Chapter Summaries

After exposing government abuses and gathering allies, Jude and Ivy led a group toward the White House. They disabled its defenses and confronted the President and other officials, declaring their intent to kill them.

• Jude told Ivy that Amanda Waller was dead and invited her group to visit the White House.
• Ivy, Singularity, Giganta, Titania, and Absorbing Man decided to join Jude, while Peter explained the recent events to Gwen Stacy and Aunt May.
• Gwen Stacy's mother found leaked records exposing government experiments, Project Insight, and other secrets, and Peter's family embraced him.
• The President and other officials argued over the political fallout from the leaks, with McConnell demanding the President's resignation.
• Ivy entered the conference room after a clerk's head exploded, while Jude disabled the White House defenses and Titania and Absorbing Man fought their way inside.
• The President asked who they were, and Ivy answered that they had come to kill him.

Jude’s attempt to kill the President was interrupted by Wonder Woman, who fought his team across Washington D.C. The battle left the White House in ruins, and Superman arrived as Giganta attacked Diana with a building.

• Jude ordered Green Waltz to shoot the President, but Wonder Woman deflected the beam and drove Jude and his companions away from the officials.
• Diana confronted Jude and Giganta, and Giganta grew fifty meters tall before Diana hurled her into the White House, crushing it.
• Titania and Absorbing Man attacked Diana together, and Absorbing Man copied the power of her Guardian Silver Bracelets.
• Singularity joined the fight after Jude promised her energy ice cream, and Diana struck her with lightning from the bracelets.
• Giganta split a nearby building and smashed it toward Diana, but Superman arrived and caught the building with one hand.

Superman arrived to confront Jude’s group, but Jude exposed Clark Kent’s identity and continued toward the politicians underground while Ivy and Graviton engaged Superman and Wonder Woman. Clark battered Graviton into a lake, where a mysterious black sphere struck him and sent him flying.

• Superman knocked Giganta into the ground, then helped Wonder Woman out of a sinkhole and confirmed that they were a couple.
• Jude questioned Diana about Lois Lane and Steve Trevor, and she said she had never heard of them.
• Jude revealed that he knew Superman was Clark Kent, then used Dr. Hall’s force field to escape toward the politicians underground.
• Ivy trapped Diana with mutated plants while Graviton attacked Clark with increased gravity.
• Clark overcame Graviton’s gravity and drove him into a lake, but a black sphere emerged from the water and sent Superman flying.

Clark fought Graviton, endured his crushing gravity fields, and eventually broke through his defenses. Meanwhile, Jude killed the fleeing president and politicians in Washington D.C. and asked the surviving guards and chefs who wanted to be president.

• Graviton struck Clark with a compressed black sphere, but Clark seized it and threw it back, blasting through Graviton's gravity shield and destroying his left arm.
• Graviton reversed his power and launched Clark into space, but Clark used a drifting satellite to propel himself back toward Earth.
• Graviton crushed the satellite and trapped Clark in a five-hundredfold gravity field, then attacked him with mountains, which Clark smashed apart.
• Clark broke through Graviton's gravity field and punched through his shield.
• Jude confronted the fleeing politicians in Washington D.C., killed the president and the others, then asked the surviving bodyguards and chefs who wanted to be president.

Jude eliminated the president and chose Condner to take his place, while Diana fought Ivy, Absorbing Man, and Singularity in the White House plaza. The battle paused after Jude revealed the new president and announced a truce.

• Jude tested six White House staff members and selected Condner, who claimed drinking disinfectant was a cure, to become the president; lasers killed the other five.
• Jude arranged for Condner to take the president’s appearance and told him to keep ruling under that identity after the term ended by killing the next president.
• Ivy summoned massive plants to attack Diana, who burned them with the Godfire Sword.
• Absorbing Man charged Diana and knocked her away, while Singularity fired an energy beam at her.
• Diana caught Singularity with the Lasso of Truth and moved to punch her, but Cowboy 1 intervened and snatched the girl away.
• Jude revealed Condner’s new appearance and announced that he had agreed to a truce with the president, prompting Diana to withdraw her Godkiller.

