Recaps

Thor joined He-El after seeing the public condemn him, and the two traveled to He-El’s new home while discussing Thor’s mission and He-El’s affairs. As He-El arranged a visit to S.H.I.E.L.D. and sent Nick a new communication device, Maria reported someone in a skintight suit swinging toward their car.

• Thor crashed through the factory roof, and He-El dismissed his armor projection before leaving with him.
• Thor said he would avoid staying with Jane to keep her safe while searching for the Cosmic Cube.
• He-El and Thor rode with Natasha and Maria toward He-El’s new home as Natasha reviewed compensation, a lawsuit, and Super Technology Group business.
• He-El agreed to visit S.H.I.E.L.D. next Monday and gave Natasha retinal-projection contact lenses for Nick.
• Maria reported that someone in a skintight suit was swinging toward their car.

Maria’s security force stopped Spider-Man and four convenience-store robbers when the robbers’ Hummer approached He-El’s Rolls-Royce. After watching the scene from a nearby building, Spider-Man followed the convoy to Queens and observed He-El’s car from the house next door.

• Maria ordered the security teams to intercept the Hummer and protect He-El’s Rolls-Royce.
• The security force pinned the Hummer and surrounded it with armed personnel, prompting its four occupants to surrender.
• Spider-Man explained that he had been chasing the robbers, and Maria’s team let him leave while it handed them over to the police.
• Spider-Man secretly watched the security force clear the scene before following He-El’s convoy to 18 Ingram Street.
• Spider-Man entered the house at 20 Ingram Street and curiously watched He-El’s Rolls-Royce from the skylight.

Nick Fury suspected that Project Insight was being pushed forward by a hidden force within S.H.I.E.L.D. and hesitated to suspend it. Natasha delivered a box from He-El and reported her assessment that he was intensely distrustful and would prioritize his own survival above humanity.

• Nick Fury discovered files beyond his Level Ten clearance and suspected that someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. was manipulating events, especially Project Insight.
• Fury called Hill but abandoned his plan to suspend Project Insight, asking instead for Tony Stark's assessment report.
• Natasha delivered Fury a small black box from He-El, which Fury examined without opening.
• Natasha told Fury that He-El's security measures and public benefits stemmed from deep distrust and a desire to protect himself.
• Natasha concluded that He-El would save his own life rather than sacrifice himself to save Earth's seven billion people.

Nick Fury grew suspicious that Alexander Pierce might be involved in Project Insight and questioned whom he could trust inside S.H.I.E.L.D. He sent Natasha and Hawkeye to protect Steve Rogers while investigating, then tried the contact lens He-El had given him and heard He-El’s voice in his mind.

• Nick Fury suspected Alexander Pierce because Pierce had shown unusual enthusiasm about He-El’s funding and proposed bringing He-El closer to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Natasha assured Nick Fury he could trust her, so he ordered her to leave Super Technology Group and protect Steve Rogers.
• Nick Fury contacted Hawkeye and ordered him to join Steve Rogers, then assigned unusual missions to agents he considered trustworthy.
• Nick Fury searched for suspicious agents but found no one he could firmly identify as a threat.
• Nick Fury inspected and put on the contact lens He-El had given him, and He-El’s voice told him it was a communication tool.

He-El, Thor, and Tony Stark gathered for a barbecue at He-El's home, while Peter Parker discovered that his idols were his new neighbors. The evening ended with Thor and Tony raising their drinks as He-El toasted them with lemon fruit milk.

• He-El told Nick Fury how to use the contact lens brainwave communication without exposing his thoughts.
• Peter Parker spotted He-El and Thor at their home, then was surprised when Iron Man arrived carrying alcohol.
• Tony Stark recognized Peter as Spider-Man, told him to do his homework, and pushed him back through the skylight.
• Tony used a laser to light the barbecue charcoal, and Thor opened the liquor crate and began drinking.
• He-El grilled steaks and seafood while Tony showed off his gravity magnetic levitation armor and Thor and Tony toasted with him.
• He-El clinked their bottles with a glass of lemon fruit milk, leaving Thor and Tony staring at his drink in confusion.

