Chapter Summaries

Tony Stark returned home after the attack on the Triskelion and worried that Loki would target Stark Industries' reactors. After hearing Peter Parker's message and warning him to wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders, Tony again asked whether Peter was the only one who had contacted him.

• Tony Stark considered the reactors Loki might target and concluded that Stark Industries' reactors were the only remaining option.
• Tony returned to his Malibu home and asked JARVIS whether he had any messages.
• JARVIS played Peter Parker's voicemail, in which Peter asked about the destroyed Triskelion and offered to help.
• Tony realized Peter had been spared Mind Suggestion because he had not been at the Triskelion, and he left Peter a message telling him to act freely for now.
• Peter called back while heading toward Washington, and Tony told him to wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders and avoid acting on his own.
• After ending the call, Tony again asked JARVIS whether Peter had really been the only one to leave a message.

Tony Stark worried that Loki might target Pepper Potts to use Stark Industries’ reactors, so he went to Stark Tower to check on her. After confirming Pepper was at work and appearing safe, he left with a Mind Disruptor and suddenly grew alarmed by a realization.

• Tony Stark asked JARVIS about Pepper Potts and reviewed Stark Industries’ plans, finding nothing unusual.
• Tony Stark ordered drones to stand by and flew to Stark Tower in Zero Gravity II Armor.
• Tony Stark found Pepper Potts working in her office and tried to invite her to dinner, but she declined because of her workload.
• Tony Stark hugged Pepper Potts and secretly pressed a small New York trinket against her neck before leaving.
• Tony Stark walked back toward the landing pad with the Mind Disruptor button, then grew tense as a sudden realization darkened his mood.

On the Helicarrier, He-El and Nick Fury prepared to confront Loki’s Mind Suggestion as He-El’s mercenaries gathered to join them. Tony Stark brought James Rhodes up to speed, and the two flew to the Helicarrier, while a helicopter arrived in Manhattan.

• He-El told Nick Fury that his mercenaries had neutralized the Mind Suggestion among their soldiers and were heading to the Helicarrier.
• He-El reassured Nick Fury that Loki’s psychic ability was no match for him, and Nick ordered preparations to receive twenty thousand mercenaries.
• Tony Stark summoned James Rhodes to Malibu and showed him footage that awakened him from Loki’s Mind Suggestion.
• Tony Stark and James Rhodes set off for the Helicarrier to gather people and help solve the crisis.
• A helicopter arrived in Manhattan.

Hawkeye recruited Spider-Man after using a Mind Disruptor to free him from the mental suggestion that had turned people against He-El. They went to a Manhattan hotel to find Frank Castle, where armed men surrounded them, and Hawkeye asked them to let him meet their leader in He-El’s name.

• Hawkeye shot three gangsters with arrows as they aimed RPG launchers at his helicopter, then called Spider-Man aboard.
• Hawkeye pressed a Mind Disruptor to Peter Parker’s forehead, and Peter quickly recovered his memories of the mental suggestion against He-El.
• Peter learned that 1,300 people had died in the disaster at the Triskelion Building and asked Hawkeye about his losses.
• Hawkeye told Peter about Frank Castle and flew them to a Manhattan hotel to find him.
• Armed men in black suits surrounded Hawkeye and Spider-Man on the hotel rooftop, and Hawkeye asked them to let him meet their leader for He-El’s sake.

Hawkeye and Spider-Man used an infrasonic device to free Kingpin’s men from Loki’s Mind Suggestion, which had turned their thoughts against He-El. They entered Kingpin’s room to recruit Bullseye for He-El’s operation, leaving Kingpin surprised that only Bullseye was needed.

• Loki’s Mind Suggestion made Kingpin’s men resent He-El, and their leader threatened to shoot him.
• Hawkeye activated an infrasonic device, making the men dizzy until the Mind Suggestion lifted and they regretted insulting He-El.
• After receiving an order over the walkie-talkie, the leader escorted Hawkeye and Spider-Man downstairs to Kingpin.
• Hawkeye recruited Bullseye for He-El’s operation, and Bullseye agreed to go with them.
• Kingpin asked whether He-El needed more help after realizing Hawkeye only wanted Bullseye.

