Chapter Summaries

Gwen reunited with George after her disappearance, while Russell met the Ancient One and learned about the limits of the body and soul. The Ancient One invited Russell to Kamar-Taj the next day, and Russell then used a Portal to appear in Gwen’s living room.

• George found Gwen at home, and the two embraced after her return.
• The Ancient One appeared in the Mirror Dimension and explained that his Spiritual Body and physical body were interchangeable at his level.
• The Ancient One told Russell that body and soul had limits and that the mind could help break through them, then assessed Russell’s balanced, transforming nature.
• Russell demonstrated his Portal ability, and the Ancient One learned he had studied spells for only one day.
• The Ancient One invited Russell to Kamar-Taj the next day before departing.
• Russell left the Mirror Dimension and used a Portal to appear in Gwen’s living room in front of George.

Russell received a fake Time Stone from The Ancient One and learned to use it to perceive and deduce possible futures. After seeing a future in which Gwen was injured and George was dismissed, Russell decided to investigate those he suspected of endangering them.

• Russell arrived late at Kamar-Taj because he had miscalculated the time difference, and The Ancient One gave him an imitation Time Stone.
• Russell used Spiritual Energy with the imitation and discovered that it could amplify his perception of time and show recorded scenes and possible futures.
• The Ancient One demonstrated that the future was uncertain when a scene Russell foresaw changed after The Ancient One asked him what he wanted to drink.
• Russell deduced that Gwen and George would face a crisis months later, with Ghost-Spider surrounded by police and George dismissed after defending her.
• Russell concluded that Kingpin or Matt Murdock might be behind the crisis and planned to investigate them and the Spider Silk organization.

Russell killed Wilson Grant Fisk and Matt Murdock after discovering their criminal histories and connections to Kingpin. Back at Gwen’s home, he agreed to help clear Spider-Man’s name and secretly tasked Gwen with investigating the Webbing Organization.

• Russell used the Time Stone to learn that Wilson Grant Fisk had committed murder and ordered an invisible attack that killed him at a public event.
• Russell searched for Matt Murdock, discovered that Matt led a faction of Kingpin’s former subordinates, and killed him from twenty blocks away with a portal-assisted energy shot.
• Russell returned to Gwen’s home, where George and Gwen discussed the case accusing Ghost-Spider of killing Peter Parker.
• Russell offered a spell to erase people’s memories of Spider-Man killing Peter, and George agreed that he could then close the case and seal its files.
• Russell postponed casting the spell until the next day and secretly gave Gwen the task of investigating the Webbing Organization.

Russell gave Gwen a Spider Mark, then discussed his Time Stone practice and his sense of spacetime with the Ancient One. They arrived in New York to find George protecting Ghost-Spider from surrounding NYPD officers, showing that Russell’s interference had changed the future.

• Russell gave Gwen a Spider Mark that could boost her strength and transmit Spider-Sense warnings between them.
• George learned that Kingpin had died and returned to the station, while Russell placed a wisp of Spiritual Energy around his wrist for protection.
• Russell discussed his difficulties extrapolating the future with the Ancient One, who warned him that the future was not simple.
• Russell asked the Ancient One to cast a spell that would make everyone forget something, then shared his sense that spacetime had no past or future, only the present.
• The Ancient One took Russell to New York, where NYPD officers surrounded Ghost-Spider and George shielded her.

Russell rescued Gwen from the police confrontation and realized his earlier actions may have set the events in motion. As Miguel O'Hara arrived to investigate a disturbance, Russell claimed the Spider-Man Web of Destiny—not Spacetime—had fluctuated, then asked Miguel to explain the Spider-Society and its beliefs.

• Russell left the Mirror Dimension, opened a Portal, and brought Gwen into it after telling George to handle the aftermath.
• Gwen said Kingpin's death had sparked a gang war and that she had been surrounded by police, leading Russell to suspect he had caused the chain of events.
• The Ancient One explained that fate could persist even when an event's details changed, and Russell wondered whether Gwen was destined to leave her universe.
• Miguel O'Hara arrived through a scarlet Portal and questioned Russell and The Ancient One about Spacetime disturbances.
• Russell introduced himself as the Sorcerer Supreme and Mage Spider-Man, then told Miguel the disturbance involved the Web of Destiny rather than Spacetime.
• Miguel insisted he was Spider-Man, and Russell asked him to explain the Spider-Society, the Web of Destiny, and the Multiversal Spacetime View.