Jude learned why Diana protected U.S. politicians, while Clark defeated Graviton and accepted Jude’s explanation for replacing the president. Jude then invited Clark and Diana for drinks before crashing into Tony Stark’s tower to start a party.

• Jude revealed that Diana’s agreement with the United States required her to protect its politicians in exchange for leaving Themyscira alone.
• Clark returned with the battered Graviton, and Jude used Recovery Serum to restore Graviton’s injuries and missing arm.
• Clark explained that he would kill people who committed unforgivable crimes and said he did not object to Condner replacing the president.
• Jude invited Clark and Diana to drink with him, then told Condner to follow his instructions.
• At Stark Tower, Tony answered Jude’s call, but Jude and his companions smashed through the glass and arrived to hold a party.

Tony welcomed Jude, Clark, and Diana to his home, where they celebrated Ivy's safe return and Tony and Pepper's upcoming wedding. Their gathering was interrupted by President Condner publicly confirming the government experiments, abolishing S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.R.G.U.S., and promising pardons and compensation, while Jude revealed how he had secured the President's cooperation.

• Clark greeted Tony, and Jude joked with him about hosting the group for drinks rather than arresting him.
• Pepper embraced Ivy, and Tony explained that he had never cared much about S.H.I.E.L.D. despite his father's involvement in its founding.
• Diana told Pepper and Ivy about her divine parentage and long life, while Jude questioned the gods' motives and teased Clark and Diana about getting married.
• Tony announced that he and Pepper would hold their wedding in one week and invited everyone except Jude.
• Jarvis showed the group President Condner admitting the experiments were real, abolishing S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.R.G.U.S., condemning Nick Fury and Amanda Waller, and promising pardons and compensation.
• Jude explained that he had persuaded Condner to sell national landmarks and use the proceeds to win Congress's support.

Francis hunted for Wade Wilson at the ruined Heissem Technology Company, where he captured Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead using Sentinel Robots. As Francis and Sandman Angel tried to break into an underground laboratory, its emergency mechanism activated and announced that the laboratory would transform.

• Francis bribed Lisa at the Black Rose Bar and learned that Heissem Technology Company had hired Wade Wilson for a ten-million-dollar job.
• Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead went to the ruined company to look for Wade, where Francis tricked them and ordered his men to capture them as bait.
• Negasonic Teenage Warhead blasted Francis's men, but Sentinel Robots arrived and adapted to defeat her and Colossus.
• Francis had Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead taken away, then continued searching the ruins with Sandman Angel.
• Francis found an electronic door to an underground laboratory, and Sandman Angel's attack triggered an emergency mechanism that announced, "Laboratory, transform!"

A hidden laboratory transformed into a giant robot and pursued the aircraft carrying Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead to Stryker’s lair. After Professor X sent Cyclops and the others to investigate their distress signal, Jude and Ivy discovered that Jude’s laboratory had activated.

• The underground laboratory transformed into a giant robot, and Deadpool called for Francis while trapped inside it.
• Francis fled by plane with Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and the robot took off after them.
• Francis brought the captured Mutants to Stryker’s lair at Alcus Dam.
• Beast told Professor X that Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s alarm trackers had activated, and Professor X ordered Cyclops to lead a team to find them.
• At Stark Tower, Jude and Ivy noticed Jude’s watch flashing, and Jude said his laboratory had activated and could make its own decisions.

Stryker began torturing Colossus and ordered his X-gene analyzed while Francis prepared to capture Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Above the dam, Veronica negotiated with Deadpool for payment to rescue them, and Deadpool reluctantly agreed as Veronica prepared to act.

• Stryker stabbed Colossus with an Adamantium-forged dagger, taunted him, and ordered researchers to analyze his X-gene.
• Francis moved to capture Negasonic Teenage Warhead as Colossus called on the captors to fight him instead.
• Deadpool learned Veronica had been ordered by Jude to ignore him and asked her to help rescue Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
• Veronica demanded twenty million dollars and proposed that Deadpool take assassination jobs to cover what he owed.
• Deadpool agreed to Veronica's terms and accepted responsibility for damage caused during the rescue.

Veronica rescued Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead from Stryker’s dam, then learned that many missing Mutants were imprisoned there. After Stryker threatened her, Veronica attacked his forces, and a battle erupted.