Hawkeye assembled Spider-Man, Bullseye, Kingpin, and Frank Castle to help He-El, who was in trouble amid a worldwide Mind Suggestion. The group flew toward the Helicarrier, with He-El’s reputation persuading even Frank to join.

• Hawkeye explained to Kingpin that humanity had been affected by Mind Suggestion and that its effects could return, so Kingpin volunteered to help He-El.
• Kingpin joined Hawkeye, Spider-Man, and Bullseye, and Frank Castle emerged from a ventilation duct to join them as well.
• Frank threatened Kingpin with explosives beneath the hotel, but deactivated them after Hawkeye demanded they stop arguing.
• Frank said he was willing to help He-El because the Medical Rebirth Project had restored his comrades, and Hawkeye led the group to a helicopter.
• Hawkeye, Spider-Man Peter Parker, Bullseye, Kingpin, and Frank flew toward the Helicarrier in Washington.

Natasha recruited Steve Rogers to help fight Loki and explained that He-El would command the operation. After meeting Steve’s friend Sam Wilson, she accepted him into the team as Falcon, and they prepared to head out to sea.

• Natasha met Steve at the Veterans Affairs Office and told him they were picking up his comrade to assist in battle.
• Steve asked whether Nick Fury would command the operation, and Natasha said He-El would lead because he was Loki’s nemesis.
• Sam Wilson stopped Steve and Natasha, offered to help, and showed them records of his work in the classified EXO-7 Falcon program.
• Natasha welcomed Sam aboard as Falcon and said they needed to head out to sea at once.

Natasha took Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson to an offshore prison aboard the invisible Sky Manta Ray and used her agent skills to reach Bucky's cell. Steve reunited with Bucky and called out to him, surprised that he had gotten fat.

• Natasha explained that Peter would not be sent to the front lines unless everyone else was dead, and Sam Wilson decided he wanted to learn more before joining the war.
• Natasha led Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson aboard the invisible Sky Manta Ray, which He-El had built with a Gravitational Magnetic Levitation System.
• Natasha obtained the underwater prison's layout from He-El, cut off the warden's communications, and diverted the guards by imitating the warden's orders.
• Natasha knocked out the warden, used an Electrostatic Disguise Veil to disguise Steve Rogers as him, and led the group to Bucky's cell.
• Steve Rogers called out to Bucky and exclaimed that his old comrade had gotten fat.

He-El transferred twenty thousand mercenaries from his Helicarrier to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier to support the fight against Loki. The gathered heroes and criminals argued over whether they could work together, and He-El began calling people to join him.

• Nick Fury raised S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier and ordered it to dock with He-El's arriving carrier.
• Twenty thousand mercenaries crossed into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, and He-El's ship departed into the clouds.
• Nick Fury sent He-El and the assembled forces to defeat Loki, while He-El insisted Loki was no match for him.
• Tony Stark questioned whether the group was large enough, and Peter Parker accidentally revealed his identity by removing his mask.
• James Rhodes challenged Bucky's presence because of his criminal past, but Steve Rogers said Bucky would return to The Jail after the crisis.
• After the mercenaries and their equipment reached the hangar, He-El called for the people whose names he would announce to come with him.

He-El recruited twenty-one people to kidnap and protect the nation’s top military leaders, who were under complete Mind Control and could launch a nuclear war. He set the operation for 02:00, leaving the teams to prepare for a mission He-El said would save the world.

• He-El summoned twenty-one named recruits and divided more than ten thousand mercenaries into coordinated teams.
• He-El told the recruits that a crisis threatened humanity, then had Arno distribute watches and earpieces with each person’s target and movements.
• Peter Parker and the others discovered that their targets included powerful generals, while He-El explained that the nation’s leaders were under complete Mind Control.
• He-El ordered the teams to begin their missions at 02:00 and promised Mind Disruptors, aircraft, logistics teams, and emergency support.
• Bucky accepted the mission, Sam Wilson went to get equipment, James Rhodes struggled to believe the nation had fallen, and Peter Parker excitedly urged everyone to save the world.

