Chapter Summaries

Superman and The Void were trapped together in the Scarlet Witch’s magical formation, where her Chaos Magic hurt them but could not finish The Void. They were then transported into a recreation of Superman’s childhood prison, where a frail boy watched television and The Void questioned whether Superman could escape.

• Quicksilver decided the mages were the only ones worth relying on, and the Scarlet Witch trapped The Void and Superman in a reinforced magical barrier.
• Superman held The Void in place as the Scarlet Witch turned the trap into a killing formation and bombarded them with Chaos Magic.
• The magic injured Superman and struck The Void, but neither was killed by the attacks.
• Superman realized that Professor X needed to awaken Robert Reynolds, but the mages did not know that and continued attacking.
• Superman and The Void suddenly appeared in a recreation of Superman’s Siberian research-facility cell, where a frail boy watched television and The Void asked if it was a place Superman could not escape from.

Superman rejected the Void’s attempt to turn his pain into a justification for mass slaughter and broke free of its magical trap. The Void then seized Charlize Theron and tore her apart in front of him.

• The Void urged Superman to take revenge on his abusers by killing them and ultimately destroying humanity.
• Superman declared that he did not want to do what the Void wanted and punched it through the magical space.
• Superman returned to the real world as the collapsing spell released him and the Void, and his bleeding began to stop.
• The Void held Charlize Theron hostage and questioned whether she was real, while Superman hesitated.
• The Void grabbed Charlize Theron and tore her into three pieces before Superman.

After The Void killed Charlize Theron, Superman collapsed in grief before returning to the fight with a terrifying new intensity. As Kamar-Taj’s mages and Queen Frigga arrived, he struck The Void hard enough to send him crashing through buildings.

• Superman recognized Charlize Theron’s severed head as real, knelt beside her, and mourned her death.
• The Ancient One led the Kamar-Taj mages onto the battlefield, where Tony Stark recognized Charlize and tried to approach Superman.
• The Ancient One summoned Queen Frigga, who agreed to help power the Vishanti Array while the All-Father stayed behind.
• The Void taunted Superman about Charlize’s death, and Superman answered, “Why so serious?”
• Superman attacked The Void without restraint, punched his face out of shape, and sent him through three buildings.

The Ancient One coordinated the sorcerers, Jean Grey, Wanda Maximoff, Frigga, and Tony Stark to protect Earth while Superman relentlessly hunted The Void through New York. Tony struggled to contain their battle in the Mirror Dimension, and The Void was left terrified as Superman regenerated and grew stronger from solar energy.

• The Ancient One closed Earth’s magical barriers and ordered Mordo and Kaecilius to repair the ruptured spaces left by the battle.
• The Ancient One brought Jean Grey and Wanda Maximoff to the battlefield, asking them to suppress Sentry’s matter manipulation and sending Wanda to lead the gathered witches and mages.
• The Ancient One assigned Tony Stark to create a Mirror Dimension with the Book of the Vishanti, while he and Frigga supported Tony through the Vishanti Triangular Formation.
• Tony repeatedly formed Mirror Dimensions, but the fighters’ speed and destructive power kept breaking them before they could contain the battle.
• The Void severed Superman’s right arm, but Superman kept fighting and struck The Void with a fist formed from solar energy.
• Golden light shone from Superman’s wounds and restored him, leaving The Void shaken and unsure what he was facing.

With Earth’s magical protection gone, dimensional demons rushed toward it, but The Void and its pursuer battered each demon they encountered while Tony Stark diverted their fight away from Earth. Dormammu then arrived in New York, announcing that he had come to collect his debt from The Ancient One.

• Dimensional demons approached Earth after The Ancient One ended the protective magic, and Tony Stark sensed their arrival while maintaining the Mirror Dimension.
• Tony Stark banished The Void and its pursuer into the nearest approaching dimension, where they tore through the demon’s world and returned to Earth.
• The Void and its pursuer repeatedly devastated the worlds of dimensional demons, while Tony Stark redirected them into Mirror Dimensions to protect Earth’s reality.
• Dormammu arrived in New York as the Dark Dimension filled the night sky and declared that he had come to collect his debt from The Ancient One.

