Chapter Summaries

S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated footage of Xu Fan saving Stark and Doctor Ens, but could not identify him. Fury decided to pursue contact with Xu Fan, while Ancient One discovered that the Time Stone could no longer show her his future.

• Coulson learned that S.H.I.E.L.D. had intercepted Stark’s footage and ordered agents to search for Xu Fan’s identity.
• Coulson showed the footage to Fury, who recognized the attackers as members of the Ten Rings and saw Xu Fan as a potential ally.
• Fury ordered Coulson to contact Stark and try to bring Xu Fan into the Avengers Initiative.
• Ancient One sensed Xu Fan’s unfamiliar power and wondered why he had saved Stark.
• Ancient One tried to use the Time Stone to look into the future, but the path ahead was cut off.

After Itachi and Sasuke recovered from their Sharingan transplants, Xu Fan brought Orochimaru a submachine gun to study. Xu Fan demonstrated its power, leaving Orochimaru stunned and revealing that it was only an ordinary, low-end weapon.

• Orochimaru told Xu Fan that Tsunade had performed Itachi and Sasuke's surgeries after learning the truth about Itachi's defection.
• Orochimaru said Tsunade wanted to meet Xu Fan, but Xu Fan declined.
• Xu Fan handed Orochimaru a submachine gun, which Orochimaru mistook for a kind of bow.
• Xu Fan fired the gun at a bottle and shattered his targets without using Chakra.
• Orochimaru realized the weapon's speed and power were extraordinary, but Xu Fan said it was only a low-end weapon with average destructive power.

Xu Fan explained firearms and their destructive potential to Orochimaru, then asked him to mass-produce guns and develop bullets infused with stored Chakra for civilians. As Orochimaru began considering the technical challenges, the Sign-in Assistant revealed Xu Fan’s next location: the place where Iron Man fought Iron Monger.

• Orochimaru was startled by the assault rifle’s power, and Xu Fan described a mushroom bomb as a weapon capable of devastating a country and leaving its land uninhabitable.
• Xu Fan asked Orochimaru to mass-produce firearms for people who could not use Chakra, since The Allspark could only animate machines within its covered area.
• Xu Fan explained that bullets carried the force of a firearm and asked Orochimaru to find a way to infuse them with Chakra that could be stored for later use.
• Orochimaru understood the idea but considered the difficulty of preserving Chakra in bullets and supplying them without relying on Jonin.
• The Sign-in Assistant revealed Xu Fan’s next sign-in location, which he recognized as the site of Iron Man’s fight with Iron Monger.

Xu Fan returned to the New York Sanctum, welcomed Anna and reunited with Kaguya while waiting for his new sign-in opportunity. He and Kaguya went to the street where Iron Man and Iron Monger would fight, and an unidentified red object crashed there as the block fell into panic.

• Xu Fan returned to the New York Sanctum and learned that Anna and the other examinees had chosen to join it.
• Xu Fan asked Arthur to look after Anna, then met with Kaguya, who asked him to take her along next time he traveled.
• Xu Fan comforted Kaguya and suggested they get something to eat together while they waited for the sign-in day.
• Xu Fan brought Kaguya to the street where Iron Man and Iron Monger had fought and waited in a roadside restaurant.
• An unidentified red flying object crashed into the street, leaving a deep crater and scattering pedestrians in a panic.

Stane attacked Stark with the Iron Monger armor, forcing Stark to defend nearby civilians until Xu Fan intervened. The bullets aimed at Xu Fan froze in midair, leaving Stane stunned.

• Stane used Iron Monger’s weapons to overwhelm Stark, who stayed to shield the pedestrians behind him.
• Stane taunted Stark and fired a barrage of bullets at his Iron Suit.
• Stark spotted Xu Fan at a restaurant and recognized him as the man who had used magic and transformed guns into mechanical lifeforms.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. moved Stark out of the bullets’ path when his Iron Suit reached its limit.
• Xu Fan stopped the bullets in midair, leaving Stane unable to understand what had happened.