He-El coordinated the operation to capture twenty-one generals while secretly waiting for Loki to open a wormhole, confident that his preparations would keep Loki trapped. Tony Stark arrived at the conference room and asked whether the Mind Disruptor worked on both Mind Suggestion and people under Mind Control.

• He-El ordered his team to monitor the generals and prepare to capture them simultaneously at 02:00.
• He-El reasoned that Loki would use his borrowed forces to attack Earth before leaving with the Cosmic Cube, and prepared instruments to hold the wormhole when it appeared.
• He-El watched live screens of the twenty-one generals while pretending to be gravely concerned about the operation.
• Tony Stark entered the conference room, saw the surveillance screens, and asked whether the Mind Disruptor affected people under Mind Control as well as Mind Suggestion.

He-El explained the Mind Disruptor’s limits to Tony Stark and realized Tony had tested Pepper Potts with it. He-El concluded that Pepper showed no reaction because Pepper was Loki in disguise, while Tony learned that the device would have no effect on Loki.

• Tony Stark asked He-El whether the Mind Disruptor countered both Mind Suggestion and Mind Control, and He-El confirmed that it did within Loki’s frequency range.
• He-El reviewed Vivian’s surveillance footage and saw Tony return home, move unmanned Iron Man suits, visit Pepper Potts, and leave the office visibly angry.
• Tony asked whether anyone could have avoided Mind Suggestion, and He-El explained that only people isolated from others for long periods might have escaped it.
• He-El inferred that Tony had tested Pepper with the Mind Disruptor and concluded that Pepper was Loki because the device had not affected her.
• Tony asked what it meant if the Mind Disruptor had no effect, and He-El told him that would identify the person as Loki.

He-El coordinated a worldwide operation to capture twenty-one generals whose minds had been controlled, giving the teams thirty minutes before they could launch nuclear missiles. Several teams captured their targets quickly, while He-El directed the struggling teams and ordered Spider-Man to seize Defense Minister Vyacheslav Marvin.

• He-El ordered the teams to begin their simultaneous operation after Nick Fury cut off the generals' networks and created distractions at military bases.
• Punisher Frank Castle used He-El's equipment to restore a general's clarity and lead him out of White Sands Missile Range.
• Natasha and Hawkeye captured their targets, and He-El redirected them to support Team Fourteen in Okhotsk.
• He-El coached several teams through setbacks, giving them directions to reach their targets and avoid unnecessary firefights.
• He-El discovered that Peter Parker had been waiting in an attic while Vyacheslav Marvin and a female officer were in bed, then ordered him to knock them both out and bring them back.

He-El coordinated teams capturing military generals across several bases, while Kingpin, Iron Man, and Falcon completed their missions. T'Challa captured Adolph Ramos after he launched eight nuclear missiles, and He-El told Nick Fury to intercept them.

• Spider-Man knocked out the secretary of defense and a female captain, then carried them aboard the cloaked ship.
• He-El ordered Team Sixteen and Black Panther to assault the Iowa base after Adolph Ramos sealed himself in an underground shelter.
• Kingpin used infrasonic audio and mind-controlled thugs to capture the Kentucky base's general with minimal damage.
• Iron Man captured the general at Twentynine Palms, and Falcon returned with Air Force General Odo Strauster.
• T'Challa captured Adolph Ramos, who had already launched eight nuclear missiles and could not stop them.
• He-El told T'Challa to return with Ramos and asked Nick Fury to intercept the missiles.

He-El and S.H.I.E.L.D. intercepted eight nuclear missiles launched from Iowa toward the world’s other nuclear powers. With the missiles destroyed, He-El thanked the team and said the battle was not over.

• Eight nuclear missiles launched from the Army Ballistics Experimental Military Base in Iowa toward the other nuclear powers.
• Tony Stark learned that the missiles were headed for major cities and flew to stop one while taking the captured general toward the Helicarrier.
• He-El told Tony that seven other missiles had launched and that S.H.I.E.L.D.’s upgraded interception system had locked onto them.
• Tony turned back after He-El assured him the interception system would handle the missile.
• At Nick Fury’s command, the Helicarriers launched interceptors and destroyed all eight nuclear missiles, causing huge explosions and panic in nearby cities.
• He-El thanked the team for completing their missions and invited them to relax while warning that the battle was not over.

