Chapter Summaries

Russell and the Spider-Men prepared to confront Nightmare, while Amazing Spider-Man learned that Amazing Gwen was being resurrected. Nightmare arrived with Amazing Spider-Man, and Russell confirmed that he would deal with the demon so Amazing Spider-Man could stay.

• Russell's planet-shattering spell shocked Wanda, G'iah, and Little Gwen, and Amazing Spider-Man offered to help contact Nightmare if they recovered Gwen's soul.
• Ghost Gwen explained that Amazing Gwen's soul had returned to her body and was merging with it, and Amazing Spider-Man eagerly asked to see her.
• Russell found Amazing Gwen awake in her Nutrient Pod and gave her a speaker so she could talk during the resurrection ritual.
• Wanda and G'iah brought six Spider-Men to Russell's villa, where Amazing Spider-Man went upstairs to see Amazing Gwen.
• Spider-UK asked Russell whether he would deal with Nightmare, and Russell promised to settle the matter so Amazing Spider-Man would not need to flee to another universe.
• Russell realized the Spider-Men had been betting on his answer, and the group joked about their failed wager.

Russell identified Peter’s rune as a combination of Kamar-Taj Space Magic and the Web of Life and Destiny, with coordinates for the Nightmare Dimension. He opened a portal, and the group entered the dimension together.

• Peter joined the others for lunch after leaving Amazing Gwen’s Nutrient Pod.
• Wanda, Ghost Gwen, and Spider-Squad Four examined the rune on Peter’s hand and discussed its familiar patterns.
• Russell recognized the rune’s components and offered to open a portal to the Nightmare Dimension.
• Russell said Wanda and G'iah’s test would continue, while promising to address their lack of a way to enter and leave the Hell Dimension.
• Peter chose to join Russell, Wanda, G'iah, the Spider-Men, and the others despite wanting to stay with Amazing Gwen.
• Russell created a magic circle that transported the group through the Hyperswirl and into the Nightmare Dimension.

Russell and the others entered Nightmare's Dimension and discovered it was slowly stirring painful memories in the Spider-Squad. At the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, Wanda found the name Stephen Strange, prompting Nightmare to notice the intruders.

• Wanda opened a Portal to the city, but Peni Parker was overcome by painful memories until Russell removed the contaminating energy and shielded the Spider-Squad.
• The group reached the city, where Little Gwen recognized similarities to New York, and Wanda and Ghost Gwen identified a building as the New York Sanctum Sanctorum.
• Wanda led the group through the Sanctum Sanctorum and found Kamar-Taj books, suggesting the Nightmare Dimension had swallowed a real Sanctum.
• Wanda read the name Stephen Strange on the master bedroom plaque, causing the Nightmare Dimension to tremble.
• A black-robed man in the Meditation Room sensed the intruders and called them bugs in his Sanctum Sanctorum.

Russell confronted Stephen Strange, the master of the Nightmare Dimension, after Amazing Spider-Man refused to help Stephen find other universes where Christine lived. Russell overwhelmed Stephen’s attacks and demanded he sign a contract, pay compensation, and make offerings, leaving Stephen’s ability to fight into question.

• Stephen revealed himself and offered the Spider-Men a choice between helping him search for worlds where Christine existed or dying.
• Amazing Spider-Man refused to work for Stephen, and Stephen sent armored warriors to attack the group.
• Russell stripped the warriors of their Green Energy, turning them and their weapons to ash, then reshaped the Sanctum Sanctorum and confronted Stephen.
• Russell absorbed Stephen’s Green Mist and swallowed the black crows he summoned, gaining 4,396 Attribute Points.
• Russell mocked Stephen for failing to use advanced spells and asked whether he had returned them all to the Vishanti.

Russell pursued Nightmare Strange into a desert and defeated him after breaking through his attacks and devouring his body and soul. A bald mage arrived afterward and warned that Stephen would not die so easily.

• Nightmare Strange moved the battle from the Sanctum Sanctorum to a desert, and Russell brought his companions along.
• Nightmare Strange summoned enslaved versions of Stephen Strange, but Russell killed them with Chain Lightning that pulled out their souls.
• Nightmare Strange absorbed the fallen Stranges and attacked Russell with growing arms, but Russell shattered his body and devoured his energy and soul.
• A bald mage appeared after Nightmare Strange was crushed and said Stephen would not die so easily.

