Chapter Summaries

He-El and the others reviewed how Loki’s controller had escaped and taken over the country’s political and military leadership. They suspected Loki was holding back from starting a nuclear war because he feared attracting Odin’s attention, while the threat remained unresolved.

• He-El assured the team that he had recovered from the Mind Blast and explained that Loki’s controller had escaped using physical duplicates.
• Nick Fury reviewed how Loki’s duplicates entered Washington, changed into hundreds of identities, and vanished from surveillance.
• Fury explained that Loki had impersonated vice president Evans and used the Mind Scepter to control politicians and generals, giving him influence over the country’s upper echelon.
• Steve Rogers warned that Loki’s control could lead to nuclear war, while Hawkeye questioned why Loki had not started one.
• Thor and He-El suspected Loki was avoiding Odin’s attention, and Nick Fury began to offer another possible explanation.

Nick Fury recounted S.H.I.E.L.D.’s failed attempts to trap Loki and explained how Loki had used a physical clone to impersonate Evans. The chapter ended with surveillance footage showing the clone dissolve into yellow Light Points, leaving the team to face the possibility that Loki had been manipulating them throughout.

• Nick Fury explained that the Cosmic Cube remained secure and that Loki had not yet obtained it.
• Nick Fury recalled S.H.I.E.L.D.’s May 11 trap, in which Thor mistook the real Evans for Loki and shattered his right leg.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. placed Evans in He-El’s Regeneration Cradle, and Thor thanked He-El for helping restore him.
• Nick Fury revealed that surveillance had uncovered a second opportunity to target Loki after S.H.I.E.L.D. failed to capture him.
• Nick Fury showed footage of Evans arriving home, smiling at a surveillance camera, and dissolving into mottled yellow Light Points.

S.H.I.E.L.D. failed to find Loki’s true body or carry out its second decapitation plan, so Nick Fury introduced a third strategy after Loki’s transformed identity, Evans, began preparing for the presidential election. The chapter left the team wondering whether Loki wanted to become president or use the office to dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Natasha and Steve explained that Loki’s ability to create physical duplicates had forced S.H.I.E.L.D. to suspend its second decapitation plan.
• Nick Fury said S.H.I.E.L.D. had triangulated more than thirty-four possible locations, but Hawkeye, Steve, Natasha, and Fury had found no trace of Loki at any of them.
• Nick Fury described S.H.I.E.L.D.’s surveillance of Evans and the people Loki controlled, then announced a third plan against Loki.
• Nick Fury revealed that Congress, politicians, and generals had begun preparing for the presidential election, and Tony Stark guessed Loki might run for president.
• Bruce Banner, Thor, and Nick Fury speculated that Loki might be seeking the office for amusement or planning to use it to dissolve S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury proposed an election plan to stop Loki from taking the formal presidency, arguing that Loki controlled only 230 of the 538 electors. As the team struggled to find a candidate Loki could not control, Tony Stark stood up and everyone looked to He-El.

• Nick Fury and He-El considered whether Loki's push for the presidency was a diversion from his pursuit of the Cosmic Cube, and Steve Rogers agreed that both goals could be pursued at once.
• Nick Fury revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was monitoring electors in all fifty states and had confirmed that Loki controlled 230 votes, fewer than the 270 needed to win.
• Bruce Banner and the others doubted they could secure enough votes for a candidate Loki could not control, but Nick Fury insisted they had to oppose Loki.
• Natasha proposed disguising someone as an elector to meet Evans and capture him if he tried to use the Mind Scepter.
• Bruce Banner asked who could serve as a candidate with broad support and immunity to Loki's control; Tony Stark stood up as everyone looked toward He-El.

Nick Fury discussed the presidential race with Tony Stark and He-El, but He-El rejected the idea of running despite overwhelming support. He then learned that Vivian had already made him the Civilization Party’s presidential candidate to protect him from political interference.

• Tony Stark volunteered to run for president, and He-El supported his bid rather than take on the office himself.
• Nick Fury explained that state legislatures and electors mattered more than public approval, then revealed Tony had 28% support and Steve Rogers had 8%.
• Nick Fury told He-El that his approval rating was 95% across every state, but He-El said he did not want to run.
• Nick Fury revealed that He-El’s name was already among the presidential candidates and that party conventions would choose candidates in five days.
• He-El contacted Vivian, who explained that she had formed the Civilization Party in Congress and was backing his presidential campaign to stop politicians from disturbing him.

