Chapter Summaries

Duva used a Xenomorph encounter to bring Gorr face to face with the gods of Lapp, where Gorr’s faith collapsed and he claimed the Necrosword. After Duva cured Gorr’s daughter and recruited him, Knull recovered his body on Klyntar and discovered that the Necrosword had severed its connection to him.

• Yondu’s Ravagers closed their portal after a Xenomorph rushed through to Lapp, leaving Gorr and his daughter stranded in the desert.
• Duva contacted Gorr through the Xenomorph and directed him to seek help from Lapp’s gods, who panicked when they learned a Xenomorph was on the planet.
• Gorr lost faith in the gods of Lapp and killed one with the Necrosword, which had appeared in his hand and chosen him.
• Duva revealed himself through the Xenomorph and offered to save Gorr’s daughter if Gorr joined him; Gorr accepted despite the Necrosword trying to influence him.
• Duva healed Gorr’s daughter and named him the God Butcher, while explaining that Gorr’s actions had indirectly killed the Necrosword’s master.
• Knull reclaimed his body on Klyntar, planned to retrieve the Necrosword, and realized that it had severed its connection with him.

Knull recovered his full power and led a vast Symbiote army into the World Tree, targeting Duva and Earth while gods across the universe watched. As Duva prepared for the invasion, Hill activated S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Master Mold Platform, only for the Symbiotes' arrival to send it falling toward the Sun again.

• Knull learned that the Necrosword had chosen a new master, and Loki suspected Duva had caused its betrayal.
• Knull revealed that Odin was dead and promised to help Loki claim Asgard after dealing with Duva.
• The Celestials chose not to intervene as Knull's darkness spread, and Arishem ordered them to ignore Knull and Earth for now.
• Knull and his Symbiote army entered the World Tree, drawing the attention of gods and shaking the Solar System as they approached Earth.
• Duva sensed Knull's arrival while Hill ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to activate the Master Mold Platform and deploy Sentry Robots.
• A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent warned Hill that the Symbiotes' arrival had shifted the platform's orbit, sending it toward the Sun again.

With Knull approaching Earth, Duva rejected the Sentry Trinity as an unreliable way to fight him and sought the Shadow Gods hidden in the World Tree. He refused their demand for a sacrifice and threatened to expose them to Knull unless they gave him their power.

• Gloria questioned Duva about the Symbiote invasion, and he removed her as chief secretary and ordered her to defend Weyland Tower’s first floor.
• Duva considered using the Sentry Trinity against Knull but left Weyland Tower to seek power through the World Tree.
• Thor arrived ready to help Duva, who explained that he was observing the World Tree and did not ask Thor to act.
• The Shadow Ancient Gods revealed themselves and demanded that Duva sacrifice his eyes and soul and hang from the World Tree to receive divine power.
• Duva refused their terms, claimed they needed him more than he needed them, and threatened to reveal their hiding places to Knull.

Duva negotiated with the Shadow Gods and received the World Tree’s divine power to confront Knull. As Knull reached the Solar System with a vast Symbiote army, Duva went out to face him personally, wielding the Necrosword.

• The Shadow Gods debated their options and agreed to grant Duva divine power so he could stop Knull and protect the World Tree.
• Duva told Thor to lead his people against the Symbiotes, then drew power from the World Tree and reached the level of a Cosmic God.
• Knull arrived near the Solar System with the planet Klyntar and an enormous Symbiote army, while defenders prepared to fight.
• Duva personally flew out from Earth to confront Knull, shocking the people watching him fight for the first time.
• Duva revealed the Necrosword to Knull and explained that he had taken it from Gorr, then aimed the weapon at the Symbiote God.

Ancient One guarded Mephisto while Duva confronted Knull, wielding the Necrosword and the World Tree’s power as the Rune God. Duva gained the upper hand, but Knull prepared to call on races that had secretly defected to him.

• Ancient One stabilized the Magic Array and told Mephisto that Duva was fighting Knull without using the Time Stone.
• Mephisto worried that Duva might defeat Knull and claim his body, while Kur sensed the battle from his prison and lamented Duva’s rise to Cosmic God level.
• Duva attacked Knull with the Necrosword, disrupting the Symbiotes guarding Knull and wounding him with Godly Power Runes.
• Duva revealed that he had secured the World Tree’s support by promising to sacrifice Knull’s soul and take his body.
• Knull recognized that Duva’s power came from the World Tree and prepared to activate the races that had secretly defected to him.