Russell exposed Nightmare Strange’s crimes and discovered that his avatar was a Giant Serpent empowered by Seth. Russell crushed the serpent with his Divine Palm, leaving a vast palm print in the Nightmare Dimension.

• Prime Ancient One explained that the Nightmare Strange Russell had captured was an avatar, but Russell revealed it was Stephen’s true body and described how he used the Darkhold to revive Christine through other-world counterparts.
• Russell showed Little Gwen and the others the Christine bodies buried beneath a frozen lake, then revealed that another half were stored elsewhere because the Nightmare Dimension was built on a great serpent.
• Russell destroyed the frozen lake, wounding the serpent and causing the Nightmare Dimension to move as its body stirred.
• Prime Ancient One identified the serpent as an avatar empowered by the Ancient God Seth, while Russell declared that its strength made no difference.
• Russell manifested his Dharma Body and crushed Giant Serpent Strange with a descending palm, splitting the earth and leaving a massive palm print behind.

Russell killed the Giant Serpent, organized a meeting to establish a new order in the Nightmare Dimension, and secured its Darkhold for Wanda. At the River Styx, he agreed to help Peni Parker revive her father, first by bringing his soul to his dimension, while leaving revival in the Real Universe unresolved.

• Russell confirmed that the Giant Serpent and its soul were completely destroyed, then sent Wanda, G'iah, and the Spider team to invite the Nightmare Dimension's leaders to a meeting.
• Russell let Prime Ancient One leave with the Book of Vishanti and kept the Nightmare Dimension's Darkhold for Wanda.
• Peni Parker asked Russell to revive her father, and he warned that doing so could disrupt a Web Event.
• Russell offered to let Peni Parker's father live in his dimension if she found his soul, while saying he had not yet worked out how to revive him in the Real Universe.
• Peni Parker agreed to work for Russell, and he began absorbing energy from the Nightmare Dimension.

After draining the Nightmare Dimension’s energy, Russell invited its surviving powerful demons to a meeting about its future order. Queen of Dreams pledged to accept his conditions and become the new Lord of the Dream Dimension.

• Russell absorbed the Nightmare Dimension’s stored energy, raised his Divine Physique to 3800, and kept over nine million Attribute Points for future trade.
• Russell found Peni Parker playing an offline MOBA against bots and joined her for a series of matches.
• Wanda’s team and G’iah invited Queen of Dreams to the Sanctum Sanctorum meeting, and she promised to attend.
• Seventeen powerful native demons gathered at the Sanctum Sanctorum and waited while Russell and Peni finished their game.
• Russell offered Queen of Dreams the position of Lord of the Dream Dimension if she accepted his conditions, and she agreed.

Russell established Queen of Dreams as the new lord of the Dream Dimension after securing trade and nonaggression conditions. The demons began buying Luminescent White Energy, and Russell profited as they saw it improve their strength.

• Queen of Dreams and the other demons agreed to Russell’s proposal to make her the Dream Dimension’s new lord.
• Russell set conditions for a stable annual energy trade and forbade the Dream Dimension from invading or devouring the real world; Queen of Dreams accepted both.
• Russell gave Queen of Dreams the Dream Dimension Control Core, which she absorbed to gain control of the dimension.
• Queen of Dreams offered to trade for twenty million units of Luminescent White Energy, and other demons soon placed their own orders.
• Russell traded energy with the demons, and after one demon visibly grew stronger, more demons bought in, bringing his net profit to roughly four hundred million Attribute Points.

Russell appointed Queen of Dreams as the exclusive seller of Luminescent White Energy, then returned with his companions to Earth-120703. After the Spider-Men departed and Amazing Gwen was resurrected, Russell's group returned to Earth-404.

• Russell gave Queen of Dreams sole authority over Luminescent White Energy sales and left thirty million units with her.
• Russell and the others returned to Earth-120703, where the hungry Spider-Men rushed to eat Helen's food.
• Russell checked how much time had passed and learned it was the sixth day since they had left.
• Russell shared food and magically enhanced tea with Little Gwen, Wanda, G'iah, and the Spider-Men.
• Russell gave Peni Parker the Apostle Suit and saw the four members of the Spider-Squad off to their universes.
• Four days later, Amazing Gwen was resurrected, and Russell's group returned to Earth-404.

