Recaps

The Diberians began a covert operation on Earth to capture the person who absorbed the cosmic energy. Reed Richards joined Hank McCoy at Xavier’s School to examine the supposed solar flare and noticed something concealed in the X-Jet footage.

• Vuko ordered the Diberians to infiltrate Earth and find the native who absorbed the cosmic energy.
• Reed drove to Xavier’s School after Hank sent him a report about the solar flare phenomenon.
• Hank showed Reed the X-Jet’s recordings and firsthand data from the rescue of the Endeavour.
• Reed concluded the phenomenon was not a solar flare and suspected the footage’s dark region hid something because the stars’ brightness and positions were wrong.

Reed and Hank developed a photograph that revealed a concealed alien spacecraft had watched the Endeavour rescue mission without intervening. Their analysis of the cosmic radiation data uncovered a rapidly repeating pattern, leaving Hank and Reed wondering whether the phenomenon was alive.

• Reed and Hank modified the C-41 developer and produced a photograph showing a spindle-shaped spacecraft near the Endeavour rescue mission.
• Reed estimated the spacecraft’s size and distance, and concluded it had observed the mission without intervening.
• Hank considered whether the alien ship and the cosmic radiation were connected, but continued examining the data with Reed.
• Reed used Hank’s visualization tools to create overlapping graphs that showed a pattern repeating dozens of times over ten minutes.
• Reed asked for a complete copy of the data, and Hank agreed on the condition that Reed share his research results and disclose the data to no one else.

Scott visited Genosha to find Qin, but learned she had already left after fighting U.S. soldiers who came to seize her. Erik demanded an explanation of what happened to Raven and Peter and why Qin had fled, leaving Scott to face the severity of Raven’s injuries.

• Erik confronted Scott as the X-Jet arrived in Hammer Bay, and Scott said he had come to find Qin.
• Erik stopped Scott from leaving and demanded to know what had happened, so Scott described the battle in Red Hook.
• Erik asked about Raven and Peter, and Scott said both had survived but suffered severe injuries.
• Erik explained that Qin had sought sanctuary, fought the soldiers who came for her, and left after the battle.
• Scott suggested Qin had fled because she believed she had killed Raven, but Erik replied that Raven was not all right.

Storm took Nightcrawler to the New York Continental Hotel to request information about Jean Grey, then led him through the subway and into an abandoned underground route. They entered New York’s hidden underworld, where nonhuman beings and the people living below the city operated beyond the authorities’ reach.

• Storm and Nightcrawler visited the Continental Hotel, where Charon told Storm that Jean Grey had appeared on Genosha Island and defeated a U.S. military task force before disappearing.
• Storm placed a request with Charon to notify her when he learned Jean Grey’s whereabouts and declined his offer of paid work until her urgent business was resolved.
• Storm warned Nightcrawler not to cause trouble at the Continental, then took him to a subway entrance and bought tickets.
• Storm kept Nightcrawler from boarding a departing train and led him down onto the tracks and through an abandoned subway route.
• Nightcrawler recalled how Mystique had rescued him from a Berlin death match and how he had joined Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, before entering New York’s underground world with Storm.

Ororo and Kurt visited Bowery King beneath New York to ask his network to locate the missing Qin Grey. Bowery agreed to have his people report sightings, and Ororo left him with a warning not to provoke the dangerous Mutant.

• Ororo led a nervous Kurt through an abandoned subway settlement to meet Bowery King.
• Bowery welcomed Ororo and introduced himself to Kurt, whom he recognized as Nightcrawler.
• Ororo asked Bowery to find Qin Grey and notify the X-Men, explaining that Qin had flipped two police cars and posed a serious danger.
• Ororo warned that violence between New York authorities and Mutants could lead to disaster, then teased Bowery about calling the X-Men before his people made matters worse.
• Bowery agreed to tell his people to report Qin's whereabouts and not take any other action.

Hank McCoy told Professor X that the White House had rejected their evidence about Qin, leaving the X-Men without a clear way to protect her. He later shared the findings and the authorities’ response with Mystique, whose condition was stabilizing.

