Chapter Summaries

The Avengers prepared to fight Thanos, coordinating with S.H.I.E.L.D. and gathering allies while debating the risks of military and nuclear support. As the team headed for Wakanda, Aaron and Wanda watched the stars over Asgard, where Monster was evacuating the remaining Asgardians before Ragnarok.

• Barton learned that his family would be taken into the Divine Kingdom and returned home after the war, while Tony agreed to have Pepper and Morgan enter it too.
• Steve’s team decided to travel to Wakanda, and Rhodey urged them to seek wider support; Carter Slade and Gorr said Wanda, Pietro, and Aaron had already entered the Divine Kingdom.
• Hill told the Avengers that S.H.I.E.L.D. had captured Peter Quill, Gamora, and Drax, and that Thanos might know the Soul Stone’s location while Rocket and Groot had gone to warn Asgard.
• Hill said Fury was negotiating for military aid, while Tony and Carter Slade warned that the military might resort to nuclear annihilation and that conventional weapons might not stop Thanos.
• Strange opened a portal to Wakanda, and Carter Slade stopped Bucky to warn him against risking himself before joining Gorr to escort Barton’s and Tony’s families to the Divine Kingdom.
• On Asgard, Aaron and Wanda shared a quiet moment beneath the stars as Aaron reflected on Ragnarok and Monster’s ongoing evacuation of Asgardians to Bohart Star.

Thanos sacrificed Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone, then sent Ebony Maw to gather his forces on Earth for Ragnarok. In Asgard, Thor’s group brought Aaron the damaged Gaius Compass, which he repaired before a new prophecy arrived.

• Red Skull told Thanos that obtaining the Soul Stone required sacrificing the person he cherished most, and Thanos threw Gamora from the cliff.
• Thanos returned with the Soul Stone and ordered Ebony Maw to assemble their forces on Earth and attack when Ragnarok began.
• Thor learned that the Warriors Three had failed to capture Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight, then discovered they had damaged Aaron’s Gaius Compass.
• Thor and his companions apologized to Aaron, who repaired the Compass and took it back while refusing to help find Thanos’s subordinates.
• Aaron sensed a new prophecy, summoned the Book of Prophecy, and began to read it.

Aaron learned that Thanos would collect the Infinity Stones and considered whether to accept the system’s mission to stop him, while Thor and the others prepared for Asgard’s impending crisis. When gunfire erupted, Thor led an evacuation as Rocket and Groot fought Hela’s undead alongside Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Aaron read the prophecy about Thanos’s coming snap, received a mission to stop him, and chose not to refuse it.
• Aaron warned Thor that Asgard would likely lose the Space Stone, but refused to lend Hogun his Compass or help them defy the prophecy.
• Aaron urged Wanda to enter his Divine Kingdom, but she said she would wait until Hela was out of danger.
• After gunfire sounded, Aaron identified Rocket and Groot among the intruders, and Thor ordered the Warriors Three to evacuate Asgard’s people while he bought them time.
• Aaron declined to help Thor fight and discussed his plans to protect Hela after Asgard’s destruction.
• Rocket and Groot fought Hela’s undead alongside Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight, and Proxima charged Rocket in anger.

Rocket, Groot, and Thor confronted Hela in Asgard after Rocket revealed that Thanos was seeking the Infinity Stones. Hela killed Ebony Maw and captured Proxima Midnight, then effortlessly defeated Thor’s strongest attacks and left him impaled on a black spike.

• Groot knocked Proxima Midnight into the undead army, and Ebony Maw rescued her while Rocket and the others fought to survive.
• Thor arrived and helped clear the undead, but Hela appeared and stopped the soldiers from attacking.
• Rocket told Hela that Thanos was collecting the Infinity Stones and that Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight had infiltrated Asgard for the Space Stone.
• Ebony Maw charged Hela and was killed instantly, while Proxima Midnight surrendered and was taken to the dungeon.
• Thor fought Hela to delay her while the Asgardians evacuated, but she emerged unharmed from his lightning strike.
• Thor charged Hela with his twin swords, and she impaled him through the abdomen with a black spike from the ground.

