Chapter Summaries

S.H.I.E.L.D. captured all five Winter Soldiers, and a surveillance image revealed Captain America had appeared alongside Sergeant Barnes. Egghead learned that Carter had already met them and refused a Resurrection Serum because they had brought her ten.

• Black Widow and Hawkeye captured their Winter Soldier target after a deadly battle on an overpass, then learned their team had finished last.
• Egghead reviewed the five missions and learned that Master Wang and Skye had captured their target in under twenty minutes, while Tony and Daredevil also completed their missions.
• Hill showed Egghead an image of Sergeant Barnes carrying what appeared to be Captain America's shield beside a man whose build matched Captain America's.
• Egghead confronted Master Wang and considered how Captain America's return could help S.H.I.E.L.D., while learning that he had arranged for Carter to receive a Resurrection Serum.
• Coulson told Egghead that Carter had refused the serum because Captain America and Sergeant Barnes had visited her the previous night and brought ten Resurrection Serums.

Egghead used S.H.I.E.L.D.’s systems to appoint Steve Rogers as a Level 8 independent field agent, while Old Wang insisted Steve should choose his own allegiance. Tony returned to Triskelion with the defeated Winter Soldier and discussed his upgraded armor and plans for Veronica with Old Wang.

• Old Wang told Egghead and the others that Peggy Carter’s health had improved and that ten doses of Resurrection Serum could extend her life by seventy or eighty years.
• Egghead appointed Steve Rogers a Level 8 independent field agent answerable only to the director, and encrypted his S.H.I.E.L.D. file.
• Old Wang said Captain America belonged to neither him nor S.H.I.E.L.D. and should choose for himself.
• Tony flew back to Triskelion and dropped off the charred Winter Soldier, then showed off his upgraded Mark 8 armor.
• Tony described his planned Veronica system, which would use J.A.R.V.I.S., satellites, and multiple specialized armor suits.

Tony agreed to name the proposed satellite armor system Veronica and sought the Super Soldier Program files, while Old Wang assessed the returned team and sent Elektra to K'un-Lun for spiritual training. The Winter Soldier then arrived carrying another Winter Soldier, followed by Captain America.

• Tony accepted Old Wang's naming suggestion for the satellite system and asked Egghead for the Super Soldier Program information.
• Egghead told Tony the files were kept at a secret base and sent him its address, while Old Wang asked Egghead about the program's progress.
• Daredevil, Stick, and Elektra returned with the captured Black Winter Soldier, and Old Wang treated their injuries.
• Old Wang sent Elektra to K'un-Lun to train with Master Lei Gong until she subdued the Beast's remaining power.
• The Winter Soldier arrived carrying another Winter Soldier, with Captain America following behind him.

Captain America struggled to decide whether to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and how to face Carter after learning how much time had passed. After Hill revealed that the Security Council wanted Bucky captured, he realized Bucky was safest with Master Wang and remained uncertain about his own place.

• Captain America reflected on Carter’s changed life and his own unfamiliarity with the modern world.
• Egghead welcomed Captain America to S.H.I.E.L.D. and offered him the chance to work with Carter again.
• Old Wang silenced Egghead after interpreting his look as a threat, then asked Hill about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s stance toward Sergeant Barnes.
• Hill revealed that the Council had ordered Barnes’s capture, but Egghead had refused to issue the order because he believed Hydra had controlled him.
• Captain America concluded that Bucky was safe only with Master Wang and wondered what he should do.

Captain America chose to stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. and attend to Carter, while Old Wang took Bucky and Skye back to the Laboratory. In the years that followed, S.H.I.E.L.D. launched the Avengers and Super Soldier Program, and the chapter ended with Skye announcing that the Framework was complete.

• Captain America apologized to Old Wang and chose to remain with S.H.I.E.L.D., leaving Bucky in Old Wang’s care.
• Old Wang left with Skye through a portal and forgot to undo Egghead’s acupoints, leaving him unable to speak.
• Egghead used Captain America’s arrival to secure approval for the Avengers Initiative, placing Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye on the team and Tony Stark in a consultant role.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. began its Super Soldier Program under Tony Stark, while governments and other organizations sought access to the Winter Soldiers for research.
• Egghead refused to hand over the Winter Soldiers and used Resurrection Serum to deter demands for their blood.
• Skye told Wang that the Framework had been completed.

Old Wang reviewed the challenges of building virtual reality with Skye and Fitz, then shaped the project into a smaller, specialized platform that could be developed with their existing resources. He named the planned virtual world the Azeroth Universe.

• Skye told Old Wang that Tony had sent the core algorithm and planned to take the month off, and she and Fitz praised his work.
• Fitz explained the major storage, hardware, transmission, and programming obstacles facing a realistic virtual world.
• Old Wang proposed focusing on smaller platforms for government, military, and wealthy clients instead of launching a public virtual world.
• Skye estimated that an advanced artificial intelligence could help develop the software within six months, while Fitz confirmed high-speed fiber optics could handle data transmission.
• Fitz revealed that Brain Mapping and Memory Upload technology meant an improved helmet could replace the planned virtual-reality equipment.
• Old Wang named the virtual world the Azeroth Universe.