• An earthquake shook Stryker’s facility, and Veronica broke through the ceiling to seize the cage holding Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
• Veronica brought the two Mutants inside her body, where they found Deadpool, and Colossus revealed that the dam held many missing Mutants.
• Veronica demanded payment to rescue the prisoners, but Stryker’s forces emerged from the dam and confronted her.
• Stryker threatened Veronica and demanded the return of the two Mutants, so she identified Francis and Sandman Angel as targets for a ransom.
• Veronica destroyed Stryker’s helicopter with her lasers, and the soldiers, tanks, artillery, and Sentinel Robots opened fire on her.

Veronica destroyed the forces at Alcus Dam, rescued nearly two hundred Mutants, and prevented the damaged dam from flooding the people downstream. As she prepared to leave, the X-Men arrived, and Veronica offered to sell them the rescued Mutants before Wolverine attacked her.

• Veronica overwhelmed Stryker's forces, and Francis ordered a retreat while sending Sentinel Robots to delay her.
• Veronica used a Simulated Black Hole to destroy the Sentinel Robots and helicopters, then rescued nearly two hundred Mutants from inside the dam.
• Veronica blocked the river with half a hill to protect people downstream and prepared to return to the company before Jude came back.
• Cyclops and the X-Men arrived at Alcus Dam, traced their signal to Veronica, and tried to approach her.
• Veronica demanded two million dollars per Mutant from the X-Men, and Wolverine leaped from the Blackbird Jet to slash at her head.

Wolverine and the X-Men confronted Veronica, who defeated and captured several of them while Jean Grey struggled to protect her friends. Later, Jude and Ivy relaxed at Stark Tower, where Jude forced Tony Stark to bring them wine and food.

• Wolverine attacked Veronica, but she blasted him across the ground with her lasers, leaving him badly burned.
• Iceman froze Veronica's laser beams, and Jean Grey destroyed her energy slash with the Phoenix Force.
• Veronica tricked Jean Grey, captured Cyclops, Warpath, and Iceman, and fled with them while Jean stayed behind to tend to Wolverine.
• At Stark Tower, Jude and Ivy rested together, and Jude contacted Tony Stark to request wine and food.
• Tony objected to Jude using Stark Tower, but Jude threatened to spill fluid across the building, so Tony agreed to send the requested items.

Graviton attacked Project Pegasus to seize the Tesseract, but found it missing, and Jude confirmed through Graviton's memories that he had not taken it. Jude suspected Loki had removed it and wondered whether Thanos was coming to Earth.

• Graviton reached Project Pegasus and demanded that the major general hand over the Tesseract.
• After the major general denied knowing about it, Graviton destroyed the base and killed him when the Tesseract could not be found.
• In New York, Jude threatened Graviton with the nanobots in his body and used a memory device to verify his account.
• Jude confirmed that the Tesseract had vanished the day before and recalled a S.H.I.E.L.D. file indicating Thor had already visited Earth.
• Jude suspected Loki had taken the Tesseract and wondered whether Thanos was coming too.

Jude warned his companions that an alien war was likely and funded Peter to build up his own company, then considered how dangerous Thanos might be. The next morning, Jude went to answer a knock at his door and found a burly man, a beautiful woman, and an old man in a wheelchair.

• Jude told Graviton and the others that aliens might soon attack Earth, and Ivy asked whether he was serious.
• Jude transferred Peter 100 billion dollars and offered to provide 150 billion dollars each month for business and research, then negotiated Peter's salary up to 50,000 dollars.
• After spending the night with Ivy, Jude considered Thanos's possible power and the danger his forces posed to Earth, and decided to prepare for war.
• The next morning, Ivy went to work while Jude planned to visit Deadpool at the research institute.
• Jude opened his door after repeated knocking and found a burly man, a beautiful woman, and an old man in a wheelchair.

Professor X visited Jude Heissem to retrieve the Mutants Veronica had taken from Alcus Dam, and Jude learned that Veronica had extorted money from the X-Men. After the Mutants left, Veronica revealed her schemes to Jude, who accepted her growing deviousness as long as she followed his rules.