Russell read the Darkhold for ten days before returning to his routine and bringing Gwen back to Earth-404. Elsewhere, Nick Fury organized a secret operation to purge Hydra from S.H.I.E.L.D., while Hope reported to Mephisto that she had found a lead on Agatha.

• G'iah stayed at Wanda's house to absorb Luminescent White Energy, while Russell began studying the Darkhold at his bookstore.
• As Russell read, Chthon sensed him through the Darkhold and expected its influence to corrupt him and give Chthon a chance to return to the Real Universe.
• After reading for ten days and nights, Russell put the Darkhold away, went to Earth-65, and later brought Gwen back to Earth-404 when school resumed.
• Nick Fury met secretly with Coulson, Hill, Steve, Barton, Natasha, and Hope to arrange an operation against Hydra agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Hope reported to Mephisto that she had found Agatha disguised as a private tutor in New York, tutoring a pair of twins at a milk tea shop.

Mephisto tried to recruit Agatha into a scheme to open Earth-616’s defenses and unleash Cul Borson, hoping Russell and the Great Serpent would weaken each other. Agatha agreed to consider the plan after Mephisto showed her Russell’s power, but she questioned how he could keep her safe.

• Mephisto visited Agatha Harkness in Queens and offered her a new deal.
• Agatha refused, but Mephisto warned that Russell could kill her if she tried to absorb the Chaos Magic within the girl she was pursuing.
• Mephisto showed Agatha footage of Russell fighting him and proposed that they cooperate to kill Russell and the Sorcerer Supreme.
• Agatha asked what she needed to do, and Mephisto said she only had to open a gap in the world's defensive magic array.
• Agatha warned Mephisto that Russell had slaughtered a pantheon after someone let a demon into the world, then asked how she could be sure she would survive.

Russell encountered Toomes while wandering through New York and saw that Toomes was destined to become the villain Vulture. After Eileen interrupted Toomes’s attack, Russell killed him and continued his stroll.

• Wanda arrived at the bookstore after her lessons ended early, and Russell teased her with the prospect of magic lessons before leaving to walk around New York.
• Russell wandered into a site where Toomes and his crew were handling canceled transport work for alien warship wreckage, and Toomes decided to silence him.
• Toomes’s gun jammed twice, but on the third shot it fired before Eileen arrived and kicked the pistol away.
• Russell picked up the gun and shot Toomes three times, ending his fate as Vulture despite Eileen’s protest.
• Russell told Eileen that the exchange was fair and walked away.

Russell met Thor and Jane Foster, learned how they had fallen in love, and then joined Tony and his friends for Tony’s bachelor party on a private island. The party began, leaving Russell’s premonition of an unusual event unresolved.

• Russell ran into Thor and Jane Foster at a coffee shop and asked how they had met.
• Thor explained that Jane had met him after the Tesseract drew Thanos’s forces to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, where her supervisor died and she took his place.
• After Russell left, Jane recognized him as the man who had destroyed the S.H.I.E.L.D. defenses and fleet.
• Tony picked up Russell and took him by yacht to a private island, where he revealed that the gathering was his bachelor party.
• Tony started the party at the island villa; Steve disapproved, Pietro felt awkward, Banner tried to control Hulk, and Russell smiled as his premonition lingered.

Russell prevented Dr. Banner from reaching Hulk and encountered Maya Hansen at Tony's Bachelor Party, where she tried to warn Tony of an attack. Killian's Extremis bombs exploded, but Loki and Pietro contained the first blast, and Tony used Pietro to evacuate the other bomb carriers; afterward, Maya told Tony she had a lead.

• Russell severed Dr. Banner's connection with Hulk and recognized Maya Hansen as one of the Extremis Virus researchers.
• Maya Hansen warned Russell that someone planned to attack the party, and Russell directed her to Steve Rogers for help.
• Killian's countdown ended, and an Extremis bomb exploded; Loki froze the remains while Pietro carried them outside the villa.
• Tony used infrared scans to identify more human bombs, and Pietro moved them away before three more explosions struck.
• Steve brought Maya Hansen to Tony, and J.A.R.V.I.S. reminded Tony that he had met her in 1999.
• Tony asked Maya Hansen to explain her lead about the attack.

