Chapter Summaries

Alexander Pierce coordinated Hydra’s imminent uprising, dismissing UN scrutiny and ordering attacks against priority targets while preparing to confront Downton and the Avengers. As Wanda and her brother traveled to New York with the Mind Scepter, her brother vowed to avenge their parents by killing Tony Stark.

• Pierce told UN monitors that his operations were a purge of Hydra traitors, then ended their call and discussed the unknown origins of Downton and his companions with Sitwell.
• Pierce convened Hydra leaders, confirmed that Strucker’s two superhuman test subjects were headed to New York with the Mind Scepter, and directed Dr. Zola to target Project Insight’s priority list.
• Pierce rejected a proposal to use the Obelisk against Downton and ordered Hydra members to follow his plan, ending the meeting with the Hydra salute.
• On a plane bound for New York, Wanda’s white-haired brother asked whether they had to follow Hydra, and Wanda urged him to remember their hatred and their lack of alternatives.
• Wanda’s brother recalled how their parents died in Sokovia and how Hydra’s experiment gave him and Wanda superpowers, then vowed to avenge their parents and attack Stark Industries in New York.

After defeating the Hulk, Downton relaxed in a school gym, teased the students, and invited Jessica to dinner. The chapter ended when Wanda and her brother arrived at the school to confront Downton.

• Downton joked with Peter, Gwen, and the other students while handing out ice cream, and Jessica asked him what had happened in New York.
• Jessica recalled how she had tried to protect her classmates from the Hulk and felt humiliated after he knocked her down, but Downton teased her and invited her to dinner.
• Jessica accepted Downton’s invitation and asked why he was not helping with the crisis affecting New York and America.
• Downton explained that he had already dealt with the Hulk and refused to get involved further, then spent time playing with the students.
• Forty minutes later, Wanda and her white-haired brother arrived by aircraft, identified Downton as their target, and jumped into the gym.

Wanda and Pietro delivered the Mind Scepter to Downton, who removed the Mind Stone and casually mocked them. Thor arrived to join the fight in New York and questioned why the twins blamed Tony Stark for their parents’ deaths instead of the people who fired the missiles.

• On the plane, Wanda and Pietro worried that Hydra had sent them to deliver the Mind Scepter to the dangerously powerful Downton as expendable agents.
• Wanda and Pietro descended into the school gym, where Downton recognized them and mocked Pietro’s speed before taking their case.
• Downton pried the Mind Stone from the scepter, turned it into a brooch, and pocketed the alien-metal scepter.
• Wanda and Pietro tried to leave after delivering the scepter, but Downton teased them about their habits and corrected Pietro for mistaking Gwen and Peter for his children.
• Thor arrived through a shockwave, greeted Downton, and questioned Wanda about seeking revenge on Tony Stark rather than the people who fired the missiles that killed her parents.

Downton let Wanda and Quicksilver try to pursue revenge against Tony while arranging for Lex to keep Tony safe. He then accepted Odin’s invitation to Asgard, where he learned that the White Phoenix visiting the All-Father was Wu Fengji.

• Quicksilver insisted that he and Wanda needed to avenge their parents by killing Tony Stark, and Downton allowed them to try.
• Downton contacted Lex and asked him to help protect Tony from Wanda and Quicksilver, then gave Quicksilver a crude suggestion about targeting Pepper Potts.
• Thor told Downton that Odin had invited him to a meeting, and Downton agreed to go to Asgard for a drink.
• Downton arrived at Asgard without waiting for Heimdall’s transport and joined the welcoming party led by Sif, Fandral, and Hogun.
• Sif told Downton that the White Phoenix was waiting with Odin, and Downton realized she was Wu Fengji and hurried to meet her.

Downton met Wu Fengji and the Ancient One at Odin’s gathering, where Odin explained that he had invited them as members or successors of the prehistoric Avengers. He revealed that Downton’s presence had changed what he saw in the World Tree, and said the remaining guest—the first Ghost Rider of the current world—would soon arrive.

• Downton teased Sif about Odin’s private life, took her sword, and made her agree to train until she could keep him from disarming her.
• Downton reached Odin’s hall, flirted with Wu Fengji, and endured her Phoenix Force before the Ancient One arrived and moved him to a seat beside Wu Fengji.
• Downton took a jug of Asgardian mead and asked Odin why he had summoned the guests.
• Odin introduced the gathering as a meeting of the prehistoric Avengers and identified the Ancient One and Wu Fengji as descendants or disciples of his former teammates.
• Odin told Downton that changes he had caused appeared in the World Tree, which was why he had invited him to the gathering.

Odin recounted how he and Eitri forged Mjolnir, then described Earth’s ancient history and the first Avengers’ battles against infected Celestials. He revealed that Downton’s arrival changed their fated outcome, leaving them facing the imminent awakening of Tiamut directly.