• Hank McCoy showed Professor X the research and photograph linking Qin’s loss of control to alien influence, but Professor X said the White House wanted stronger evidence.
• Hank suggested handing over Henry Brown, but Professor X warned that they could not know whether he was connected to the aliens and risked making an enemy.
• Professor X rejected using mind control or relying on a mutant winning an election, and said mutants needed their own people in government.
• Hank left Professor X’s office and found Mystique recovering in the infirmary while Quicksilver struggled through physics books.
• Mystique asked for news, and Hank told her what he and Reed Richards had found and how Professor X and the White House had responded.

Mystique asked Hank to find Qin and protect her from Charles, Erik, and anyone else who might use her, while urging him to involve Henry, Erik, Scott, Ororo, Kurt, and the other X-Men. She made Hank promise to bring Qin and everyone else back safely, warning him to distrust Charles and the U.S. government.

• Mystique told Hank she did not trust Charles and asked him to find Qin personally and take her somewhere safe.
• Mystique recalled that Erik had wanted to kill her and accused Charles and the others of repeatedly risking the X-Men for government missions.
• Hank agreed to protect Qin and not hand her over to Charles or Erik, and Mystique told him to recruit Henry and ask Erik's side for help.
• Mystique instructed Hank to bring Scott, Ororo, Kurt, and the other X-Men, leaving Charles without support.
• Mystique made Hank promise to bring Qin and everyone back alive, and warned him to watch Charles, the U.S. government, and the military.

Henry received another summons from the X-Men, who told him aliens had appeared, and reluctantly agreed to meet them. As he left Audrey Hepburn’s home, he considered joining the coming battles while disguising his identity.

• Henry answered the X-Men’s call and agreed to meet after learning they needed him to fight aliens.
• Audrey Hepburn teased Henry about going out, advised him to dress better, and offered him clothes belonging to Luca Dotti.
• Henry left Audrey’s home and suspected his earlier actions had caused the X-Men to discover the aliens ahead of schedule.
• Henry anticipated several major battles that could expose him to the U.S. government and considered disguising himself or staying out of the conflict.
• Henry worried that Mystique might target him again by impersonating someone he knew.

Hank McCoy persuaded Erik to help the X-Men rescue Qin and investigate an alleged alien warship, and Erik agreed to bring a small elite team. As they waited for an ally, a flamboyantly dressed stranger appeared and introduced himself as Super Joker.

• Hank McCoy arrived on Genosha and told Erik that Raven had asked him to seek help against an alien warship and rescue Qin.
• Erik questioned how Mutants could fight a spacecraft and noted that Hank had no conclusive evidence to persuade the U.S. government to act.
• Hank reminded Erik that he owed Raven for something from 1973, and Erik agreed to help with a small team.
• Erik summoned Red Lotus and Selene to join him and Hank on the mission to the United States.
• Hank said they still had to wait for someone, but a stranger emerged from the woods, told a knock-knock joke, and called himself Super Joker.

Clown-Sup arrived in Genosha and mocked Magneto and the island before joining Hank on the X-Jet as Raven’s requested helper. As Magneto, Red Lotus, Selene, and Hank prepared for battle, Clown-Sup’s nonstop antics left Hank to pilot with the alien newcomer buckled into the back.

• Clown-Sup ridiculed Genosha’s poverty, food, and clothing, and Magneto chose to leave rather than engage with him.
• Clown-Sup claimed Raven had recruited him to help fight aliens and accompanied Hank toward the X-Jet.
• Clown-Sup took the pilot’s seat and misidentified the controls, so Beast dragged him to the back and buckled him in.
• Magneto boarded the X-Jet with Red Lotus and Selene, learned Clown-Sup was Raven’s helper, and heard that he claimed to be an alien.

Clown-Sup annoyed his fellow passengers on the X-Jet with mangled opera and strange antics, while Magneto silenced him with a metal mask. After they landed in Queens, armed U.S. soldiers blocked the exit and threatened to arrest Square Magneto if he stepped onto American soil.

