Chapter Summaries

Tony Stark fought Killian on the steel framework while a High-Temperature Giant rampaged through Miami, forcing the superheroes to battle him. Andrew sent Hulk to confront the giant, and Hulk began overpowering him with an Adamantium Hammer.

• Killian damaged Tony Stark’s armor, breathed fire at him, and continued their fight atop the steel framework as Tony escaped in an Unmanned Armor.
• The High-Temperature Giant destroyed a Miami commercial street and killed civilians while terrorists attacked the survivors.
• Human Torch, Jessica, Colleen, Susan, and Hawkeye fought the giant, but his defenses and healing left him nearly unharmed.
• Roxanne warned online that the High-Temperature Giant could self-destruct and devastate half of Miami, prompting Andrew to draw civilians into the Illusion Realm and have many sign Contracts.
• Andrew summoned Hulk, who dodged the giant’s attacks, smashed a hole in his foot with an Adamantium Hammer, and fought him while the superheroes noted Hulk’s improved strength and tactics.

Hulk defeated the High-Temperature Giant by breaking his spine and hurling him into the sky before he could self-destruct over Miami. On the oil tanker, Electro stopped the suicide soldiers and Steve killed Seven, while Tony fought Killian with a plan of his own.

• Hulk used the Adamantium Hammer to break the High-Temperature Giant’s spine, then threw him high into the sky, where he exploded without destroying the city.
• After Hulk and the other heroes turned to the remaining terrorists, Gwen sensed an explosion threat inside the tanker’s cabin.
• Electro triggered the injected terrorists’ explosion inside the cabin, killing them before they could reach the deck.
• Steve distracted Seven, planted an Energy Grenade on him, and killed him; afterward, Steve found two potions in Seven’s metal box and suspected one was a Rage Potion.
• Tony used his shoulder-mounted Sonic Cannon to pin Killian in place, then had the scattered Battle Suit parts wrap around and explode on him.

Killian transformed into a towering High-Temperature Giant and overwhelmed the Heroes on the abandoned oil tanker. Peggy Carter traded her soul for a plan to send Killian to Miami, and Garrett received the Teleportation Stone as the battle continued.

• Killian survived the explosion, injected himself with Extremis Potion and R19, and transformed into a giant whose flames and heat defeated the Heroes' attacks.
• Killian damaged Scarlet's Battle Suit, disabled the Quinjets, and left the Heroes trapped while Obadiah and the Extremis soldiers attacked the agents.
• Peggy Carter made a deal with Andrew: he would provide a Teleportation Stone that could send Killian to Miami, where the Peace Knights could fight him, in exchange for her soul after death.
• Andrew gave the Teleportation Stone to Garrett, who suspected he had been made a scapegoat and called Nick Fury to tell him about it.

Garrett used a Teleportation Stone to send Killian away from the oil tanker, allowing the superheroes to turn the battle against Obadiah and Hydra. Killian reappeared in northern Miami and fought Hulk while Andrew gathered Soul Pacts; on the tanker, Obadiah died in Iron Monger’s self-destruction, and the remaining Extremis soldiers were defeated or captured.

• Garrett secretly hurled a Teleportation Stone at Killian, teleporting him away and giving the superheroes a chance to defeat the Extremis soldiers and Iron Suits.
• Killian appeared in northern Miami, became trapped in place briefly, then attacked the city and ran toward the sea as citizens fled.
• Andrew teleported Hulk and Robots in front of Killian, and Hulk fought him amid burning, collapsing buildings while Andrew collected Soul Pacts.
• The superheroes cornered Obadiah, but Whitehall locked Iron Monger’s system and activated its self-destruct, killing Obadiah.
• The Extremis soldiers either exploded or surrendered, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and Doctor Banner injured; Rhodes freed President Ellis and prepared to take him to Washington.

Tony and the heroes uncovered Killian’s motives and the Vice President’s role in the attack, then formed an alliance against the Oil Interest Group. Killian was killed in Miami, while Steve and Tony learned Hydra was behind the mysterious force and planned to investigate further in New York.