• Odin explained that he had gone to Nidavellir after Tjolnir was destroyed, and he and Eitri forged Mjolnir, which rejected him and fled to Earth.
• Odin described how the Celestial Progenitor left genetic seeds on Earth that evolved into living vaccines against the Horde.
• Odin recalled reaching prehistoric Earth and meeting the first Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Phoenix host, Black Panther, Agamotto, and Starbrand.
• Frigga brought refreshments, and Downton joked with Wu Fengji before Odin resumed his story.
• Odin said he and his companions formed the earliest Avengers to fight Zgreb the Sorrower and the infected Celestials that followed.
• Odin told Downton that his arrival had disrupted the fate that would have kept Tiamut asleep, and that they now had to confront Tiamut as it neared awakening.

Downton learned that Odin and The Ancient One had planned to rely on Thanos’s snap and the Eternals to keep Tiamut asleep, but he promised to handle the threat himself. The final guest, Little Devil, arrived and confronted Downton over the immense number of lives he had killed.

• Wu Fengji and The Ancient One explained that Tiamut was Earth itself and that his birth would destroy the planet.
• Odin described the fate-based plan involving the deaths of the old guardians, Thanos’s snap, and the Eternals persuading Tiamut to sleep again.
• Downton promised to protect Earth, then taunted Wu Fengji until she challenged him to prove his strength against her and the Phoenix.
• Odin welcomed the last guest, Little Devil, who arrived on a giant mammoth and spoke about the mounting sins and wars he had been judging.
• Little Devil’s Spirit of Vengeance reacted to Downton’s crimes, engulfed his chair in blue flames, and shouted, “Look at me, bastard!”

Downton fought Little Devil Spirit after the Spirit of Vengeance demanded that he look into its eyes, then forced the spirit to yield and learned that Little Devil Spirit had lived in Zhoukoudian and served the First Emperor of Qin. The two reconciled over food and drink in Odin’s palace, where Little Devil Spirit declared them fellow townsmen and friends.

• Little Devil Spirit repeatedly demanded that Downton look into its eyes, so Downton grabbed his skull and used the Ruyi Staff to tear his skeleton apart, damaging Odin’s palace and splitting a nearby mountain.
• Downton offered Odin the Mind Stone and said he had taken the Space Stone, but Odin accepted the Mind Stone for Frigga to safeguard.
• The Ruyi Staff flung Little Devil Spirit’s skeleton into outer space to escape the Spirit of Vengeance’s flames, and Little Devil Spirit told Downton that Zainos had yielded after failing to contact his God.
• Downton returned Little Devil Spirit’s body and restored him to human form, and Little Devil Spirit revealed that he had served the First Emperor of Qin and spent years living near Zhoukoudian.
• Little Devil Spirit called Downton a fellow townsman, asked Odin for food and wine, and shared a meal and drinks with Downton, The Ancient One, and Wu Fengji.

Thor took Quicksilver and his sister to join the battle in New York while Jessica stayed behind with the children. As Nick Fury raced back to Earth, his Skrull impersonator described the collapse of American institutions and was attacked, leaving Fury to face a crisis with almost no options.

• Thor offered to lead the twins into battle, then flew out of the stadium with Quicksilver and his sister as Jessica returned Peter and Gwen to their families.
• Jessica waited in the stadium while Hydra's attacks and looting continued across New York and unrest spread through America.
• Nick Fury received a call from the Skrull impersonating him, who reported Hydra's deep infiltration, the United Nations blockade, and General Ross's military breakaway.
• Skrull Nick Fury said Hydra agents were hunting him and had infiltrated the lunar base, but that the Skrulls had stabilized it and Downton might help.
• An explosion struck Fake Nick Fury's car and cut off the call, leaving Nick Fury grimly aware that America's crisis had no easy solution.
• Nick Fury's account of Hydra's nationwide power grab showed that Pierce had abandoned Project Insight and spread Hydra through American institutions, while Pierce suffered mounting losses.

Clark left the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy in Hydra’s hands after Captain Byrne argued that the students were safer there, then flew to help at City Hall. There, Wanda nearly killed Tony before Thor intervened, while Bruce subdued Quicksilver.

• Clark entered the academy and confronted Captain Byrne, who let him reach the detained students without resistance.
• Byrne persuaded Clark that Hydra could protect the students amid the chaos, and Clark left after warning him to keep them safe.
• Byrne restricted the students to the classroom, cafeteria, and dormitories, while Clark reported to Lex that the academy was temporarily safe.
• At City Hall, Quicksilver attacked Lex, Bruce restrained Quicksilver, and Wanda battered Tony and tore away his helmet.
• Wanda tried to snap Tony’s neck, but Mjolnir struck her away and Thor arrived, telling her to torment Tony rather than kill him.