• Clown-Sup sang a garbled Romeo and Juliet duet, and Selene recognized it before Magneto ordered her to stop talking.
• Clown-Sup continued singing until Square Magneto covered his mouth with a sheet of metal, then removed it briefly to drink water and put it back.
• Hank piloted the X-Jet to a park in Queens, where the passengers hurried off while Clown-Sup took his time.
• American soldiers surrounded the X-Jet, and their officer warned Square Magneto that they would arrest him if he left the plane.

Magneto and his allies tried to reach Qin as falling meteors sparked a clash with the American military. Professor X confronted Magneto and insisted he would not hand Qin over, but Magneto questioned what he would do if the soldiers tried to seize her.

• Clown-Sup distracted everyone by pointing out the meteors falling toward New York, and the American commander ordered the soldiers to fire on the presumed mutant attackers.
• Magneto stopped the bullets, Selene used mind control on the soldiers, and Red Lotus hurled them away without killing them.
• Magneto followed Selene’s sense of Qin’s life energy and set off with Beast and Clown-Sup to find her.
• Nightcrawler teleported Professor X, Cyclops, and Storm in front of Magneto’s group, and Clown-Sup joked about Professor X’s bald head.
• Professor X told Magneto to leave and denied he would hand Qin over, while Magneto warned that he did not trust the approaching soldiers to respect that promise.

The U.S. military attacked the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-Men, triggering a street battle in which Magneto used the city’s metal infrastructure to overwhelm the soldiers. As the X-Men tried to limit the damage, Magneto reached Qin’s apartment building and entered alone.

• The U.S. military opened fire on the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-Men, and Magneto, Red Lotus, and Selene fought back without trying to kill the soldiers.
• Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler moved to restrain Magneto’s group, while Selene used her psychic influence to disrupt Nightcrawler’s teleportation.
• Beast sided with Square Magneto and knocked Cyclops and Storm aside, while Magneto tore up underground pipes and disarmed or trapped the soldiers.
• Cyclops blasted through the pipes around himself, but Beast interrupted his attempt to shoot down Square Magneto and was blasted away again.
• Square Magneto pulled a subway train from underground to block Qin’s apartment entrance, then passed through it and entered the building.
• Clown-Sup watched the battle while eating and cheering, and Beast landed beside him and wondered what Raven’s chosen outside help was doing there.

Clown-Sup joined the battle between the Brotherhood of Mutants and American soldiers, turning rifles into clubs and knocking soldiers unconscious. After an assault squad hit him with electroshock rounds and fitted him with a Mutant-control collar, he continued pretending to be incapacitated, waiting to see what happened next.

• Clown-Sup explained to Beast why he had stayed behind to eat pizza, and Beast hurled him at the American soldiers.
• Clown-Sup took a soldier’s rifle, named it Destroy, and used it to knock soldiers down before the weapon broke.
• Clown-Sup grabbed another rifle, named it Destroy II, and fought through the soldiers while avoiding their gunfire.
• A Mutant-trained assault squad surrounded Clown-Sup and struck him with electroshock rounds, which he pretended had paralyzed him.
• The soldiers put a Mutant-control collar around Clown-Sup’s neck while he played dead, and he waited to see what they would do next.

Clown-Sup and the other mutants were transported by military train to a mutant prison, where Professor X warned that aliens were targeting Earth. When an attack struck the train, the soldiers refused to release the prisoners, and the chapter ended as gunfire erupted nearby.

• Clown-Sup woke in a prisoner seat and pretended that his suppression collar had made him lose control of his bodily functions.
• Hank McCoy asked whether the collar affected Clown-Sup, while Magneto and Professor X argued over responsibility for the conflict and Qin's power.
• Professor X warned the soldiers that aliens planned to destroy Earth and would attack the train to seize Qin's remaining power, but the sergeant dismissed him.
• Thuds sounded on the train roof, and Cyclops offered to help fight, but the sergeant refused to release the mutants.
• Gunfire erupted in a nearby carriage, and a soldier's broken radio report cut off before he could explain what was attacking them.

