Recaps

Hela offered Asgard as a dowry and proposed marrying He-El so they could rule the Nine Realms together, but He-El said he did not need her help. He-El offered her another opportunity, then showed her a projection of Tony Stark and the others discussing how to deal with her.

• Hela proposed marrying He-El and joining forces to conquer the Nine Realms and worlds beyond them.
• He-El told Hela he could rule the Nine Realms without her and that he had no intention of spending centuries building an empire there.
• Hela refused to become He-El's subordinate and insisted that sharing his throne was her bottom line.
• He-El told Hela she could earn an opportunity to stand beside him, then projected an image of Tony Stark and others discussing how to deal with her.

At the Guardians of the Galaxy’s base on Knowhere, the team argued after Gamora boarded Thanos’s warship to save the station. Star-Lord, Drax, and Rocket blamed themselves and each other, while Mantis urged them to work together to bring Gamora back.

• Star-Lord angrily confronted his teammates for letting Thanos take Gamora.
• Drax slammed the table and blamed himself for being away when Thanos arrived.
• Rocket snapped back that Drax’s damage to the ship had left him trapped in its thruster.
• Groot voiced his worry about Gamora.
• Mantis reminded the team that Gamora had boarded Thanos’s warship because she had no other choice and urged them to bring her back.

After Thanos took Gamora, the Guardians of the Galaxy learned she had left a farewell message and no trail to follow. They decided to answer a Nova Corps distress signal, hoping its technology could help them find her.

• Mantis told Star-Lord Peter Quill that Gamora had said goodbye and urged him to forget her, while Destroyer Drax mourned that she had not left him Thanos’s location.
• Rocket Raccoon revealed that Gamora had found and discarded the tracker he had planted on her, though he had trackers on all the Guardians.
• Rocket Raccoon received a large-scale distress signal from the Nova Corps and found that its coordinates had shifted by one hundred seventy thousand light-years.
• Star-Lord Peter Quill agreed to head for the Nova Corps after Rocket Raccoon suggested they might help locate Gamora and Thanos.

After Xandar’s sun was destroyed, Queen Adora and the Nova Corps tried to stabilize the planet with a magnetic field simulator called the New Sun. The New Sun exploded, devastating Xandar, and a gigantic starship appeared with its cannons aimed at the planet.

• The Nova Corps created the New Sun to restore Xandar’s magnetic balance after Odin moved the planet away from its original sun.
• The New Sun exploded during activation, sending a massive fireball and shockwave toward Xandar.
• A planetary defense commander activated Xandar’s defenses, but the system failed, so Nova Corps members linked their shields to protect key facilities.
• The blast crushed buildings, damaged underground bases, and caused many civilian deaths as Xandar dropped in space.
• Queen Adora and the Nova Corps suspected sabotage or an internal traitor, but could not find the cause of the explosion or the defense failure.
• A gigantic starship appeared after the fireball faded and aimed its cannons at Xandar.

Thanos began his assault on Xandar to seize the Power Stone, having obtained the Soul Stone by sacrificing Gamora. With Xandar’s defenses disabled, he ordered Ebony Maw to attack.

• Thanos reviewed his plans for collecting the Infinity Stones and judged that Odin’s apparent absence made Asgard vulnerable.
• Thanos recalled how he sacrificed Gamora on Vormir to obtain the Soul Stone.
• Thanos ordered Ebony Maw to activate Nova Corps informants, destroy the New Sun, and disable Xandar’s defenses.
• Ebony Maw reported that Xandar’s defenses were down and the Nova Corps had contained the explosion.
• Thanos ordered his forces to attack Xandar and seize the Power Stone.

Thanos’s forces launched a planned assault that devastated Xandar, killing civilians and overwhelming the Nova Corps. Thanos watched from his floating throne as Xandar’s people died and their souls appeared to enter the Soul Stone.

