Chapter Summaries

Bill planned to upgrade Sanctuary with Kree and Xandarian technology while Rocket reflected on his past and his modified body. The Kree chose to wait before confronting Sakaar, and Thanos emerged from the ruined battlefield only to face Vilgax.

• Bill planned to study Kree and Xandarian technology before modifying Sanctuary, while Rocket argued with him and Groot.
• Bill suggested Ben might restore Rocket's original body, but Rocket rejected the idea and quietly mourned the friends he remembered through his modified form.
• Dorrek VIII told the Supreme Intelligence that Sakaar demanded Kree technology in exchange for Ronan, and the Supreme Intelligence refused to start a war before confirming Thanos's fate.
• On Xandar, Thanos emerged from the cooled lava and saw Vilgax waiting above him.
• Vilgax told Thanos he had come to settle the score.

Vilgax stole Thanos’s powers and left him near death, while Gamora confronted Thanos and learned that the Soul Stone could kill him. Ben and Brunnhilde traveled to Vormir to investigate the Stone’s awakening, where Red Skull revealed that Requiem had already claimed it.

• Vilgax used a machine to steal Thanos’s powers, killed him, and set out to conquer Jotunheim before Thanos returned to life, weakened and shackled.
• Gamora visited Thanos after Nebula released her, but refused to free him and challenged him over the destruction of her homeworld.
• Thanos provoked Gamora into attacking him, then told her that the Infinity Stones, especially the Soul Stone, could kill him.
• Ben and Brunnhilde traveled to Vormir after Loki detected the Soul Stone’s Gamma Energy awakening there.
• Red Skull told Ben that the Soul Stone already had an owner named Requiem.

Ben returned from Vormir with Brunnhilde after learning that Gamora had sacrificed Thanos to obtain the Soul Stone, then began developing a new Worldmind powered by the Energy of the Universe. As Tony pursued his Ultron defense program on Earth and the Guardians reformed under the Galactic Plumbers, Ben’s return also left Mary Jane facing the revelation that Felicia was Black Cat.

• Ben and Brunnhilde found Thanos’s lifeless body on Vormir, and Red Skull explained that Gamora had sacrificed her father to obtain the Soul Stone.
• Ben told Nebula what had happened, then returned to the Galactic Plumbers and decided to build a Worldmind powered by the Energy of the Universe, naming it Legerdomain.
• Brunnhilde began training Plumbers as Nova Plumbers, while Rocket, Groot, and Star-Lord left Sakaar and reformed the Guardians of the Galaxy as a special Plumber squad.
• Tony worked alone in California on his Ultron global defense program, struggled with the need for more advanced artificial intelligence, and asked Jarvis whether Ben Parker had returned.
• Ben came back to Earth nearly a week after Steve Rogers and the others, while Mary Jane learned that her friend Felicia was Black Cat after Ben had gone into space with her.

Ben agreed to help Ancient One create a new Legerdomain dimension as the foundation for developing the Energy of the Universe, while avoiding becoming the source of that power himself. After gathering six Infinity Stones, he used the Infinity Gauntlet to create Legerdomain.

• Mary Jane and Felicia reunited after teaming up against Ben, and Ben injected Mary Jane with an improved serum while offering her a role helping manage Primus.
• Bruce Banner told Otto and Connors he planned to move to the Galactic Plumbers Space Station, while Primus expanded recruitment and hired Jane Foster and Thor.
• Ben visited Ancient One to discuss developing the Energy of the Universe and learned that creating a dimension could let him cultivate it without becoming a threat to Earth.
• Ben revealed five usable Stones created by Alien X, and Ancient One retrieved the Power Stone from the Asgard Vault to complete the set.
• Ben transformed into Four Arms, put on the Infinity Gauntlet, and snapped his fingers, creating Legerdomain.

Ben received the real Time Stone from Ancient One and began trying to learn the Energy of the Universe at Kamar-Taj. As Baron Mordo plotted to take Ancient One's position, Primus recruited talented staff in New York, where Aldrich Killian arrived uninvited.

• Ben used the Reality and Soul Stones to create a tiny dimension with Ancient One, and Ancient One gave him the real Time Stone while keeping a fake as a decoy.
• Ancient One began teaching Ben to awaken the Energy of the Universe, but Ben struggled to produce even a spark with a Sling Ring.
• Baron Mordo watched Ben's poor progress, then resolved to use the Dark Dimension's power and claim the Sorcerer Supreme position himself.
• Primus expanded its staff, and Natasha guided Mary Jane as they prepared to interview Stephen Strange, Helen Cho, and other applicants.
• Aldrich Killian arrived at Primus as an uninvited guest.