• Roxanne’s livestream revealed that Killian had turned against Tony after Tony humiliated him in 1999, and that Killian’s attacks were meant to put the Vice President in power.
• Agents shot the Vice President after the livestream exposed him, while President Ellis and Tony suspected others stood behind him.
• President Ellis, Tony, and Nick Fury formed an alliance to deal with the Oil Interest Group.
• Tony told Steve that Ivan had identified Hydra as the mysterious force and said Hydra had sent people to kill Tony’s parents; Steve agreed to discuss the matter in New York.
• Hulk defeated Killian in Miami, and Andrew collected Killian’s soul and memories of the Extremis Virus.
• The citizens cheered Hulk as he left with the Peace Knights, bringing the incident to an end.

Andrew counted his gains from the Miami disaster while Maya Hansen refused to continue researching the Extremis Virus. In New York, Carter, Steve, and Tony organized against Hydra’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., as McCarran recruited the Oil Interest Group for a new plan to kidnap President Ellis.

• Andrew tallied nearly a million souls and the Extremis Virus among his gains from Miami, while Maya Hansen rejected S.H.I.E.L.D.’s recruitment offer and refused to share her formula.
• Doctor Serizawa contacted Maya to invite her to join an Emperor Organization project, but she did not know what the organization was.
• In Hell, Ivan arrived at Howard’s research institute, saw its advanced Battle Suits, and became Howard’s intended apprentice.
• Tony met the rejuvenated Carter and Steve, and the three discussed Hydra’s influence in S.H.I.E.L.D. and suspected Nick Fury of being Hydra.
• Carter recognized Whitehall as Reinhardt, a former Red Skull follower she had arrested, and directed Tony and Steve to investigate Hydra and recruit trustworthy allies.
• After President Ellis’s crackdown weakened the Oil Interest Group, McCarran proposed kidnapping Ellis again, and the Middle Eastern man agreed to fund his plan.

Scarlet completed her first lasting enchantment before General Hawk summoned her to help recover stolen nanotechnology warheads. Tony joined the search, while Andrew traveled to Paris to meet Gwen, and the chapter ended with the team investigating the thief Anna and her weapons.

• Scarlet successfully enchanted a Battle Suit under Andrew's instruction and received an emergency call from General Hawk about stolen nanotechnology warheads.
• Scarlet left for Stark Industries, and Andrew appeared in Paris to spend time with Gwen.
• Tony and Doctor Banner confirmed that Veronica worked and discussed Tony's plan to develop an Earth Armor Plan.
• Scarlet told Tony that the warheads had been stolen, and Tony explained that their Nanites could consume the metal in a city unless a Short-Circuit Device stopped them.
• General Hawk identified the thief as Anna, Duke's former fiancée, and Tony asked Jarvis and Alice to search cameras and records for her.
• General Hawk confirmed there was no backup Short-Circuit Device, and Tony requested footage of the thieves' Particle-Wave Energy Weapons.

Tony, Doctor Banner, and the Special Forces pursued Anna to a particle accelerator laboratory, where they fought McCarran’s enhanced Snake Demons and White Ghost. Anna escaped the battle aboard an Aircraft and reached a fighter jet with the activated Nanowarheads, leaving the heroes pinned inside the laboratory.

• General Hawk told Nick Fury about the Nanowarheads, and Fury sent Steve and Human Torch to Stark Industries while the other heroes mobilized.
• Jarvis identified Anna as Daniel Di Cobray’s wife, and Tony and General Hawk deduced that she intended to activate the Nanowarheads at Daniel’s particle accelerator laboratory.
• Scarlet teleported the heroes and Special Forces to the laboratory, where Neo Snake Demons attacked them with Particle Waves and resisted Doctor Banner’s antidote.
• White Ghost killed Daniel after Anna’s four warheads finished activating, then fought Snake Eyes and Tony as the heroes battled through the laboratory.
• Anna escaped Duke and Scarlet aboard an Aircraft, and two McCarran fighter jets destroyed Tony’s pursuing Unmanned Armor and blocked the entrance.
• Anna boarded one of the fighter jets and opened the case containing the four Nanowarheads and four Short-Circuit Devices.