• A warship fired a Star Annihilator Cannon shell at Xandar, and Nova Corps warriors shielded the planet’s core as the blast shattered their defenses and devastated the surrounding land.
• The explosion destroyed Xandar’s atmospheric circulation, triggered massive fires and tsunamis, and killed civilians across the planet.
• Thanos’s fleets descended on Xandar and fired on civilians while Nova Corps warriors fought back, but the exhausted defenders were killed in large numbers.
• Thanos’s cruisers sealed off Xandar’s skies and shot down escaping spacecraft, trapping everyone on the planet.
• Thanos watched from his floating throne as Xandar’s dying people’s souls seemed to be absorbed into the Soul Stone.

Thanos led the Black Order in destroying Xandar and used the Soul Stone to absorb the planet’s dead. The Guardians of the Galaxy arrived to find the planet devastated and Thanos’s mothership in orbit, while a rainbow streak raced toward Xandar from Asgard.

• Thanos and the Black Order massacred Xandar’s defenders and destroyed the planet’s central defenses.
• Thanos used the Soul Stone to gather the souls of Xandar’s dead, then entered the central building.
• A dying Xandarian commander confronted Thanos before his soul was absorbed by the Soul Stone.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy arrived near Xandar and saw its destruction and Thanos’s mothership.
• Mantis identified the ship as the one that had taken Gamora, and Star-Lord Peter Quill led the Guardians toward Xandar as a rainbow streak approached from Asgard.

Thor, the Avengers, and their allies arrived on devastated Xandar as Thanos's forces attacked and used Stephen Strange's portal to reach the planet's central building. They confronted the Black Order and Thanos's army, while Drax joined the battle demanding that Thanos come out.

• The group arrived on Xandar and found its surface devastated by lava, radiation, and corpses.
• Tony Stark detected Thanos's fleet and army, and Thor and the Hulk charged toward the approaching spacecraft.
• The others chose to bypass the scout fleet and used Stephen Strange's portal to reach Xandar's central building.
• Ebony Maw recognized the Avengers, ordered the army to attack, and hurried inside to find Thanos.
• Wanda Maximoff struck the spacecraft crews with Chaos Magic, Tony Stark disabled unmanned ships, and the army fired on the group as Loki turned invisible and left.
• Drax the Destroyer leaped from a Guardians of the Galaxy spacecraft and roared for Thanos to come out.

The Guardians of the Galaxy joined the Avengers’ battle against Thanos’s army on Xandar, and the two teams coordinated an attack on the building where Thanos was believed to be. The Guardians’ ship cannon destroyed the building, revealing a burly figure with purple light flashing from his right hand.

• The Guardians crashed their ship into Thanos’s forces, and Drax charged into battle while the others attacked from the wreckage.
• The Avengers fought through the army as Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff engaged the Black Order, while Drax battled Black Dwarf.
• Stephen Strange suspected Thanos was inside Xandar’s main building, and Tony Stark asked Star-Lord Peter Quill to fire the Guardians’ main cannon at it.
• Peter agreed, and Rocket Raccoon aimed the ship’s cannon at the building.
• The cannon blast scattered the Black Order and destroyed the building, revealing a tall figure amid the flames with purple light shining from his right hand.

Thanos obtained the Power Stone on Xandar, and Stephen Strange and the Avengers arrived too late to stop him. As the Guardians of the Galaxy attacked, Thanos demonstrated his newfound strength and told Peter Quill that Gamora had completed her mission.

• Thanos absorbed the Power Stone into his Infinity Gauntlet, and Stephen Strange saw that he also possessed the Soul Stone.
• Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff prepared to fight Thanos, believing this was their best chance to defeat him.
• Drax the Destroyer charged Thanos, but Thanos pulled him in with the Power Stone and punched him high into the sky.
• Ebony Maw stopped the Black Order from intervening while Thanos tested the Power Stone against the Guardians.
• Peter Quill fired his blasters at Thanos and demanded to know where Gamora was, and Thanos said she had completed her mission.

Star-Lord Peter Quill attacked Thanos in rage after believing Gamora was dead, but Thanos broke free and knocked him away. The Avengers then coordinated an assault on Thanos, ending with Tony Stark firing a powerful energy blast at him.