Hela captured Thor, Rocket, and Groot after Thor warned her that Ragnarok was coming and asked her to protect Frigga. In Asgard’s dungeon, Rocket realized that Thor had brought Surtur’s crown and the Eternal Fire dangerously close together in Odin’s Vault, making Ragnarok possible at any moment.

• Hela stabbed Thor, learned that he had sent most of Asgard’s people away, and ordered him imprisoned while keeping Rocket and Groot as captives.
• Aaron and Wanda watched the last Asgardians leave through the Bifrost and decided to wait for Ragnarok, with Aaron planning to have Banner bring the Monster outside Asgard.
• In the dungeon, Thor explained that Hela’s Death God Power had sealed his own power, while Proxima Midnight revealed that the refugees had gone to Bohart Star.
• Rocket proposed using Ragnarok as a chance to escape, and Thor explained that Surtur’s crown and the Eternal Fire were both stored in Odin’s Vault.
• Rocket realized Thor had placed the two ingredients for Ragnarok close together in Asgard, and Thor admitted they were probably less than a hundred meters apart.

Thor realized that bringing Surtur’s Crown to Asgard could trigger Ragnarok, while Ebony Maw revived and set out for the palace. Outside Asgard, Aaron’s crew faced Thanos and avoided his attack by threatening to strike Asgard, leaving both ships in a temporary truce.

• Thor and Rocket discussed how to warn Hela about the danger of Ragnarok, while Proxima Midnight revealed Thanos’s order to steal the Space Stone.
• Ebony Maw resurrected through the soul-housing Peerless Blade and cautiously headed toward the Asgard palace.
• Wanda told Loki and Banner that Thor had been captured and the last Asgardian citizens had escaped; Aaron chose to wait for Ragnarok and Apocalypse rather than rescue Thor.
• Thanos arrived aboard Sanctuary and prepared to use the Reality Stone to erase Monster, but Aaron ordered Monster’s weapons aimed at Asgard.
• Thanos diverted the attack to protect Asgard, and Aaron sent him a warning that their goals did not conflict; Thanos agreed to a temporary non-aggression arrangement.

Ebony Maw infiltrated Hela’s vault to steal the Cosmic Cube, but the undead guards overwhelmed him, so he awakened Surtur with the Eternal Fire and Surtur’s Crown before escaping through a portal. As Ragnarok began consuming Asgard, Hela fled with Frigga on Fenris, determined to defend her kingdom and unborn daughter.

• Aaron explained that he had avoided provoking Thanos and said he might make a small move if their truce failed.
• Ebony Maw slipped into Asgard’s poorly guarded vault and found the Cosmic Cube, but an alarm brought the undead legion down on him.
• As the undead overwhelmed Ebony Maw, he grabbed Surtur’s Crown and threw it into the Eternal Fire, awakening Surtur and halting the undead.
• Ebony Maw took the Cosmic Cube and escaped through a portal as Surtur’s flames began destroying the vault.
• Hela sensed Ragnarok consuming Asgard, rejected Frigga’s suggestion to abandon the kingdom, and left with Frigga on Fenris to find an open battlefield.

Ragnarok began as Surtur revived, forcing Thor and his companions to escape the collapsing dungeon while Aaron’s crew tracked the crisis from Monster. Loki left to rescue Frigga, and Thor, Rocket, and Groot broke free as the ceiling began to fall.

• Ebony Maw revealed that he had thrown Surtur’s crown into the Eternal Fire, triggering Ragnarok, then escaped with Proxima Midnight and the Cosmic Cube, leaving Thor, Rocket, and Groot behind.
• Thor told Rocket that he would stay in Asgard to ensure his mother Frigga escaped safely, while Rocket urged him to flee the collapsing realm.
• Aaron used Monster’s projection system to locate Hela riding Fenris with Frigga, and Loki volunteered to go save his mother.
• Aaron’s crew watched Thor, Rocket, and Groot break out when the dungeon’s energy barriers failed, but Thor stumbled as his divine power began awakening.
• Rocket shoved Thor clear just before the dungeon ceiling crashed down.

