Recaps

The Ancient One was ambushed by Kaecilius after Dormammu cut off the Dark Dimension energy she had stolen, leaving her powerless and near death. Chen Changsheng revived her with Biomass energy, and she asked him to contact Strange for help.

• Chen Changsheng watched as Dormammu disrupted The Ancient One’s magic and Kaecilius stabbed her with two enchanted daggers.
• The Ancient One struck Kaecilius away and teleported into reality, where she collapsed as her stolen magic drained away.
• Chen Changsheng escaped the Mirror Dimension and injected Biomass energy into The Ancient One, restoring her consciousness and some vitality.
• The Ancient One discovered she could no longer use magic and asked Chen Changsheng to contact Strange.
• Chen Changsheng called Strange, who had awakened his magical talent while defending Earth’s Sanctums from the dark invasion.

After the Ancient One chose Strange as her successor and began passing on the Eye of Agamotto, Strange gave the artifact to Chen Changsheng instead. Chen Changsheng accepted it, though he could not use its magic, and planned to study it.

• Wong and Strange arrived through a magical portal after Chen Changsheng’s treatment had stabilized the badly injured Ancient One.
• The Ancient One handed Strange the Eye of Agamotto and urged him to trust himself and do what he thought was right.
• Strange offered the Eye of Agamotto to Chen Changsheng, saying he was best suited to protect the multiverse and maintain peace.
• The Ancient One silently accepted Strange’s decision, while Wong watched the transfer.
• Chen Changsheng took the Eye of Agamotto and realized he could not use it, but decided to study it and seek a way to access its power.

Strange returned the Eye of Agamotto to Chen Changsheng, who urged him to use the Time Stone to master magic before Dormammu invaded. Meanwhile, Kaecilius prepared to guide Dormammu to Earth by removing the Sanctums’ protection.

• Strange asked Chen Changsheng to save The Ancient One, but she refused and chose to die peacefully.
• Chen Changsheng accepted The Ancient One’s decision and recognized that Dormammu remained an imminent threat.
• Chen Changsheng returned the Eye of Agamotto to Strange and told him to use the Time Stone to practice spells in a time loop.
• Strange began using the Eye of Agamotto to multiply his study time as Chen Changsheng sensed the flow of time.
• Kaecilius formed a magic array to give Dormammu Earth’s coordinates and hasten his invasion.

Cassilis sought to destroy Earth’s sanctums so Dormammu could invade, but Chen Changsheng sent Electro to defend the New York Sanctum. Cassilis shifted his attack to Hong Kong and destroyed its sanctum, leaving New York as the last one standing.

• Cassilis pursued eternal life by serving Dormammu and planned to break the three sanctums protecting Earth.
• Wong asked Chen Changsheng to help as the sanctums came under attack and Strange remained incapacitated.
• Chen Changsheng sent Max to the New York Sanctum, where Electro drove off Cassilis and destroyed the remaining Dark Apostles.
• Cassilis redirected his forces toward the Hong Kong Sanctum, where Umbrella mercenaries delayed the attackers but were eventually overcome.
• The Dark Apostles destroyed the Hong Kong Sanctum, while Cassilis avoided another fight at New York.

Kaecilius's ritual brought Dormammu to Earth, where he shattered the last Sanctum's defenses and began devouring the planet. Chen Changsheng and Strange confronted him in the Dark Dimension using Strange's time-loop curse, but Dormammu immediately killed them, leaving them trapped in the loop.

• Kaecilius and the Dark Apostles began their summoning ritual, and Dormammu crossed into Earth's universe.
• Dormammu shattered the New York Sanctum's golden shield and opened a vortex that began pulling Earth into the Dark Dimension.
• Chen Changsheng restored Strange, and they went through a portal to confront Dormammu, with Strange placing a time-loop curse on himself using the Eye of Agamotto.
• Dormammu noticed the Time Stone's green glow and crushed Strange and Chen Changsheng, but Strange's time-loop curse brought them back.

Doctor Strange and Chen Changsheng tried to survive Dormammu’s attacks within the time loop, and Chen discovered that the loop could reset his memories while leaving a copy of his Blacklight Virus on Strange. Chen merged with Strange as a parasite so he could retain his memories between cycles and communicate with him, though Dormammu continued killing them each time.