• Star-Lord Peter Quill demanded to know where Gamora was and wounded Thanos's cheek with a blaster beam.
• Stephen Strange trapped Thanos with magic while the Avengers moved in to remove the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Star-Lord Peter Quill ignored Tony Stark's order and fired both blasters at Thanos, who broke his restraints and blasted Quill away.
• Mantis ran to help Quill while Rocket Raccoon sent Groot to get a medkit.
• Thanos tore up a massive section of ground and struck it toward the Avengers; Pietro Maximoff rescued Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, and Wanda Maximoff lifted the falling rubble.
• Clint Barton shattered the airborne earth with explosive arrows, and Tony Stark fired an azure particle-flow blast at Thanos.

He-El watched the battle against Thanos through Tony Stark's vision and considered seizing the Infinity Stones gathered on Xandar. Wary of Odin and Ancient One's unknown preparations, he chose to remain on Earth, where Vivian then detected a photon energy mass arriving in Earth's outer space.

• He-El saw that five Infinity Stones were gathered on Xandar and was tempted to go there and take them.
• He-El recalled that Odin had sworn upon Gungnir and suspected that Odin and Ancient One were preparing a trap for him.
• He-El decided to stay on Earth, trusting that the Avengers or Thanos would eventually come to him.
• Vivian reported that a photon energy mass had passed through a Solar System node and appeared in Earth's outer space.

He-El detected Captain Marvel Carol Danvers approaching Earth and secretly ordered Vivian to analyze her photon energy. Carol followed Nick Fury’s pager signal to a damaged safe house in the Himalayas, where finding the pager made her fear something had happened to him.

• He-El asked Vivian to locate Captain Marvel Carol Danvers and analyze her photon energy without being noticed.
• Carol flew to the Himalayas and followed the pager signal into a snow-covered canyon.
• Carol melted the snow covering a Vibranium safe house and noticed a powerful strike mark outside its door.
• Carol entered the unlocked, ransacked safe house and found the pager she had given Nick Fury.
• Carol picked up the pager, saw her emblem on its screen, and suddenly changed expression.

The Avengers fought Thanos on Xandar, but the Power Stone and his immense durability blunted their attacks. As the battle continued, Tony Stark turned to Mantis after recalling the future he had seen.

• Thanos overpowered Tony Stark’s cannon beam, but Stephen Strange redirected the blast through a portal and struck Thanos with it.
• Stephen Strange revealed his many manifestations and led a magical assault, while Tony Stark and the other Avengers charged Thanos.
• Stephen Strange broke Thanos’s miniature black hole into cherry blossom petals, and Wanda Maximoff used Chaos Magic to pin Thanos down with gravity before he dispelled it.
• Thanos threw Tony Stark and Rocket Raccoon aside, knocked Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers away, and blasted Pietro Maximoff back with the Power Stone.
• After the Avengers’ attacks failed, Tony Stark remembered the future he had seen and looked toward Mantis.

Tony Stark asked Mantis to control Thanos so the Avengers could remove his Infinity Gauntlet. Star-Lord, Peter Quill agreed to join the fight, and Stephen Strange began binding Thanos with golden whips.

• Tony Stark hurried to Mantis and asked her to mind-control Thanos while the team removed his Infinity Gauntlet.
• Star-Lord, Peter Quill recovered from his grief over Gamora, rejected Mantis’s first-aid kit, and agreed to fight alongside Tony Stark.
• Tony Stark warned Star-Lord, Peter Quill not to attack Thanos while Mantis controlled him, but Star-Lord, Peter Quill insisted he would keep his composure.
• Tony Stark contacted Stephen Strange, who coordinated with the other Stephen Stranges and sent golden whips to bind Thanos.

The Avengers coordinated an assault to restrain Thanos and remove his Infinity Gauntlet, exploiting openings to wound his knee. Thanos repelled Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, and Star-Lord Peter Quill drew his attention as the attack continued.