The Void fled through the Dark Dimension and other realms while the red-and-blue-suited man pursued it, eventually being driven back into Earth’s reality. Robert Reynolds regained control of his body, but the approaching man did not know the Void had retreated.

• Tony Stark hurled the Void into the Dark Dimension, where Dormammu tried to trap it and the pursuer but ultimately cut off the battlefield and fled.
• The Void used a severed world fragment and Tony Stark’s Mirror Dimensions to try to cage its opponent, but the man destroyed them and returned to Earth’s reality.
• Chthon, Mephisto, and the other watching demon gods withdrew from Earth, while the Void fled through their sealed realms in search of an escape.
• The Void entered its opponent’s mind and crossed into a universe where Batman, seated in the Mobius Chair, told Superman to send it back.
• Superman punched the Void through the breach, where the pursuer struck it from the other side and forced it back to Earth.
• Robert Reynolds woke in Manhattan with worsening wounds, realized the Void had retreated, and warned the approaching man that he was not the Void.

Henry killed Sentry with a strange beam, then attacked Jean Grey with a power that clashed against the Phoenix Force and left her suffering. Blind and enraged, Henry turned on Cyclops after Cyclops attacked him, and Quicksilver pulled Cyclops out of his reach.

• Jean Grey tried to stop Henry from killing Sentry and shielded Robert Reynolds, but Henry's beam pierced her defenses and killed him.
• Furious at Sentry's death, Jean Grey unleashed the Phoenix Force, and Henry fired a second beam that clashed with it, ravaging her body.
• Quicksilver tried to rescue Jean Grey but could not reach her through the forces surrounding her.
• Cyclops attacked Henry with an Optic Blast, and Henry charged at him while Quicksilver whisked Cyclops away.
• Quicksilver tried to calm Henry, but Henry remained hostile.

Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, and the mages tried to restrain Henry while Cyclops attacked in grief and anger. Tony Stark learned that Ancient One had recruited him because she foresaw this crisis, but he refused to use holy magic to challenge death and questioned his place at Kamar-Taj.

• Quicksilver confined Henry and coordinated with Cyclops, Storm, and the mages to wear him down without causing direct damage.
• Professor X tried to calm Henry by linking their minds but was beaten unconscious, while Qin Grey remained in pain.
• Cyclops grew more aggressive toward Quicksilver as he continued to attack, and the Scarlet Witch worried that restraint would not resolve the crisis.
• Tony Stark asked Ancient One if she had kept magic from Henry so it could be used against him, and she confirmed that magic was their only way to deal with him.
• Ancient One stopped Tony from using the Book of the Vishanti and warned him that holy magic could not challenge death without costing him his life.
• Tony realized Ancient One had foreseen the crisis when she recruited him, then said he no longer found magic interesting.

Tony Stark used the Infinity Gauntlet to wish that everything would return to its proper course, erasing Sentry and restoring Manhattan and its dead. As the Ancient One passed responsibility to another version of himself, Death redirected one revived soul toward a fate from another universe.

• Tony Stark used the Eye of Agamotto to assemble a red-and-gold Infinity Gauntlet and chose to make a wish despite Ancient One's warning.
• Tony Stark snapped his fingers and wished for Sentry never to have existed and for everything to return to its proper course, sacrificing the Wisdom Gem.
• The wish restored Manhattan and its dead while erasing or altering the world's memories of Sentry and the battle.
• The white-bearded Ancient One resisted the wish's effects and entrusted matters to another Ancient One, who agreed to use a Forgetting Spell on Tony Stark's magic.
• Death traced the return of the souls to the Infinity Stones and redirected one revived soul toward the fate of someone from another universe.

Henry woke with two conflicting sets of memories, one in which he had lived with Charlize Theron and fought the Sentry, and another in which he had always been single. His damaged Kryptonian eyes seemed to support the battle memories, but the world around him showed no sign that Charlize had ever lived with him.