Wanda’s magic showed Thor and Tony visions of an apocalypse, but Thor could not learn what they meant before Tony escaped and Thor defeated the Hydra soldiers attacking City Hall. Clark restrained Quicksilver while Thor left Wanda unconscious, determined to question her after the battle.

• Wanda’s red magic trapped Thor in an illusion where he could not lift Mjolnir, and he saw Odin, Asgard’s fallen people, and a ruined future.
• Thor emerged from the illusion and questioned Wanda, while Tony pleaded with her and said he had to survive to help prevent the apocalypse.
• Quicksilver attacked Tony, but Clark pulled him away, allowing Tony to escape in his damaged armor.
• Thor knocked Wanda unconscious with Mjolnir and asked Clark to keep her and Quicksilver under control.
• Thor struck down dozens of Hydra soldiers and summoned lightning to pin down the more than four hundred troops surrounding City Hall.
• Quicksilver asked Clark to release him so he could surrender.

Downton returned to New York, took Wanda and Pietro away from the battle, and left Clark and the others to help S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor joined the fight on the Helicarrier, where Steve confronted Nick Fury over Hydra’s uprising and Nick admitted that Pierce had deceived him for decades.

• Downton returned beside Thor, picked up Mjolnir, and then carried the unconscious Wanda away with Pietro after dismissing their revenge against Tony.
• Downton left Wanda and Pietro near Midtown High School while Clark and the others stayed to help contain the Hydra rebellion; Thor flew to the Helicarrier.
• Steve, Natasha, and the injured Coulson returned to the Helicarrier, where Nick Fury redirected S.H.I.E.L.D. to reclaim City Hall and control media centers.
• Steve saw the nationwide battles on Nick’s map, angrily condemned S.H.I.E.L.D.’s failure to stop Hydra, and Nick admitted Pierce had deceived him for thirty years.

Steve and Nick Fury divided their efforts against Hydra, with Steve staying in New York to rally its people while Nick headed to Washington. As S.H.I.E.L.D. mobilized and Natasha sought to keep Downton from aiding Hydra, Tony revealed an Iron Legion plan to Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor, who warned him it had repeatedly caused disasters in their comics.

• Steve admitted he had unfairly blamed Nick Fury, who acknowledged his arrogance and set out for Washington to fight Hydra alongside Frank and the Howling Commandos.
• Nick told Steve to remain in New York until the city was retaken and he could publicly inspire its people; Hill then assigned Steve to suppress Kingpin's gangs in Hell's Kitchen.
• Hill sent Natasha to keep Downton from helping Hydra and authorized her to take 084 items as gifts; Natasha found an Asian girl among the items and requested lingerie for her plan.
• Tony, Bruce, and Lex discussed Tony's plan to use artificial intelligence to control an Iron Legion, and Lex warned that it had caused disasters in every comic story he knew.

Tony, Bruce, and Lex decided to build automated armor to fight the Hydra crisis, while Downton took Wanda and Pietro to an underground party to show them the world. The visit turned confrontational when Wanda challenged a girl who recognized Downton as a fan.

• Lex warned Tony that automated mechanical legions could cause major trouble and urged him to consult comics from Lex's universe.
• Tony described a vision of Earth's destruction and blamed himself for failing to use his technology to prevent the crisis.
• Bruce convinced Tony and Lex to build automated armor for the immediate fight against Hydra, and they began assembling a legion.
• Downton brought Wanda and Pietro into an underground party, disarmed its guards, and exposed them to the venue's shocking entertainment.
• A gentleman offered Downton his niece, but Wanda grabbed the man and threw him down after he treated her and Pietro as pets.
• The girl mocked Wanda, revealed that she controlled her uncle, and then recognized Downton as a fan after seeing his videos.

Downton brought Wanda and Pietro to a depraved upper-class party and challenged them to reconsider their vengeance against Tony Stark; after Pietro killed Big Daddy Braggart, the siblings joined Downton amid the ensuing chaos. Meanwhile, Steve went to Hell’s Kitchen and encountered Nick Fury, whom he suspected of being an impostor.

• Downton showed Wanda and Pietro the party’s excesses and asked whether its attendees or Tony Stark deserved death more, prompting Wanda to abandon revenge against Tony.
• Downton sent Pietro to kill Big Daddy Braggart, and Pietro tore him in half before eliminating the gunmen backstage as the party erupted into panic.
• Downton told Pietro to fetch alcohol and bring back women to dance while he continued drinking with Wanda and Pietro.
• Steve saw a statue of Captain America at the Brooklyn Museum, reflected that he had failed his country, and drove toward Hell’s Kitchen.
• Steve found Nick Fury fleeing Bullseye in a S.H.I.E.L.D. Hummer, then confronted him as an apparent impostor despite Fury’s warning about Kingpin’s assassin.

