futures they had foreseen.
• Odin wondered whether He-El could alter Asgard's Ragnarok, while Ancient One said she would observe him from another dimension.
• Ancient One departed through a portal to Kamar-Taj and told Odin to follow his heart when Asgard crossed paths with He-El.
• Odin looked down at He-El on Earth and considered the authority Ancient One had left in his hands.

Thor waited anxiously in He-El’s factory after the Sorcerer Supreme sent him from Asgard to Earth. After hearing Thor’s account, He-El suspected Odin and the Sorcerer Supreme had only confronted each other, while Thor feared Asgard was under attack.

• Thor paced through He-El’s factory and asked whether He-El could send him back to Asgard, but He-El said he lacked the technology.
• He-El asked Thor what had happened after the Destroyer was defeated, and Thor recounted Loki’s betrayal, the destruction of the Rainbow Bridge, and his fall toward the World Tree’s abyss.
• Thor explained that a woman in yellow robes had questioned Odin about an agreement with the Sorcerer Supreme before teleporting him to Earth.
• He-El wondered what the agreement involved and suspected the Sorcerer Supreme had intervened to protect Earth, but Thor said he did not know about it.
• Thor feared Odin and the Sorcerer Supreme were fighting and lamented that he could not defend Asgard, while He-El concluded they were unlikely to battle in earnest.

Thor learned that Odin and Ancient One had fought without harming Asgard, and Odin ordered him to stay on Earth and retrieve the Cosmic Cube to repair the Rainbow Bridge and Asgard’s defenses. Odin also asked Thor to observe He-El, but Mjolnir flew into He-El’s hand instead of Thor’s.

• He-El explained that Odin and Ancient One were unlikely to fight to the point of destroying Asgard or Earth, and Thor agreed that Odin would retaliate against Earth if Asgard fell.
• Odin contacted Thor and reassured him that Asgard, his family, and its people were safe after the clash with Ancient One.
• Odin told Thor to remain on Earth, retrieve the Cosmic Cube to repair the Rainbow Bridge and Asgard’s defensive barrier, and observe He-El.
• Thor accepted responsibility for the turmoil caused by his destruction of the Rainbow Bridge and promised to find the Cosmic Cube quickly.
• Odin sent Mjolnir to Earth, but the hammer flew into He-El’s palm when Thor expected it to reach him.

After He-El’s victory over the Destroyer faded from the news, grieving relatives went on NBC to accuse him of allowing people to die during the battle. Their broadcast triggered global outrage and announced a lawsuit against him.

• Thor searched for the Cosmic Cube, occasionally resting at He-El’s factory district, while news of He-El, Thor, and Tony Stark gradually faded.
• Grieving relatives appeared on NBC and blamed He-El for the deaths of loved ones, including the three people aboard the news helicopter that had entered the battle zone.
• Professor Adama Amos claimed He-El’s armor could have saved the helicopter crew and suggested he had chosen not to rescue them.
• The NBC host announced that thirty-seven families would jointly sue He-El in Federal Supreme Court, and the broadcast sparked worldwide controversy.

After He-El was accused online of refusing to save a helicopter, people fiercely debated whether he could have risked saving its passengers, while Tony Stark uncovered signs that the smear campaign was unusual. He-El remained calm and said the people behind the provocation should be nervous.

• People across the world argued over He-El’s actions, with supporters citing the danger he faced and critics accusing him of disregarding human life.
• Online users shared analyses and a 3D reconstruction that showed at least twelve energy blasts lay between He-El and the helicopter he was accused of failing to save.
• The online debate escalated as supporters denounced the accusations as fabricated smears against He-El.
• At 10880 Malibu Point, Tony Stark told He-El that someone was targeting him and offered to help after finding unusual patterns in the accusations.
• He-El said he already knew and dismissed the provocation as a minor annoyance, warning that the people behind it should be nervous.