• Kitty woke Henry, who jolted up from a nightmare and found his memories of two different lives clashing in his mind.
• Henry realized his Kryptonian vision powers were crippled and his eyes were badly damaged, though he had no other injuries.
• Henry went upstairs to ask Charlize's roommate whether she had returned, but the woman said she had never heard of Charlize and lived with Millie.
• Henry searched his home and found that the acting equipment and all traces of the girl were gone, though other details from his memories remained.
• Kitty gnawed on Henry's calf to tell him she was hungry.

Henry reviewed three months of newspapers to investigate how this world differed from his memories, finding that Sentry did not exist and little news about Charlize Theron. He arranged inquiries about Theron and The Matrix, then considered whether Tony Stark had become a mage before deciding he lacked enough information.

• Henry had Julianne collect three months of newspapers, then used Super Speed to read them and found that Sentry had never existed in this world.
• Henry asked Julianne about Charlize Theron, and she recalled that Theron was filming a movie domestically.
• Henry asked Julianne to investigate Theron's public schedule and The Matrix cast list in Australia.
• Henry checked Stark Studios' projects and server updates, then decided to schedule an eye exam because his eyesight was worsening.
• Henry recalled seeing Tony Stark with magical artifacts and wondered whether Tony had become a mage, but he stopped himself from guessing without more evidence.
• Henry remembered an image of Tony wearing Sorcerer Supreme robes and his own six-stone Infinity Gauntlet before snapping his fingers.

Henry learned that Charlize Theron was filming The Astronaut's Wife and went to the set to see her without interrupting the shoot. He met director Rand Ravich and left after discussing a possible future partnership with Stark Studios.

• Julianne gave Henry the finalized cast list for The Matrix and told him Charlize Theron was filming The Astronaut's Wife at New Line Cinema.
• Henry checked Charlize Theron's film credits, worried that her life had returned to its original path, and arranged an eye examination and glasses.
• After Julianne confirmed the filming location, Henry drove to New Line Cinema's studio lot and watched the crew from outside the shooting area.
• Rand Ravich recognized Henry and greeted him during a break in filming.
• Henry explained that Stark Studios would consider working with Rand after he proved himself at the box office, and Rand said they would have an opportunity.

Henry met Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron on Rand Ravich’s film set and realized that Charlize no longer remembered or loved him. He left without pursuing her, then suspected the Ancient One had arranged the altered fate that separated them.

• Rand Ravich introduced Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron to Henry, who praised their performances and learned that Al Pacino had recommended them for the lead roles.
• Henry noticed Charlize treated him like an ordinary industry acquaintance and accepted that she was no longer the woman he had loved.
• Henry exchanged pleasantries with the cast, gave Rand Ravich his business card, and left after silently bidding Charlize farewell.
• Henry overheard Johnny Depp and Charlize joking together and felt the pain of their easy familiarity.
• Henry concluded that the Ancient One had manipulated events and angrily blamed her for the separation.

Henry continued drifting through his days at home and Stark Studios while coping with his lost girlfriend and failing Heat Vision. Tony Stark called him to attend a midyear meeting in New York, where people from Tony’s aunt’s side wanted to meet him and give him a surprise.

• Kitty woke Henry by bouncing on his bed, and he got up to wash despite being unable to use Heat Vision to manage his hair and beard.
• Henry reflected on how Kitty’s feeding routine and their Tiger Translator had not stopped her from waking him for attention.
• Tony Stark called Henry and urged him to come to the office, but Henry argued that employees did not need to pretend to be busy.
• Tony told Henry to come to New York for a midyear meeting and said people from his aunt’s side wanted to meet him with a surprise.
• Henry wondered whether S.H.I.E.L.D. was involved and warned that he could not take another shock.

Henry attended Stark Industries' semiannual meeting while considering the limits of the Infinity Stones' wish-granting power and avoiding the X-Men. The chapter ended when he met Grant Rogers, a representative of the New York City Veterans Foundation.

• Henry reasoned that the Infinity Stones had limited influence over things from another universe and wondered what had happened to Sentry and Phoenix after his attacks.
• Henry decided not to visit the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning and instead went to Stark Industries' semiannual meeting.
• Henry ate at the meeting and spoke with people who approached him about celebrity gossip.
• Grant Rogers introduced himself to Henry as a representative of the New York City Veterans Foundation.