Anna launched a Nanowarhead at the Eiffel Tower, unleashing metal-devouring Nanites across Paris despite Scarlet’s attempt to stop her. As the city began evacuating, Andrew captured some Nanites, while McCarran plotted to use more warheads to destroy Washington and two other cities.

• Anna flew toward the Eiffel Tower with the Nanowarhead as Scarlet pursued her, but Scarlet’s attempt to imprison Anna failed when the warhead exploded.
• The Nanites spread through Paris, corroding the Eiffel Tower and causing it to collapse; Scarlet told the others that the Short-Circuit Device Anna carried was their only hope of stopping them.
• Tony chased the fighter jet while Snake Eyes and Doctor Banner fought White Ghost, and Gwen joined Scarlet’s pursuit of Anna to retrieve the Short-Circuit Device.
• Andrew sent footage of the disaster to Daily Bugle, prompting Roxanne to report the Nanowarhead and the threat of nuclear weapons as Paris began a mass evacuation.
• Andrew pulled frightened civilians into the Illusion Realm and captured Nanites, sending half to Rebirth Hell for study and claiming the rest for himself.
• McCarran ordered his subordinate to kidnap Roxanne and learned that Zatan had entered the White House; he then ordered rockets prepared to launch three Nanowarheads at Washington and two other cities.

Tony, Scarlet, and Gwen stopped Anna from activating the Short-Circuit Device and ended the Nanowarhead crisis in Paris, though the city suffered heavy damage. McCarran and the doctor continued their plan to rule the world, with three Nanowarheads still in play and Zartan waiting inside the White House Underground Bunker.

• Anna threatened to destroy the Short-Circuit Device while Tony and Scarlet held back, and Gwen asked how the device worked.
• Tony and Scarlet distracted Anna and White Ghost while Gwen used her Web Balls to press the device's red switch, short-circuiting the Nanites except for Andrew's portion.
• Tony stopped Anna's Aircraft from reaching a crowd, Scarlet immobilized Anna, and Gwen took her Particle Wave Gun; Anna surrendered while White Ghost escaped.
• Tony dealt with arriving agents as Scarlet took Anna to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Branch and Gwen went to the Particle Accelerator Laboratory; the French President ordered his plane back to Paris after the Eiffel Tower was destroyed.
• At the undersea base, McCarran and the doctor discussed Anna's capture, the remaining Nanowarheads, and Zartan's operation in the White House Underground Bunker.
• McCarran rejected an offer to trade Rage Potion for his Nanowarheads and told the Middle Easterner that the superheroes could not stop their plan.

Tony and the others struggled to recover three Nanowarheads from Anna, whose Nanites suppressed her emotions and resisted interrogation. Scarlet used a plan suggested by Andrew to restore Anna’s emotions, and the chapter ended with Duke revived and Anna free of the Nanites’ control.

• Tony told Nick Fury that the Oil Interest Group was behind the attacks, but they had denied involvement and could not be pursued without evidence.
• Andrew encouraged Scarlet after she blamed herself for Paris’s losses, and Nick Fury summoned her to New York to collect reinforcements.
• Breaker discovered that Nanites controlled Anna and proposed using a memory-extraction device, but Scarlet suggested trying love after consulting Andrew.
• Scarlet led Duke into Anna’s room and appeared to shoot him, triggering Anna’s memories and restoring her emotions so she broke free of the Nanites.
• Scarlet revived Duke with a magical bullet, and he asked what had happened.

Anna revealed that McCarran had arranged the theft of the Nanowarheads and directed the heroes to his Arctic base. The heroes destroyed two launched missiles, while the third headed for Washington as McCarran’s plan to replace President Ellis began unfolding.

• Anna told Duke and the heroes that McCarran had orchestrated the theft and that the three Nanowarheads were at his Arctic Underwater Base.
• Tony and General Hawk sent forces toward the Arctic, where Anna’s holographic projection guided the heroes to the base entrance.
• Tony destroyed one launched rocket, and Scarlet destroyed another, but the third rocket escaped and flew toward Washington.
• McCarran ordered the base alerted and sent out the remaining Neo Snake Demons as the heroes rushed toward the launch site to find the Short-Circuit Device.
• Zatan impersonated President Ellis and revealed that McCarran intended to use him, the Nanowarheads, and an Orbital Weapon to gain power.
• Roxanne reported the missile threat during a livestream, and Nick Fury ordered S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Energy Cannons and Quinjets to prepare to intercept the missile.