Diberian aliens attacked the prisoner train, forcing the soldiers to release the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants. Magneto organized a counterattack, but more aliens kept boarding as the Mutants moved to protect the roof and reach Jean Grey.

• The Diberians broke through the connecting door and overwhelmed the soldiers with their strength and regenerating armor.
• A soldier freed the X-Men and Brotherhood by deactivating their X-Gene Suppression Collars, and Cyclops immediately struck down an attacking alien.
• The freed Mutants fought back, but more Diberians entered through the rear cars, roof hatches, and side doors.
• Magneto assigned Cyclops, Storm, and Red Lotus to defend the roof, sent Nightcrawler to take the professor toward Jean Grey, and led Selene and Beast in pushing back the aliens.
• Magneto used guns and iron to attack the Diberians, while Cyclops, Storm, and Red Lotus moved onto the train roof.

The mutants and soldiers fought off aliens attacking the special train while Beast used Clown-Sup as a makeshift weapon. Clown-Sup joined the battle after an alien destroyed his comb, then took a plasma-cannon blast while Beast held him back from jumping off the train.

• Nightcrawler teleported Professor X to the front carriage, where he explained the alien attack to the soldiers.
• Selene fought the close-combat aliens hand to hand while Beast dragged Clown-Sup from his restraint chair and used his Heat Vision against invaders.
• An alien kicked Clown-Sup's comb, Cleopatra I, to pieces, prompting Clown-Sup to blast the alien and those behind him with his roar.
• Clown-Sup fired a rifle at the aliens, but Magneto and Selene mocked his poor aim and Magneto told him to leave the train.
• Beast pulled Clown-Sup back as he tried to jump off the train, and Clown-Sup took a plasma-cannon hit meant for Beast.

Diberian assault craft bombarded the train, forcing Magneto’s group to advance toward Jean Grey’s carriage while Magneto deflected plasma fire with a magnetic field. As the group prepared to defend Jean and wake Qin, Magneto kept Clown-Sup behind with him.

• Clown-Sup explained that Magneto could deflect the plasma blasts, so Magneto replaced his metal shield with a magnetic field.
• Beast realized the Diberians were trying to destroy the rear carriages or cut the group off from Qin, and Magneto ordered everyone to move forward.
• Cyclops blasted open the carriage doors as the group advanced, while the Diberian aircraft destroyed the carriages they left behind.
• The group reached a weapons carriage, armed themselves, and entered Jean Grey’s carriage to help defend her and urge Professor X to wake Qin.
• Magneto stopped Clown-Sup from joining the others and told him to stay behind.

Magneto and Clown-Sup tried to stop Vuko from reaching the final carriage, but the Phoenix-powered Diberian leader easily defeated them. Vuko then overpowered the humans guarding the girl and demanded that she be handed over.

• Magneto sealed off the passage between carriages while Clown-Sup tried to use a heavy machine gun.
• Vuko entered their carriage and walked through Magneto’s gunfire and metal attacks without being hurt.
• Clown-Sup threw an ammunition box and the machine gun at Vuko, then charged with an empty rifle and was punched out of the train.
• Vuko stopped Magneto’s metal spikes and knocked him unconscious, clearing the way to the final carriage.
• Vuko demanded that the humans hand over the girl, and the soldiers and mutants attacked him.
• Vuko sent the charging mutants flying one by one until none remained standing.

Jean Grey rejected Vuko’s plan to destroy Earth and used the Phoenix Force to fight him, but a Diberian warship attacked the battlefield and left the defenders struggling to survive. As Vuko pressed his advantage, Clown-Sup arrived with a radio playing “We Will Rock You,” ready to join the fight.

• Jean Grey awakened, destroyed the device suppressing her X-gene, and refused to give Vuko her power after learning he intended to destroy Earth.
• Jean Grey warped the train and the surrounding battlefield, killing Diberian attackers while protecting the mutants and human soldiers.
• Vuko contacted the Diberian mothership, whose warship struck the battlefield with its cannon and sent soldiers and aircraft to attack the survivors.
• Jean Grey struggled to shield everyone while Vuko advanced, hoping the defenders’ injuries would weaken her resolve and let him seize her power.
• Clown-Sup arrived playing “We Will Rock You” on a radio and felt the music boosting his confidence for the fight.