Xu Fan faced Iron Monger while his sign-in reward arrived, and he revealed power that stunned the public and drew the attention of governments and intelligence agencies. After Stane fired a rocket at him, a red-and-blue truck appeared to shield Xu Fan, leaving Stark and Stane bewildered.

• As Iron Monger fired its Gatling gun, Xu Fan stopped the bullets in midair, shocking the fleeing pedestrians who filmed him.
• Videos of Xu Fan's supernatural display attracted the attention of the United States military, foreign agents, and special departments.
• Xu Fan watched his sign-in progress reach 100% and received Optimus Prime and Megatron as his reward.
• Stane refused to surrender and fired a rocket at Xu Fan, creating a mushroom cloud that knocked the suspended bullets to the ground.
• A red-and-blue truck appeared between Iron Monger and Xu Fan, leaving Stark and Stane stunned.

Xu Fan summoned Optimus Prime, revealing his power to Stark and Stane, and used him to stop Stane’s escape. Optimus Prime crushed Iron Monger with Stane inside, leaving both destroyed.

• Xu Fan summoned Optimus Prime from a truck, and Optimus Prime knelt and pledged himself to his master.
• Stane recognized Xu Fan as the person who had attacked the Ten Rings and panicked.
• Stane fired Iron Monger’s thrusters and tried to flee, but Optimus Prime leaped up and seized the armor by the leg.
• Optimus Prime slammed Iron Monger into the street, then crushed its shell and Stane inside it.

Xu Fan and Optimus Prime defeated Iron Monger, but the military arrived to seize Optimus Prime. Xu Fan ignored Stark’s suggestion to escape and challenged General Ross, while Fury recognized Xu Fan and feared what would happen next.

• Optimus Prime crushed Iron Monger, and the exhausted Stark collapsed after his arc reactor ran out of energy.
• The military sealed off the area with soldiers and helicopters, and Fury identified Xu Fan as the superhero he had been searching for.
• Stark urged Xu Fan to use a portal to escape, but Xu Fan chose to stay when General Ross ordered them to surrender.
• Ross threatened to launch a localized war to take Optimus Prime, confident his forces could overpower Xu Fan and Stark.
• Xu Fan told Ross that he knew nothing about war, while Fury watched from a helicopter and sensed that Ross had underestimated the coming conflict.

Fury tried to stop General Ross from provoking Xu Fan, but Ross refused to listen and ordered his troops to capture him. When they fired a tranquilizer dart, Xu Fan’s power awakened the vehicles across the block, leaving Ross’s forces facing a mechanical army.

• Fury warned Ross to stand down and evacuate, but Ross dismissed him and ordered his soldiers to approach Xu Fan.
• Ross demanded that Xu Fan surrender and cooperate, while Xu Fan rejected his offer and Optimus Prime prepared to fight.
• Ross ordered a sniper to shoot Xu Fan with a tranquilizer dart, but an empty beetle-shaped vehicle leaped in front of it.
• The Allspark’s power transformed the vehicles stranded on the block into mechanical soldiers under Xu Fan’s control.
• Ross watched the mechanical army attack his forces, and one of his guards urged him to flee.

Xu Fan turned the vehicles into a coordinated steel tide that overwhelmed General Ross’s forces, leaving Ross gravely injured and his soldiers in retreat. As Ross neared unconsciousness, Nick Fury appeared and pulled him back to his feet.

• Xu Fan transformed the vehicles into towering mechanical lifeforms and sent them against General Ross’s soldiers.
• Stark watched the steel tide advance as Ross’s forces failed to match its firepower.
• A soldier urged Ross to flee, and the troops formed a human wall to escort him toward an armored vehicle.
• The armored vehicle transformed into an Autobot, whose ground strike hurled the soldiers aside and badly injured Ross.
• As Ross lost consciousness, Nick Fury appeared and dragged him up, telling him it was not time to sleep.