The superheroes attacked McCarran’s Arctic base to stop the Nanowarhead and obtain the Short-Circuit Device, but McCarran escaped after the device was destroyed. As Tony, Rhodes, and Scarlet pursued his submarine fleet, Natasha stayed behind to operate the base’s systems.

• Nick Fury ordered Natasha to steal McCarran’s technical data without informing Captain and the others, while Andrew pulled Washington’s citizens into the Illusion Realm and anticipated a larger spectacle.
• The superheroes battled the Neo Snake Demons in the base’s passage, and Electro destroyed the Laser devices after Steve sent him to capture McCarran and secure the Short-Circuit Device.
• Electro captured McCarran, but the medical officer gave him an exploding device, burned McCarran’s face, and helped him escape toward the docks.
• Steve sent Natasha to pursue McCarran with Tony, Rhodes, and Scarlet, but Natasha disappeared to the command room and began operating the system while Electro guarded her.
• The medical officer escaped with McCarran in a Large Submarine and more than twenty Small Submarines, and Tony, Rhodes, and Scarlet caught up with the fleet underwater.

After the base was destroyed, Medic Rex transformed McCarran into Destro and took command of Cobra, then wiped out the American submarine fleet with a Nanowarhead. Tony and the others began searching for McCarran and developing defenses against the Nanites, while President Zatan assigned General Hawk a deputy to place a watcher in the special forces.

• Natasha warned the heroes that the base was self-destructing, and Scarlet teleported them away before the collapsing ice buried it.
• The medic injected McCarran with a drug that turned his head into metal, renamed him Destro, and used a control device to take power as Cobra Commander Rex.
• Commander Rex launched a Nanowarhead that devoured General Hawk's submarine fleet, killing countless American soldiers.
• Tony asked General Hawk for Nanite research information and invited Dr. Reed and Breaker to join the Earth Armor Plan, while Paper Crane failed to track McCarran using his clothes.
• President Zatan summoned General Hawk and assigned him a deputy to monitor the special forces, and General Hawk accepted.

Commander and President Zatan began a plot to discredit superheroes, then Zatan’s impostor captured Tony Stark and Steve Rogers at the White House. Tony and Steve discovered the real President Ellis imprisoned in an underground bunker, leaving them trapped as the conspiracy moved forward.

• Commander agreed to trade Nanowarheads with Whitehall for the Rage Potion and ordered McCarran to organize protests against Stark Industries and attacks on superheroes in the media.
• After two months without finding McCarran, Tony and Steve went to the White House, where a Secret Service agent made them leave their phones outside President Ellis’s office.
• A device infected Jarvis while Tony and Steve met President Zatan, who was secretly an impostor and used Nanite-laced coffee to paralyze them.
• White Ghost disguised himself as Tony, a Cobra soldier disguised himself as Steve, and President Zatan sent them to frame Iron Man and carry out the next stage of the plan.
• President Zatan had Tony and Steve taken to an underground bunker, where they found the real President Ellis imprisoned.

Tony Stark made a deal with the Demon King of Hell to protect himself and his companions from Nanite control, and the Nanites failed to affect either Tony or Steve. The doctor remained baffled as President Ellis laughed at Cobra’s failed attempt to turn the heroes into puppets.

• Cobra prepared to inject Tony with Nanite solution, while Howard begged Andrew to save his son and traded five contribution points for Tony to make a deal with the Demon King.
• In the Illusion Realm, Tony agreed to sign his soul over to Hell in exchange for protection from Nanite control for himself and his companions.
• Tony signed the Contract, returned to the Underground Bunker, and was injected with Nanites that caused him no pain or loss of control.
• The doctor restored Tony’s ability to speak, and Tony mocked him before the doctor disabled his voice again.
• The doctor had Steve injected with Nanite solution, but Steve remained unaffected, leaving the doctor in disbelief and President Ellis laughing.

White Ghost impersonated Iron Man and bombed protesters, turning public opinion against Tony and superheroes. As Pepper and Susan began planning to find the real Tony, President Ellis declared a national emergency and outlawed superheroes.

