Recaps

He-El reunited with Natasha and T'Challa as they brought him to S.H.I.E.L.D. for an Avengers gathering. After warning T'Challa to protect Wakanda's Vibranium, He-El arrived at the new headquarters, where Steve Rogers and Peter Parker waited to greet him.

• He-El cursed Nick Fury for arranging an unexpected pickup and left the White House with bodyguards to meet Natasha and T'Challa.
• Natasha and T'Challa arrived in a Wakandan ship, and He-El noticed Natasha's exhaustion as they greeted each other.
• T'Challa told He-El that Wakanda had begun providing S.H.I.E.L.D. with Vibranium to help defend Earth against extraterrestrial threats.
• He-El and Natasha warned T'Challa to guard the Vibranium carefully because S.H.I.E.L.D. could not always be trusted.
• The group flew to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s island, where Steve Rogers and an excited Peter Parker waited to welcome He-El.

He-El arrived at the S.H.I.E.L.D. plaza and reunited with the Avengers, who gathered for a group photo before their meeting. The chapter ended with Peter Parker’s camera capturing the team around He-El.

• Wakanda's spacecraft landed at the S.H.I.E.L.D. plaza, where Steve Rogers and Peter Parker welcomed He-El, Natasha, and T'Challa.
• He-El joked with Peter Parker about his grades, and Peter asked him for a photo.
• Hawkeye and Tony Stark joined the group, while Tony teased Peter about his grades and Bruce Banner described their work on an alien-invasion warning AI.
• The Avengers gathered around He-El, and Tony Stark's armor used Peter Parker's camera to take their group photo.

Stephen Strange retrieved the Cloak of Levitation and decided to join the Avengers to stop Thanos, believing He-El could change the future. Ancient One supported his choice but feared the curse on He-El might bring destruction, and He-El met her gaze as the Avengers approached Ping Building.

• Stephen Strange confirmed that the Cloak of Levitation still recognized him and watched the Avengers gather for a photograph.
• Stephen Strange decided that He-El could be the anomaly capable of changing the future and saving lives from Thanos.
• Ancient One warned that Odin's curse made He-El a potential source of catastrophic danger.
• Stephen Strange resolved to work with the Avengers and use He-El's strength to prevent Thanos from obtaining the Infinity Stones.
• Ancient One let Stephen Strange follow his decision, and He-El met her gaze as the Avengers headed toward Ping Building.

The Avengers gathered at S.H.I.E.L.D. with Ancient One and Stephen Strange, expecting an explanation rather than an immediate battle. Strange revealed that a powerful being who had destroyed half the life in the universe was the threat they needed to discuss.

• Hawkeye brought the Avengers to the conference room, where Ancient One and Stephen Strange were waiting.
• Tony Stark recognized Ancient One as the sorcerer who had moved the Rainbow Bridge, and the Avengers introduced themselves.
• The Avengers settled in with drinks as Strange assured them there would be no immediate battle.
• Ancient One said Strange was the main figure this time, and Strange revealed that a powerful being had destroyed half the life in the universe.

Stephen Strange revealed that Thanos had wiped out half the life in the universe, shocking the Avengers and prompting them to ask what was happening. He-El realized Ancient One had likely helped Strange learn about Thanos, and assessed which Infinity Stones Thanos could still obtain.

• Stephen Strange told the Avengers that Thanos had wiped out half the life in the universe, and Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, and the others questioned whether they could face such a threat.
• He-El asked Steve what was happening and wondered how Stephen Strange had learned about Thanos.
• He-El realized Ancient One was likely the source of Strange’s knowledge and considered how the Avengers’ preparations could disrupt Thanos’s search for the Infinity Stones.
• He-El reviewed the stones’ locations, concluding that Thanos could most easily obtain the Power Stone and Soul Stone while the other stones were tied to the Avengers or protected elsewhere.
• He-El decided he had to seize the Reality Stone and worried that Thanos had little hope of collecting the remaining stones.

Stephen Strange explained the six Infinity Stones and their powers to the Avengers, but they found his account too incredible to believe. As he prepared to show them the Eye of Agamotto, Ancient One stopped him and revealed that they had already encountered the Infinity Stones.

