Chapter Summaries

Stark detected an unidentified spacecraft approaching Earth and raced to intercept it after failing to contact Xu Fan. When the damaged ship lost control over Queens, Stark used magic enhanced by his Iron Suit to stop it before it crashed into a building.

• J.A.R.V.I.S. detected an unidentified object approaching New York, and Stark set out to investigate while asking J.A.R.V.I.S. to contact Xu Fan.
• Stark could not reach Xu Fan, and Coulson informed him that S.H.I.E.L.D. had identified the visitor as a spacecraft heading for Queens.
• Rogers and the others headed to Queens while Stark reached the spacecraft and tried to contact its occupants.
• Rocket could not control the damaged spacecraft, which plunged toward a high-rise as people fled through Queens.
• Stark cast a spell from his Iron Suit and suspended Rocket's spacecraft in midair before it could crash.

Rocket’s spaceship crash-landed in Queens, where Stark and the Avengers confronted its crew. Star-Lord named Xu Fan as the reason they had come, and Stark asked whether they were Xu Fan’s friends.

• Stark used magic to stop Rocket’s runaway spaceship and landed it in Queens, crushing several cars.
• Black Widow, Rogers, Hawkeye, Falcon, and Spider-Man gathered around the landed ship as its hatch opened.
• Rocket urged Star-Lord to go out first, but Drax charged outside and Stark knocked him down with a laser.
• Star-Lord emerged with his weapons raised, and Rocket, Groot, and Mantis followed him out.
• Star-Lord said they had come to find Xu, prompting Stark to lower his guard and ask if they were Xu Fan’s friends.
• Star-Lord agreed that they were Xu Fan’s friends, hoping to calm the Avengers.

Stark and Rogers questioned Star-Lord and his companions after bringing them to S.H.I.E.L.D., where Star-Lord warned that Thanos was coming for the Infinity Stones. Coulson showed them footage of a massive ship approaching Earth, and Star-Lord identified it as Thanos's.

• Stark disarmed Star-Lord and, with Rogers, brought him and his companions to S.H.I.E.L.D. while leaving Spider-Man behind.
• Stark asked why Star-Lord and the others had come to Earth, and Star-Lord warned that Thanos posed a major threat.
• Star-Lord explained that Thanos sought the Infinity Stones, which he said were in Xu Fan's hands.
• Stark connected the Infinity Stones to the Time Stone Xu Fan had used and explained his understanding to Rogers.
• Coulson showed a projection of a huge spaceship approaching Earth, and Star-Lord recognized it as Thanos's.

Thanos’s Sanctuary II approached Earth, prompting Stark, Rogers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. to prepare for an invasion while trying to gather allies. Stark sought help from the New York Sanctum, but learned Xu Fan was away with Kaguya and could not be reached.

• Coulson reported that Sanctuary II would reach Earth in half an hour and planned to land in New York, so Rogers ordered the city evacuated and a defensive line established.
• Rocket dismissed the Chitauri as weak compared with Thanos, alarming Stark and the others about the scale of the coming threat.
• Coulson tried to contact Xu Fan, Rogers joined the evacuation effort, and Black Widow went to seek General Ross’s help.
• Stark flew to the New York Sanctum to recruit the sorcerers and ask Anna about finding Xu Fan.
• Anna told Stark that Xu had recently taken Kaguya somewhere else, leaving him unable to reach Xu as the invasion approached.

With Xu Fan and Kaguya absent, Anna and Stark sought Kamar-Taj’s help as Thanos’s ship approached Earth. Arthur led over a thousand sorcerers to New York, while Heimdall noticed the mobilization and Xu Fan’s absence from Asgard.

• Anna told Stark she could not reach Xu Fan or Kaguya, then took him through a portal to Kamar-Taj for help.
• Stark warned Arthur and Strange that Thanos’s Sanctuary II would reach Earth in about twenty minutes and that Thanos wanted the Time Stone.
• Arthur asked Strange to remain at Kamar-Taj, but Strange refused and opened a portal to New York.
• Arthur and Anna rejected Stark’s suggestion to bring sorcerers from the Shanghai and London Sanctums, fearing Dormammu could exploit their absence.
• Arthur gathered over a thousand sorcerers and led them through portals to New York.
• Heimdall saw the sorcerers heading to New York and noticed that Xu Fan was nowhere on Earth.