Thor escaped the collapsing dungeon and went to rescue Frigga while Hela faced Surtur, as Thanos acquired the Space Stone and ordered an attack on the Monster. With the ship’s shield under pressure and only minutes remaining, Aaron prepared to use magic if the assault continued.

• Thor, Rocket, and Groot escaped the dungeon, and Rocket and Groot headed to the hangar while Thor asked Heimdall to locate Frigga.
• Heimdall warned Thor that Hela was protecting Frigga and advised him to leave Asgard, but Thor chose to rescue his mother.
• Thanos added the Space Stone to his Infinity Gauntlet, sent Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight to begin the war on Earth, and ordered Sanctuary to attack the Monster.
• The Monster’s shield blocked the barrage, but Prophet warned that its energy was low and that it could not match Sanctuary in battle.
• Thanos ordered Sanctuary to fire at full power, cutting the shield’s estimated endurance from thirty minutes to nine.
• Aaron refused to counterattack while watching events on Asgard, but warned that he would use magic if Thanos kept attacking or Ragnarok lasted too long.

Hela sealed Surtur inside a barrier on Asgard while Frigga tried to activate the Bifrost. In Wakanda, Doctor Strange found only one victory among more than fourteen million timelines, and Thanos’s Outriders began charging the defenders.

• Hela raised a pyramid of energy barriers around the burning palace to hold back Surtur while Frigga worked to activate the Bifrost.
• T'Challa, the Avengers, the Guardians, and other heroes prepared to defend Wakanda while Shuri worked to remove the Mind Stone from Vision.
• Doctor Strange searched the timelines and told the group he had found only one winning outcome among more than fourteen million possibilities.
• Meteors struck Wakanda’s barrier, and troop carriers deployed the Black Order and the Outriders outside the shield.
• Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, T'Challa, Peter Quill, and Doctor Strange confronted the Black Order, but negotiations failed when Proxima Midnight ordered an attack.
• Countless Outriders charged Wakanda’s battle lines as T'Challa urged the warriors to hold the line.

Wakanda’s defenders opened their barrier to keep the Outriders in front of them while Shuri worked to remove Vision’s Mind Stone, and Jericho Missiles cut down the invading army. At Asgard, Thor reached Hela and admitted he had brought Surtur’s Crown to the Eternal Fire, prompting Hela to call him an idiot.

• T’Challa ordered a gap opened in Wakanda’s barrier and led the defenders into battle against the Outriders while Shuri tried to remove Vision’s Mind Stone.
• Nick Fury sent Jericho Missiles that destroyed hundreds of Outriders and reduced the pressure on Wakanda’s defensive line.
• Ebony Maw told Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive to wait until the heroes were weakened before attacking for the Infinity Stones.
• Thor reached the Bifrost but Fenris pinned him until Hela ordered the wolf to bring him over.
• Hela told Thor and Loki to take Frigga and leave Asgard, but Thor refused and revealed he had placed Surtur’s Crown with the Eternal Fire.
• Hela cursed Thor for causing Ragnarok, while Thor privately insisted he was wise.

As Surtur’s attack threatened to engulf Asgard, Thor, Loki, and Hela prepared to defend the kingdom while Frigga’s evacuation was delayed. Aaron rescued his ship from Thanos’s barrage by redirecting it through portals, and Thanos used the Space Stone to head out and confront him.

• Thor, Hela, and Loki argued over Thor’s role in triggering Ragnarok, then watched Surtur’s fire rain down on Asgard and destroy Loki’s ship.
• Thor restored his divine power, Loki agreed to protect Frigga with Fenris, and Hela warned that her barrier would fail in less than a minute.
• Aaron refused Wanda’s plea to abandon Hela and waited until the Monster’s shield failed before opening portals that redirected Thanos’s laser barrage into Sanctuary.
• Thanos ordered his forces to stop firing, realized a powerful mage had opened the portals, and decided to confront the ship himself.
• Thanos used the Space Stone to shield himself from the vacuum and set out to meet Aaron.