Xu Fan expanded the Allspark’s power across New York, transforming technology into mechanical lifeforms and warning the world’s leaders not to covet his abilities. His influence soon reached half the city, leaving the entire world stunned by his ability to command millions of machines.

• Fury rescued General Ross and began retreating with him while the transformed helicopters joined Xu Fan’s forces.
• Ross revealed that more troops and advanced weapons were being assembled to seize Xu Fan’s truck and technology, and he tried to warn them away.
• Xu Fan addressed the world’s hidden powers, identified himself as a Sanctum Guardian, and warned them to stay away from what belonged to him.
• Xu Fan unleashed the Allspark across several city blocks, transforming devices such as vending machines and Fury’s communications equipment into mechanical lifeforms.
• The Allspark’s influence spread across half of New York, swelling Xu Fan’s army to millions and shocking people around the world.

Xu Fan unleashed an overwhelming mechanical army against General Ross’s soldiers and rejected Stark’s plea to stop. He sent Stark back to Stark Industries, where Stark reunited with Pepper and Coulson and feared that Xu Fan could awaken any machine, including Iron Suits and nuclear weapons.

• Millions of mechanical lifeforms overwhelmed General Ross’s forces, and Stark urged Xu Fan to stop slaughtering the soldiers.
• Xu Fan told Stark that the Department of Defense would try to seize his reactor and Iron Suit technology, and Stark vowed not to hand his own technology over.
• Xu Fan said humans would never receive his power and sent Stark through a ring of fire to the reactor tower at Stark Industries.
• Stark exhausted his reactor’s remaining energy and crashed into the ground, but his Iron Suit protected him from serious injury.
• Pepper and Coulson found Stark, who explained that Xu Fan could turn ordinary machines into mechanical warriors and worried that even Iron Suits or nuclear weapons could be awakened.

After Xu Fan’s mechanical army overwhelmed the human forces in New York, Fury and General Ross debated how to stop him, while powerful organizations and rulers across the world and beyond reacted to his strength. The chapter ended with Hydra seeking Xu Fan, Ancient One comparing his power to Dormammu’s, and Odin mistaking him for the strongest Sorcerer Supreme in history.

• Fury led General Ross away from the battlefield and worried that Xu Fan’s power made him too dangerous to recruit or control.
• General Ross proposed killing Xu Fan and argued that a mass-produced Hulk army could challenge his mechanical forces, but Fury questioned what would happen if the operation failed.
• Madame Hydra watched Xu Fan’s mechanical life forms overwhelm New York and ordered Hydra to make contact with him.
• Ancient One saw ordinary vehicles gain life and wondered whether Xu Fan had become powerful enough to stand alongside Dormammu.
• Odin sensed Xu Fan’s power in Midgard, mistook him for the Sorcerer Supreme, and believed he was the strongest Sorcerer Supreme in history.

Xu Fan ended the battle by stopping the Allspark-awakened machines, then used a magical portal to return to the New York Sanctum with Kaguya. As his followers raised concerns that he had broken the mages’ rules, he insisted he had acted in self-defense.

• Xu Fan stopped crushing the defeated human army, stored Optimus Prime, and caused the Allspark-awakened machines to revert to ordinary vehicles and devices.
• Xu Fan reflected on his growing detachment from humanity and concluded that absolute power let him remove anyone who stood in his way.
• Xu Fan opened a portal to the New York Sanctum, and he and Kaguya flew through it as witnesses recorded the spectacle and shared it online.
• At the New York Sanctum, Arthur and the other followers discussed Xu Fan’s ability to create millions of mechanical lifeforms and turn them into weapons again.
• Arthur warned Xu Fan that his actions had broken the mages’ rules, and Xu Fan replied that he had been forced to act and was defending himself.

Xu Fan considered the risks of future sign-ins and returned to the Land of Fire, while footage of his power reached Bruce Banner in Brazil. Banner recognized General Ross in the video and left work, hoping Xu Fan might help him with his condition.