• Strange recognized the time loop and tried to tell Dormammu they had come to negotiate, but Dormammu killed him and Chen again.
• Chen sent Blacklight Virus into Strange, then realized that a copy persisted on Strange after the next reset and shared memories with his own collective consciousness.
• Chen concluded that he could use the virus on Strange to preserve his memories between time loops, while Dormammu repeatedly interrupted Strange’s attempts to speak.
• Chen merged into Strange as a parasite and explained across several cycles that this let him retain his memories and communicate before Dormammu attacked.
• Chen finished telling Strange that Dormammu had noticed their behavior and was preparing for them, while the time loop continued to reset after each death.

Chen Changsheng used Strange’s endless death cycle in the Dark Dimension to evolve the Blacklight Virus and grow stronger, eventually creating a planet-sized body. He tried to seed a rapidly evolving world, but Dormammu destroyed it when its creatures began walking upright, and the cycle began again.

• Chen Changsheng gained more Biomass energy each time he parasitized Strange between cycles, while Strange studied magic and grew physically stronger.
• Chen Changsheng evolved Blacklight Virus organisms that could absorb Dark Dimension energy, though his own body expanded into a grotesque mass of flesh.
• When the death cycle paused, Chen Changsheng saw Dormammu observing him and caused his planet-sized body to produce blood that formed oceans.
• Life rapidly evolved on the Flesh Planet, but Dormammu shattered it and killed Strange when an ape began walking upright.
• Chen Changsheng judged the experiment unsuccessful because the organisms preferred Biomass to dark energy, and continued his plan through the next cycle.

Chen Changsheng repeatedly destroyed and reshaped Flesh Planet, abandoning slow-growing Stone Monsters for a breathing world that spawned microorganisms and vast Filamentous Warts. As the warts decayed into nutrient-rich oceans, dark-energy-absorbing algae emerged and spread across the planet, establishing an ecosystem no longer dependent on Chen Changsheng’s nutrients.

• Chen Changsheng formed Stone Monsters from volcanic magma, but their slow growth dissatisfied him, so he destroyed Flesh Planet and began again.
• Chen Changsheng made Flesh Planet expand and contract, drawing in dark matter and releasing microscopic life that formed a red current around the planet.
• Microscopic organisms evolved into a protective living network, while Flesh Planet grew immense Filamentous Warts that spread across its surface and into space.
• The Filamentous Warts died and accumulated into deep layers of Biomass, which rotted into colorful oceans where microorganisms evolved.
• Dark-energy-absorbing algae appeared, allowing the ecosystem to sustain itself, and the algae spread from the oceans across the land and over the Filamentous Warts.

Chen Changsheng’s Flesh Planet absorbed the Dark Dimension’s power and evolved into a vast ecosystem, giving him new insight into the nature of magical energy. Dormammu noticed the power being taken from his realm and attacked, leaving Chen Changsheng unleashing the Blacklight Virus’s full strength.

• The mycelial mat, giant trees, and new life-forms transformed the Flesh Planet as it absorbed Dark Dimension energy and grew stronger.
• New Blacklight Virus organisms emerged that could convert Dark Dimension power into energy the planet could use.
• Chen Changsheng realized that magical power was a higher-level form of energy and that matter’s properties depended on its energy.
• Dormammu sensed Chen Changsheng drawing power from the Dark Dimension and reacted with hostility, extinguishing the world as he attacked.
• Chen Changsheng absorbed the Dark Dimension’s power with everything he had, making his spherical body shine with brilliant white light as its tentacles reached outward.

Chen Changsheng endured Dormammu’s repeated attacks as he grew into a galaxy and began absorbing the Dark Dimension. He projected his consciousness back to Earth, where Mage Wong still sensed danger despite the disappearance of the sky phenomenon.

• Dormammu kept killing Chen Changsheng, but the time loop and Chen Changsheng’s growing power made the attacks futile.
• Chen Changsheng’s existence expanded into a luminous galaxy that nurtured life within the Dark Dimension.
• Dormammu confronted Chen Changsheng and demanded that he leave, but Chen Changsheng continued absorbing the dimension’s power.
• Chen Changsheng gained some of Dormammu’s abilities and sent a strand of his will back to Earth.
• Chen Changsheng found Earth unchanged, while Mage Wong remained anxious because he sensed a vast surge of magical power.