He-El told Nick Fury that Odin threatened Earth and that humanity needed its own defenses, then agreed to discuss a plan during a visit to S.H.I.E.L.D. next week. At the barbecue, Thor asked He-El and Tony Stark to help find the Cosmic Cube so he could repair Asgard’s Rainbow Bridge and prevent unrest across the Nine Realms.

• Nick Fury tested the contact lenses and contacted He-El through their brainwave communication feature.
• He-El warned Nick Fury that he and Earth were in danger from Odin, who was watching Earth.
• He-El reassured Nick Fury that Earth had hidden Guardians capable of matching Odin, while Nick insisted humanity needed its own strength.
• He-El agreed to discuss his plan with Nick at S.H.I.E.L.D. next week and ended their communication.
• Thor told He-El and Tony Stark that he had been searching for a way to repair the Rainbow Bridge and asked them to help find the Cosmic Cube.

The president’s effort to suppress He-El collapsed when allied factions refused to target him, prioritizing clean energy and their own ambitions. He-El ordered Vivian to build a political force, and she began a plan centered on the presidency.

• The president confronted allied faction representatives for abandoning his campaign against He-El after Super Technology Group considered foreign candidates for a second clean energy city.
• The representatives refused to keep clean energy cities outside the United States and revealed their plan to let He-El finish his projects before seizing his assets.
• The president dismissed the representatives, who secretly messaged He-El’s political intelligence group, then moved to clear He-El’s name and encourage lawsuits against him to be withdrawn.
• He-El told Vivian to establish a force capable of shaping politics and returned to researching weapons without reviewing the list of people behind the abandonment incident.
• Vivian concluded that the president held the greatest political authority and created a folder titled “Presidential Election Plan.”

He-El toured S.H.I.E.L.D. with the president, Nick Fury, and Alexander Pierce as they tried to strengthen their relationship with him. After admiring the Helicarriers, He-El offered to buy one, but Pierce refused.

• The president, Nick Fury, and Alexander Pierce greeted He-El at the Triskelion and began a formal tour of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Nick Fury privately asked He-El whether he had arranged for the president to attend, and He-El said the president had come uninvited.
• Nick Fury observed that the president seemed eager to please He-El after their recent political conflict.
• The group toured the underground armaments plaza, where He-El admired S.H.I.E.L.D.'s three Helicarriers.
• He-El offered to pay three times the cost of construction for a weaponless Helicarrier, but Alexander Pierce refused.

The president left after arranging a way to resolve the Helicarrier dispute, while Alexander Pierce remained confident that Hydra would eventually seize He-El’s clean energy. In private, Nick Fury warned He-El that gods had taken notice of him and revealed that Thor had asked him to find the Cosmic Cube.

• The president toured S.H.I.E.L.D. with He-El, suggested repairing their relationship, and departed after signaling that the Helicarrier problem could be resolved.
• Alexander Pierce urged He-El to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and celebrated Project Insight’s impending success, while He-El said they were already fighting side by side.
• Alexander Pierce went to his office and watched He-El and Nick Fury through surveillance as they drank tea in silence.
• Nick Fury and He-El communicated telepathically in Nick Fury’s office because Nick did not trust S.H.I.E.L.D. to be free of surveillance.
• Nick Fury warned He-El that gods had taken notice of him and said he might have to leave Earth if their conflict threatened the planet.
• Nick Fury revealed that Thor had asked him a week earlier to find the Cosmic Cube.

He-El told Nick Fury that Thor needed the Cosmic Cube to repair the Rainbow Bridge, forcing Fury to consider surrendering it to Asgard. Fury decided to negotiate for benefits, while He-El asked for a Helicarrier, but an encrypted phone call interrupted them.

• Nick Fury recalled the Cosmic Cube's history and learned it was still held at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Catalyst Testing Center.
• He-El explained that Thor needed the Cosmic Cube's energy to repair the Rainbow Bridge and calm unrest across the Nine Realms.
• Nick Fury concluded that humanity could not realistically resist Asgard and decided to trade the Cube for promises, technology, or weapons.
• He-El said Nick should thank him for resolving the urgent problem and asked for a Helicarrier.
• Nick Fury began to object that a Helicarrier was not easy to provide, but the encrypted communications phone rang.