• Xu Fan reflected on his encounter with General Ross and the uncertainty surrounding future sign-ins and the Marvel comics.
• Xu Fan considered using the Allspark and Cybertronian technology to pursue powerful metals, then opened a portal back to the Land of Fire.
• In a Brazilian factory, Bruce Banner’s coworker showed him a video of Optimus Prime and Xu Fan fighting Iron Monger in New York.
• Banner recognized General Ross in the footage, realized the events were real, and left work to investigate whether Xu Fan could help him.

General Ross and Director Fury agreed to use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence network to capture the Hulk and build a Hulk army to counter Xu Fan. They learned that Banner had returned to the United States after contacting someone calling himself Doctor Blue.

• Powerful figures ordered General Ross to eliminate Xu Fan, and Ross decided the Hulk could be the answer.
• Ross asked Fury to help locate Banner so the military could capture him, replicate the Gamma Serum, and create a Hulk army.
• Fury agreed to cooperate with Ross while privately considering how S.H.I.E.L.D. might retain custody of the Hulk.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered that Banner had been hiding in Brazil and had bought a ticket to the United States the previous day.
• Fury noticed that Banner had contacted someone calling himself Doctor Blue before purchasing the ticket.

Doctor Banner returned to the United States hoping Xu Fan or Doctor Blue could help him with Hulk, but General Ross and Director Fury had prepared to capture him. Banner escaped from his plane and ran down the runway as Ross sent Colonel Blonsky after him, while Xu Fan received a new check-in location: Broadway.

• Banner emailed Doctor Blue to arrange a meeting before boarding his flight back to the United States.
• Ross and Fury prepared an airport capture operation, bringing soldiers and advanced equipment to confront Banner.
• Banner escaped through the plane's landing gear after it landed and began running down the runway.
• Ross tracked Banner with his equipment and ordered Colonel Blonsky to pursue him.
• Xu Fan received a notification telling him to check in at Broadway before the following night.

Xu Fan recognized Broadway as the site of the Hulk and Abomination’s battle and decided to go there to check in. Meanwhile, General Ross’s forces cornered Banner at an airport, where Banner transformed into the Hulk and leaped over Blonsky.

• Xu Fan connected Broadway to the events of The Incredible Hulk and reasoned that Stark could not intervene because his suit was damaged or he had not yet become Iron Man.
• Xu Fan decided to go to Broadway to check in, believing Abomination was weaker than the Hulk.
• Banner secretly left his plane at an evacuated airport, but General Ross’s soldiers surrounded him with tranquilizer rounds.
• Blonsky led the capture team toward Banner, eager to face the mysterious target.
• Banner transformed into the Hulk, stunning Blonsky and the soldiers, then leaped over Blonsky.

Hulk tore through General Ross’s forces at the runway, shrugging off bullets and overpowering Blonsky. The chapter ended with Hulk repeatedly slamming Blonsky into the ground.

• Hulk smashed the runway with a punch, sending soldiers and Blonsky flying.
• Blonsky recovered, armed himself with live ammunition, and led his men in an attack on Hulk.
• Hulk charged through the gunfire unharmed and drove Blonsky to abandon his weapon and evade him.
• Blonsky climbed onto Hulk’s back and stabbed him, but the dagger bent without penetrating.
• Hulk grabbed Blonsky by the leg and repeatedly slammed him into the ground.

General Ross planned to use a replica of the Captain America serum to restore Blonsky and capture Hulk, while Hulk rampaged through New York after escaping the military. Arthur and four Sanctum sorcerers arrived and restrained Hulk with magical whips.

• Fury left Ross after the failed operation, while Ross learned that Blonsky had suffered devastating injuries and would likely require machines to survive.
• Ross ordered headquarters to prepare a wartime replica serum, hoping it could restore Blonsky and help the military capture Hulk next time.
• Hulk ran toward New York, where police gunfire enraged him and he attacked officers and destroyed cars.
• Arthur and four Sanctum sorcerers appeared to stop Hulk's rampage, and Arthur bound him with a magical whip while the others restrained his limbs.