Heimdall warned Thor that New York was preparing for a major conflict while Xu Fan was missing, so Thor and Loki went to Earth to help. Hulk initially refused to join them but reconsidered, while Stark and Captain Rogers met Thor and Loki in New York.

• Heimdall told Thor that Sanctum Sanctorum and Kamar-Taj mages were gathering in New York and civilians were being evacuated, while Xu Fan was nowhere in the Nine Realms.
• Thor left Heimdall in charge of Asgard, reassured Foster, and recruited Loki to investigate what was happening on Earth.
• Hulk refused Thor's request to come to Earth, but after Thor and Loki departed through the Rainbow Bridge, he wondered whether he should go after remembering his time at the New York Sanctum.
• Thor and Loki arrived in central New York, where Stark and Captain Rogers were preparing defenses, and Loki declared that he was on Earth's side.

Thor and Loki joined the Avengers as they prepared for Thanos’s imminent invasion of New York, but Xu Fan was still missing. As Thanos’s ship entered Earth’s atmosphere, Nick Fury sent another distress signal to Captain Marvel.

• Rogers told Thor and Loki that Thanos was coming to seize the Infinity Stones, and Thor and Loki explained their past encounters with him.
• Loki warned Stark and Rogers that Thanos’s Outriders were far more dangerous than the Chitauri and that they had little chance without Xu Fan.
• Stark deployed his Iron Legion while S.H.I.E.L.D. evacuated civilians and assembled defenses around New York.
• General Ross gathered tens of thousands of soldiers, and sorcerers from the Sanctum Sanctorum and Kamar-Taj began building a magical barrier.
• Thanos’s Sanctuary II entered Earth’s atmosphere and headed for New York, while Nick Fury used Captain Marvel’s pager to send her a distress signal.

Fury sent Captain Marvel a plea for help as Thanos's forces attacked Earth, while Xu Fan remained unreachable. Sanctuary II bombarded New York, but the sorcerers' barrier held, and Strange challenged the invaders to come down and take the Infinity Stones.

• Fury sent Captain Marvel a message and prayed that she or Xu Fan would return before Earth was destroyed.
• Ebony Maw ordered Sanctuary II to descend over New York and launch a direct bombardment.
• Arthur, Anna, and more than a thousand sorcerers protected New York with a magical barrier that blocked the barrage.
• Stark warned that the barrier could not protect the whole Earth and said Sanctuary II had to be brought down over New York.
• Strange arrived, cast Akkon's Form, and used his duplicates to tell Thanos's forces that the Infinity Stones were there for the taking.
• Ebony Maw read Strange's message and flew into a furious rage.

Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian brought Sanctuary II down to New York, where Earth’s defenders prepared to fight rather than hand over the Infinity Stones. The Outriders overwhelmed General Ross’s forces, and Ross transformed into the Red Hulk as they closed in on him.

• Cull Obsidian urged Ebony Maw to descend, and Sanctuary II approached New York after Arthur ordered the magical barrier opened.
• The Sanctum sorcerers opened a gap in the barrier while S.H.I.E.L.D., General Ross’s army, superheroes, and sorcerers prepared for battle.
• Cull Obsidian, Ebony Maw, Midnight Neighbor Star, and Black Dwarf emerged from Sanctuary II, and Ebony Maw demanded the Infinity Stones.
• Thor and Stark rejected Ebony Maw’s offer and warned him to leave, so Ebony Maw unleashed the Outriders.
• The Outriders overran General Ross’s soldiers, and Ross transformed into a red, hulking form as they surrounded him.

General Ross, Thor, Stark, Strange, and Arthur fought the Black Order and its Outriders, with both sides mistaking their opponents for the figures they sought. Strange escaped Midnight Neighbor Star’s apparent killing blow and prepared to fight her, while Arthur corrected Cull Obsidian’s assumption that he was the Sorcerer Supreme.

• General Ross transformed into Red Hulk, scattered the Outriders, and charged Ebony Maw, but Black Dwarf struck him down with his axe.
• Thor attacked Ebony Maw, whom he mistook for Thanos, while Stark and Strange tried to bind him; Outriders disrupted their ambush, and Ebony Maw revealed his name as he hurled Strange away.
• Midnight Neighbor Star pinned Strange and demanded the Infinity Stones, mistaking him for Xu Fan, then stabbed an illusion created by Akkon's Form.
• Strange appeared unharmed, summoned red magic circles, and flew toward Midnight Neighbor Star to begin another round of their fight.
• Cull Obsidian demanded the Infinity Stones from Arthur, mistaking him for the Sorcerer Supreme, and Arthur introduced himself as a Kamar-Taj teacher.

