Chapter Summaries

Jude returned to the Star One and destroyed the insectoid warships while Ivy eliminated the invading soldiers, completing the Mission Accomplished Misters’ mission and ending the battle. With space stabilized, Jude prepared to take everyone back to Earth.

• Jude left the others behind through a flash portal, while the survivors fled from Annihilus.
• Mission Accomplished Mr. Number One and the other Mission Accomplished Misters abandoned the fight and rioted against Star-Lord when they lost hope of completing their mission.
• Veronica lured Star-Lord to the Mission Accomplished Misters and had robots deliver him to them, but the Misters vanished when Jude and Ivy completed the mission.
• Jude returned after destroying the insectoid warships, and Star-Lord learned that Ivy had eliminated the insectoid soldiers inside the Star One.
• Jude gave Star-Lord another Mission Accomplished Box, and Veronica reported that space had stabilized enough for them to return to Earth.

Jude retreated from the Insect King and decided to return to Earth to develop equipment against the Cosmic Control Rod. Two days earlier, General Zod and the surviving Kryptonians were approaching Earth to reclaim the Kryptonian Codex and rebuild their civilization.

• Jude judged that the Insect King’s Cosmic Control Rod made it more dangerous than Mongul, so he planned to leave the fight to Thanos and return to Earth.
• Jude resolved to create new equipment to counter the Cosmic Control Rod.
• Fiora told General Zod that his ship was nearing the Milky Way and Kal-El’s location, and Zod reaffirmed his plan to reclaim the Kryptonian Codex.
• General Zod’s remaining Kryptonians prepared to reach Earth after agreeing with Red Skull to disable the Star Ring in exchange for helping Hydra take power.
• Fiora explained that the ship needed about half a month to reach Earth because its energy was low, and General Zod ordered her to proceed anyway.

Earth’s leaders gathered at United Government Headquarters to debate technology sharing and the controversial Universal Evolution Project. As the meeting grew heated over withheld technology, the secretary-general rushed in with alarming news.

• Tony Stark arrived in his twenty-first-generation Power Armor, while Professor X declined to discuss classified Mutant drug research with reporters.
• Magneto interrupted Professor X, and Superman publicly supported the Universal Evolution Project to strengthen Earth’s people against future cosmic threats.
• Vladimir opened the meeting and set technology transparency and the Universal Evolution Project as its agenda items.
• Tony Stark refused to hand over his armor technology, arguing that the technology companies had already contributed substantially and that Jude Herbert possessed more advanced technology.
• Black Adam offered to share his power, and Lex Luthor mocked him, prompting Black Adam to slam his fist on the table.
• The secretary-general burst into the conference room and announced that something terrible had happened.

Red Skull learned that General Zod would reach Earth early and launched the Dark Reign plan while the United Government was meeting. The villains’ coordinated uprising crippled the government and seized more than half of Earth’s key cities before its leaders understood the scale of the attack.

• Crossbones told Red Skull and Sin that General Zod was arriving early, prompting them to start their plan ahead of schedule.
• Red Skull convened the Dark Council, announced Zod’s imminent arrival, and ordered the villains to mobilize their forces.
• Sin confirmed that their people controlled Star Ring, while Hydra and Vandal Savage’s troops emerged from hidden bases across Earth.
• An infiltrator posing as a colonel killed the United Government military’s top brass, and other agents crippled government departments and triggered military mutinies.
• The Hand, the League of Assassins, and other forces seized cities and cut communications as MODOK’s Extremis soldiers and Glasnost’s Sentinel Robots attacked superpowered resistance.
• After the villains took more than half of Earth’s key cities, the secretary-general interrupted a United Government meeting with news of the uprising.

Hydra’s allies launched a coordinated assault on the heroes with Hulk, Sentinel Robots, gamma-powered giants, Extremis soldiers, and Ultron. As Superman and the others faced the attackers, General Zod arrived on Earth and confronted Superman.