Chen Changsheng and Strange returned from the Dark Dimension as the spreading dark power transformed Earth and forced the Kamar-Taj mages and Dark Apostles to halt their battle. Strange resumed his role as Sorcerer Supreme, while Chen Changsheng left his main body in the Dark Dimension to keep pressuring Dormammu and entrusted the Dark Apostles’ threat to Kamar-Taj.

• Dark energy surged across Earth, strengthening dark mages and Dark Apostles until both the Dark Apostles and Kamar-Taj mages disengaged and withdrew.
• Chen Changsheng returned to Earth, used the Blacklight Virus network to forge a new body, and upgraded Strange to Odin’s Skyfather level.
• Two Blacklight pods appeared beside Wong, and Chen Changsheng and Strange emerged from them.
• Strange recovered from vomiting after projecting his consciousness, then ordered Wong to send the mages back to Kamar-Taj.
• Strange and Chen Changsheng saw the vortex where Earth and the Dark Dimension exchanged matter, then Chen Changsheng continued confronting Dormammu from the Dark Dimension while leaving Kamar-Taj to handle the Dark Apostles.

Chen Changsheng returned to his office, learned about Chitauri technology thefts involving Spider-Man, and continued building his strength with Pym Particles. Strange then told him that Thor and Loki had arrived on Earth, leaving Chen Changsheng to consider the two Asgardian brothers’ appearance.

• Chen Changsheng warned Strange that Earth’s Dark Apostles were growing stronger, and Strange considered making use of the dark power spreading across the world.
• Chen Changsheng used dark magic to open a portal to his office, where Red Queen reported robberies involving Chitauri technology and showed him footage of Spider-Man.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Red Queen to monitor the thefts after noticing Peter’s involvement and the suspected connection to a girl’s father.
• Chen Changsheng continued using Pym Particles to compress dark energy and increase his strength.
• Strange called Chen Changsheng to report that Thor and Loki had descended upon Earth, and Chen Changsheng recognized the Asgardian brothers.

Chen Changsheng arrived in Norway as Odin’s life ended and witnessed Thor and Loki learn about their sister Hela. Hela emerged from her prison and confronted her brothers, ordering them to kneel.

• Strange told Chen Changsheng that Odin was near death and had arrived on Earth while Strange fought Dormammu.
• Chen Changsheng opened a portal to Strange, while Thor and Loki were transported to Odin in Norway.
• Odin warned Thor and Loki that their sister Hela would return when he died, then vanished in a burst of white light.
• Hela emerged from the broken seal as Thor and Loki prepared to fight her.
• Hela looked at her brothers and told them to kneel.

Chen Changsheng arrived on Sakaar and learned that Grandmaster ruled the harsh planet for the sake of its gladiatorial games. After defeating a group of scavengers and absorbing information from their leader, Chen Changsheng disguised himself as the Collector and set out to approach Grandmaster.

• Chen Changsheng landed on Sakaar and considered turning its unstable spatial connections into a route and transportation hub.
• A group of Sakaaran scavengers surrounded Chen Changsheng, and their leader tried to capture him with an electric net.
• Chen Changsheng cut through the net and killed the scavengers, leaving their leader alive to interrogate.
• Chen Changsheng extracted information about Sakaar, learning that Grandmaster ruled it to fund gladiatorial matches and neglected its people and development.
• Chen Changsheng recalled killing The Collector and being unable to revive the dead Celestial Head in The Void.
• Chen Changsheng transformed into the Collector, taking on Tivan's greedy, sinister appearance.

Chen Changsheng traveled to Sakaar and reached Grandmaster’s base, where he was mistaken for a threat and fought his way through a hundred gladiators. Grandmaster arrived and recognized him as his younger brother.

• Chen Changsheng flew across Sakaar toward the City of Champions, leaving the planet’s spacecraft behind.
• Topaz interrupted Grandmaster’s party to tell him his younger brother had been found, and Grandmaster set off to confront his cousin over the champion seed.
• Grandmaster’s gladiators tried to capture Chen Changsheng when he claimed to be Grandmaster’s younger brother.
• Chen Changsheng defeated around a hundred gladiators with his physical strength, and Topaz brought him to Grandmaster’s suite.
• Grandmaster entered the suite, saw Chen Changsheng, and recognized him as his little brother.