Russell argued with Miguel that the Web of Destiny’s disturbance had not destabilized the universe, then decided against altering the past to save Lizard Peter Parker. After absorbing the Ancient One’s spiritual energy, Russell spent a month studying the Portal Spell and finally opened a Portal to another universe.

• Miguel explained Spider-Society and the Web of Destiny, and the Ancient One took over when Russell admitted he had invented the Multiversal Spacetime View.
• Russell told Miguel that he could perceive the universe’s stable spacetime, easing their confrontation with help from the Ancient One and Gwen.
• Russell used the Time Stone to revisit Gwen killing Lizard Peter Parker, but chose not to change the past after recalling the risks.
• The Ancient One gave Russell spiritual energy, and Russell absorbed it while the Ancient One failed to discover how he did so.
• One month later, Russell opened a Portal in the Kamar-Taj Courtyard, connecting to a place where another Master Ancient One stood.

Ivan Vanko crashed Tony Stark’s party to challenge him, but Tony defeated him with portals before the two could fight fairly. Ivan revealed that his father, Anton Vanko, had co-developed the Arc Reactor with Howard Stark, leaving Tony to investigate the history between their families.

• Anton Vanko died while Tony’s press conference played on television, and Ivan vowed to make the Stark family pay.
• At Tony’s party, Russell sensed Ivan infiltrating the villa and chose to watch with Gwen rather than warn Tony.
• Ivan attacked Tony with his whips, but Tony used portals to cut them apart, remove Ivan’s reactor, and drop him to the floor.
• Ivan demanded that Tony put on his armor and fight fairly, then explained that Anton had helped Howard Stark develop the Arc Reactor.
• Tony sent Ivan to the police station and decided to investigate his father’s connection to Anton Vanko.

Tony investigated Ivan Vanko’s connection to Howard Stark and asked Natasha to look into Ivan’s life in Siberia, while S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared to recruit Tony into the Avengers Initiative. Russell and Gwen spent their unusual date fighting crime across Los Angeles and watched the sunrise together.

• Tony learned from J.A.R.V.I.S. that Howard Stark and Anton Vanko had jointly developed the Arc Reactor before Anton was deported, and that Ivan Vanko’s records had been altered.
• Tony asked Natasha to investigate Ivan Vanko in Siberia, and Natasha secretly reported the party’s events to S.H.I.E.L.D., which ordered her to arrange a meeting with Tony.
• Nick Fury decided Tony’s worsening Palladium Poisoning made it time to try recruiting him again and considered using him to recruit Russell as well.
• Gwen and Russell visited Natasha’s window before changing into their Spider Suits and beginning their date by fighting crime and helping civilians in Los Angeles.
• Russell and Gwen watched the sunrise from the Watts Towers, where Russell complimented Gwen’s beauty.

Russell returned to Proxima Centauri to grind Attribute Points while Tony Stark died suddenly after collapsing in front of Nick Fury and Natasha. Pepper contacted the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, and The Ancient One sent Russell the news; Russell rushed home to revive Tony.

• Russell entered Proxima Centauri's core to absorb energy and gain Attribute Points while undergoing his third upgrade.
• Nick Fury and Natasha visited Tony with an antidote, but Tony collapsed before Natasha could inject it and was declared dead.
• Tony's soul reached Pepper, who heard him ask her to contact Russell and then go to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum.
• Pepper took Tony's armor to the Sanctum, and The Ancient One forwarded the news to Russell.
• Russell left Proxima Centauri, returned to his room, put on his mage robes and the Time Stone, and prepared to save Tony.

Russell restored Tony to life and revealed that Mephisto coveted Tony’s soul, while he and the Ancient One prepared to investigate the demon. Tony then agreed to help Nick Fury investigate Dr. Hank Pym, and Mephisto raged over Russell’s defiance.

• Russell restored Tony’s body, and Tony’s soul returned to it as Pepper embraced him.
• Russell told Tony that Mephisto coveted his soul, then left Stark Tower.
• Tony asked Nick Fury about the attack, and Fury suspected Dr. Hank Pym and his Pym Particles were involved.
• Tony agreed to join the investigation into Pym, whom Fury said was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder.
• Mephisto complained that Russell had dared to meet his gaze and repeatedly slammed his palm on the table.

Doctor Pym continued his campaign against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s planned Avengers Initiative, but Russell's magic stopped him from carrying out his next assassination. Mephisto then found the shaken Pym and planned to use him in a future confrontation in the Quantum Realm.