Henry met Grant Rogers, a veterans foundation representative and Stark Industries board member, who said Henry’s actions had changed things and hoped the change would continue. Their conversation ended with Henry arguing that goodwill was worthless if it ignored the needs of those who paid its price.

• Henry recognized Grant Rogers from Howard Stark’s funeral and connected him to the New York City Veterans Foundation, a Stark Industries shareholder with a board seat.
• Henry greeted Grant Rogers and mentioned that Timothy Dugan had helped him after the Skrull incident; Grant said he and Dugan were old comrades but that he had left the fighting behind.
• Grant said he had sought Henry out because Henry was special and had caused things to become different, while Henry challenged whether those changes could truly be called good if others lost out.
• Grant asked whether Henry believed in pure goodwill, and Henry told the Buddhist story of the Buddha feeding an eagle with his own flesh to save a rabbit.
• Henry argued that people who urged the eagle to spare the rabbit without accepting any sacrifice themselves showed self-righteous, harmful goodwill.

Henry spoke with Grant Rogers at the Stark Industries meeting before John Garrett brought him to a conference room to confront people from his past. There, Henry recognized twenty-three survivors from the Siberian underground research facility.

• Henry and Grant Rogers discussed fighting fascism and the dangers of goodwill without understanding or resolve.
• Grant told Henry to pretend he had never seen him, then blended into the gathering as John Garrett and his men approached.
• John Garrett said the meeting concerned Henry’s past and asked him to come meet people arranged through Peggy Carter.
• Henry followed Garrett to a small conference room, where he recognized twenty-three people from the former Red Empire’s Siberian research facility.

Henry Brown met the Russian scientists who had abused him at the institute, and John Garrett’s attempt to use their shared past to influence them failed. Henry left after warning Garrett against forcing him to socialize with his former captors.

• John Garrett revealed to the Russians that Henry was the subject they had cared for, and they recoiled in fear and disgust.
• Henry confronted the group, and one Russian blamed Dr. Peter Roslov and claimed the staff had suffered alongside Henry.
• Henry approached the bald Russian, detected his excuses as lies, and secretly threatened him while appearing to say, "I forgive you."
• Garrett’s subordinates tried to stop Henry from leaving, but Henry pointed out the trouble a scene could cause near Stark Industries’ meeting.
• Garrett let Henry go, accepting that his plan to use the Russians to control him had failed.

Henry learned that Snake S.H.I.E.L.D. had brought people from the Siberian Research Institute back into his life, and he decided to investigate what the organization knew about the others. He returned to New York as Black Super to infiltrate Snake Shield’s base, relying on hearing rather than his temporarily unusable vision powers.

• Henry spoke with Tony Stark about his reunion with his childhood nanny but avoided explaining their troubled past.
• Henry used the hidden listening device on John Garrett to monitor Snake S.H.I.E.L.D., then left the equipment recording after Garrett revealed little useful information.
• Henry realized the twenty-three people from the Siberian Research Institute had all held positions that gave them direct contact with him, and that the organization might know where the others were.
• Henry flew to his West Coast laboratory, changed into a black Kevlar stealth suit, and returned to New York as Black Super.
• Black Super followed Snake S.H.I.E.L.D.’s convoy to its base and prepared to search for intelligence without relying on his eye-based powers.

Black Super watched John Garrett’s agents debate the fate of the Russians they had brought to New York and learned that Garrett’s faction was profiting from weapons deals and running private research projects. He held back from intervening, determined to plan carefully so Garrett could not use the Russians as leverage against Henry Brown.

• Black Super followed the convoy to an upscale hotel where John Garrett’s agents housed the Russians and used a briefcase to store their documents.
• Garrett’s agents discussed the Russians’ fate, then decided to keep the twenty-three researchers and distribute them among separate projects under regional supervision.
• The agents agreed to stop contacting former researchers who had no value beyond their connection to Henry Brown, revealing to Black Super that some had escaped their search and were doing well.
• Garrett’s agents disputed whether Henry Brown had whispered a threat or the word “forgive” to one Russian, while the Russians insisted it had been a threat.
• Black Super restrained himself from attacking the Russians and considered how Garrett might turn their deaths into a favor or leverage with Henry Brown.