• Stephen Strange said the six forces present at the universe's birth had become the Space, Time, Reality, Power, Mind, and Soul Stones.
• Stephen Strange described how each Infinity Stone could control a different aspect of existence and grant immense power.
• The Avengers doubted his claims, and Tony Stark joked about using the Time Stone to bring his parents back.
• Bruce Banner said that, as a scientist, he struggled to believe Stephen Strange's story.
• Stephen Strange reached for the Eye of Agamotto, but Ancient One stopped him and said the Avengers had already encountered the Infinity Stones.

The Ancient One revealed that the Avengers had encountered an Infinity Stone on Earth: the Mind Stone hidden inside Loki's Mind Scepter. He-El confirmed its immense, dangerous power, leaving the team fearful that Earth could become a target for those seeking it.

• The Ancient One hinted that He-El knew the Avengers had encountered an Infinity Stone, and He-El ordered Hawkeye to tell Nick to secure the Mind Scepter more carefully.
• Tony Stark and Bruce Banner questioned whether the Mind Scepter could really contain the Mind Stone, since Loki had been defeated despite wielding it.
• He-El explained that he had detected an almost infinite, mind-corroding energy inside the scepter and concluded that it was the Mind Stone.
• He-El said Loki could not directly use the Stone's power and warned that few beings could safely wield an Infinity Stone.
• The Avengers feared that alien powers might attack Earth to seize the Mind Stone, and the Ancient One hinted they had encountered more than one Infinity Stone.

The Avengers connected the Cosmic Cube to the Space Stone and began accepting Stephen Strange's account of the Infinity Stones. They feared the stones would draw a cosmic attack on Earth and questioned why the being seeking to destroy half of all life needed more than one stone.

• Hawkeye identified the Cosmic Cube as a likely Infinity Stone, and the Avengers agreed Loki's controller had come to Earth seeking it.
• Ancient One confirmed that the Space Stone had been inside the Cosmic Cube, and the Avengers realized Earth had hosted two Infinity Stones.
• Tony Stark and the others considered how the stones could attract cosmic forces, while Steve Rogers worried about defending Earth and protecting the Mind Scepter.
• Bruce Banner and Tony Stark questioned why the mastermind needed the Cosmic Cube if the Mind Stone alone could destroy half of all life, and Tony suggested multiple stones might be needed to reach full power.

Stephen Strange explained the powers and dangers of the Infinity Stones to the Avengers. They realized they had to protect the Mind Scepter and prevent their enemy from collecting the other Stones, then learned that enemy’s name: Thanos.

• Peter Parker mistook Stephen Strange for a fairy-tale wizard, and Tony Stark told Peter not to interrupt.
• Stephen Strange explained that individual Infinity Stones had to be contained and could harm anyone who used them directly for too long.
• Stephen Strange described how the six Infinity Stones could combine to let their user reshape the universe according to their will.
• Tony Stark and the Avengers recognized the danger of letting their enemy collect the Stones and asked Stephen Strange who he was.
• Stephen Strange named their enemy as Thanos.

The Avengers learned that Thanos was a nearly invincible survivor of Titan who commanded an army and planned to eliminate half the life in the universe to balance resources. Tony Stark ordered the team to begin preparing for him.

• Stephen Strange explained that Thanos was an Eternal from Titan whose strength and durability made the Hulk seem like a baby by comparison.
• Stephen Strange said Thanos was the last of his people but still commanded an army, while Hawkeye noted that they had captured his general Ebony Maw.
• Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark questioned Thanos's motives, and Stephen Strange explained that Titan's resource crisis and its destruction had shaped Thanos's plan.
• Stephen Strange described Thanos's belief that eliminating half of all life would restore balance, while the Avengers rejected his solution.
• Tony Stark said Thanos's ability to carry out his plan was the real danger and told the Avengers to prepare to face him.

The Avengers discussed how to stop Thanos from collecting the Infinity Stones, but Stephen Strange had no complete plan. After they divided preparations among their allies, Tony Stark deferred to He-El to devise an initial strategy.