• J.A.R.V.I.S. traced illegal access to S.H.I.E.L.D. files to Doctor Pym's neighborhood, and Nick Fury warned that Clint, Russell, and Dr. Banner might be targets.
• Mephisto realized Kamar-Taj magic could send Russell's soul to Vishanti's dimension, so he began looking for a way around Vishanti's attention.
• The Ancient One advised Russell to wait for an opportunity, and Russell returned to his bookstore to remain available on Earth.
• Doctor Pym went to the bookstore to assassinate Russell, but Mind Suggestion Spells stirred memories of his family and made him greet a child named Eileen.
• Russell recognized Doctor Pym and considered using the Quantum Realm as a battlefield against Mephisto, while Pym fled in a daze.
• Mephisto found Doctor Pym and planned to use him as a tool in a future meeting with Tony Stark and Russell in the Quantum Realm.

Mephisto tricked Doctor Pym into signing a contract that bound him to any condition Mephisto demanded, then promised to revive Hope if Pym brought Tony Stark and Russell into the Quantum Realm. Pym agreed to target Tony, while Russell and The Ancient One watched a delayed recording and saw him head for Stark Tower.

• Mephisto got the drunken Doctor Pym to sign a contract promising Hope van Dyne's revival in exchange for accepting any condition Mephisto demanded.
• Mephisto appeared to Doctor Pym the next morning and offered to revive Hope if Pym brought Tony Stark and Russell into the Quantum Realm.
• Doctor Pym learned from Mephisto that Russell had revived Tony after Pym killed him, then negotiated to trade Tony for Hope.
• Mephisto accepted the deal and planned to trap Tony in the Quantum Realm, then lure Russell there using Tony's coordinates.
• Russell and The Ancient One watched a delayed recording of Mephisto and Doctor Pym using the Time Stone.
• Doctor Pym put on the Ant-Man Suit, took Pym Particles, and set off for Stark Tower to send Tony into the Quantum Realm.

Tony lured Doctor Pym into a trap, but Pym used his Pym Particles to grow large enough to escape. After seeing a newspaper story about Ivan Vanko, Pym decided to seek an alliance to take on Tony and Russell.

• J.A.R.V.I.S. detected unmarked ants near Stark Tower, and Tony sent Pepper and Happy to safety while baiting Doctor Pym with a false workshop sighting.
• Tony watched from California as Doctor Pym shrank the Drone Armor and was caught in a Special Glass Enclosure.
• Doctor Pym grew to roughly fourteen times his normal size, smashed the enclosure, and escaped before J.A.R.V.I.S. could track him.
• Doctor Pym found a newspaper report about Ivan Vanko and considered combining Pym Particles with Vanko's Drone Mechs and Arc Reactor.
• Doctor Pym approached Ivan Vanko and asked whether he still wanted revenge against Tony Stark.

Doctor Pym recruited Ivan Vanko to work with him and Justin Hammer, hoping their Pym Particle-enhanced mech could defeat Tony Stark and send him to the Quantum Realm. Russell and the Ancient One prepared to redirect Tony there with a Portal Spell, while Ivan planned to force Tony to stay and fight.

• Doctor Pym offered Ivan Vanko an alliance against Tony Stark, and Ivan accepted Justin Hammer's terms to leave prison.
• Russell and the Ancient One planned for Doctor Pym's shrinking Pym Particles to carry a Portal Spell that would send Tony to a chosen location in the Quantum Realm.
• Ivan escaped prison with Justin Hammer's men while a lookalike took his place, and Tony discovered the New Element in his father's relics and calibrated his suit.
• At Hammer Industries, Ivan told Doctor Pym that he had taken control of Hammer's suits and calibrated a Pym Particle-enhanced mech.
• Ivan warned Doctor Pym that Tony could escape using a Portal Spell and said the opportunity to stop him would come the next day.

Ivan Vanko launched the Pym Mech against Tony Stark at the Expo, but Doctor Pym took control after killing Ivan. Tony gained the advantage and removed Pym from the cockpit, but a Pym Particle bullet from the unmanned mech accelerated toward him.

• Justin Hammer unveiled the Hammer Iron Soldiers while Ivan Vanko watched the chaos at the Expo and told Doctor Pym that their opportunity had arrived.
• Doctor Pym killed Ivan Vanko, enlarged the Whip Mech to 120 meters with Pym Particles, and flew it toward the Expo.
• Russell protected Expo attendees as the Pym Mech ambushed Tony, who escaped the blow with a Portal and began evading the giant machine.
• Tony used Portals to damage the mech, cut open its cockpit, and teleport Doctor Pym into the air, then demanded that he surrender his suit and Pym Particles.
• The disabled Pym Mech secretly fired a Pym Particle bullet at Tony, and the bullet accelerated as Tony tried to dodge.