• The doctor sent Tony and Steve to the Washington Branch for examination after they resisted control, while Tony realized Steve's soul might not be bound to Hell.
• White Ghost disguised as Iron Man, killed protesters with miniature missiles outside Stark Tower, and fled as witnesses and surveillance footage exposed the apparent attack.
• The Oil Interest Group and Cobra fueled public outrage, prompting calls to arrest Tony, confiscate his suits, and outlaw superheroes.
• Susan went to Stark Industries to support Pepper, who revealed that Tony was missing, the Iron Man in the attack was a fake, and Jarvis was infected with viruses.
• Susan asked Alice to restore Jarvis and proposed using Spider-Woman's Paper Crane and S.H.I.E.L.D. to locate and rescue Tony.
• President Ellis declared a state of emergency, outlawed all superheroes, ordered their arrest, and announced that the Military would take over the Avengers from S.H.I.E.L.D.

As President Ellis’s crackdown on superheroes spread, Susan, Gwen, and their allies searched for Tony Stark while the Special Forces arrested other heroes. The public began rallying behind the superheroes as Nick Fury quietly prepared a countermove, and Andrew watched to see how events unfolded.

• Susan learned that Tony had gone to the White House with Captain before both disappeared, and she and Pepper suspected President Ellis was behind the plot.
• Colonel Bader persuaded the Special Forces to arrest superheroes under their protection, while Nick Fury recalled some Avengers and secretly sent Hawkeye and Natasha to New York.
• Gwen warned Scarlet that the Special Forces base was in danger, then joined Susan, Paper Crane, and other allies to search for Tony; Hawkeye and Natasha joined them on the way to Washington.
• The Special Forces captured Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while Daredevil secretly listened at the base and reporters covered the arrests.
• Public support for superheroes grew after Melinda May reported the arrests, and Andrew watched as Nick Fury began his counterattack.

Commander and Flying Fire prepared to destroy the Spider-Woman Squad at the special forces base, while Bader revealed that he had trapped the base’s occupants with Nanites. Spider-Man was injured defending Duke and Breaker, and Daredevil urged him to seize the remote control from Bader.

• Commander told Flying Fire to kill the Spider-Woman Squad at the Washington Branch, then prepared to watch the attack.
• Spider-Man sensed danger at the special forces base, and Scarlet and Duke began investigating while Bader lured Scarlet into his office.
• Spider-Man led Duke and Breaker to buried High-Energy Batteries, and Breaker warned Scarlet that someone planned to blow up the base.
• Bader used a remote to activate Nanites hidden in the base’s water and alcohol, immobilizing Scarlet, Duke, Breaker, Snake Eyes, the special forces, Luke Cage, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
• Two Cobra soldiers attacked Spider-Man with Particle Wave Guns, and Spider-Man took the hit to protect Duke and Breaker.
• Daredevil disarmed the Cobra soldiers and told Spider-Man to go to Bader’s office and take the remote control.

Scarlet escaped Bader’s Nanites and realized Commander’s plan had put the Special Forces base in danger, but a staged attack by Fake Iron Man triggered an explosion that destroyed the base and killed many people. Scarlet teleported some survivors to safety and reached Andrew’s tea room, where she learned the rest had been moved to a warehouse and blamed McCarran for the deaths.

• Spider-Man and Daredevil fought two Enhanced Soldiers while Bader tried to capture Scarlet, but Scarlet killed Bader and escaped the Nanites consuming her Battle Suit.
• Iron Man arrived at the base, and Scarlet sent Spider-Man, Daredevil, Duke, and Breaker toward the recreation room after suspecting a plan to destroy the base.
• White Ghost attacked the base with missiles, and Scarlet used her Teleportation Bracelet to save some people as the High-Energy Batteries exploded and obliterated the base.
• Fake Iron Man flew away after the blast, while reporters blamed him for the deaths and President Ellis announced that the Military would confiscate Tony Stark’s Battle Suits.
• Scarlet arrived at Andrew’s tea room, discovered that he had sent the other survivors to a warehouse, and vowed never to forgive McCarran.