He-El learned that the Civilization Party had nominated him for president, and Vivian’s calculations showed that taking office would reduce the trouble he faced. Nick Fury persuaded him to help stop Loki, and He-El agreed, claiming he could win every vote as the meeting turned to a box T'Challa was about to open.

• Vivian told He-El that her policies would reduce his trouble by at least 1,760% over the next four years if he became president.
• He-El explained that the Civilization Party he had established in Congress had put him forward as a candidate, shocking Tony Stark and the others.
• Nick Fury reminded the group that S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to prevent a third world war and said they needed He-El against Loki.
• He-El agreed to become president and told everyone to prepare to clean up the mess, saying he expected to win 100% of the vote.
• Nick Fury asked whether He-El had a way to counter Loki’s control of the Electoral College, and He-El told T'Challa to open the box.

He-El revealed Mind Disruptors that could free people from Loki’s control, giving the group a way to stop him from using nuclear weapons and triggering the Third World War. Steve called for the devices to be used first on the officials controlling the military, and Nick Fury was asked whether his people were ready.

• T'Challa opened the briefcase and showed the group the metal devices inside.
• He-El explained that the Mind Disruptors could counter Loki’s mental-wave control when applied to the skin, though freed victims would suffer severe dizziness and nausea.
• Tony Stark and Thor tested the devices on each other, and the group confirmed that none of them were under Loki’s control.
• Steve Rogers urged the team to use the devices on generals, the defense secretary, and other officials controlling nuclear weapons and armed forces.
• Steve asked Nick Fury whether his people were ready.

S.H.I.E.L.D. realized Loki could use invisibility and duplicates to control far more people than they could protect, potentially reaching the military and nuclear launch systems. Tony Stark unveiled his Mind Detector, which revealed the Triskelion was nearly covered in signs of Loki’s control, with one red dot even inside the conference room.

• Hawkeye warned Nick Fury that Loki could control nuclear launch personnel and the Electoral College without being detected, making their precautions ineffective.
• Thor argued that Loki’s pride would keep him from personally controlling every military site, and He-El reasoned that Loki wanted to defeat them through schemes and gradual pressure.
• Nick Fury said their thousand Mind Disruptors were insufficient to identify and restore all the potentially controlled officials and military personnel.
• Tony Stark introduced his Mind Detector, built to detect Loki’s mindwave spectrum using data from He-El’s Mind Disruptor.
• Tony’s detector showed the Triskelion densely covered with red dots, and he noticed one red dot inside the otherwise green conference room.

Tony Stark’s Mind Detector revealed that nearly everyone in the Triskelion Building was a red dot, suggesting S.H.I.E.L.D. had been compromised and Hill was the lone infiltrator in the conference room. As S.H.I.E.L.D. launched its aircraft and Helicarriers to attack the building, Hill struck Tony, and the others moved to confront her.

• S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel launched aircraft and raised two Helicarriers, ordering them to target the Triskelion Building’s thirty-seventh-floor conference room.
• Tony Stark’s Mind Detector showed red dots throughout the Triskelion Building except for the conference room, where Hill was the sole red dot among nine green ones.
• Tony Stark realized Hill had not touched He-El’s Mind Disruptor and turned to look at her.
• Hill kicked Tony Stark into the waiting Zero Gravity Type II Armor, which closed around him.
• Steve Rogers charged at Hill with his shield while Hawkeye and Natasha moved in to attack her.

Loki had taken control of S.H.I.E.L.D., and He-El disrupted Hill’s mind control just long enough for her to warn the others. Natasha opened the blinds, revealing S.H.I.E.L.D.’s aircraft and enormous armed craft surrounding the conference room.

• Nick Fury realized Loki had seized control of S.H.I.E.L.D. and suspected Loki was waiting for He-El.
• Thor, T'Challa, and Tony Stark reacted to Hill’s attack while Bruce Banner retreated from the fight.
• He-El struck Hill with a Mind Disruptor, and Tony Stark deployed a magnetic barrier around the conference room.
• Hill broke through Loki’s control long enough to tell Nick Fury to run.
• Natasha opened the blinds and revealed fighter jets, armed helicopters, and two enormous gun-covered craft outside.

S.H.I.E.L.D. encircled the Triskelion Building with aircraft and Helicarrier cannons, forcing the Avengers to shelter behind Tony Stark’s defensive barrier as the building was torn apart. He-El directed Nick Fury and Tony to give him access to stop the automated firing, just as the Helicarrier began shooting.