Nick Fury learned that the president was prepared to sell He-El a Helicarrier and realized the sale could delay Project Insight. He-El warned that S.H.I.E.L.D. could collapse from within and sent Fury information that left him stunned.

• The president told Nick Fury to sell the Helicarrier to He-El if repairing it proved too costly.
• Nick Fury realized He-El's purchase could cut off resources for Project Insight and asked how much He-El knew about S.H.I.E.L.D.
• He-El warned Nick Fury that S.H.I.E.L.D. could fall apart after one wrong move.
• Nick Fury demanded the information He-El had found about the threat inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
• He-El sent the information to Nick Fury's contact lenses, and Fury froze in shock as he read it.

Alexander Pierce learned that the president planned to sell S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers and delay Project Insight, and flew into a rage. Believing the president had caused the threat to his project, Pierce ordered someone to kill him.

• Alexander Pierce listened to Nick Fury's encrypted call with the president, who ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to dispose of its malfunctioning Helicarriers and raise money for replacements.
• Pierce realized the president intended to sell the Helicarriers to He-El and smashed his coffee cup in fury.
• The president called Pierce and told him to inform the World Security Council that Project Insight would be delayed while a Helicarrier was dismantled.
• Pierce destroyed items on his desk and blamed the president for threatening Project Insight and his Helicarriers.
• Pierce pulled out his phone and ordered someone to kill the president.

Nick Fury reviewed He-El’s evidence that Hydra had infiltrated and effectively taken over S.H.I.E.L.D., including proof that the Winter Soldier had killed Howard and Maria Stark. Horrified, Fury asked He-El for help destroying Hydra, and He-El said he had always been helping him.

• Nick Fury read He-El’s detailed list of Hydra members and suspects in S.H.I.E.L.D. and discovered that Alexander Pierce and much of the agency’s leadership were compromised.
• He-El told Nick Fury that evidence proving the listed agents were Hydra was available in surveillance recordings, audio, documents, and other files.
• Nick Fury reviewed evidence of Hydra orders and decisions and realized that S.H.I.E.L.D. had become a breeding ground for evil.
• Nick Fury watched a recording of the Winter Soldier killing Tony Stark’s parents and concluded that Hydra had to be wiped out completely.
• Nick Fury asked He-El for help, and He-El replied that he had always been helping him.

He-El told Nick Fury he needed a Helicarrier to turn into an interstellar spacecraft and offered him five Sensor Suits to help fight Hydra. Nick planned to use He-El's stay at S.H.I.E.L.D. to eliminate the Hydra-run Rapid Response Special Forces, but Alexander Pierce arrived before he could send the order.

• He-El explained that he had delayed Project Insight by requesting a Helicarrier and that he intended to fight alien threats in space.
• Nick Fury asked He-El to help purge Hydra from S.H.I.E.L.D., and He-El offered five Sensor Suits while directing Nick to seek Tony's help.
• Nick Fury proposed having the Rapid Response Special Forces guard He-El so he could kill the Hydra agents, and He-El agreed to stay at S.H.I.E.L.D. while studying the Helicarrier.
• He-El had Vivian bring Nick the five Sensor Suits, and Nick prepared to order Brock Rumlow to arrange the detail.
• Alexander Pierce entered Nick Fury's office and told He-El that his wish had come true.

Alexander Pierce, Nick Fury, and He-El each pursued their own plans for the Helicarrier as they agreed to make He-El a S.H.I.E.L.D. technical consultant. They left the meeting smiling, with Pierce planning to advance Project Insight, Fury hoping to eliminate Hydra, and He-El preparing to build an interstellar spacecraft and seek the Cosmic Cube.

• Alexander Pierce discussed delaying Project Insight and raised the problem of maintaining He-El's Helicarrier.
• Nick Fury urged He-El by telepathy to let Hydra personnel service the Helicarrier so S.H.I.E.L.D. could wipe them out.
• He-El pretended to worry about repairs and safety, while Alexander Pierce proposed making him a S.H.I.E.L.D. technical consultant.
• He-El accepted the position and insisted that the Helicarrier's weapons and Quinjets remain aboard to protect him.
• Nick Fury agreed to send elite armed forces to guard He-El, and the three men toasted while privately anticipating their separate goals.