Clown-Sup destroyed two Diberian fighters and then fought Vuko, whose Phoenix-enhanced powers made him difficult to defeat. As Vuko’s energy erupted into flames, Clown-Sup dropped him and prepared to put the fire out by urinating on him.

• Clown-Sup hurled his radio at one Diberian fighter, causing it to collide with another and explode.
• Vuko kicked Clown-Sup into the bushes, but Clown-Sup got up and challenged him.
• Vuko tried to use his cosmic energy to alter reality, but Clown-Sup vanished and landed a powerful punch on him.
• Clown-Sup repeatedly punched Vuko as the Phoenix Force healed him, weakening Vuko’s mind and making energy flare around his body.
• Clown-Sup dropped Vuko and pulled out his hose to piss on the flames.

Clown-Sup battled Vuko, whose Phoenix-powered reality warping disintegrated Clown-Sup’s arms until Jean Grey healed him. After Clown-Sup killed Vuko, Jean absorbed the released Phoenix Force, turned the tide against the Diberians, and joined Clown-Sup as he charged the warship.

• Vuko’s Phoenix power reversed Clown-Sup’s urine and began erasing his arms, but Jean Grey restored them.
• Clown-Sup used his speed and strength to batter Vuko while Jean helped the others fight the Diberians.
• Clown-Sup punched through Vuko’s face, killing him and releasing the Phoenix Force.
• Jean Grey absorbed the Phoenix Force, gained greater control of her power, and burned most of the Diberians and their aircraft.
• The Diberian warship charged its main cannon, and Clown-Sup hurled Jean Grey through its muzzle before flying into another gun muzzle with his heat vision.

Henry escaped Phoenix by fleeing through the ocean to the French coast, then destroyed the costume he blamed for his reckless behavior. He returned to Ms. Audrey Hepburn’s room and was greeted by her as she made breakfast.

• Henry climbed out of the sea on the French coast and stripped off the costume he had worn while escaping Phoenix aboard the Diberi Warship.
• Henry burned the costume and tap shoes, then worried about whether his red shorts would survive a high-speed trip home.
• Henry reflected on his uncertain origins and tested that he was not a Daxamian by confirming he was not allergic to pure lead.
• Henry used Super Speed and his ability to pass between molecules to return to his room and change into normal clothes.
• Ms. Audrey Hepburn greeted Henry and offered him breakfast as she fried eggs in the kitchen.

Nick Fury questioned Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr in Paris about Jean Grey and the Joker. Charles refused to reveal Jean’s whereabouts without a presidential pardon for Qin, and he and Erik withheld what they knew about the Joker.

• Nick Fury approached Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr at a Paris café and asked where Jean Grey had gone.
• Charles said he would not help find Jean unless the president granted Qin a legally binding pardon, and he argued that the X-Men had received no U.S. military support during the battle.
• Nick Fury asked about the Joker and showed Charles and Erik a photograph of actor River Phoenix, whose face his analysts had reconstructed from surveillance footage.
• Charles denied knowing whether the Joker was River Phoenix and concealed the young man’s identity, while Erik called the Joker a dangerous lunatic.

Henry drove Audrey Hepburn to the town library and briefed her on UNICEF’s aid work and possible destinations for a future visit. Audrey became interested in Wakanda, but Henry explained that the country had never invited UNICEF or accepted outside aid, leaving a visit uncertain.

• Henry and Robert joked about Robert’s weight as Robert took the five Jack Russell Terriers out for a jog.
• Henry gathered the books he had borrowed and drove Audrey Hepburn to the library.
• Audrey asked whether UNICEF had contacted them, and Henry explained that conflict and recent visits made it difficult to plan destinations.
• Henry gave Audrey documents and maps comparing countries’ stability, need for aid, and invitations to UNICEF.
• Audrey noticed Wakanda on the map and asked to visit, while Henry explained that they would need to request permission and should not expect approval.