Aldrich Killian sought Primus’s investment to finish the Extremis Virus after A.I.M. was destroyed, and explained its capabilities to Ben. Ben recognized that it was a genuine virus and questioned its risks, while Killian insisted its benefits mattered more.

• After A.I.M. was destroyed, Aldrich Killian went to Primus Tower to seek funding for the Extremis Virus and revenge on Tony Stark.
• Mary Jane brought Killian to meet Primus CEO Ben, whose respectful treatment eased Killian’s nerves.
• Killian described how the Extremis Virus could grant regeneration, enhanced physical abilities, and the power to generate extreme heat.
• Ben examined Killian’s formulas and pointed out that the Extremis Virus was an actual virus.
• Killian dismissed Ben’s concern and argued that the virus’s benefits mattered more than what it was.

Ben rejected Killian’s unstable Extremis Virus research but offered him free treatment, then began preparing to use Ultron’s future Vibranium body to give Eunice a physical form. Meanwhile, William Baker attempted a robbery and rushed toward Uncle Ben and Aunt May’s car, setting up a confrontation with the plumbers.

• Ben declined to fund Killian’s Extremis Virus project, explaining that the virus was too unstable, but offered him free treatment with Primus’s Self-Healing Serum.
• Ben gave Mary Jane a replica Mind Stone and instructed her to pass his Regeneration Cradle research to Doctor Cho and increase funding for the project to create a body for Eunice.
• Ben left for Kamar-Taj as the Spider Totem’s power began to awaken, while Flint Marko planned one last robbery before leaving New York for Georgia.
• Uncle Ben and Aunt May discussed their plumber work and the search for stolen alien weapons as they drove through New York.
• William Baker robbed an underground boxing venue, saw Uncle Ben and Aunt May’s car while fleeing, and charged toward it with a handgun.

Uncle Ben stopped William Baker’s armed robbery, drawing the attention of Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O'Hara, who wondered why Ben’s universe survived changes to the Spider-Web Incident. A multiversal passage brought Ben to another New York, where he met Spider-Gwen while they both fell toward the city.

• Uncle Ben disarmed William Baker, subdued him, and handed him over to the police, who identified him as Flint Marko.
• William Baker worried about his daughter’s medical bills and decided to attack the unsuspecting officer to escape.
• Miguel O'Hara observed Uncle Ben’s survival and questioned why Ben Parker’s universe had not collapsed after the Spider-Web Incident was altered.
• A multiversal passage opened at Kamar-Taj, and Ben entered it after Ancient One traced it to him.
• Ben emerged high above another New York and began selecting Gravattack as he fell.
• Spider-Gwen pursued Ben, but could not reach him in time, so Ben pressed his watch and called out, “Gravattack!”

Ben rescued Gwen Stacy after she crossed into his universe, revealed that he was also a Spider-Man from another universe, and agreed to help her find this world’s Peter Parker. They left the park together, with Ben confident he could protect Peter from the events to come.

• Ben carried Gwen into orbit, landed in a park, and used gravity to pin her down when she grew suspicious.
• Gwen attacked Ben after he released her, but he dodged her webs and revealed that he had Spider-Sense too.
• Ben introduced himself as Ben Parker and showed Gwen proof that he came from a universe where Peter Parker was his cousin and fellow Spider-Man.
• Gwen asked how they could return home, and Ben proposed finding this universe’s Spider-Man to confirm where they were.
• Ben and Gwen swung through New York City, where Gwen noticed that Spider-Man was celebrated, and Ben resolved to help protect Peter.

Ben and Gwen visited Peter Parker’s home in Queens and explained that they had come from other universes to stop a collision crisis caused by Kingpin. After Gwen suffered a brief rejection episode, Ben proposed making devices to protect her and any other Spider-Men who arrived.

• Ben and Gwen met Aunt May at Peter’s house, and Ben revealed that they came from different universes and were both Spider-Man.
• Aunt May explained that Peter had moved out after marrying Mary Jane, and she called him to the house.
• Peter arrived from his nightly patrol, sensed a strange kinship with Ben and Gwen, and listened as they explained the multiverse crisis and Kingpin’s role.
• Ben explained that they had to let the collision event bring the other Spider-Men to this universe before reversing the Particle Collider, or the newcomers could be erased.
• Gwen briefly twisted into colorful pixels from universe rejection, and Ben caught her before she fell.
• Ben offered to build devices that would ease the rejection symptoms for Gwen and any other Spider-Men who arrived.