• Condner dismissed the danger from Hydra remnants, but Hulk crashed into the conference room and attacked Superman.
• Leader revealed that he could control Hulk and unleashed Sentinel Robots designed to counter the Mutants, while an unseen telepath opposed Professor X.
• MODOK arrived with Extremis soldiers, and Leader transformed two hundred people into Hulk-like giants.
• Hank Pym revealed that he had developed Ultron to disable networks and control nuclear missile silos, while Black Adam transformed and Condner trusted Superman to protect them.
• General Zod and his companions landed on Earth after the Star Ring was shut down, and Zod recognized Superman as the son of Jor-El.

General Zod revealed that he and his companions were Kryptonian survivors and tried to persuade Kal-El to leave Earth with them. When Kal-El refused and questioned Zod’s motives, Zod dropped his friendly pretense and demanded the Kryptonian Codex so he could rebuild Krypton.

• General Zod introduced himself to Superman as Dru-Zod, a friend of Jor-El, and explained that seventeen Kryptonians had survived Krypton’s destruction.
• Zod invited Kal-El to meet the other Kryptonian survivors, while MODOK prepared to attack the moment the aliens departed.
• Bruce warned Superman to be cautious and questioned how Zod’s ship had passed through the Star Ring.
• Kal-El refused to leave Earth while his friends were threatened and said he considered Earth his home.
• Zod insisted that Kal-El belonged with the Kryptonians, and Kal-El challenged him about why his people were being hunted.
• Zod abandoned his friendly act and demanded the Kryptonian Codex to rebuild Krypton.

General Zod demanded the Kryptonian Codex so he could rebuild Krypton, but Superman refused to hand it over, saying it had fused with him. Fiora attacked Superman, and their battle left the ruined battlefield in devastation.

• General Zod explained that the Kryptonian Codex could create specialized talents and planned to use it to rebuild Krypton on Earth.
• Superman told General Zod that the Codex had fused with him and that he needed time to seek his father's help, but General Zod ordered Fiora to attack.
• MODOK sent the Extremis Virus soldiers, defective Hulks, and Sentinel Robots against the United Government forces.
• Fiora repeatedly overpowered Superman, using combat skills and Kryptonian abilities amplified by the Codex.
• Fiora revealed that she had been an instructor for Krypton's Ace Unit and pressed Superman to surrender; they continued fighting until the surrounding battlefield lay in ruins.

Dark Reign overwhelmed the United Government forces as the battle spread through the city, while the heroes struggled against regenerating Hulks, Sentinel Robots, and Ultron. Flash and Wonder Woman arrived to help Bruce, who revealed that Clark was fighting another Kryptonian and that Superman’s people were among their enemies.

• Dark Reign’s forces swarmed the United Government, and Black Adam and Magneto fought the defective Hulks while Doctor Doom took on the Sentinel Robots.
• Tony fought Ultron as Jarvis struggled to stop it from seizing control of the nuclear missile launch systems.
• Doctor Doom trapped and destroyed hundreds of Sentinel Robots, then rescued Lex Luthor, Bruce, and Black Panther from the magic circle.
• Flash and Wonder Woman arrived after helping defend other cities from invading forces.
• Bruce told Diana that Clark was fighting another Kryptonian and that the heroes faced Superman’s people as well as Hydra.

General Zod betrayed Dark Reign and revealed his plan to turn Earth into New Krypton and enslave its people. As Earth’s heroes prepared to resist, seventeen Kryptonians gathered to face them.

• Leader asked Hank Pym why Ultron had not taken control of the nuclear missile launch authority, and Hank blamed Tony Stark and asked for more time.
• General Zod sent Berkley and Yale to help Fiora capture Superman, then rejected Leader and Hank Pym’s plea for aid.
• General Zod revealed that he intended to conquer Earth and transform it into New Krypton, then killed Leader and Hank Pym with Heat Vision.
• MODOK contacted Red Skull as the fighting stopped, while Black Panther and Bruce realized the Kryptonians had deceived their allies.
• General Zod declared that Earth’s people would become Kryptonian subjects, prompting Black Adam, Diana, and Flash to challenge him.
• Twelve more Kryptonians emerged from the spaceship, bringing their total number to seventeen.