• Tony Stark asked Stephen Strange for a plan, and Strange said he had called the Avengers together to develop a way to keep Thanos from collecting all six Infinity Stones.
• Tony Stark suggested hiding the Mind Stone in a random corner of the universe, but Ancient One warned that Thanos could eventually locate it through the stones' connection or divination magic.
• Tony Stark and Bruce Banner agreed to build a cosmic-waveform warning system, while Tony prepared new armor for Thanos's arrival.
• T'Challa offered Vibranium for the defense, Hawkeye promised to prepare S.H.I.E.L.D.'s alien-fighting hardware, and Natasha and Steve Rogers supported calling up the Avengers' peripheral members.
• Stephen Strange said Kamar-Taj would provide mages, and Tony Stark called on He-El to draw up an initial plan.

He-El and the Avengers discussed how to stop Thanos and locate the six Infinity Stones, while Stephen Strange disclosed that Earth held three of them. The meeting ended after Ancient One confirmed Kamar-Taj guarded the Time Stone and said it could not be used to alter reality.

• He-El asked where the six Infinity Stones were, and the Avengers agreed they needed to learn their locations rather than remain passive.
• Stephen Strange confirmed that Nick safeguarded the Mind Stone in the Mind Scepter and that the Cosmic Cube contained the Space Stone, which Bruce Banner proposed returning to Asgard.
• Stephen Strange revealed that Kamar-Taj protected the Time Stone, and Tony Stark offered the Avengers' help guarding it.
• Ancient One said the Time Stone could travel through time but could not be used to alter the world or reality, and Tony Stark suppressed his temptation to use it.

After the Avengers confronted the dangers of changing the past, Stephen Strange explained that the Nova Corps held the Power Stone on Xandar but that Thanos destroyed them to take it. He-El questioned when Thanos attacked Xandar and whether he had already obtained the Reality Stone.

• Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, and Bruce Banner reflected on the past they wished they could change, while Hawkeye warned that time travel could unleash catastrophic consequences.
• Stephen Strange reminded the Avengers that Kamar-Taj would forbid using the Time Stone to travel through time, and Tony Stark refocused them on finding all six Infinity Stones.
• Stephen Strange said the Nova Corps on Xandar guarded the Power Stone, shocking Tony Stark and Bruce Banner with the distance and scale involved.
• Stephen Strange revealed that Thanos had destroyed the Nova Corps and taken the Power Stone, leaving the Avengers doubtful that Earth could resist him.
• He-El wondered whether Thanos had attacked Xandar before or after obtaining the Reality Stone from The Collector.

He-El reconsidered how Thanos might have used the Reality Stone to destroy the Nova Corps and weighed how to keep the Infinity Stones from falling into his hands. After learning of the Nova Corps’ possible destruction, the Avengers considered going to Xandar to help, but they lacked its coordinates.

• He-El reasoned that Thanos may have killed and impersonated The Collector to obtain the Reality Stone, which could explain how quickly the Nova Corps fell.
• He-El concluded that his plan to let Thanos gather the Stones had become harder, and considered using the Avengers instead while preventing either side from collecting them easily.
• Steve Rogers and the Avengers grew alarmed at the Nova Corps’ destruction and recognized they would need forces to confront Thanos’s fleet as well as Thanos himself.
• Stephen Strange suggested Thanos might have used an Infinity Stone against the Nova Corps, and Tony Stark proposed traveling to help them.
• The Avengers agreed to test Thanos’s strength, but the Ancient One and Stephen Strange realized they had never visited Xandar and did not know its coordinates.

The group reviewed the Infinity Stones and learned why the Soul Stone was difficult to pursue. Stephen Strange revealed that the Reality Stone would possess Jane Foster, Thor’s girlfriend, leaving the team to consider how to keep it from Thanos.

• Ancient One agreed to ask around for the Nova Corps' location, and Stephen Strange thanked her for her support.
• Stephen Strange explained that the Soul Stone was on Vormir and required sacrificing someone the seeker truly loved; he said Thanos had sacrificed Gamora to obtain it.
• The group considered whether they could intercept the Soul Stone, but Strange said only Gamora knew its location and she traveled with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Tony Stark reassured everyone that they still had an advantage and asked where the Reality Stone was.
• Stephen Strange said the Reality Stone was connected to Asgard and would eventually possess Jane Foster.

He-El and the Avengers learned that the Reality Stone would possess Jane Foster during the convergence of the Nine Realms, before eventually reaching Thanos. They planned to intercept it, and He-El offered to move Jane to the Cross-Galaxy National Alliance’s astronomy department to keep her away from the danger.