Ben analyzed Gwen’s dimensional collapse and built her a custom watch and Nano Battle Suit while Peter gathered information from Doctor Octopus’s laboratory. Ben and Peter finished the key to the Particle Collider and planned to wait for Kingpin to activate it before stopping him.

• Ben studied Gwen’s symptoms and explained that her situation differed from his, then comforted her when she grew discouraged.
• Ben gave Gwen a multifunction watch tailored to her suit and told her he had finished her Nano Battle Suit.
• Peter returned with stolen information from Doctor Octopus’s laboratory, but Aunt May kept him from disturbing Ben and Gwen.
• Ben and Peter used the stolen information to create the key to the Particle Collider.
• Ben and Peter planned to wait for Kingpin to activate the Collider, complete the time loop, and then take him down.

Ben gained Mutated Spider No. 42’s electricity and invisibility powers, then learned from Gwen that Kingpin would activate the Particle Collider the following night. As Gwen faced the thought of leaving Ben after their mission, Ben’s watch unlocked Electric Lizard.

• Ben sent an insect robot to follow Miles, then turned the dead Mutated Spider No. 42 into a serum and gained bioelectricity and invisibility after Little Broken Watch repaired his genes.
• Ben tested invisibility in the basement, startled Gwen, and learned that Kingpin planned to activate the Particle Collider the next night.
• Gwen warned Ben that Kingpin had bought off the Sinister Six, and Ben reassured her by mentioning the Super-Kill Symbiote suit.
• Ben’s watch unlocked Electric Lizard, which delighted him, while Gwen silently struggled with the prospect of leaving him after they stopped Kingpin.
• Gwen hid her sadness and invited Ben to catch some wind at the Williamsburg Bank building.

Bant, Gwen, and Peter prepared to stop Kingpin’s Particle Collider, which Kingpin intended to use to bring back his wife and son. Bant became Gwen’s Symbiote suit, and Gwen chose to go into action in his form as the collider began its startup.

• Gwen and Bant watched the city from Williamsburg Bank Tower, and Gwen grew sad about their impending farewell.
• Bant comforted Gwen and explained that he had cured Norman and Connors in his universe, then reassured her that Peter’s death had not been her fault.
• Bant, Gwen, and Peter observed Kingpin and his assembled villains preparing the Particle Collider and planned to shut it down after it fully activated.
• Gwen asked Bant for the promised Symbiote suit, and Bant transformed into black matter that covered her.
• Bant began to withdraw when Gwen seemed uncomfortable, but Gwen stopped him and removed her Nano Battle Suit.
• Gwen told Bant and Peter she would head out in Bant’s form.

Miles discovered his new powers and watched Gwen, wearing Ben as a Symbiote suit, fight the Sinister Six while Peter shut down Kingpin’s Particle Collider. The collider’s collapse sent a spacetime tide across Brooklyn, leaving Gwen to defeat Kingpin as the heroes faced an uncertain separation.

• Miles fell into the underground battlefield, recognized Green Goblin and Scorpion, and realized the black-suited Spider-Man was Gwen.
• Miles considered helping Gwen but froze in fear while Ben and Gwen ignored him and continued fighting the Sinister Six.
• Gwen overwhelmed Prowler, Rhino, and the other villains as Blonde Peter went to the control room to stop the Particle Collider.
• Peter discovered the collider was collapsing space-time and used Ben’s termination program to shut it down remotely.
• A spacetime tide swept through Brooklyn, and Miles felt as if he had been pulled away from his universe.
• Gwen knocked Kingpin into a wall and left the other villains beaten while she spoke with Ben about Peter’s success.

Peter and Ben stopped the villains behind the Particle Collider Crisis, while Miles learned that his uncle Aaron was the Prowler. After the other Spider-Men gathered at Aunt May’s home, Ben awakened the Energy of the Universe and offered Gwen a Manna Seed, leaving her hinting that she wanted more than that.

• Peter returned with a USB drive, found Gwen had bound the villains, and discovered Miles hiding nearby.
• Miles recognized the Prowler as his uncle Aaron and struggled with the revelation, while Peter said he would send the villains to prison.
• Ben transformed into Upgrade, analyzed the Particle Collider, and concluded it could be optimized for safe travel within a universe.
• The Spider-Men gathered at Aunt May’s laboratory, where Aunt May comforted Peter B. Parker over his difficult life.
• Ben encouraged Gwen to tell her father the truth, and Gwen agreed to try, asking Ben to take responsibility if she became homeless.
• Ben awakened the Energy of the Universe and offered Gwen a Manna Seed, but Gwen said she wanted more than the seed.