• More than fifty aircraft cannons opened fire on the conference room, shattering the glass and tearing through the Triskelion Building around Tony Stark’s barrier.
• Natasha recoiled as the barrage began, while Tony’s repulsor field deflected the bullets and the conference room shook and tilted.
• Thor prepared to attack the aircraft, but Tony warned him not to break the defensive barrier; Steve Rogers and the others urged the group to strike back.
• Tony said the barrier had only forty-eight seconds of power left, and Nick Fury asked He-El for a way to stop S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fire without harming personnel.
• He-El ordered Nick to provide his director iris authorization so he could infiltrate the Helicarrier, and told Tony to let Vivian control his Zero Gravity II armor.
• Nick exposed his clouded eye for the scan, and Tony authorized Vivian’s connection as the Helicarrier’s cannons began firing.

Vivian strengthened Tony Stark’s barrier and infiltrated the Helicarriers, stopping their weapons as they destroyed the Triskelion Building. With Loki’s forces closing in and missiles approaching, Nick Fury and the others prepared to fight.

• Vivian connected to Tony Stark’s Zero Gravity II armor, increased the barrier’s strength by 746%, and began infiltrating the Helicarriers and aircraft.
• The Helicarriers and aircraft bombarded the protected conference room, driving it through the Triskelion Building as Tony Stark and the others were thrown around.
• Vivian disabled the aircraft’s intelligent weapon controls, halting their cannon fire and missile attacks.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. agents controlled by Loki switched to manual controls and launched missiles toward the Triskelion Building’s foundation.
• An electromagnetic-pulse bomb erupted from the ruins, and Captain America Steve Rogers, Hawkeye, Natasha, Thor, Iron Man Tony Stark, T'Challa, He-El, and Nick Fury prepared to fight.

Tony Stark and Thor destroyed the incoming missiles while He-El organized the team to rescue mind-controlled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with Mind Disruptors. The heroes began restoring the agents to their senses, and Nick Fury demanded to know how Loki had controlled them.

• Tony Stark and Thor destroyed the missiles with miniature tracking missiles and lightning after Vivian's pulse bombs disabled the aircraft electronics.
• He-El gave Tony Stark and Thor Mind Disruptors to rescue the pilots, while Steve Rogers, Natasha, and Hawkeye prepared to free agents on the ground.
• He-El stopped Bruce Banner from transforming and sent T'Challa with the black briefcase to restore the controlled agents.
• T'Challa raised the undamaged Wakandan spacecraft and reunited with the Wakandan Warriors, who emerged unharmed from beneath the ruins.
• T'Challa and the Wakandan Warriors distributed Mind Disruptors and pressed them onto attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, incapacitating them.
• Nick Fury asked He-El how Loki had controlled the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Loki used a virus-like form of Mind Suggestion to infect S.H.I.E.L.D. and potentially spread his influence across humanity. As the heroes fought back against the controlled agents, He-El remained confident that Loki would not get the upper hand against him.

• Nick Fury and Bruce Banner surveyed the devastation at the Triskelion as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents under Loki's control attacked their own people.
• Tony Stark, Thor, Steve Rogers, Natasha, Hawkeye, T'Challa, and the Wakandan warriors rescued pilots and fought the controlled agents, turning the battle in their favor.
• He-El explained that Loki had developed an infectious form of Mind Suggestion through the Mind Scepter and had avoided confronting them directly.
• Nick Fury realized Loki had used Evans to infect S.H.I.E.L.D., but He-El warned that every infected person could spread the suggestion and become a new source.
• Nick Fury and Bruce Banner feared Washington and possibly the world had fallen under Loki's influence, while He-El dismissed their despair and asserted Loki had never held the upper hand against him.

He-El explained that Loki’s Viral Mind Suggestion Contagion depended on triggers rather than fully controlling people, giving him a possible way to resolve the threat. As the battle around the ruined Triskelion wound down, Nick Fury accepted the danger and asked He-El to kill him if Loki ever controlled him.

• Nick Fury and Bruce Banner despaired over how to remove Loki’s contagion from everyone on Earth, since even one infected person could restart its spread.
• He-El sent Thor and Tony Stark to finish their contest at the two Helicarriers while Captain America Steve Rogers, Hawkeye, Natasha, and Wakanda Warriors subdued the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. forces.
• He-El explained that Loki’s Viral Mind Suggestion Contagion required a trigger to make people act, unlike complete mind control.
• Nick Fury told He-El the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had chosen to risk their lives for humanity and asked him to kill him if Loki ever controlled him.