He-El and Tony Stark coordinated plans to destroy Hydra as S.H.I.E.L.D. forces escorted He-El toward a destination. Natasha and Hawkeye prepared to ambush the convoy, while Hawkeye reassured Natasha that they were working with Fury to set things right.

• Tony Stark thanked He-El for revealing that Hydra had murdered his parents and agreed to work with Nick Fury to eliminate Hydra.
• He-El learned that Brock Rumlow's Rapid Response Special Forces had guarded him for a week, unaware that all thirty-six soldiers in the convoy were Hydra members.
• Natasha and Hawkeye waited in ambush along Highway 6, equipped to stop the convoy and fight the Rapid Response Special Forces.
• Hawkeye complained that Natasha had worn a combat uniform over her revealing Sensor Suit while he had worn his suit alone.
• Natasha questioned whether she had done evil for Hydra, and Hawkeye reassured her that Fury was on their side as the convoy arrived and they prepared for battle.

Hawkeye and Natasha ambushed He-El’s convoy on Highway 6, destroying the overturned lead SUV and disabling the mounted guns on the five remaining SUVs. As the soldiers opened fire, Natasha charged toward them while Hawkeye covered her advance.

• The lead SUV hit a concealed tire-spike chain, overturned, and forced Brock Rumlow to order the convoy to form a defensive line and request air support.
• The convoy’s communications were cut, and Hawkeye and Natasha emerged on off-road motorcycles to attack.
• Hawkeye fired an explosive arrow through the overturned SUV’s fractured window, destroying the vehicle and killing the Hydra soldiers inside.
• Brock Rumlow recognized Hawkeye and Natasha and ordered his soldiers to open fire.
• Hawkeye fired five explosive arrows that destroyed the M134 Miniguns mounted on the five SUVs.
• Natasha accelerated and weaved toward the convoy as Hawkeye stayed behind to cover her.

Natasha and Hawkeye used their Sensor Suits and weapons to defeat Brock Rumlow’s Rapid Response Special Forces and stop his SUV. Brock took He-El hostage at gunpoint as the two agents approached.

• Natasha evaded a barrage of AT-4 rockets on her motorcycle, then abandoned it after shrapnel struck its fuel tank and attacked the Hydra soldiers with two MAC-10s.
• Natasha and Hawkeye overwhelmed the Rapid Response Special Forces, with Hawkeye destroying the rocket launchers and Natasha killing the soldiers at close range.
• Brock Rumlow ordered the surviving soldiers to flee in the SUV and asked He-El why Hawkeye and Natasha were pursuing him.
• Hawkeye shot out the SUV’s rear tire and disabled the vehicle with an electric arrow.
• Brock Rumlow pressed his M9 to He-El’s temple and ordered him out, and He-El stepped from the SUV as Hawkeye and Natasha approached.

Natasha and Hawkeye met He-El after battling Brock Rumlow’s forces on Highway 6, and He-El invited Natasha and Hawkeye to work for his company. After Hawkeye killed Rumlow, He-El asked about the Helicarrier’s operation against Hydra.

• Natasha and Hawkeye arrived among burning SUVs and corpses while Brock Rumlow held He-El hostage.
• He-El offered Natasha her old assistant job and invited Hawkeye to become a security guard, prompting them to joke about poaching S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best agents.
• Rumlow demanded that Hawkeye remove his suit and threatened to kill He-El unless he was allowed to escape.
• Hawkeye shot Rumlow after He-El moved aside, and the arrow killed him.
• He-El asked whether Nick had launched the Helicarrier and begun attacking Hydra’s base, and Hawkeye said the plan was likely underway.

At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce prepared He-El’s Helicarrier for launch while Hydra secretly worked to take control of it. Tony Stark arrived to watch the launch, struggled to contain his hatred of Pierce, and the plaza began opening beneath them.

• Alexander Pierce reassured Nick Fury that Hydra members were installing Project Insight equipment aboard He-El’s Helicarrier as quickly as possible.
• Nick Fury reflected on how deeply Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and said Hydra had to be destroyed in one stroke.
• Tony Stark arrived in his Iron Man armor and told Nick Fury he had come to represent He-El at the launch ceremony.
• Tony Stark refused to shake Alexander Pierce’s hand and distracted himself with complaints as he fought the urge to kill the man he believed responsible for his parents’ deaths.
• Alexander Pierce concealed his amusement at Tony Stark’s anger, and a seam began splitting open across the plaza.