Steve joined forces with Daredevil to fight Bullseye’s gang in Hell’s Kitchen, then agreed to target the Hand before taking on Kingpin’s strongholds. Nick Fury claimed that both he and the Nick aboard the Helicarrier were real, and the chapter ended with his joke leaving Steve and Daredevil stunned.

• Nick Fury persuaded Steve to postpone questioning him while they drove back Kingpin’s men away, and Steve confronted Bullseye.
• Daredevil interrupted Bullseye’s volley of knives and joined Steve, while Bullseye fled and Steve’s men killed the remaining gunmen.
• Daredevil explained that the Hand secretly influenced Kingpin’s crimes and advised Steve to strike the Hand before attacking Kingpin’s guarded strongholds.
• Steve accepted Daredevil’s plan, brought him along, and drove toward a factory with Nick Fury in the front seat.
• Nick Fury said that he and the Nick on the Helicarrier were both real and joked that Steve had struggled to adjust because Nick had become his superior, making Steve blush and Daredevil cough.

Steve, Nick, and Daredevil welcomed Jarvis and Tony Stark’s automated Iron Man armors as allies, while Tony and Bruce discussed Tang’s transformation of Gotham and the possibility of joining the Human Federation. That night, Tony arrived at Gotham’s manor and recoiled at the sight of two clowns.

• Nick revealed to Steve that he was the fake Nick Fury while the real Nick returned from the S.H.I.E.L.D. base on the moon to address the crisis in Washington.
• Daredevil identified an approaching Iron Man suit, and Jarvis introduced himself and announced that Tony, Lex, and Bruce were preparing at least eighty automated armors for deployment.
• Tony, Bruce, and Lex converted Tony’s stored suits into independent robots, and Bruce explained how Tang had reshaped Gotham by wiping out most of its wealthiest families.
• Bruce invited Tony to join the Human Federation, and Tony said he would consider it before they continued working until night.
• Tony arrived at Gotham’s manor with three others, spotted two clowns performing tricks, and reacted with terror.

Tony explained that he had come to Gotham to use Bruce and Lex’s armor-production resources to help end the HYDRA rebellion in his universe, but he was alarmed to find two Jokers there. Zatanna introduced Arthur and Jerome to Downton, who responded by suggesting Russian roulette, leaving her confused about how to play it with a semiautomatic pistol.

• Tony explained that his armor supplies had run low and that he planned to use Gotham’s resources to build more suits and suppress the HYDRA unrest in America.
• Zatanna coached Jerome in animal training and circus work, while Arthur’s nervous juggling mishap and uncontrollable laughter exposed his distress.
• Jerome privately wished Arthur would fail, but Zatanna wondered whether Arthur’s laughter came from a curse or an illness and decided to ask Downton for help.
• Downton recognized Arthur and Jerome as Jokers and worried that Gotham might contain even more of them.
• Downton pulled out a pistol and suggested that Arthur and Jerome play Russian roulette, leaving Zatanna asking whether that was possible with a semiautomatic pistol.

Downton frightened Jerome and Arthur with a pistol, then assigned them to train with Zatanna for her circus. Tony, Lex, Bruce, and Clark became concerned about what their comics revealed and traveled to Marvel's New York to investigate, where Lex discovered that Clark had two superpowered sons and wondered why there were no comics about Downton.

• Jerome tried to redirect Downton's pistol dare toward Arthur, while Arthur broke down in tears at the thought of dying.
• Downton put away the pistol and told Jerome and Arthur to train with Zatanna and prepare to perform at the manor.
• Tony decided to read comics from his world, and Bruce, Clark, and Lex discussed whether their creators could influence their reality.
• Bruce, Clark, and Lex asked Ciri to send them back to the comic shop in Marvel's New York.
• At the comic shop, Clark found a comic showing Bruce engaged to Selina, while Lex found comics revealing Clark had two superpowered sons.
• Lex wondered why he could not find any comics about Downton.

Clark, Bruce, and Lex read comics that suggested their stories and enemies were only just beginning, then returned to Gotham to build smart armor. By morning, Carmine Falcone learned of a bloody bank robbery and suspected the apparent deaths of the six robbers concealed a larger mystery.

• Clark, Bruce, and Lex discussed comics about their lives, and Bruce worried that their stories had barely begun despite the dangerous world they faced.
• Ciri teleported the three men back to Gotham, then returned to retrieve a suggestive Batman and Superman comic; Bruce and Lex went to work on producing smart armor while Clark tried to sleep.
• A bank robbery in Gotham ended in an explosion, dozens of deaths, and scattered cash as animals and homeless people converged on the scene.
• Victor Zsasz told Carmine Falcone that six suspected bank robbers had been found dead after an apparent fight over the loot.
• Carmine noted that the inexperienced robbers had operated with professional skill and questioned whether their apparent internal conflict was really what had happened.