Tony, the X-Men, and other Earth forces joined the battle against General Zod and his Kryptonians, but the Kryptonians overwhelmed them with their powers. Jean Grey’s Phoenix Force briefly cleared their freezing mist, yet the chapter ended with Earth’s fighters badly outmatched and defeat looming.

• Tony arrived with the Iron Legion, while the X-Men joined the battlefield and Ultron flew away.
• Black Adam charged General Zod, and the United Government and Dark Reign forces joined the fight against the Kryptonians.
• General Zod ordered twelve Kryptonians to use Freeze Breath, freezing Hulk’s defective counterparts, disabling the Extremis soldiers, and crippling much of the heroes’ forces.
• Jean Grey unleashed the Phoenix Force and burned away the freezing mist, but Harvard punched her away and General Zod’s side continued attacking the heroes.
• The Kryptonians defeated or subdued many of Earth’s fighters, leaving only magic users such as Doctor Doom and Black Adam able to put up a fight.

Superman lost his fight against Fiora, and General Zod gave Earth three days to submit and help rebuild Kryptonian civilization. As the defeated defenders debated what to do, Bruce revealed he might be able to contact Jude Herbert.

• Fiora defeated Superman and brought him before General Zod, who declared that Krypton would rule Earth and gave humanity three days to comply.
• Deadpool complained about the defeat while the other defenders despaired, and Condner urged them to surrender.
• Tony punched Condner for advocating surrender and insisted that Jude Herbert could still help, but admitted he could not contact him.
• Bruce pulled out a phone-like device and said he might be able to contact Jude.

Jude and Ivy returned to an abandoned New York, where Jude revealed that Bruce had called him for help, while Star-Lord stayed behind and asked them to bring back old records. In Gotham, the leaders gathered at Wayne Manor argued over General Zod’s deception and waited anxiously for Bruce to hear back from Jude.

• Jude told Star-Lord that his biological father could help him unlock a hidden power, but Star-Lord chose not to return to Earth with Jude and Ivy.
• Jude and Ivy arrived in an empty New York and Jude revealed that Bruce had contacted him for help two days earlier.
• Jude and Ivy broke into a closed ice cream shop, made themselves ice cream, and argued playfully about visiting Peter.
• At Wayne Manor, Wolverine blamed Red Skull for trusting General Zod, and Titania struck them both after they argued over her ruined wedding.
• Professor X asked Bruce whether Jude had replied, and everyone fell silent as Bruce stared at the phone in his hand.

Bruce waited two days for Jude while Earth’s defenders struggled to find a way to stop General Zod and seventeen Kryptonians. Jude returned with Ivy and revealed that he had brought Kryptonite, giving the group a possible weapon before Zod’s attack the next day.

• Bruce waited for Jude at Wayne Manor while the others failed to find a way to defeat the Kryptonians.
• Jude and Ivy arrived through a portal, and Jude learned that General Zod commanded seventeen Kryptonians.
• Jude identified Kryptonite as a substance that weakened Kryptonians and said he had bought a piece in space.
• Jude showed the group green Kryptonite, and Tony, Bruce, Doctor Doom, Dr. Banner, Flash, and MODOK volunteered to help study it.

Jude reassured the heroes that General Zod would not kill Clark and said he would help Zod rebuild Krypton away from Earth. After the scientists failed to analyze Kryptonite, Zod arrived at Wayne Manor to demand Earth’s choice.

• Jude told the heroes that Kryptonite was too difficult to reproduce with Earth’s current technology and reassured Diana that Zod wanted Clark alive.
• Jude suggested that Zod could rebuild Krypton on another planet in the Solar System, and he promised to discuss it with him the next day.
• Tony, Bruce, and the other scientists failed to analyze the Kryptonite overnight, so Jude explained that it was meant to help Earth resist New Krypton in the future.
• At dawn, General Zod and the Kryptonians landed at Wayne Manor, and Zod demanded that the Earthlings state their choice.