Aaron accepted a mission to stop Thanos and save half the universe, then confronted him in space while concealing his identity. As Surtur destroyed Asgard, Hela, Thor, and Loki fought to buy time for Frigga to open the Bifrost, and Aaron's battle with Thanos remained unresolved.

• Aaron rejected Wanda's plan to take Hela away early, insisting they wait until she could no longer hold on, and Prophet reported Thanos's activity at the Sanctuary.
• Aaron accepted the mission to stop Thanos and save half the universe, then used a portal to confront him atop the Monster.
• Thanos attacked Aaron with the Power Stone, and Aaron defended himself with Kamar-Taj spells before the clash continued with neither gaining the upper hand.
• Surtur emerged and began destroying Asgard after Hela's barrier failed; Hela and Thor attacked him while Loki hid Thor with an illusion so he could charge toward Surtur.
• Aaron blocked Thanos's spatial vortex with the Mirror Dimension, and Thanos questioned why he had come to Asgard as Aaron insisted he had chosen to come himself.

Aaron overwhelmed Thanos in close combat, but Thor’s battle with Surtur distracted him long enough for Thanos to escape and heal. Thanos returned to the Sanctuary and questioned Aaron about his identity, while the fight for Asgard continued.

• Thanos used the Space Stone and Reality Stone to pull Aaron close, but Aaron knocked Thanos’s soul from his body and attacked him with Vishanti’s Sacred Sword and the Rings of the Accuser.
• Aaron outmatched Thanos in strength and speed, battered him severely, and wounded his left arm as Thanos tried to clench his fist and use the Infinity Stones.
• Thor attacked Surtur with lightning while Loki used an illusion of Hela to mislead him, and the distraction let Thanos escape through a Space Stone portal.
• Thanos used the Reality Stone to heal his injuries and asked Aaron who he was, while Aaron dismissed Thanos’s claim that Earthlings could not contend with a Titan.

Aaron fought Thanos aboard the Sanctuary while trying to protect Hela during Ragnarok, and Thanos refused to back down despite Aaron's offer to let him collect the remaining Infinity Stones. As Aaron's allies assessed his chances, the battle in Wakanda worsened when the Chitauri joined the Outriders and Cull Obsidian breached the barrier.

• Aaron used the Rings of the Accuser against Thanos, but Thanos countered with the Infinity Stones and trapped Aaron in an explosion that failed to harm him because of his special outfit.
• Aaron bound Thanos and reshaped the Sanctuary into a deadly passage, while Yak, Ramon, and Naga discussed Aaron's chances and watched the battle in Wakanda.
• The Avengers and Wakandan warriors fought the Outriders as Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw sent Chitauri forces toward the battlefield.
• Cull Obsidian knocked Iron Man Stark and War Machine Rhodey aside, entered Wakanda's barrier, and began attacking as giant gears burst from the ground.

As the Wakandan battle continued, Yak, Ramon, and Naga devised a plan to let Thanos collect the Infinity Stones and then attack him after his devastating snap, with Bucky helping wound him beforehand. Aaron authorized their request just as he emerged from a brutal assault that left Thanos badly injured.

• Wong redirected enormous gears into the Outriders, while Ebony Maw captured Strange, but the Cloak of Levitation carried Strange back inside the barrier.
• Yak, Ramon, and Naga decided to let Thanos use all six Infinity Stones, then ambush him while he was weakened and seize the Stones to restore the erased lives.
• Ramon identified Bucky as their chance to wound Thanos before the snap, and Yak planned to divine where Thanos would retreat afterward.
• The three servants asked Aaron for his powerful gun, Felix Felicis, and Bucky's cooperation, and Aaron agreed and ordered Bucky to help.
• Thanos escaped Aaron's attack after his Sanctuary was shattered, emerging with his armor broken and his body covered in bloody wounds.