S.H.I.E.L.D. launched the Helicarrier and tested its flight and optical camouflage while Nick Fury, Tony Stark, and Alexander Pierce watched. After Fury led Pierce and Stark into a locked meeting room, his cheerful demeanor vanished and he faced Pierce with a cold expression.

• Nick Fury, Alexander Pierce, and Tony Stark watched the Helicarrier emerge from beneath the plaza and boarded it.
• Agent Hill reported the Helicarrier ready, and Nick Fury ordered it to take off.
• The Helicarrier rose to six thousand meters, and Nick Fury ordered its reflective panels activated, making it vanish from sight.
• Fury ordered the ship placed in automatic stabilization mode and arranged a meal for the agents aboard.
• Nick Fury led Tony Stark and Alexander Pierce into a locked meeting room, then sat down and stared coldly at Pierce as he opened a bottle of champagne.

Nick Fury and Tony Stark exposed Alexander Pierce’s Hydra conspiracy and incapacitated the Hydra agents aboard the Helicarrier. Tony beat Pierce over his parents’ deaths, but Agent Hill reported that the president had been assassinated.

• Alexander Pierce offered champagne to Nick Fury and Tony Stark while Nick watched the Helicarrier’s cafeteria surveillance feed.
• Tony Stark knocked Pierce’s champagne glass away, and Pierce realized that Nick and Tony had exposed him and cut off his communications.
• Nick Fury explained that He-El’s Helicarrier was being used to eliminate Hydra’s high-ranking members, and Agent Hill reported that the sedative had knocked the Hydra agents unconscious.
• Tony Stark put on Tiger Claws and repeatedly punched Pierce, accusing him of killing his parents.
• Agent Hill urgently reported that the president had been assassinated.

At the president’s funeral, He-El met with Nick Fury, who explained that Hydra’s exposure and the president’s assassination had pushed S.H.I.E.L.D. to the brink of dissolution. As the agency’s future remained uncertain, Nick Fury asked He-El to call Thor while he still controlled S.H.I.E.L.D.

• He-El attended the president’s funeral at the Capitol and placed flowers beneath the coffin.
• He-El joined Nick Fury in a black sedan after leaving the Capitol.
• Nick Fury told He-El that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and that the Winter Soldier had assassinated the president on Alexander Pierce’s orders.
• Nick Fury explained that Hydra’s decades-long assassination records had triggered investigations and left S.H.I.E.L.D.’s survival in dispute.
• He-El reflected that his influence had sent events far from their expected course, and Nick Fury asked him to call Thor while he still controlled S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury brought Thor and He-El to NASA West District to hand over the Cosmic Cube and secure a lasting friendship between Earth and Asgard. Thor swore an oath to protect that friendship, but the Cube blasted him away when he touched it.

• Nick Fury arrived at NASA West District with He-El and met Phil Coulson.
• Thor flew in, thanked He-El for helping Asgard, and injured Nick Fury with an overenthusiastic hug.
• Nick Fury explained that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s instability made it necessary to give the Cosmic Cube to Thor and build ties with Asgard.
• Thor swore that humanity would forever be Asgard's friend before they went to the underground laboratory.
• Thor reached for the Cosmic Cube, which erupted with energy and blasted him away.

Thor’s touch awakened the Cosmic Cube, and an outside force began using it to open a wormhole. As the conduit grew, Nick Fury ordered an evacuation while Thor’s attempt to destroy the Cube failed.

• Thor touched the Cosmic Cube, which unleashed a shockwave that He-El stopped from throwing Thor farther.
• Dr. Erik Selvig detected radiation from the Cube, and He-El explained that it could form a wormhole linking distant parts of the universe.
• The Cube’s energy began rising as a force from the other end influenced it, prompting He-El to order Vivian to dispatch Atomic Armor Mark II.
• Nick Fury ordered the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to evacuate, while Thor tried to smash the Cube with Mjolnir.
• The Cube’s energy shield rebounded Thor into a wall as a spacetime conduit expanded above it and a pair of eyes looked down.