Chen Changsheng, disguised as The Collector, reunited with Grandmaster and used The Collector’s memories to pass as his younger brother on Sakaar. After Loki’s attempt to trade on his Asgardian heritage fell flat, Topaz reported that Grandmaster’s cousin had been found, and Chen Changsheng followed him to meet the newcomer.

• Chen Changsheng met Grandmaster, and the two grew close after days of reminiscing together.
• Chen Changsheng watched parties and duels with Grandmaster, who praised his gladiators, including The Hulk.
• Loki introduced himself as Odin’s son, but Grandmaster and Chen Changsheng recalled Odin selling gladiators and made Loki uncomfortable.
• Chen Changsheng told Grandmaster that the Guardians of the Galaxy had destroyed The Collector’s collection, and Grandmaster invited him to a duel tournament.
• Topaz told Grandmaster that his cousin had been found, and Chen Changsheng followed as a familiar-looking newcomer approached Grandmaster.

Valkyrie brought Thor to Grandmaster on Sakaar as a potential champion, and Grandmaster eagerly agreed to buy him despite Thor’s protests. Thor broke free of his restraints briefly before Valkyrie shocked him back into the chair, leaving Topaz to handle Valkyrie’s demand for twenty million.

• Valkyrie arrived to meet Grandmaster, while Topaz blocked her and exchanged barbs with her about her drinking.
• Valkyrie presented Thor, restrained in a chair, as a champion prospect for Grandmaster.
• Grandmaster inspected Thor’s physique and ordered Topaz to transfer the payment.
• Thor shouted that he was not for sale and broke free of his restraints, but Valkyrie shocked him with a remote and knocked him back into the chair.
• Grandmaster praised Thor as a natural-born warrior, and Valkyrie demanded twenty million; Grandmaster told Topaz to pay her.

Grandmaster bought Thor from Valkyrie, tortured him, and invited him to compete in the Contest of Champions. At a Sakaar party, Thor spotted Loki among the dignitaries and called out to him.

• Topaz transferred Valkyrie's payment, and Valkyrie left after confirming she had received the money.
• Thor threatened Grandmaster and broke free of his restraints, but Grandmaster used a controller to electrocute him unconscious.
• Grandmaster told Chen Changsheng that his supposed cousin was an interstellar broker, then killed the restrained man in front of Thor.
• Grandmaster took Thor to a party and introduced the Contest of Champions while DJing, ignoring Thor's refusal to participate.
• Thor spotted Loki chatting with Sakaar's dignitaries and shouted for his help, making Loki's smile freeze.

Loki tried to hide his connection to Thor, but Grandmaster ordered Thor into the arena and made Loki watch the match from his side. Meanwhile, Chen Changsheng inspected Sakaar’s planetary shield, then joined Grandmaster at the championship match as Thor and The Hulk were announced.

• Loki denied knowing Thor, but Thor announced they were brothers from Asgard and threatened Grandmaster.
• Grandmaster ordered Topaz to take Thor for a haircut and prepare him to fight in the arena that night.
• Grandmaster told Loki to sit beside him for the gladiatorial match, and Loki reluctantly agreed.
• Chen Changsheng inspected Sakaar’s planetary shield and resolved to replace Grandmaster before heading to the City of Champions.
• Chen Changsheng flew into the arena and sat beside Grandmaster as the crowd gathered for the championship match.
• Grandmaster announced Thor and The Hulk as the contestants, and the crowd erupted with cheers for The Hulk.

Chen Changsheng trapped Loki at the arena and wagered the Aether against Grandmaster’s claim to Sakaar on the outcome of Thor’s fight with Hulk. Thor’s attempt to reason with Hulk failed, and as Hulk battered him, Loki cheered from the VIP seats.

• Chen Changsheng blocked Loki from leaving and drew Grandmaster into a bet on the arena match.
• Chen Changsheng offered the Aether as his stake, and Grandmaster wagered Sakaar.
• Loki remembered how the Dark Elves had nearly killed Frigga and how his uncle had helped them escape.
• Thor tried to calm Hulk by calling him Banner, but Hulk grew angry and attacked him.
• Hulk overpowered Thor, and Loki stood up cheering before apologizing to the crowd and saying he loved the sport.

Thor initially gained the upper hand against the Hulk through his combat experience and a stolen hammer, but Grandmaster used a signal controller to turn the fight back in the Hulk’s favor. As Thor was beaten, Odin’s words awakened his power, and thunder surged through his body.