Loki overdraws his magic to stop Surtur long enough for Hela to pin him, while Aaron battles Thanos as the Titan uses the Reality Stone to reshape the battlefield and trap him. Aaron reveals he can command water and withstand Thanos’s attacks, but the chapter ends with Thanos destroying the ground beneath him and lava spreading around his shrinking foothold.

• Loki uses shadow magic to make Surtur fall, then collapses from overdrawn magic as Hela pins the giant with spikes.
• Thanos seals the space around Aaron and uses the Reality Stone to transform their surroundings into an ice field.
• Aaron fights through Thanos’s waves of glaciers and attacks, but avoids using his hidden reserves and struggles to reach him.
• Thanos floods Aaron with a massive wave and creates water monsters and whirlpools, but Aaron disperses them by commanding the water.
• Thanos changes the battlefield into a volcanic wasteland, blocks Aaron’s attack, and uses the Power Stone to shatter the ground beneath him as lava spreads.

Aaron battled Thanos while trying to break the Space Stone’s blockade and reach Hela before Surtur could strike. After learning Hela was carrying his child, Aaron stopped time across the battlefield to freeze the falling meteors and Surtur’s descending sword, but the spell rapidly drained his remaining magic.

• Aaron flew through Thanos’s attacks, survived being buried beneath magma, and wounded Thanos in close combat.
• Aaron tried to take the Space Stone, but Thanos clutched the Infinity Gauntlet and unleashed the Power Stone’s energy, sending meteors crashing toward the Monster.
• Wanda told Aaron to save Hela because she was carrying his child, while Surtur raised the Twilight Sword over her.
• Aaron realized he could not reach Hela in time through the spatial blockade and chose to challenge fate by stopping time throughout the domain.
• Aaron froze the meteors, Surtur, Hela, and Thanos, then began gathering nearly black-purple energy as his magic rapidly dwindled.

Aaron saved Hela from Surtur’s Twilight Sword, exposing his identity and revealing that Hela was pregnant with his daughter. As Aaron and his allies struggled to hold back Surtur, he pressed Hela to agree to return home with him, while the failing defenses left the battle unresolved.

• Aaron appeared on the Bifrost, redirected Surtur’s Twilight Sword into Surtur, and accepted a mission to kill him and prevent Ragnarok.
• The Thought Form replenished some of Aaron’s magic, then left as Aaron explained that he had stopped time and broken Thanos’s spatial lock to save Hela and Wanda’s ship.
• Thor and Loki learned that Aaron and Hela were together and that Hela was carrying his child; Aaron revealed that the child might be endangered and learned Hela had conceived through a marriage agreement and the Goddess of Destiny’s help.
• Aaron used a Patronus and protective spells to hold back Surtur, then learned Hela wanted him to kneel before she would consider returning home with him.
• As the barrier weakened, Aaron attacked Surtur with seawater, then adjusted his Wand and infused the water column with an eerie green spell.

Aaron used enchanted bullets and a storm to delay Surtur while Hela signed their contract, then demanded Odin explain the scheme behind their betrothal. When Odin failed to answer, Aaron prepared to seal Thor and Loki as leverage and began one last test of their father-son bond.

• Aaron damaged Surtur with a Killing Curse and enchanted bullets, then used a targeted storm to slow his recovery.
• Hela signed Aaron's contract, and Aaron knelt before her before declaring that she would come home with him.
• Aaron suspected Odin had arranged his betrothal to Hela and tried to summon Odin through an ice statue, but Odin did not respond.
• Aaron threatened to seal Thor and Loki in Wei Zheng's Jar as leverage against Odin, prompting the brothers to argue about which of them might be killed.
• Aaron used the Rat Talisman on the ice statue again and said he would test Thor and Loki's bond with Odin before testing their brotherhood.