Chapter Summaries

Hive seized control of Attilan and planned to spread Terrigen across Earth, while Andrew studied Hive’s parasites and prepared safeguards. As Project Insight began, the heroes gathered to overthrow S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Hive arrived in Attilan, infected its Inhumans with parasites, and took control of the Royal Palace and the city.
• Andrew examined Hive’s parasites, explained how they created addictive devotion, and tasked The Leader with adapting their ability for magic Nanites.
• Hive ordered Maximus to develop Terrigen Missiles, despite Black Bolt warning that the alien virus could kill millions of humans.
• Hive directed Jiaying to seize Terrigen Crystals from Tony Stark and declared that Hydra and Earth would soon submit to him.
• The World Security Council arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters as Project Insight began, while the heroes prepared to bring down S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Sam Wilson and Skye complained about their unlucky timing as they joined the operation against S.H.I.E.L.D.

Melinda May exposed herself as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and revealed that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and planned to use Project Insight to kill millions. As governments moved against Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury realized Pierce was Hydra’s leader, and Rumlow’s Strike Team entered the conference room.

• Steve prepared the superheroes to act, while Tony attended the Project Insight launch meeting in his place.
• Nick Fury received the World Security Council’s authorization and ordered the three Helicarriers prepared for launch.
• Melinda May revealed on a live broadcast that she was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and that Pierce, Gideon Malick, and Senator Stern were Hydra members planning to kill millions with the Helicarriers.
• The broadcast exposed Hydra agents within S.H.I.E.L.D. and other institutions, prompting civilians and agents to turn against suspected colleagues while forces mobilized to arrest Hydra.
• Nick Fury realized Melinda’s claims were likely true and confronted Pierce as a council member called for the Strike Team.
• Rumlow led the armed Strike Team into the conference room.

Pierce launched Hydra’s purge of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the superheroes fought to stop the uprising as Hydra overwhelmed headquarters. Peggy Carter arrived with authority to lead the battle and declared that S.H.I.E.L.D. itself had to be destroyed to defeat Hydra.

• Pierce activated Hydra’s signal, and Hydra agents attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. bases while Sitwell’s forces seized the Helicarrier’s command center.
• Rumlow revealed that he and the Strike Team were Hydra, Natasha broke down over having unknowingly served Hydra, and Steve arrived with the superheroes.
• The superheroes fought Hydra’s Iron Suits and enhanced agents as Pierce escaped and unleashed explosive snakes; the Mind Scepter and Tesseract had already been stolen.
• Hydra operatives attacked the heroes in the plaza, where Peggy Carter appeared and explained that the presidents had authorized her to command the battle.
• Carter told Nick Fury that S.H.I.E.L.D. had to be destroyed along with Hydra because they were two sides of the same coin.

Carter and Fury coordinated S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resistance as Hydra’s forces advanced on headquarters and the Helicarriers prepared to launch. Pierce defended Hydra’s plan for absolute order, while the heroes prepared to seize the Helicarriers and turn their weapons against the incoming monsters.

• Carter and Fury issued orders through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s system, while Ward led masked agents to rescue recruits from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Academy.
• More than a hundred Unmanned Armors arrived and fought off the attacking pterosaurs as Hydra’s Rampage Giants and Rampage Dinosaurs approached headquarters.
• The Rampage Dinosaurs tore through Washington, prompting President Ellis to prepare an evacuation while the heroes awaited Doctor Banner’s arrival.
• Hill reported that the Helicarriers were taking off and that Hydra controlled most of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s systems; Tony told the team to board them and replace their Chips.
• Pierce appeared in a hologram and revealed that Nick Fury had helped Hydra grow, enraging Fury as the battle continued.
• Pierce addressed the heroes and viewers, claiming Hydra sought absolute order and would use its rule to make Earth safer and more powerful.

Hydra declared its plan to impose absolute order as the heroes fought to stop the Helicarriers at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. Maximus secretly sabotaged Hive’s Terrigen plot, while the battle left the heroes tied down and Hellboy facing George, the albino gorilla.