Earth's heroes and Duva's Xenomorph Army fought to hold back Knull's overwhelming Symbiote invasion while Thor confronted Loki and discovered Knull had summoned the Dark Elves. Duva gained the upper hand in his battle with Knull, but the arrival of Malekith's forces introduced a new threat.

• Tony, Reynolds, and the Xenomorph Army led Earth's defense in space as Symbiotes swarmed the planet and blocked out the sunlight.
• Thor fought the Symbiote barrier and tried to reach Loki, but Knull-controlled Captain America stood in his way.
• Loki warned Thor that Knull had allies, and Thor recognized the incoming warships as belonging to the Dark Elves.
• Duva used his connection to the Xenomorphs to monitor Earth while he battled Knull and eroded the darkness with World Tree power.
• Duva identified the Dark Elves led by Malekith as Knull's reinforcements, but judged their forces insufficient to change the battle's course.

Duva fought Knull while the Dark Elves attacked the World Tree, hoping to exploit its power and expose how Duva controlled it. After the World Tree rejected Malekith and Knull discovered hidden helpers in its shadows, Duva revealed that the World Tree was only part of his plan and called on Moira to act.

• Knull attacked Duva and tried to divert the World Tree's power through Malekith and the Dark Elves.
• Malekith led the Dark Elf fleet into battle, while Thor and the Light Elves fought back and Queen Sindr mobilized Muspelheim.
• Malekith tried to draw more power from the World Tree, but it severed their connection and suppressed the power he already held.
• Queen Sindr attacked Malekith as Knull realized hidden creatures in the World Tree's shadows were helping Duva.
• Knull prepared to hunt down the hidden creatures, but Duva said the World Tree was only a way to weaken him and summoned Moira to carry out his real plan.

The Shadow Gods pressured Duva to stop Knull while Duva put his long-prepared plan into action with Moira and Destiny. Moira trapped Knull in a repeating fragment of time, leaving the Evil God bound to the universe’s cycle.

• The Shadow Gods panicked after Knull discovered them, argued over their options, and sent Duva more divine power while demanding that he kill Knull.
• Duva summoned Moira, while Magneto and Professor X wondered why Destiny had stopped contacting them.
• Destiny sacrificed herself to help Moira combine her fate-reading with her power to restart the universe.
• Duva protected Moira from Knull as she activated her power and severed a fragment of time around him.
• Duva overwhelmed Knull with Godly Power Runes and explained that Moira’s ability had trapped him in a repeating cycle that spared the rest of the universe.

Duva defeated Knull by trapping him and began absorbing the Abyss within him to create a world of his own. After rejecting the Shadow Gods’ claim on his future, Duva demanded that the Symbiotes surrender and join him.

• Moira used her power to trap Knull, while Duva revealed that he intended to capture Knull alive and seize the Abyss.
• Duva invaded Knull’s Abyss with his vast network of Xenomorph consciousnesses and divine power, gradually weakening and absorbing Knull.
• Malekith fled with his fleet, but Duva sent pursuers after him, while the Shadow Gods grew fearful and tried to negotiate for some of their divine power back.
• Duva told the Shadow Gods he did not value the World Tree’s gifts and would pursue becoming a Xenomorph Concept God instead of advancing through the World Tree system.
• Duva confronted the Symbiotes with the Necrosword and demanded that they surrender and become part of him or die.

Duva rejected the World Tree’s divine rank after defeating Knull, but kept its power by granting it to Jane Foster and other subordinates rather than returning it to the Shadow Gods. Back on Earth, he began turning Knull’s Abyss into his Soul World, where Xenomorphs—including the dead—could return while Knull remained trapped in endless cycles.

• Duva ordered the Xenomorphs to kill every Symbiote that had refused to submit, then erased even those who tried to pledge allegiance too late.
• As Duva shed the World Tree’s divine power, the watching gods wondered whether he had lost his strength, while the Shadow Gods expected him to return their power.
• Duva granted Jane Foster and other followers authority over the World Tree’s power, then refused the Shadow Gods’ demand to give it back.
• Duva ignored the Shadow Gods’ attempt to recruit him for Ragnarok, and the World Tree’s armies returned to their worlds.
• Back on Earth, Duva spoke to the imprisoned Knull and took control of the Abyss, turning it into a Soul World while leaving Knull trapped in Moira’s repeating mechanism.
• Duva’s control revived traces of dead Xenomorphs within the Abyss, allowing them to live again.

Strange became the new Sorcerer Supreme and received the Time Stone from Ancient One, while accepting that he could not change Christine’s predetermined death. After Ancient One left Earth to enter the multiverse, Duva parasitized Kur and adapted Kur’s method of reaching people through their desires into a technique for remotely implanting Xenomorph embryos.