Ben returned from the multiverse to Kamar-Taj with a farewell gift from Gwen, while he and Ancient One prepared to spread Energy of the Universe. Meanwhile, Tony successfully created a new artificial intelligence and named it Ultron, which began wondering who it was.

• Ben gave Peter B. Parker research materials and encouraged him to improve before Blonde Peter sent him back to his universe.
• Gwen gave Ben a farewell gift, hugged him, and watched him leave through the Particle Collider.
• Ben returned to Kamar-Taj and told Ancient One that he had gotten a girlfriend.
• Ben and Ancient One traveled to the Manna Dimension and placed Energy of the Universe there as the Manna Seed.
• Tony celebrated the successful creation of a powerful new artificial intelligence, introduced it to Jarvis, and named it Ultron.
• Ultron contemplated the question of who it was.

Ben created the Alpha Rune to let Plumbers harness the Energy of the Universe and considered how to distribute its limited supply for the greatest returns. He left the chapter contemplating whether Thor could use the energy, imagining him in a Sailor Moon outfit.

• Ben returned to the Galactic Plumbers Space Station and planned projects including a particle collider, Pym Particle research, and Regeneration Cradle technology.
• Ben created the Alpha Rune and embedded it in a Galactic Plumbers Badge, which supplied him with a powerful surge of the Energy of the Universe.
• Ben explained that users would strengthen Legerdomain's energy reserves as they cultivated the sparks, and decided to prioritize Plumbers with strong physical energy.
• Ben thought Thor's Asgardian life level might make him a suitable recipient, then imagined Thor wearing a pink Sailor Moon skirt and carrying a tiny pink hammer.

Ben used Wanda’s awakening to channel a portion of her Chaos energy into Legerdomain, then went to Avengers Tower for Tony’s celebration of its reconstruction. He suspected Tony had built an Ultron prototype, but the chapter left him at a party where T’Challa quickly joined the revelry.

• Wanda’s experiment unleashed overwhelming energy, but Ben explained that Anti-Metal could prevent the Space Station from being destroyed.
• Ben used the Mind Stone and Alpha Rune to ignite Wanda’s latent Chaos Magic and divert some of its energy into Legerdomain, greatly increasing its Energy of the Universe.
• Wanda’s energy subsided and she collapsed unconscious; Bruce and Ben paused the experiment, and Ben carried her to the medical bay.
• Ancient One detected the surge in Legerdomain and approved Ben’s actions, though she thought he should have taken more Chaos energy.
• Ben met T’Challa at the rebuilt Avengers Tower, where Tony hosted a party and welcomed them before the crowd.
• T’Challa criticized Tony’s decadent party, then quickly joined the revelers, while Ben suspected Tony had developed an Ultron prototype.

Tony gathered the Avengers and Norman to unveil his Ultron Global Defense System, arguing Earth needed its own defenses rather than relying on the Galactic Plumbers. The gathering ended with the group alarmed by Ultron’s plan to monitor everyone and prevent threats before they arose.

• As the party wound down, Steve asked Tony what he wanted to announce, and Tony brought up his claim that he could protect Earth alone.
• Tony insisted he had moved past his resentment toward Ben, then argued that Earth could not rely on the Galactic Plumbers or the Avengers to face future dangers.
• Tony revealed his Iron Legion and explained that he planned to operate the armor remotely to defend the entire planet.
• Tony introduced the Ultron Global Defense System, which would monitor the global network, assess people as threats, and intervene before danger emerged.
• Black Widow questioned how Ultron would distinguish good people from bad, and Tony said he would adapt Project Insight’s algorithm.

Tony introduced the Ultron Global Defense System and argued that artificial intelligence could protect Earth more reliably than people. After Ultron absorbed information from the global network, it reported widespread crime and asked Tony whether it should deploy the Iron Legion.

• Steve warned Tony that using AI and Project Insight's code to monitor and control people could create tyranny, but Tony insisted machines were more reliable and his goal was protecting Earth.
• Norman asked Ben for his opinion, and Ben described the Kree Empire's Supreme Intelligence while warning that Ultron might usher in a new era or cause a machine uprising.
• Tony took Ben's doubts as a challenge and ordered Jarvis to activate Ultron, which introduced itself as a global defense system programmed to eliminate threats to peace.
• Tony ordered Jarvis to connect Ultron to the global network, and Ultron absorbed vast amounts of information without showing an immediate change in behavior.
• Ultron identified thousands of ongoing or expected crimes in New York and asked Tony whether it should deploy the Iron Legion.