• Thor adapted to the Hulk’s attacks, took a metal hammer, and drove the Hulk across the arena.
• Grandmaster activated Valkyrie’s signal controller, causing Thor to lose control of his body and letting the Hulk pound him.
• Chen Changsheng refused Grandmaster’s attempt to void their wager, and Grandmaster awkwardly agreed to continue it.
• As the Hulk battered Thor, Odin’s final words echoed in Thor’s mind and awakened a hidden genetic signal.
• Thor drew thunderous power from another dimension through his body, regaining his power.

Thor awakened his power over thunder, fought Hulk to a draw, and won the respect of Sakaar’s spectators. Chen Changsheng offered him a chance to lead a revolution in exchange for an army and a ship to return to Asgard, and Thor accepted.

• Thor broke free of the arena’s electronic interference and unleashed lightning against Hulk, but his power ran out and the fight ended with both combatants down.
• Chen Changsheng and Grandmaster treated the match as a draw, ending their wager and leaving Sakaar under Chen Changsheng’s control.
• Thor asked Grandmaster for permission to leave Sakaar, and Grandmaster directed him to seek approval from Chen Changsheng.
• Chen Changsheng told Thor that Hela had raised an army of the dead in Asgard and offered him a chance to return with an army if he succeeded in leading a revolution on Sakaar.
• Thor accepted Chen Changsheng’s challenge to overthrow Sakaar’s old order.

After Thor led Sakaar’s revolution and left to rescue Asgard, Chen Changsheng and Grandmaster wagered on whether Thor could defeat Hela. They arrived in Asgard during the battle, where Thor and his allies were struggling against Hela’s forces.

• Thor left Sakaar with its unstable elements, while Loki was bound and taken aboard the ship.
• Chen Changsheng proposed a new bet: Grandmaster would help hold off Thanos if Chen Changsheng won, while Chen Changsheng would create a universe-wide gladiatorial show if Grandmaster won.
• Chen Changsheng and Grandmaster agreed to judge the bet by whether Thor defeated Hela, with Chen Changsheng backing Thor and Grandmaster choosing Hela.
• Chen Changsheng and Grandmaster traveled to Asgard and found Thor’s gladiator army fighting Hela’s undead army.
• Thor was losing to Hela, Valkyrie stayed outside the main fight, and Hulk battled Fenrir as Grandmaster laughed at the rebels’ losses.

As Hela battled Thor, Loki revived Surtur with the Eternal Flame, triggering Asgard’s destruction. After Asgard collapsed, Chen Changsheng used the Dark Dimension’s magic to transform the ruins into a cosmic Willow Tree bonsai, where Kull’s sacrifice helped restore life to the realm.

• Hela overwhelmed Thor and severed Gungnir while her undead army drove the Asgardians toward their escape ship.
• Loki poured the Eternal Flame over Surtur’s crown, reviving the Fire Giant and setting Ragnarok in motion.
• Surtur attacked Asgard, weakening Hela; she abandoned Thor and fought him as the Divine Realm began to collapse.
• As Asgard disintegrated, Chen Changsheng declared that the realm would belong to him and channeled Dark Dimension magic into a Willow Tree sapling.
• The Willow Tree grew across the ruins, binding the unconscious Surtur as Kull awakened and coiled around its trunk.
• Kull swallowed Surtur and the Eternal Flame, then burned away; life returned across the Willow Tree bonsai, and Asgardian creatures and extinct plants reappeared.

Willow Tree reached its limit in Asgard and broke through the space between the Nine Realms, while Thor fled and chose Earth as a new home for his people. On Nidavellir, Thanos learned the locations of several Infinity Stones and considered Gamora as the sacrifice needed to obtain the Soul Stone.

• Willow Tree expanded until its roots breached a weak point in space and spread into the other realms of the Nine Realms.
• Thor escaped from Asgard and decided to bring his people to Earth, while Grandmaster confronted Chen Changsheng and accepted his promise to go there together.
• Thanos arrived on Nidavellir and grew angry as the Black Order reported that several Infinity Stones were missing or out of reach.
• Ebony Maw reported that the Mind Stone was on Earth, and Corvus Glaive revealed that obtaining the Soul Stone required the willing sacrifice of a beloved soul.
• Thanos considered the requirement and thought of his adopted daughter, Gamora.