Tony learned from Maya Hansen that Aldrich Killian had attacked him using the Extremis Virus because Tony had once stood Killian up. Meanwhile, Russell and Loki tested their magical skills in the bookstore, leaving Loki ready to try another contest after Russell noticed Gwen had returned.

• Maya Hansen told Tony that Aldrich Killian had masterminded the attack and used the Extremis Virus, while Tony arranged for the guests to leave safely.
• Pietro told Steve that Russell had left with Loki.
• Russell and Loki competed in Time Magic by making tea appear and disappear in a cup, and Russell revealed he had also used Space Magic.
• Loki accused Russell of cheating, and Russell argued that magic should be combined to suit each problem.
• Loki created an illusion of a full teacup, but Russell saw through it and countered with illusions of an empty cup until Loki stopped.
• Russell ended the contest and began ushering Loki out after noticing Gwen had returned.

Russell studied the Darkhold while planning a Book of Russell to teach magic and spread Luminescent White Energy. Meanwhile, Agatha sought to become the Scarlet Witch and arranged for Kaecilius to help Mephisto open a Teleportation Channel for Serpent.

• Russell told Loki that he could learn spells by perceiving their energy, urged him to keep studying Time Magic, and directed him to ask Ancient One for guidance.
• Gwen told Russell about her Superhero Team's plans to choose a name and debut, and Russell helped her look for inspiration.
• Russell read the Darkhold to learn its way of conveying magical knowledge and considered creating a Book of Russell for his Apostles.
• Chthon sensed Agatha reading the Darkhold's chapter on the Scarlet Witch and wondered whether Russell might be the Scarlet Witch.
• Agatha closed the Darkhold and prepared to have Kaecilius open a Teleportation Channel for Mephisto, intending to keep herself out of the direct plan.

Agatha persuaded Kaecilius to try summoning Cul Borson, claiming the God of Fear came from another universe and could defeat the Dark Dimension’s lord. Meanwhile, Mephisto arranged to free Serpent Cul Borson and send him to Earth-404 to regain his strength before returning to Earth-616.

• Kaecilius’s ritual failed to summon the Demon King, and Agatha appeared to offer him another summoning method.
• Agatha gave Kaecilius a scroll for summoning Cul Borson and claimed he was a powerful God King from another universe.
• Kaecilius recognized the scroll’s fear rune and agreed to try summoning Cul Borson if he could grant sufficient power.
• Mephisto offered to free Serpent in exchange for one favor, and Serpent immediately signed the agreement.
• Mephisto told Serpent he would send him to Earth-404 to spread fear and regain strength before returning to Earth-616.

Kaecilius received the Hammer of the Winter God from the Serpent, while seven other hammers fell across the world. After Tony discovered a fallen hammer near New York and warned that it corrupted minds, he sent it through a Portal to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum on Kamar-Taj’s behalf.

• Kaecilius summoned the Serpent with the Renegade Mages and received the Hammer of the Winter God, while seven lesser hammers scattered across the world.
• Tony spotted a hammer falling near New York and found that touching it caused intense mental corruption.
• Coulson reversed his decision to stand down and brought Skye and S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to investigate the energy fluctuation.
• S.W.O.R.D. agents arrived and claimed control of the site, but Tony and Coulson challenged their authority.
• Tony declared that Kamar-Taj wanted the hammer and used a Portal to send it to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum.

After Tony placed the dangerous fear-inducing hammer in Kamar-Taj, Odin learned that Frigga had foreseen Thor dying in battle against a giant serpent and warned Thor on Earth. Odin then went to Kamar-Taj to consult the Ancient One, where he encountered the Watcher.

• The S.W.O.R.D. commander learned that seven hammers had fallen to Earth and withdrew his team to report the discovery and pursue the remaining six.
• Tony analyzed the hammer’s power of fear, recognized how destructive it could make him, and sent it to Kamar-Taj for safekeeping.
• Frigga told Odin that she had seen Thor die on Midgard beneath an enormous serpent, while Heimdall reported seven unfamiliar divine hammers in Midgard’s orbit.
• Odin concluded the vision might come from another universe, traveled to Earth, and warned Thor, who chose to stay and face the possible threat.
• Frigga stayed with Thor, Loki, and Jane Foster, while Odin went to Kamar-Taj to question the Ancient One.
• Odin encountered the Watcher at Kamar-Taj and angrily accused him of watching events without intervening.