• Pierce rejected the heroes’ resistance and vowed that Hydra would establish absolute order, prompting Nick Fury to swear revenge.
• In Attilan, Maximus secretly sent information to help the heroes discover Hive’s plan and removed the alien virus from the Terrigen Missile.
• Tony, Rhodes, Scarlet, Hellboy, and Electro attacked the three Helicarriers while the other heroes continued fighting Hydra.
• Scarlet used the Power of King Kong to tear through Hydra’s defenses, but White Ghost and Winter Soldier were sent to stop her.
• Hellboy split an Iron Suit with the Sword of Kings, and Pierce sent George to confront him on the middle Helicarrier.

Pierce’s Hydra launched Project Insight, but Captain Marvel and Tony Stark turned the Helicarriers against Hydra’s dinosaur army before the carriers were disabled by nanites. Pierce then activated plans to unleash rampaging rats on several cities, intending to draw the Peace Knights away from New York.

• George challenged Hellboy and fought him alongside Hydra troops while Pierce prepared to fire the Helicarriers’ weapons.
• Melinda May revealed that Hydra’s Zola Algorithm had marked over a million people for execution, and Andrew pulled them into an illusion realm where they could sign contracts to survive.
• Howard and Hulk asked Andrew to send them to Washington, and he sent them to join the fight as the Helicarriers’ targeting systems switched to the Dinosaur Legion.
• Captain Marvel revealed that she and Susan had helped Tony take control of the Helicarriers, but Pierce detonated nanite bombs aboard them, forcing the heroes to escape as the carriers fell.
• Pierce ordered Hydra to activate its rampage rat plan in Washington and Los Angeles before New York, explaining that the staggered attacks would lure the Peace Knights away from New York.

Pierce’s plan drew the Peace Knights away while Hydra attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters with rampaging dinosaurs, nanites, and giants. The superheroes held their ground, but Hydra’s giants revealed a perfected Extremis virus that Tony’s cure could not stop, and the battle escalated as the giants transformed.

• Pierce explained that a disaster in Los Angeles could draw the Peace Knights away and split up the superheroes, while Andrew checked how many New Yorkers’ souls belonged to him.
• Carol flew off to fight the dinosaurs as Tony and the Unmanned Armor Legion froze Pierce’s nanites, and Tony went to help Rhodes escape the green mist.
• Ten rampage giants arrived, and Doctor Banner disabled the nanites in a Hide Giant before cutting him in half with his vibrating sword.
• A giant hurled the wounded Hide Giant toward Tony, but Tony’s Extremis Virus Cure failed, and Scarlet threw the giant into the sky, where he exploded.
• Tony discovered that the giants carried a perfected Extremis virus, then held back to see what Hawkeye could do as the Hide Giants attacked and the armored giants grew larger and turned green.

The superheroes gained the upper hand against Hydra’s giants after Hawkeye used Pym Particle Arrows to shrink them, but the battle shifted when Pierce revealed Hydra had unleashed rampaging rat armies across major cities worldwide. The chapter ended with Washington and Los Angeles under attack and Hydra threatening to use the rats to force the world to surrender.

• Doctor Banner struggled against two armored giants, while Tony waited for Hawkeye to arrive with his trump card.
• Hawkeye used Pym Particle Arrows to shrink three armored giants, allowing the heroes to kill them and turn the fight against the remaining giants.
• Hawkeye shrank two more armored giants, and Doctor Banner finished them off before joining Tony’s group against the four Hide Giants.
• Jarvis showed Tony that giant rats were swarming through Washington and attacking people in Los Angeles, where more than a hundred people had already died.
• Pierce announced that Hydra had prepared rat armies in major cities around the world and planned to use them to make humanity surrender.

Hydra’s attack spread Rampage Rats to New York as superheroes fought to stop Pierce, and Tony used the Alien Virus to kill four Hide Giants. Meanwhile, Jiaying and her Inhumans abducted Pepper at Stark Tower and forced Jarvis to open Tony’s laboratory and reveal the Terrigen Crystal’s location.