Red Skull offered to help General Zod conquer Earth, but Jude killed him and challenged the Kryptonians to a contest. After Jude knocked Fiora unconscious with a Power Stone-enhanced punch, he handed Zod a piece of Kryptonite, causing him to collapse.

• Red Skull pledged Hydra's support to General Zod, and Jude shot him dead before he could finish.
• Sin took command of Hydra and stopped Crossbones from attacking Jude.
• Jude revealed that he had created the Star Ring and proposed a contest to prove his strength.
• Fiora let Jude strike first, and his Power Stone-enhanced punch sent her flying unconscious.
• Jude tossed Kryptonite to General Zod, who caught it and collapsed.

Jude used Kryptonite to weaken General Zod and began negotiating for Clark’s release and the Kryptonians’ departure from Earth. After learning that Zod’s people had nowhere else in the Solar System to live, Jude offered to make another planet habitable and prepared to state his own demands.

• Jude revealed Kryptonite’s effect on General Zod, forcing Zod to agree to talks.
• Jude and General Zod met in the villa, where Jude served him Kryptonian wine and explained why Kryptonite affected him.
• Jude demanded that Zod release Clark and leave Earth, but Zod insisted the Kryptonians needed a place to settle.
• General Zod explained that none of his seventeen Kryptonians could transform another planet into a habitable world.
• Jude offered to make a planet habitable and said he would now explain his demands.

Jude forced General Zod to accept an agreement: the Kryptonians would settle on Titan and help protect Earth when needed. Nearly half a month later, Titan’s terraforming was almost complete, and Zod acknowledged Jude’s achievement.

• Jude threatened to reveal the Kryptonians’ location and weakness to Kryptonite unless Zod agreed to help protect Earth, and Zod accepted.
• Jude suggested Titan as a new home for the Kryptonians, and he and Zod announced their agreement to the humans and Kryptonians.
• Bruce arranged quarters for the Kryptonians at Wayne Manor, and Zod released Superman from the ship’s glass enclosure.
• Superman learned about the agreement and welcomed the peaceful outcome, then agreed to take Zod to see Jor-El.
• Nearly half a month later, Jude and Zod surveyed the nearly terraformed Titan, and Zod praised Jude before Jude showed him two middle fingers.

Jude helped General Zod settle the Kryptonians on Titan, then returned to Wayne Manor and learned that Peter Parker had come looking for him. Jude eagerly went to meet Peter, convinced that the boy had come to apologize.

• Jude brought General Zod and the Kryptonians to their new home on Titan and told them to help protect Earth from Mongul.
• Jude visited his flower-covered toilet on Titan, then returned to Wayne Manor and told Bruce that the Kryptonians would protect Earth.
• Jude teased Bruce about the communication device before Bruce left Wayne Manor.
• Jude speculated about how to make Little Spider ask his forgiveness, then Alfred told him Peter Parker had arrived.
• Jude laughed and hurried out to meet Peter Parker, expecting him to beg for forgiveness.

Jude discovered that Aunt May was dying of old age and told Little Spider that he could save her either by replacing nearly all her organs with biomechanical parts or by cloning her. Little Spider was left to choose between the two methods.

• Little Spider begged Jude to save Aunt May, and Jude used the Portal Gun to take him to New York.
• Little Spider explained that Aunt May had been unwell for some time but collapsed the previous night, and the hospital found that her organs had severely aged.
• Jude examined Aunt May and determined that her body had reached the end of its natural lifespan rather than developed an illness.
• Jude offered to replace nearly all of Aunt May's organs with biomechanical ones or create a clone from her genetic sequence, and Little Spider considered the choices.

Little Spider struggled to choose how to save Aunt May, then met Mephisto, who offered to restore her as a human in exchange for Peter's intelligence. Jude told Peter to accept the deal, leaving its consequences unresolved.

• Little Spider left the ward to think over Jude's options for saving Aunt May and broke down in the restroom over his inability to save his loved ones.
• Mephisto trapped Little Spider in the restroom and offered to save May's life in exchange for Peter's intelligence.
• Little Spider agreed to consult Jude and brought Mephisto back to the ward, where Jude recognized the offer and told Peter to accept it.