Chapter Summaries

Stephen Strange asked the Ancient One whether his vivid dream came from another universe, and she confirmed that countless universes existed. When he asked whether they had an enemy named Thanos, the Ancient One recognized the name as someone who had attacked Asgard, leaving Stephen alarmed.

• Stephen Strange found the Ancient One atop a freezing Himalayan summit and urged her to return to Kamar-Taj.
• The Ancient One walked down the mountain with Stephen Strange, who explained that he had come to ask about his vivid dream.
• Stephen Strange asked whether someone could see the life of another version of themselves from a Parallel Universe.
• The Ancient One affirmed that countless universes existed, and Stephen Strange concluded that the dream held another version of his memories.
• Stephen Strange asked whether they had an enemy named Thanos, and the Ancient One identified him as the Thanos who had attacked Asgard.

Stephen Strange told the Ancient One that he believed his dream of a future where Thanos destroyed half the universe and vowed to prevent it. The Ancient One gave him the Eye of Agamotto, trusting him to change the future, while refusing to hear what it held for her own fate.

• Stephen Strange asked the Ancient One what kind of Thanos existed in their universe, and she said he was a bandit who attacked Asgard and sought the Infinity Stones.
• Stephen Strange apologized for concealing his dream and said he believed it foretold the destruction of half the universe’s life.
• The Ancient One stopped Stephen Strange from revealing her future and told him she did not want to know her fate.
• Stephen Strange declared that he would save half the universe, and the Ancient One took this as proof that he was ready for the Eye of Agamotto.
• The Ancient One placed the Eye of Agamotto around Stephen Strange’s neck and encouraged him to change the future without worrying about whether she lived or died.

He-El reviewed the completed Quark Armor, designed to protect him in cosmic warfare, and confirmed that its tests had succeeded. He-El left the armor on standby inside the Manta Ray Mothership as Vivian questioned why Jane Foster seemed special.

• He-El used the palm-sized Manta Ray Mothership to carry his weapons and provide him with surveillance and protection.
• Vivian reported that the Quark Armor's testing was complete, while helping Jane Foster prepare for astronomical observation.
• He-El reviewed the armor's test data and confirmed its radiation resistance and performance exceeded expectations.
• He-El designated the Quark Armor as his primary combat armor and sent it into the Manta Ray Mothership.
• Vivian asked He-El why Jane Foster seemed special.

He-El assigned Vivian to protect Jane Foster and search for spacetime gravity anomalies while he oversaw plans for Supertowns. After the cabinet meeting, Nick Fury contacted He-El about two sorcerers who wanted to meet him.

• Vivian questioned why He-El had placed her beside Jane Foster instead of aboard the Manta Ray Mothership, and He-El explained that Jane would lead them to the object he wanted to contain.
• He-El ordered Vivian to defend an area within one thousand kilometers of Jane and detect abnormal spacetime gravity, assuring her the completed Quark Armor could protect him.
• Vivian accepted the assignment reluctantly and began establishing defenses around Jane Foster.
• He-El reviewed cabinet proposals for Supertowns centered on energy reactors across the states and postponed the unfinished discussion until the next day.
• Nick Fury contacted He-El and said two sorcerers had come to see him.

He-El learned that Ancient One and two masters had come to S.H.I.E.L.D. seeking a meeting with the Avengers. After Nick Fury warned that the matter might require the Avengers’ involvement, He-El agreed to meet them at once.

• He-El wondered why Ancient One had appeared at S.H.I.E.L.D. and what problem had brought her there.
• Nick Fury explained that Ancient One had asked to speak with the Avengers and wanted him to seek He-El’s opinion.
• Nick Fury warned He-El that the situation might require the Avengers to act.
• He-El agreed to meet Ancient One and the masters, and Nick Fury revealed their ship had already arrived at the White House garden.

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.