• Professor X, Phoenix, and Wolverine visited Jude, and Professor X offered him two million dollars for each Mutant rescued from Alcus Dam.
• Phoenix and Wolverine explained that Veronica had destroyed Alcus Dam and demanded compensation, while Jude insisted his AI could not have acted that way.
• Jude took the group to Heissem Technology Company, where Veronica appeared and Professor X identified the captive Mutants through telepathy.
• Veronica released the Mutants from their sleep, and Professor X took them away, leaving Deadpool behind.
• Veronica blamed Wade Wilson and admitted she had implanted nanobots in the Mutants, while Jude ordered her to obey him, protect his friends, and never take a loss.

Deadpool left Jude’s captivity after being offered money and a chance to enjoy himself. The story then shifted to Attilan, where Thanos and Mongul waited for Darkseid amid the arrival of Mongul’s Warworld, leaving the brothers gathered to receive their ruler.

• Deadpool asked Jude to let him go, and Jude untied him and offered him money and a night out.
• Deadpool set aside his plan to kill Jude and dragged him toward a place with beautiful women and hot models.
• The narration described the New Gods, the rise of Darkseid on Apokolips, and his pursuit of the Anti-Life Equation.
• Thanos waited with the Black Order at Attilan’s port and warned them to lower their heads when Darkseid arrived.
• Mongul brought Warworld too close to Attilan, disrupting the port and scattering the soldiers, before Thanos ordered him to move it away.
• Mongul greeted Thanos, and then Darkseid arrived aboard a massive cosmic warship.

Darkseid arrived at Attilan and heard Thanos and Mongul report that their century-long search had failed to find the Anti-Life Equation. He ordered them to prioritize collecting the six Infinity Stones, leaving Thanos and Mongul to plan their search.

• Darkseid arrived at Attilan, where Thanos and Mongul welcomed him with deference.
• Ebony Maw reported that Thanos's forces had conquered and destroyed star systems and nations without finding the Anti-Life Equation.
• Mongul reported that he had searched millions of star systems based on rumors but found no trace of the Anti-Life Equation.
• Darkseid asked for a more effective search method, and Thanos proposed using the Reality Stone and the other Infinity Stones to locate the Anti-Life Equation.
• Darkseid ordered Thanos and Mongul to make finding all six Infinity Stones their priority.
• After Darkseid left, Thanos asked Mongul to help plan the search, and Mongul agreed while warning Thanos to bear responsibility if it failed.

Thanos and Mongul secretly allied against Darkseid, and Thanos sent Mongul to Earth to retrieve the Space Stone and challenge its Kryptonian. On Earth, Loki struggled over whether to help Thanos invade the home he still cared about.

• Thanos told Mongul that the Space Stone was on Earth and that Loki had revealed its location in exchange for help destroying Asgard.
• Thanos revealed that he would search for the Mind Stone near his territory while Mongul went to Earth to retrieve the Space Stone and fight a Kryptonian.
• Little Spider lent money to Norman Osborn's company, while Ivy handled its backlog of work.
• Veronica hired a construction crew to renovate Heissem Technology Company and transferred 800 million dollars from Professor X's account.
• Tony prepared Stark Tower for his wedding to Pepper Potts and invited famous figures from around the world.
• Loki held the Tesseract and wrestled with whether to summon Thanos's army, invade Earth, and use it to conquer Asgard.

Hank Pym faced public outrage and the collapse of Pym Technologies after S.H.I.E.L.D.'s crimes came to light. Drunk and grieving Janet, he blamed Jude Herbert for her death and vowed to finish Ultron and take revenge.

• After the prison break and Hydra-S.H.I.E.L.D. conflict drew public attention, Hank Pym returned to Pym Technologies and became a target of public condemnation.
• Pym Technologies lost half its market value in a week as protests, resignations, and poaching pushed the company toward paralysis.
• Hank held a press conference, denied knowing about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s crimes, and portrayed himself as a victim of the organization.
• Hank woke from a drunken stupor, brooded over his company's collapse and Janet's death, and learned that the government had filed public charges against him.
• Hank told Janet's reflection that Jude Herbert bore primary responsibility for her death and vowed to complete Ultron and avenge her.