• He-El was surprised to learn the Reality Stone would possess Jane Foster, while Bruce Banner and Tony Stark fixated on his secret robots.
• Stephen Strange explained that he had seen a parallel future in which Thanos defeated the Avengers and destroyed half of all life, but that the future could still change.
• Stephen Strange described the Aether’s history and foresaw Jane entering the space that sealed it during the Nine Realms’ convergence, followed by the Dark Elves’ attack and Thanos eventually obtaining the Stone.
• Tony Stark and the Avengers agreed they needed to intercept the Reality Stone, but Stephen Strange said they could reach its sealed location only when the convergence created a spatial distortion field in the United Kingdom.
• He-El volunteered to build a container for the Reality Stone and said he would use his authority to transfer Jane to the Alliance’s astronomy department.

He-El assigned the Avengers to locate the Mysterious Space in the United Kingdom, secure the Reality Stone, and prepare to fight the Dark Elves. As the meeting ended, Stephen Strange and Ancient One approached He-El.

• He-El ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to obtain partial access to British airspace and stationed Barton and Natasha on the Helicarrier to seize the Reality Stone before the Dark Elves.
• He-El tasked Tony Stark and Bruce Banner with building a device to detect abnormal spacetime gravitational fields and warned them to prepare for the Dark Elves.
• He-El asked T'Challa to supply Vibranium and directed Steve Rogers to train auxiliary members as a reserve force.
• He-El told Tony Stark to make Peter Parker a new suit and asked Barton to coordinate Vibranium and combat-suit distribution.
• He-El asked Stephen Strange to determine when Thanos would obtain each Infinity Stone, then adjourned the meeting.
• As the Avengers began preparing to leave, Stephen Strange and Ancient One approached He-El.

He-El discussed the threat of Thanos and the Infinity Stones with Stephen Strange, then questioned Ancient One about her intentions and her knowledge of him. As Ancient One prepared to leave, He-El stopped her to ask whether she knew strange spells or curses.

• Tony Stark and Bruce Banner discussed modifying anomaly-detection instruments as they left, while Peter Parker followed them, and Steve Rogers, Natasha, Hawkeye, and T'Challa departed on their own business.
• He-El and Stephen Strange discussed changing the future and prepared to determine when Thanos would obtain the Infinity Stones.
• Ancient One privately questioned He-El about his view of the world and why he would not use the Mind Scepter.
• He-El declared that he disliked the Infinity Stones and would hide the Mind Scepter and safeguard any other Stones they found.
• Ancient One denied wanting the Stones and prepared to leave with Stephen Strange, but He-El stopped her and asked whether she knew strange spells or curses.

He-El questioned Ancient One about curses while pretending to seek help, hoping to lay groundwork for concealing his Omega Effect curse and securing the Infinity Stones. Ancient One and He-El left each other wary, and Nick Fury signaled He-El after their meeting.

• He-El suspected Ancient One knew about his role in cursing Odin and realized his Omega Effect could threaten powerful figures like her and Odin.
• Ancient One and Stephen Strange wondered whether He-El wanted help with a curse, while Ancient One privately recalled that even the Dark Lord could not withstand Odin’s curse.
• He-El asked Ancient One to explain curses and describe the strongest curse she could cast, presenting himself as merely curious.
• Ancient One claimed her curses could only cause vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and nausea, then departed through a portal with Stephen Strange.
• After the portal vanished, He-El’s smile faded as he looked toward Nick Fury, who gestured to him from around a distant corner.

He-El and Nick Fury discussed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s growing cooperation with Kamar-Taj and the danger posed by Kaecilius. He-El ordered Nick to share any news of Kaecilius with both him and Ancient One, while insisting that Nick keep the Mind Scepter in his possession.

• Nick Fury told He-El that Kamar-Taj was based in Kathmandu, had begun cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D., and had transferred some sorcerers to work with the agency.
• He-El asked whether Kamar-Taj had faced trouble, and Nick Fury reported that Kaecilius had stolen a forbidden book and contacted Dormammu while seeking immortality.
• Nick Fury said S.H.I.E.L.D. was searching for Kaecilius, and He-El ordered him to report any news to both He-El and Ancient One.
• He-El agreed to deepen cooperation with Kamar-Taj because the Mind Scepter might be why they wanted to work with S.H.I.E.L.D.
• He-El warned Nick Fury not to tell him about the Mind Scepter and told him to keep it in his hands.