• Tony Stark ordered the team to help Mantis control Thanos and take the Infinity Gauntlet, while Clint Barton prepared to cover Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff.
• Wanda Maximoff charged Pietro Maximoff with Chaos Magic, and Pietro raced toward Thanos as Star-Lord Peter Quill followed Rocket Raccoon's plan to distract him.
• Clint Barton blinded Thanos with an adhesive arrow and struck his knee with a Vibranium arrow, which Natasha Romanoff caught and drove into the wound.
• Thanos tore away the adhesive, punched at Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers blocked the blow with his shield before Thanos knocked both of them back.
• Thanos pulled the arrow from his knee and tossed it aside, while Star-Lord Peter Quill flew in and fired his blaster at him.

The Avengers coordinated their attacks to restrain Thanos and pull off the Infinity Gauntlet. As Mantis hypnotized Thanos and the team struggled with the gauntlet, Ebony Maw sensed the danger and sent a psychic shock toward them.

• Star-Lord Peter Quill distracted Thanos, then Rocket Raccoon shot him while Pietro Maximoff injected Chaos Magic into his body.
• Wanda Maximoff amplified Pietro's Chaos Magic and restrained Thanos as Stephen Strange bound his limbs with golden whips.
• Tony Stark locked Thanos's joints with nanomachine restraints, and Mantis climbed onto him and used hypnosis to make him stand still.
• Pietro Maximoff, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Stephen Strange, Tony Stark, Star-Lord Peter Quill, and Rocket Raccoon tried to pull off the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Ebony Maw sensed the struggle and unleashed a psychic shock wave toward Thanos.

Ebony Maw disrupted Mantis and the others with a mental attack, allowing Thanos to break free and reclaim control of the Infinity Gauntlet. As Thanos prepared to kill Tony Stark, a voice from the storm demanded that he let him go.

• Ebony Maw unleashed a mental shock that knocked Mantis, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Stephen Strange’s illusions, and several others out of the fight.
• Tony Stark and the Avengers tried to remove the Infinity Gauntlet, but Thanos awakened and used the Power Stone to break free and throw them aside.
• Thanos seized Tony Stark by the throat and told the fallen Avengers and Guardians that their chance to defeat him was over.
• Ebony Maw and the other members of the Black Order arrived with their fleet, and Thanos praised Maw for interrupting the attack.
• Thunder and lightning gathered overhead as an unseen speaker ordered Thanos to let Tony Stark go.

Thanos ended the battle on Xandar by attacking its planetary core and escaping with the Black Order. As the planet began to collapse, Thor opened a Rainbow Bridge to evacuate everyone.

• Thor struck Thanos with Mjolnir, but Thanos countered with the Power Stone and sent him flying.
• The Hulk and Destroyer Drax attacked Thanos, while Thor and the regrouped Avengers and Guardians prepared a combined assault.
• Thanos decided to retreat rather than risk injury before seeking He-El’s Reality Stone, and he smashed the ground with the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Thanos and the Black Order boarded a ship and escaped through fire from their fleet, while his Gravitational Wave attack destabilized Xandar.
• Tony Stark realized Xandar’s core had been destroyed, and Thor called everyone together as a Rainbow Bridge appeared.

Thanos chose Asgard as his next target, believing Odin was weakened and vulnerable enough for him to seize the Space Stone. As Thanos returned to his mothership, he found Loki waiting on the floating throne.

• Thanos watched the Rainbow Bridge carry the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy away from Xandar and decided not to pursue them because their commander was the real obstacle.
• Thanos chose Asgard as his next target, planning to use the Power Stone to take the Space Stone from the weakened Odin.
• Thanos sent Ebony Maw to prepare for the attack and returned to the mothership as Xandar continued to collapse.
• Thanos entered the command room and saw Loki on the floating throne, where Loki greeted him.

Loki gave the Space Stone to Thanos to keep Asgard out of his search for the Infinity Stones and asked him to kill He-El. Thanos accepted, leaving Loki to handle Hela on Asgard.