• Andrew pulled Los Angeles residents into the Illusion Realm as many signed Soul Pacts, while Frank, the Black Widow Legion, and Robots entered the city to rescue them.
• Pierce revealed that Rampage Rats were mutating in New York, prompting George Stacy and Duke to mobilize the police and special forces as Johnny Blaze and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went into the sewers to fight them.
• Tony tracked Pierce to a warehouse behind S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, and the superheroes fought through Rumlow and the Hydras to reach him.
• Tony unleashed four Alien Virus darts and killed the four Hide Giants, while he assured Scarlet and Doctor Banner that the remaining virus samples were secured in his laboratory.
• Jiaying, Gordon, and Lincoln Campbell infiltrated Stark Tower, seized Pepper, and made Jarvis open the laboratory and identify the Terrigen Crystal.

Jiaying’s group stole the Terrigen Crystal and Alien Virus from Tony’s laboratory, while Hive ordered Maximus to prepare Terrigen Missiles. At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, the superheroes’ assault stalled against Hydra’s Tesseract-powered shield just as Tony warned them that Hive planned to kill millions; they kept attacking without making the shield budge.

• Jiaying, Gordon, and Lincoln entered Tony’s laboratory, took the Terrigen Crystal and Alien Virus, and teleported back to the moon after Jarvis tried to stop them.
• Pepper warned Tony that the Inhumans had stolen the Alien Virus, and Jarvis revealed that Hive was preparing Terrigen Missiles to kill millions of people.
• Jiaying gave Hive the stolen materials, and Hive ordered Maximus to make the missiles within half an hour or become his food.
• At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Hydra retreated into the warehouse and fired Vampire Bombs, but Susan contained them with her Defensive Shield.
• Zola revealed that the warehouse shield used the Tesseract, and Nick Fury urged the superheroes to keep attacking because its energy was nearly depleted.
• Tony told the group that Hive planned to launch Terrigen Missiles and had stolen the Alien Virus, but their renewed attacks still failed to affect the shield.

As a massive rat swarm attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters and Carol left to stop Hive, Gwen activated the masked figurine Andrew had given her. The Masked Little Man spoke, confirming the figurine worked, just as Pierce panicked.

• Tony showed the heroes Melinda May's report explaining that Original Hydra worshiped Hive, the first Inhuman, and planned to launch Terrigen Missiles.
• Gideon Malick and Stephanie learned that Hive was their supposed god, while the heroes argued with Pierce over stopping him and Hydra.
• Carol reported that she could not hold back the rampaging rats, so Tony sent her, Electro, and Hellboy to the moon with virus darts to stop Hive.
• The rat swarm approached S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, and Gwen revealed Andrew's masked figurine; Pierce ordered Hydra to attack before she could use it.
• Gwen shouted the figurine's activation phrase, and the Masked Little Man spoke, startling the heroes and frightening Pierce.

Andrew used Blood Authority to stop the rat swarm while the superheroes attacked Hydra’s defensive screen, and Hulk arrived with enlarged magical armor to batter it. The Tesseract ran out of energy just as Pierce tried to recharge it with Hydra soldiers’ souls, but Garrett revealed himself as an undercover agent and shot Pierce, allowing the screen to fall.

• Andrew used the Masked Little Man’s Blood Authority to disrupt the rats and warned the heroes to kill them in one strike before the effect wore off.
• Hulk used Pym Particles and the Adamantium Hammer’s ruby to grow enormous and armored, then repeatedly struck the defensive screen without breaking it.
• Natasha admitted to Nick Fury that she had become an Enhanced Human and that her enhancement was connected to the Demon King.
• The Tesseract warned that its energy was nearly depleted and listed souls, Vibranium, and technology as ways to recharge it.
• Pierce ordered Hydra soldiers to consent to a soul-powered recharge, but Garrett shot him and revealed that he was an undercover agent.
• The Tesseract stopped the recharge, the defensive screen shattered, and Hulk led the superheroes inside by kicking George the ape away.

As Hydra’s defeat triggered panic over its Rampage Bombs, Andrew used the threat to draw desperate civilians into Soul Pacts, while Baron Von Strucker ordered Hydra not to detonate the bombs. Tony and Spider-Man fought Winter Soldier Bucky until Howard killed him, leaving Steve grieving and Tony furious at his father as the battle between them began.