Nick Fury used He-El’s approval to continue experimenting with the Mind Scepter and ordered Hawkeye to track down the rogue sorcerer Kaecilius. The chapter left Fury contemplating an old pager after Hawkeye set out on the mission.

• He-El gave Nick Fury permission to use the Mind Scepter, and Fury resolved to keep his inhumane experiments secret.
• Nick Fury ordered Hawkeye to lead a combat team for a planned Helicarrier deployment over the United Kingdom, then assigned him a tracking mission.
• Nick Fury warned Hawkeye to treat magic as dangerous and ordered him to locate Kaecilius and quietly bring him to the HY:517 secret base.
• Hawkeye accepted the mission, gathered his gear, and left to track Kaecilius.
• Nick Fury watched Hawkeye leave and thoughtfully handled an old pager.

He-El prepared to monitor the Reality Stone while S.H.I.E.L.D. located Kamar-Taj’s traitor, Kaecilius. After hearing Nick Fury’s doubts about the Ancient One, He-El ordered Kamar-Taj to handle Kaecilius themselves.

• He-El secured British cooperation for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s space-time monitoring operation, moved Jane Foster to an astronomy department under surveillance, and assigned Vivian to the Helicarrier.
• Nick Fury told He-El that Barton had found Kaecilius performing a dark ritual in Manchester and had survived an encounter with his followers.
• Nick Fury explained that Kaecilius sought to resurrect his family and accused the Ancient One of using dark magic to prolong her life.
• Nick Fury questioned whether Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One could be trusted, while He-El ordered him to inform Kamar-Taj of Kaecilius’s location.
• Nick Fury sent He-El footage of Barton’s operation.

He-El watched Hawkeye’s footage of Kaecilius’s interrupted sacrifice and learned that Dormammu had sensed Ancient One’s aura. He considered dangerous alliances and began preparing to consolidate power, then summoned General Ross and showed him a blood-red Gene Serum.

• He-El watched Hawkeye’s footage, which showed Kaecilius and his followers sacrificing civilians to summon dark energy.
• Hawkeye destroyed the sacrificial array, and Dormammu briefly possessed Kaecilius before demanding to know where he had sensed Ancient One’s aura.
• He-El wondered whether he could cooperate with Dormammu and resolved to secure the military and the people’s faith for his future plans.
• He-El considered using a stronger political force to oppose S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and Kamar-Taj, and examined the Red Giant Gene Serum.
• General Ross entered the Oval Office, saw the serum, and restrained his desire to ask whether He-El had prepared it for him.

He-El detected mystical negative energy near the Oval Office and let Vivian identify it as a Kamar-Taj-style intrusion, which he suspected came from Kaecilius. He-El chose not to activate anti-magic defenses and continued his meeting with General Ross while waiting for Kaecilius to appear.

• He-El's defense program detected rising negative energy near him, and he ordered an analysis.
• Vivian traced the energy to a Kamar-Taj mage who had guided it from another dimension, but found it too weak to threaten He-El.
• He-El suspected Kaecilius had tracked him through Hawkeye and declined Vivian's offer to activate anti-magic defenses.
• He-El told Vivian to keep monitoring spacetime anomalies over the United Kingdom, and she began analyzing the region's air and particles.
• He-El continued working and greeted General Ross, saying they had not met in a long time.

He-El met with General Ross and presented him with the completed Red Hulk Gene Serum, which promised Hulk-like strength and at least three hundred years of life. As He-El began to tell Ross to use it to defend something, dense black mist appeared around them.

• General Ross met He-El in the Oval Office, anxious that He-El might bring up his past demands for the Gene Serum.
• He-El teased Ross about their earlier meeting, and Ross carefully flattered him and acknowledged his authority.
• He-El asked Ross whether he remembered the Gene Serum, and Ross credited his past actions to Loki while offering to serve the president.
• He-El handed Ross the completed Red Hulk Gene Serum and explained its strength and longevity.
• Black mist suddenly rose around He-El and Ross as He-El began to tell Ross to use the serum to defend.