He-El and S.H.I.E.L.D. brought the generals back after intercepting eight nuclear missiles launched by Adolph Ramos under Mind Control. The generals learned that Ramos alone had launched the missiles, and they began to grasp the potential catastrophe they had narrowly avoided.

• He-El joined Nick Fury and Hill to meet the generals and discuss stopping Loki’s influence over the world and Congress.
• Secretary of Defense Vyacheslav Marvin angrily confronted Nick Fury after waking up in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.
• Adolph Ramos feared that his eight nuclear missiles had destroyed major cities and asked how many missiles had been launched.
• Nick Fury told Ramos that eight missiles had been launched, and Ramos realized he had been the only general to fire them.
• The generals reacted with shock and dread as they realized the missiles had targeted major cities in nuclear powers.

Generals argued over whether to launch more nuclear missiles after the first eight had been fired, while Nick Fury and He-El dealt with the captured commanders. Nick revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had already intercepted all eight missiles, leaving the generals stunned.

• Radical and dove faction generals argued over whether to launch more missiles or seek allies before escalating the war.
• Nick Fury watched the twenty-one captured generals argue while He-El sat calmly nearby.
• General Ross left the argument to speak with He-El, who told him to wait for Nick Fury's explanation.
• Nick Fury announced that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s interception system had destroyed all eight nuclear missiles in the sky.

Nick Fury told the generals that S.H.I.E.L.D. had intercepted all the nuclear missiles and revealed that Loki had controlled the country’s leaders and influenced the entire world. He-El urged General Ross and the others to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. against the threat, while Tony Stark quietly slipped away from the celebration party.

• Nick Fury told the generals that S.H.I.E.L.D. had intercepted all eight nuclear missiles, and the generals feared its capabilities.
• Department of Defense Secretary Vyacheslav Marvin asked how many people had been controlled, and Nick Fury revealed that Congress, politicians, and the fake president Evans were under Mind Control.
• Nick Fury added that the entire world had been subjected to psychic suggestion, shocking the generals before they realized the crisis affected everyone.
• General Ross asked He-El how they could stop the person behind the control, and He-El told him S.H.I.E.L.D. needed the generals’ cooperation to stabilize the situation and face a possible alien invasion.
• Tony Stark quietly slipped away from the celebration party.

He-El learned that Tony Stark had left the Helicarrier and asked Vivian to find Pepper Potts and help him. Tony concluded that the Pepper he had encountered was Loki in disguise and prepared to attack Stark Industries, where Loki was posing as Pepper.

• Vivian alerted He-El that Tony Stark had left the Helicarrier's celebration party, and He-El asked her to monitor him and help if needed.
• He-El told Vivian to search for Pepper Potts and provide Tony with her location.
• Tony asked JARVIS where Pepper was and learned she was at Stark Industries.
• Tony reasoned that the woman he had embraced was Loki's true body, because the Mind Disruptor had produced no reaction.
• Tony ordered JARVIS to deploy the Iron Man drones in combat mode above Stark Tower, and the camouflaged armors flew toward Stark Industries.

Tony Stark entered Stark Tower in the Zero Gravity II Armor, prompting Happy to suspect something was wrong and warn Pepper Potts to flee. Pepper dismissed his concerns until Tony entered her office and aimed the armor’s weapons at her.

• Tony Stark returned to Stark Tower in Zero Gravity II and asked Happy to let him in so he could see Pepper Potts.
• Happy refused to open the door until Tony showed his face, so Tony ordered JARVIS to disable surveillance and prevent Happy from reaching Pepper’s office.
• JARVIS shut down the surveillance feeds and locked down elevators and stairwell doors, trapping Happy and other security guards.
• Happy called Pepper and urged her to escape, warning that Tony had arrived in armor and was acting strangely.
• Pepper told Happy that Tony was fine and expected him to show off his new armor, but Tony entered her office and aimed his weapons at her.