• Garrett retrieved Dr. Zola’s Main Program and gave Tony the remote for Hydra’s Sonic Attractor, which Tony cracked and whose technology he shared with governments.
• Rumlow ordered Hydra to detonate the Rampage Bombs, but Baron Von Strucker overruled him and ordered Hydra to withdraw without setting them off.
• Andrew drew panicked civilians into the Illusion Realm to sign Soul Pacts, while the superheroes continued fighting Hydra.
• Sitwell revealed to Tony that Winter Soldier Bucky had killed his parents, and Tony attacked Bucky as Steve rushed to intervene.
• Spider-Man helped Tony overwhelm Bucky, but Steve’s shield knocked away Tony’s Virus Darts before Howard killed Bucky with a crimson laser.
• Steve embraced Bucky’s body, and Tony confronted Howard for killing Bucky and stealing his chance at revenge.

Steve reunited with Bucky in the Floating Island Illusion and learned Bucky would join the Peace Knights, while the heroes faced the approaching Terrigen Missiles and Giant Rat Crisis. On the moon, Captain Marvel confronted Black Bolt over the stolen Alien Virus, and their fight began as Hive ordered Black Bolt to kill her.

• Steve learned Bucky had survived his fall, been turned into a Hydra killing machine, and died after killing Maria.
• Howard brought Steve into the Floating Island Illusion, where Bucky reunited with him and forgave Howard before agreeing to join the Peace Knights.
• Steve returned to reality, and Howard left with Hulk after taunting Tony; Carter urged the heroes to handle the remaining crises.
• Captain Marvel reported that the heroes had lost and the Terrigen Missiles were about to launch, prompting Tony to gather the available super-geniuses to plan a trip to the moon.
• Hive ordered Black Bolt to kill Captain Marvel after she demanded the return of the Alien Virus, and Black Bolt fought her outside Attilan.
• Captain Marvel dodged Black Bolt's Vocal Resonance Wave, teleported behind him with lightning, and struck toward the back of his head.

Carol and the Inhumans fought over Attilan as Maximus launched Terrigen Missiles that spread contaminated rain across Europe and America, beginning a new era for Inhumans. After Carol’s power connected her to Andrew, he took control of her body, defeated Black Bolt, and confronted Hive, who threatened Earth with the remaining Alien Virus Missile.

• Electro’s sneak attack on Black Bolt failed when an Inhuman Energy Barrier blocked him, and Medusa and Crystal drove him off while the Inhumans fought Carol and Hellboy.
• Black Bolt gained an advantage over Carol through his mental link with Karnak, while Maximus prepared the missiles and Tony’s team rushed toward Earth in a Skrull spacecraft.
• Gordon and Tetanus teleported the Terrigen Missiles into Earth’s troposphere and detonated them, spreading contaminated rain that petrified some people and awakened Inhumans, including Skye.
• Carol’s emotional surge connected her Space power to Andrew, who took control of her body, overwhelmed Black Bolt and his protectors, and charged into the Royal Palace.
• Hive sent Gordon to Earth with the Alien Virus Missile, but Andrew blasted Hive and trapped his parasite form behind Space Barriers.

Andrew trapped Hive in Rebirth Hell, then joked about unleashing a regenerating virus before restoring the Inhumans and confirming that most people were safe. As Hydra’s defeat settled across Earth, the heroes contained the remaining threats, while Nick Fury mourned S.H.I.E.L.D.’s losses.

• Andrew sent Hive to Rebirth Hell, restored the Inhumans by removing the parasites from their souls, and forced a soul pact on Carol.
• Carol learned from Carter that no one had died from the Alien Virus, apologized to Maximus, and thanked him for warning them about Hive.
• Black Bolt summoned Gordon and took possession of the virus missile, which Andrew secretly swapped before Black Bolt could destroy it.
• The heroes killed Hydra leaders White Ghost, Flying Fire, Sitwell, and Rumlow, while Tony’s Unmanned Armor and the military drove the giant rats away from the cities.
• Steve accepted George the Ape’s surrender and planned to remove the Nanites from his head, while Hydra’s soldiers escaped with the Mind Scepter and the Tesseract remained secure.
• Nick Fury looked over the ruined S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters and lamented that S.H.I.E.L.D. had lost along with both Hydra factions.