After the battle at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, He-El explained how the Mind Disruptor freed people from Loki’s Mind Suggestions, leaving Maria Hill to face the deaths caused by her actions. Nick Fury comforted Hill and vowed that Loki would pay.

• Nick Fury said that sacrificing over a thousand S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had been necessary to prevent Loki from driving humanity into madness, and Bruce Banner understood his role as an Avenger.
• He-El explained that the Mind Disruptor destroyed Loki’s implanted suggestions and restored the controlled people without aftereffects.
• Maria Hill regained consciousness, remembered ordering the attack, and broke down over the deaths of the Triskelion’s staff.
• The Avengers, Thor, Tony Stark, and T’Challa’s warriors returned from the battlefield in grief as the fighting ended.
• Nick Fury embraced Hill, promised that Loki would pay, and rendered her unconscious.

He-El promised to create a worldwide countermeasure to Loki’s Viral Mind Suggestion Contagion, while Nick Fury focused on a more urgent concern beneath the Triskelion ruins. The chapter ended with Nick revealing he had made two fake Cosmic Cubes and jumping into a hidden chamber.

• He-El explained that he would create sounds and images to disrupt Loki’s Mind Suggestion, and Tony Stark proposed broadcasting the sound worldwide as infrasound.
• He-El said Vivian was collecting data and that the countermeasure would be ready in about half an hour, though the satellites needed modifications.
• Nick Fury assigned Barton and Natasha to help the lucid agents and injured, then led the others away from the ruins.
• Nick Fury asked Tony Stark to cut through the ground above a buried chamber, and Tony used the Zero Gravity II Armor to open a passage.
• Nick Fury said he had made two fake Cosmic Cubes and jumped into the hole.

Nick Fury led the group through the damaged Triskelion Building to the concealed sublevel ten, where they discovered the Cosmic Cube was only a projection. Loki had already taken the real Cube and mocked them as he revealed his escape.

• Tony Stark illuminated the warehouse while Nick Fury explained that both Cosmic Cubes on the upper levels were decoys.
• Steve Rogers cleared S.H.I.E.L.D. ambushes in the underground corridors, and Nick Fury admitted he was unsure whether Hill had discovered the location of the real Cube.
• Nick Fury led the group through a hidden entrance beneath sublevel nine to the concealed sublevel ten.
• Nick Fury unlocked the superconductor, but his hand passed through the Cube, revealing it was an illusion.
• Loki appeared in the projected fireworks, announced that he had the real Cosmic Cube, and laughed at the group.

After discovering Loki had stolen the Cosmic Cube, the team found a way to use He-El’s countermeasure against Mind Suggestion to narrow down where Loki was hiding. Nick Fury organized the response, while He-El was asked to prepare a powerful weapon against Loki.

• Bruce Banner urged the team to stop sitting silently, and Nick Fury said the Cosmic Cube’s energy could not be detected.
• He-El announced that Vivian had finished the audio and images that could counter Mind Suggestion, and told the team to restore people close to them first.
• He-El proposed using satellites to broadcast infrasonic waves that would make affected people dizzy and sick, while Tony Stark suggested identifying anyone unaffected as a likely Loki.
• Tony argued that Loki was probably in or near Washington and that restoring key officials would narrow the search to a few thousand people.
• Nick Fury assigned the team to restore and protect generals with nuclear launch authority, then asked He-El to prepare the most powerful weapon against Loki.

He-El and the Avengers planned to expose Loki’s Mind-Controlled followers and assigned mercenaries to help monitor politicians. He-El warned Tony that Loki might use a Stark Industries reactor to open a wormhole, and Tony agreed to watch the reactors and employees.

• The Avengers planned to use infrasound and Mind Disruptors to identify and free Mind-Controlled people, while He-El promised more devices and twenty thousand mercenaries.
• Nick Fury approved He-El’s personnel support despite the risks of sending mercenaries into the capital.
• He-El told Tony that Loki might use the Cosmic Cube to open a wormhole and bring aliens to Earth.
• Tony realized Loki could target Stark Industries’ reactors because they were powerful and ready to use.
• He-El gave Tony Mind Disruptor buttons, and Tony promised to keep a close watch on his reactors and employees.