• Wong reprimanded Dum Dum for questioning Strange, as Kamar-Taj’s remaining Dum Dum Dugans reconsidered their role as expendable magical sacrifices.
• Ancient One gave Strange the Eye of Agamotto and explained that the Time Stone could not overcome the universe’s fixed outcome of Christine’s death.
• Strange became Sorcerer Supreme, while Ancient One left her body and departed Earth to travel beyond this universe.
• Duva refused Ancient One’s request for his power and watched her soul leave for the multiverse.
• Duva parasitized Kur, examined his method of sending the Eight God Hammers to people with desires, and used it to develop the Divine Descent Technique for remotely implanting Xenomorph embryos into those who prayed to him.

Duva tested his newly developed spell by sending a Xenomorph into Captain America after he spoke Duva’s true name. Captain America turned against S.H.I.E.L.D., while Duva concluded that the spell worked.

• Duva chose Captain America as the first test subject for his new spell, which rewarded anyone who spoke his true name with a Xenomorph.
• Captain America returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. and urged its remaining leaders to keep resisting Duva, while Hill and Blade questioned whether he could be trusted.
• A force broke through Captain America's Cosmic Cube Shard defenses, and a Xenomorph rapidly parasitized him after he said Duva’s name.
• Captain America lost control of himself, declared that the age of light had arrived, and began slaughtering S.H.I.E.L.D.'s remaining forces.
• Duva watched the attack and judged that his new Divine Descent Technique had passed its preliminary test.

As Captain America led a rebellion against S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Xenomorph, Tony Stark investigated the transformation and turned his attention to the Celestial Armor. Meanwhile, rumors that speaking Duva’s name could summon a Xenomorph drove people to seek his favor, and Duva noticed Strange making a move involving Mephisto.

• Captain America's rebellion shocked powerful figures, and Tony Stark denied joining him while investigating how he had become a Xenomorph.
• Tony concluded that Captain America had transformed suddenly, then focused on gaining control of the Celestial Armor and contacted Wakanda to buy Vibranium.
• Rumors spread that speaking Duva's name could cause a Xenomorph to appear inside someone, and people began seeking parasitism in hopes of gaining power and Duva's protection.
• Knull deduced that Duva used him as a vessel to distribute Xenomorphs and move his consciousness between hosts, making him difficult to kill.
• Duva noticed that Strange had made his move and considered how Mephisto's plans might shape a future invasion of Mephisto's Hell Dimension.

Strange trapped Mephisto’s avatars and consumed them to gain demonic power, intending to become strong enough to bring Christine back and punish Mephisto. Mephisto’s true body recognized Strange as an exceptional new offspring, while Blackheart infiltrated Duva’s universe and was suddenly struck by a force demanding a Xenomorph.

• Strange suppressed three Mephisto avatars with magic and used the Faltine Mouth and Time Stone to devour them.
• As Strange absorbed the Mephistos, he transformed into a demon and declared he would change the universe and bring Christine back.
• Mephisto’s true body told Blackheart that he had gained a more exceptional offspring and gave him the coordinates to that universe.
• Blackheart learned that Duva had killed a complete Knull and warned his followers to be wary of Duva and the Xenomorphs.
• As Blackheart spoke about Duva’s followers, a voice demanded that he bestow one Xenomorph, and a force drilled into his body.

Blackheart's demons entered Duva's territory and discovered that speaking his name could trigger Xenomorph parasitism, while Strange confronted Blackheart to absorb him. Strange's use of the Time Stone disrupted a time tunnel, leaving a group of outsiders' mission at risk.

• Blackheart realized Duva's Xenomorphs were invading the demons through a territorial rule, and Skurge killed the bodiless Wind Demon after its parasitism failed.
• Duva noticed Strange had become a demon by devouring Mephisto's bloodline, but chose to watch him rather than intervene.
• Blackheart's group fled, and Blackheart ordered them to avoid Duva and his Xenomorphs while seeking Mephisto's descendant.
• Strange appeared before Blackheart, confirmed their bloodline connection, and declared he would absorb him as he had devoured Mephisto.
• Strange used the Time Stone against Blackheart, disturbing the timeline and causing a group traveling through a time tunnel to nearly fall out of it.

Tony, Banner, Captain America, and Scott arrived in a drastically altered universe while seeking the Infinity Stones, and discovered a world shaped by powerful gods, Xenomorphs, and cosmic wars. Tony and Banner went to investigate a battle involving the Time Stone, while Captain America and Scott infiltrated Stark Tower, where a Hydra agent mistook Captain America for an enemy.