Carter arrested Nick Fury for embezzling S.H.I.E.L.D. funds as the Hydra crisis wound down, while newly awakened Inhumans began displaying dangerous powers. Baron Von Strucker regrouped Hydra around the Mind Scepter and exclusive technology, and the chapter ended by introducing Latveria's ruler, Victor von Doom.

• Carter arrested Nick Fury over allegations that he had embezzled seventy percent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds, and the five council members vowed to investigate him.
• The Daily Bugle's broadcast ended, while authorities and the Peace Knights continued dealing with Rampage Rats and the destruction in Los Angeles and New York.
• Several Inhumans awakened with dangerous powers, including Skye, whose surroundings shook as her shell crumbled and she became Quake.
• Melinda prepared the Daily Bugle's S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to surrender for screening, and J. Jonah Jameson offered them jobs after they passed.
• Baron Von Strucker welcomed Hydra groups and research institutes into his plans, then ordered his adjutant to recover the Mind Scepter and promised Dr. List funding for ability-user research.
• The chapter revealed that Latveria had prospered under its ruler, Victor von Doom.

After Hydra's defeat, Doom strengthened Latveria, Andrew assessed his harvest, and a new agency replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury escaped prison to investigate Earth's disasters in secret. Three months later, Hank Pym completed his Quantum Tunnel, but Hope warned him that Darren had announced his own Pym Particles.

• Doom ordered Latveria's borders guarded against Hydra and kept his promise not to pursue Susan before completing the Demon King's tasks.
• Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents fought in Rebirth Hell's reception hall, while Alice planned to fine them and Howard helped Bucky leave for a new Robot body.
• President Ellis announced the Agency for Alien and Disaster Defense, with Carter and Garrett as its directors, and the new agency offered support to Inhumans and superheroes.
• Ward recruited Fitz and Simmons for the Defense Bureau, while Talos helped Nick Fury escape prison so he could investigate Earth's disasters in secret.
• Three months later, Hank Pym completed the Quantum Tunnel, and Hope told him that Darren had announced his own Pym Particles.

Dr. Pym learned that Darren Cross had developed Pym particles and sought an Arc Reactor to power his Quantum Tunnel, which he planned to use to find Janet. After arranging supervised access to an Arc Reactor, he decided to recruit a new Ant-Man to steal Darren’s research, while a superpowered bank robber escaped from police in Queens.

• Hope told Dr. Pym that Darren Cross had developed Pym particles, and their first test of the Quantum Tunnel overloaded and caught fire.
• Dr. Pym dreamed that Janet had become a quantum-virus zombie and spread the infection to him, Hope, the Avengers, and the world.
• Dr. Pym argued with Carter about cooperating with Darren, then explained that he needed an Arc Reactor to reach Janet in the Quantum Realm.
• Carter agreed to provide an Arc Reactor under Defense Bureau supervision and warned Dr. Pym about Ava Starr’s dangerous condition and possible arrival.
• Dr. Pym decided to find a new Ant-Man to steal Darren’s Pym-particle research and destroy it, while also modifying the Quantum Tunnel.
• Seven days later, a superpowered robber escaped a Queens bank after hurling two patrol officers into a police car.

Andrew recognized Scott Lang as a former electronics engineer whose attempt to expose fraud had left him imprisoned and struggling after release. When Hank Pym’s scheme pushed Scott toward burglary, Gwen intervened by livestreaming his story and helping him start a social media career.

• Ice Man tried to stop a robber but was knocked down when the robber hurled a bystander at him, and the robber escaped.
• Andrew told Gwen that Scott Lang was likely to turn to crime, explaining how Scott had been punished for exposing his former boss’s fraud and could not find work after prison.
• Hank Pym revealed that he had sabotaged Scott’s job prospects to push him into crime and recruit him as the next Ant-Man.
• Scott went with Luis, Dave, and Kurt to rob a wealthy household, but Gwen caught the group and recognized Scott from his past actions.
• Gwen started a livestream praising Scott’s heroism, then helped him create his own stream and suggested he make videos to earn money.