Arthur defeated Cull Obsidian with a powerful White Magic attack, but Cull Obsidian regenerated through his soul-bound War Blade and wounded Arthur. Captain Rogers and Hawkeye intervened, but Cull Obsidian overwhelmed them as the human defensive line neared collapse.

• Arthur borrowed magic from the Vishanti and annihilated Cull Obsidian with a White Magic attack, then collapsed from the strain.
• Cull Obsidian regenerated from his War Blade and stabbed Arthur through the chest.
• Captain Rogers blocked Cull Obsidian's attack on Arthur, and Hawkeye joined the fight with explosive arrows.
• Cull Obsidian healed from Hawkeye's explosions, knocked Rogers down, and kicked Hawkeye away.
• The Outriders continued assaulting the humans as the defensive line neared collapse.

As the Outriders overwhelmed New York’s defenders, Thor and Strange fought Ebony Maw while Stark deployed the Veronica armor. Strange killed Ebony Maw with a devastating spell that left him seemingly lifeless, and Thor faced the Outriders as Stark’s armor blasted Loki away.

• The Sanctum sorcerers, Iron Legion, General Ross’s soldiers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents struggled to hold back the Outriders as their defenses weakened and casualties mounted.
• Rhodes asked Stark for stronger weapons, and Stark summoned Veronica, the armor built to fight Hulk.
• Ebony Maw restrained Strange and fought Thor, while Thor pinned him with Stormbreaker and demanded to know where Thanos was.
• Nebula stabbed Thor from behind, but Thor struck her with Stormbreaker; Ebony Maw then restrained Thor with magical vines.
• Strange broke free and used the All-End spell, killing Ebony Maw, but the effort left him motionless and apparently lifeless.
• Veronica merged with Stark, who unleashed its weapons near Midnight Neighbor Star and blasted Loki away.

Red Hulk defeated and killed Black Dwarf after Stark powered him up with energy from his Arc Reactor. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Galaxy searched Sanctuary II for Gamora but found Nebula instead.

• Red Hulk fought Black Dwarf while the Outriders overwhelmed the human defensive lines.
• Stark arrived, helped Red Hulk strike Black Dwarf, then headed to support the defensive line after charging Red Hulk with his Arc Reactor energy.
• Red Hulk used his increased strength to crush Black Dwarf's skull and kill him.
• Red Hulk ran to join Thor and the other superheroes fighting Cull Obsidian.
• Star-Lord and the Guardians searched Sanctuary II for Gamora but found no trace of her, and Nebula appeared before them.

Thanos arrived on Earth after acquiring the Soul Stone and found that Cull Obsidian had failed to locate Xu Fan or the Infinity Stones. When Thor and the other heroes attacked, Thanos overwhelmed them and demanded to know who the Sorcerer Supreme was.

• Thor, Stark, Red Hulk, and Rogers repeatedly killed Cull Obsidian, while the Outriders slaughtered most of General Ross's soldiers.
• Thanos landed behind Cull Obsidian, who knelt before him, and asked where the Sorcerer Supreme was after learning the invasion had not secured the Infinity Stones.
• Thor attacked Thanos with Stormbreaker and lightning, but Thanos knocked him away and said he would question the heroes one by one.
• Stark attacked Thanos with Veronica's weapons, but Thanos punched the armor, tore off one arm, and kicked Stark away.
• Thanos overpowered Red Hulk and knocked Rogers aside, cracking Rogers's Vibranium shield.

Thanos defeated the superheroes guarding Earth and demanded to know where Xu Fan was. Hulk arrived through the Rainbow Bridge to help Thor, but Thanos immediately knocked him down.

• Thanos questioned Rogers about the Sorcerer Supreme, then knocked him unconscious when he refused to answer.
• Red Hulk absorbed Thor's and Stark's energy and fought Thanos, but Thanos outmaneuvered him and smashed him into the ground.
• Cull Obsidian stabbed Thor and drove him into the ground as the superheroes fell before Thanos.
• The Rainbow Bridge brought Hulk to Earth, and he helped Thor back to his feet.
• Hulk charged at Thanos, who punched him to the ground.

Thanos used the Soul Stone to overwhelm Earth's defenders and send half of humanity's souls to the Hell Dimension while demanding that Xu Fan face him. Heimdall contacted Xu Fan, who learned of the invasion and returned to Earth with Kaguya.