• Captain America discovered that the team had arrived two hours after the Battle of New York, and Tony warned that their limited Pym Particles made another time jump too risky.
• Friday's internet search revealed a radically different history featuring Duva, Knull, Sentry, Xenomorphs, and wars between gods, convincing Tony and Banner that they were in a parallel universe.
• The team saw Xenomorphs moving openly through New York, and Tony and Banner concluded that Duva and other godlike forces had widened the gap between this universe and theirs.
• Tony spotted a distant battle involving the Time Stone and sent himself and Banner toward it, while Captain America and Scott headed for Stark Tower.
• Captain America and Scott secretly entered Stark Tower and encountered Hydra Agent Reggie and Crossbones carrying a briefcase.
• Captain America demanded the case from Reggie, but Reggie shouted “Avengers, assemble!!” and his group charged Captain America.

Captain America and Tony from Universe No. 199999 tried to obtain the Cosmic Cube and Time Stone, but the stronger Tony intercepted them and captured Scott. Meanwhile, Strange fought Blackheart with the Time Stone, and Duva allowed the battle to continue because it might reveal something about Universe No. 199999.

• Captain America took the Cosmic Cube from Hydra agents and learned from Tony that Hyperion had become a Xenomorph after Duva killed him.
• The Tony of this universe hacked Captain America's channel, revealed that he had captured Scott, and forced Captain America to surrender the Cosmic Cube.
• The local Tony refused to let the visitors take the Cube, explaining that he needed it to control the Celestial Armor.
• Tony from Universe No. 199999 and Banner openly watched Strange battle Blackheart, and they were shocked when Strange's burned robe revealed his demonic body.
• Strange used repeated Time Stone loops to wear Blackheart down, explaining that he had taken Mephisto's power to pursue the strength needed to resurrect Christine.
• Duva observed Strange's reckless use of the Time Stone and allowed it to continue so he could investigate the significance of Universe No. 199999.

Duva considered how Universe No. 199999 and its Infinity Stones could help him expand his concept across the Marvel and DC multiverses. After Strange defeated Blackheart, Tony learned that Duva had noticed him and received Xenomorph Larva genes, leaving Strange to wonder what Duva planned for the outsiders.

• Duva considered whether Infinity Stones from his universe would work in Universe No. 199999 and planned to use that universe as a springboard toward the DC multiverse.
• Tony and Banner watched Strange battle Blackheart, and Banner urged Tony to consider abandoning their mission and returning home.
• Strange defeated Blackheart and absorbed his corpse and soul, then told Tony and Banner to leave Earth.
• Tony realized that speaking Duva's name could be dangerous, but Duva noticed him and sent power into his body.
• Strange identified the new presence in Tony as Xenomorph Larva genes and left the outsiders in Duva's hands.

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner arrived in Duva’s universe, where Tony’s body was rejuvenated by a Xenomorph embryo he could not safely remove. Duva explained that their arrival was tied to the Xenomorph concept in their world, leaving Tony to confront the fact that he could not choose whether to carry one home.

• Tony’s body regained youth and superhuman vitality after a Xenomorph embryo appeared fused with his organs, but Friday warned that removing it would damage him.
• Banner said his Gamma-infused blood might kill an embryo, while Tony suspected Steve had been parasitized too; a Speedster Xenomorph carried them to Weyland Tower.
• Magneto controlled Tony’s nanobots, judged his armor inadequate, and let the visitors continue to Duva.
• Duva told Tony and Banner that he was on Odin’s level and explained the vast difference between this universe’s Odin and theirs.
• Tony objected to taking a Xenomorph back to his universe, but Duva said their arrival was caused by the Xenomorph concept in Universe No. 199999 and that they had no choice.

Duva forced Tony, Banner, and their teammates to return to Universe No. 199999 with implanted Xenomorphs, while Tony feared Duva would take control of humanity. Back at Avengers Base, past Nebula used the time machine to bring Thanos's Sanctuary II from the past as Duva prepared for what came next.

• Duva told Tony and Banner that he would send them back with Xenomorphs and erase traces of their visit, then used his power to make Tony collapse in pain.
• The alternate-universe Tony released Captain America and Scott, and the four time travelers reunited after failing to obtain any Infinity Stones.
• The four returned to Universe No. 199999, where the Avengers mourned Natasha's death and Hawkeye held the Soul Stone.
• Past Nebula activated the time machine and brought Sanctuary II out of time, leaving the Avengers watching its arrival.
• Duva sensed changes on Earth-199999 and decided to prepare, focused on achieving his goal.