Mephisto tried to tempt Tony Stark into serving him by revealing the truth about Tony’s parents’ deaths, but Russell arrived before Tony could agree. Russell helped Tony escape the Quantum Realm, then lured Mephisto into close pursuit as Master Ancient One’s formation neared completion.

• Mephisto showed Tony that his parents had been beaten to death and offered to resurrect them if Tony signed a contract, but Tony stalled while secretly counting on Russell and Master Ancient One.
• Russell arrived and attacked Mephisto, then gave Tony enlarging Pym Particles so he could return to the real Macro Universe.
• Mephisto trapped the island and Tony in enormous energy hands, but Russell destroyed the blockade with the Sacred Sword of the Vishanti, allowing Tony to escape.
• Mephisto charged Russell, believing he could defeat the sorcerer at close range, while Russell retreated and pretended to be frightened.

Russell and Mephisto’s pursuit ended when Mephisto sealed the area with a Hell projection, while Tony left the Quantum Realm to seek help. The Ancient One joined Russell against Mephisto, and Russell broke free from his chains and struck Mephisto.

• Mephisto used energy scattered during his pursuit of Russell to form a spell array and seal the area with a Hell projection.
• Tony returned from the Quantum Realm, found that the Sorcerer Supreme was absent from Kamar-Taj, and told Mordo that Russell was fighting Mephisto.
• Tony went to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, learned that four days had passed in the real world, and asked Coulson to take him to Doctor Pym so he could gather reinforcements.
• Mephisto bound Russell with Energy Chains and demanded that he sign a contract, while The Ancient One told Russell that the array was ready.
• Russell absorbed the chains’ energy, broke free, and punched Mephisto, then called on Master Ancient One to fight alongside him.

Russell and The Ancient One trapped Mephisto’s avatar and discovered that Russell could absorb the energy from Mephisto’s attacks. With Mephisto cornered, they offered to negotiate, while Nick Fury decided to send the newly formed Avengers to support Russell.

• The Ancient One’s spell formations and Mirror Dimensions blocked Mephisto’s escape, and Russell met his charge in close combat.
• Russell absorbed the energy from Mephisto’s attacks and weakened him until Mephisto realized he could not break through Russell’s defenses.
• Tony told the Avengers they could use Pym Particles to enter the Quantum Realm and follow the battle’s traces, and Nick Fury ordered, “Avengers, assemble!”
• Russell and The Ancient One stopped attacking and told Mephisto they wanted to negotiate rather than destroy his avatar.

Ancient One negotiated compensation from Mephisto for his attack on Russell and Kamar-Taj, while the Avengers traveled to the battlefield. The chapter ended with the Avengers finding Russell, the two Ancient Ones, and Mephisto playing mahjong, prompting Tony to ask whether they should silence the witnesses.

• Ancient One demanded that Mephisto return Tony Stark's parents' and butler's souls and pay compensation for wounding Russell.
• Ancient One threatened Mephisto by revealing White-Bearded Ancient One, and the two sides settled on two billion units of energy with Mephisto's avatar's ransom waived.
• Tony and the four Avengers used their Teleportation Bracelets to reach the ruined battlefield, where Tony could not open a Portal.
• The Avengers found Russell, Bald Ancient One, White-Bearded Ancient One, and Mephisto playing mahjong, and Tony asked whether they should silence them.

Russell explained the sorcerers’ bargain with Mephisto and helped the Avengers recover the souls of Tony’s family and Hope van Dyne. After securing Hope’s soul, the group turned to how much time had passed outside the Quantum Realm.

• Russell calmed Hulk after the White-Bearded Ancient One’s mahjong trick caused Hulk to strike Russell instead.
• Russell explained that Mephisto had paid compensation, then gave Tony the souls of his parents and butler and warned that they needed magical energy to recover safely.
• The Bald Ancient One suggested Tony send his family’s souls to Vishanti’s dimension, where White Magic Power could nourish them.
• Natasha asked Russell to retrieve Hope van Dyne’s soul so the Avengers could investigate suspicious circumstances surrounding her mission and S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Mephisto handed Hope’s soul to Russell, who infused it with energy to sustain it for a month in spirit form, and Natasha thanked him.
• The Ancient One asked Tony how he had entered the Quantum Realm and how much time had passed outside.