• Loki sat on Thanos's throne aboard the mothership and faced Thanos after his guards left.
• Thanos confronted Loki over their failed agreement and demanded that he bring the Space Stone.
• Loki revealed the Space Stone and offered it to Thanos in exchange for a favor.
• Thanos placed the Space Stone into the Infinity Gauntlet and realized Loki wanted He-El dead.
• Loki explained that he wanted to save Asgard and that he would deal with Hela himself.
• Thanos accepted Loki's offer and agreed to target He-El.

After escaping Xandar, the Avengers and their allies returned to Asgard with no clear answer to the threats facing Earth and Asgard. Stephen Strange showed the Guardians of the Galaxy the future to gain their help, and Star-Lord Peter Quill reacted furiously when he learned what had happened to Gamora.

• Loki reflected on his plan to keep Thanos away from Asgard and his unresolved problem with Hela.
• Bruce Banner asked what they would do after their failure to save Xandar, and Tony Stark urged everyone to rest before discussing plans.
• Star-Lord Peter Quill demanded to know why the Avengers had been fighting Thanos and what they knew.
• Tony Stark asked Stephen Strange to show the Guardians of the Galaxy the future so they could understand the conflict and become allies.
• Stephen Strange shared the future with Star-Lord Peter Quill, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Mantis.
• Star-Lord Peter Quill recovered first, shouted Gamora's name, and punched Himinbjorg's wall in anger and pain.

The Avengers ended their diplomatic visit to Asgard and prepared to return to Earth while Loki and Thor worried about Hela’s escape. As the Rainbow Bridge brought the Avengers to S.H.I.E.L.D., Hela approached the palace and Captain Marvel Carol Danvers noticed the arrival.

• T'Challa pursued He-El’s plan by negotiating with Loki to establish a trade hub and open the Rainbow Bridge for regular travel.
• Loki searched for Hela, Thor trained to face her, the Guardians of the Galaxy went to Knowhere to gather allies, and Stephen Strange helped Wanda Maximoff and Pietro Maximoff awaken their powers.
• The Avengers and Asgard’s leaders expected Thanos to seek the Infinity Stones, while Loki secretly gave Thanos the Space Stone to keep him away from Asgard.
• Tony Stark and the Avengers said farewell to Thor at Himinbjorg, and Thor gave Tony a magical wooden sword as a gift for his future child.
• Hela walked toward the Asgardian palace as the Rainbow Bridge carried the Avengers to S.H.I.E.L.D., where Captain Marvel Carol Danvers watched its light descend.

The Avengers returned from Asgard to a jubilant welcome, but they remained troubled by Nick Fury’s final letter and their doubts about He-El. As S.H.I.E.L.D. celebrated their diplomatic success, a glowing figure attacked the plaza and crashed down among them.

• The Avengers arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Washington base via the Rainbow Bridge, feeling burdened by their unresolved problems in Asgard and on Earth.
• T’Challa celebrated Earth’s new peaceful relations with Asgard, while the others wondered whether He-El could be trusted.
• Deputy Director Hill congratulated the Avengers as S.H.I.E.L.D. staff applauded their historic diplomatic mission.
• JARVIS warned Tony Stark that a powerful energy reaction was attacking nearby, and Tony activated an emergency defense shield.
• Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff tried to evade the incoming figure as T’Challa prepared his mask, Bruce Banner began to transform, and Steve Rogers reached for his shield.
• The glowing figure crashed into the plaza before the Avengers could react.

Hela emerged from her seal and advanced on Asgard Palace, defeating the Warriors Three and the soldiers sent to stop her. Thor arrived and led his sister toward the palace hall, while worrying about Loki’s plan to prevent Asgard’s destruction.

• Hela defeated the Warriors Three and the Asgardian soldiers guarding the palace steps.
• Hela pressed toward the palace hall, and a guard captain who remembered serving under her recognized her and stood in her way.
• Hela praised the captain’s courage but prepared to kill him and turn him into one of her Spectre soldiers.
• Thor arrived with Mjolnir, ordered the wounded soldiers and Warriors Three treated, and faced Hela.
• Thor led Hela toward the palace hall as he wondered what method Loki had to prevent Asgard from being destroyed.