• Thanos knocked soul-form Hulk down and blasted Anna and the Sanctum sorcerers out of their bodies with the Soul Stone.
• Thanos sent half of humanity's souls from Earth into the Hell Dimension and told Thor and Stark to pass his challenge to Xu Fan.
• Thanos defeated Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy, then warned them to honor Gamora's sacrifice by staying alive.
• Heimdall watched Thanos's attack from Asgard, found Xu Fan, and told him that Thanos had come to Earth for his Infinity Stones.
• Xu Fan told Kaguya they needed to return to Earth, and he opened a portal.

Xu Fan returned to a ruined New York, reinforced the barrier trapping Thanos’s Outriders, and instantly killed Cull Obsidian by breaking the War Blade that housed his soul. Thanos revealed that he possessed the Soul Stone and planned to erase half the universe’s population, while Xu Fan dismissed his plan.

• Xu Fan returned to New York with Kaguya and reinforced the Sanctum sorcerers’ barrier to keep the Outriders trapped.
• Thanos and Cull Obsidian confronted Xu Fan as Stark, Thor, General Ross, Anna, and the other heroes gathered around him.
• Xu Fan caught Cull Obsidian’s War Blade, broke it, and killed Cull Obsidian by destroying the weapon that contained his soul.
• Xu Fan recognized the Soul Stone in Thanos’s Infinity Gauntlet, and Thanos confirmed it was the only Infinity Stone he had.
• Thanos explained that he planned to use the Infinity Stones to randomly eliminate half the universe’s population, and Xu Fan said he was not interested in the plan.

Xu Fan confronted Thanos on Earth, resisted the Soul Stone, and revealed that he possessed the Infinity Gauntlet and the other five Infinity Stones. After Xu Fan exposed that Thanos had sacrificed Gamora for the Soul Stone, Thanos summoned the Outriders and prepared to fight Xu Fan.

• Thanos tried to use the Soul Stone to pull Xu Fan's soul from his body, but its power had no effect.
• Xu Fan produced the Infinity Gauntlet and revealed that he had collected the Time, Space, Reality, Power, and Mind Stones.
• Xu Fan explained that obtaining the Soul Stone required sacrificing the person one loved most, leading Star-Lord to realize that Thanos had traded Gamora's life for it.
• Star-Lord charged Thanos, who used the Soul Stone to knock Star-Lord's soul out of his body and then promised to spare him as he had promised Gamora.
• Thanos summoned the Outriders to attack Xu Fan, and Xu Fan began placing the Infinity Stones into the gauntlet.

Xu Fan destroyed Thanos's Outriders with the Power Stone and broke Thanos's double-bladed sword without using an Infinity Stone. After confirming that New York had been evacuated, Xu Fan prepared to use the Allspark to awaken its abandoned machines and fight Thanos.

• Xu Fan used the Power Stone to turn every Outrider in New York to ash, stunning Stark, Thor, and the others.
• Xu Fan offered to spare Thanos if he surrendered the Soul Stone, but Thanos refused and attacked with his double-bladed sword.
• Xu Fan stopped Thanos's strike with two fingers and shattered the sword, showing he was powerful even without the Infinity Stones.
• Xu Fan confirmed with Stark that New York had no civilians left, though abandoned vehicles and machines remained.
• Xu Fan revealed that the Allspark could awaken mechanical creations and began awakening the machines across New York.

Xu Fan used the Allspark to awaken New York’s vehicles and overwhelm Thanos, then took the Soul Stone and completed his collection of all six Infinity Stones. Thanos was killed by the mechanical lifeforms, leaving Nebula alone aboard Sanctuary II and drawing the attention of Earth’s people.

• Xu Fan awakened vehicles throughout New York, and the resulting mechanical lifeforms surrounded Thanos and attacked him.
• Thanos’s Soul Stone failed to stop the mechanical lifeforms, and one of them severed his arm with the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Xu Fan caught the falling Infinity Gauntlet, removed the Soul Stone, and tossed the empty glove to Thor.
• Xu Fan placed the Soul Stone in his own Infinity Gauntlet, completing his collection of all six Infinity Stones.
• Thanos fought the mechanical lifeforms until they overwhelmed and killed him, while the superheroes watched.
• Nebula realized she was the only survivor aboard Sanctuary II and panicked as Earth’s people turned their attention toward her.