Old Wang and Skye planned a business built around the Azeroth Universe, while news of Ivan Vanko's attack on Tony Stark revealed a possible new source of Arc Reactor technology. The chapter ended with Justin Hammer realizing the reactor seen on the news was not the only one.

• Old Wang pitched VR equipment, experience centers, advertising, film production, and memory movies, and he and Skye wrote a business proposal.
• Skye showed Old Wang news footage of Ivan Vanko attacking Tony Stark at a car race, and Old Wang identified Ivan and explained his connection to Howard Stark.
• Justin Hammer worried that Hammer Industries could not find an efficient power source for its Steel Soldiers despite pressure from the Department of Defense.
• An employee showed Hammer footage of the attack, and Hammer recognized an Arc Reactor before remarking that it was not the only one.

Old Wang learned that his projects had nearly exhausted their available cash and ordered Skye to liquidate most remaining assets to fund Azeroth Social Network and its virtual experience centers. After Skye discovered that Ivan Vanko’s prison had been bombed, Old Wang headed to Hammer Industries, suspecting Justin Hammer had arranged it.

• Skye calculated that Old Wang’s assets totaled nearly ten billion dollars, but his major projects had left little cash on hand.
• Old Wang ordered Skye to sell most stocks, real estate, and other assets, keeping only Stark Industries shares and directing the proceeds toward Azeroth Social Network and its virtual experience centers.
• Old Wang reassured Skye by explaining his plans involving Tony and Egghead, then asked her to locate Ivan Vanko.
• Skye found that a bombing had hit Ivan Vanko’s prison three hours earlier, and Old Wang suspected Justin Hammer was responsible.
• Old Wang left for Hammer Industries.

Justin Hammer arranged to remove Ivan Vanko from prison so he could build Hammer Steel Soldiers, but Old Wang abducted Ivan before he arrived. Old Wang delivered Ivan to Fitz to extract his scientific knowledge and planned to use Hammer Industries’ looming failure to bargain with Justin.

• Justin Hammer bribed prison contacts to stage Ivan Vanko’s death and arrange his escape, hoping Ivan would build an Arc Reactor for the Hammer Steel Soldiers.
• Justin waited for Ivan to arrive, but his subordinate called to report that Ivan was missing.
• Old Wang used Invisibility to abduct Ivan from Hammer Industries’ private jet and took him to the physics engineering laboratory.
• Old Wang told Fitz to use Brain Mapping and Memory Upload to extract Ivan’s scientific knowledge.
• Old Wang considered publicizing the Hammer Steel Soldiers’ likely failure so he could later appear to Justin as a savior and gain benefits.

Old Wang and Skye exposed Hammer Industries’ shady dealings, sending Justin Hammer into crisis and forcing him to stage an early public demonstration of the Hammer Steel Soldiers. Old Wang then decided to investigate the company’s major shareholders so he could take control of it and help Justin escape his predicament.

• Old Wang persuaded Skye to publish damaging information about Hammer Industries, and the resulting videos made Justin Hammer a national target of public criticism.
• Colonel Rhodes told Justin Hammer that he had one month to hold a livestreamed exhibition proving the Hammer Steel Soldiers could rival Iron Man, while the Department of Defense considered forcing Tony Stark to hand over the Iron Man technology.
• Justin struggled as Hammer Industries’ market value collapsed, Ivan Vanko remained missing, and the company’s shareholders sold their stock.
• Fitz told Old Wang that he had mastered Ivan Vanko’s methods for making the Arc Reactor and Whiplash Armor, and Old Wang directed him to integrate Vanko’s knowledge.
• Old Wang asked Skye to investigate Hammer Industries’ major shareholders and their possible criminal activity, explaining that he planned to help Justin Hammer.

Old Wang took control of Hammer Industries, renamed it Azeroth Industries, and appointed Leo Fitz to lead research and development. After learning of the takeover, Egghead suspected that Old Wang was preparing for an impending war and wondered if aliens were going to invade.

• Old Wang used threats and a low-end Arc Reactor to persuade Hammer Industries shareholders to support a takeover.
• The shareholders removed Justin Hammer as CEO and installed Old Wang, who renamed the company Azeroth Industries.
• Old Wang appointed Leo Fitz as head of R&D, retained Justin’s role in the company, and asked him to renegotiate the contract with Colonel Rhodes.
• Old Wang gathered the company’s technical staff and had them continue developing the Azeroth Iron Soldier.
• Hill told Egghead that Old Wang had taken over Azeroth Industries and made Fitz its R&D chief.
• Egghead reasoned that Old Wang expected a war, recalled events from over a decade earlier, and wondered if aliens were going to invade.

Old Wang proposed creating a new organization to attack powerful threats beyond Earth, separate from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers Initiative. He left Fury considering the proposal, with the organization’s name still uncertain: Shengun Bureau or Shengun Bureau.

• Old Wang visited Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and said Fury still owed him favors.
• Fury explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. protected Earth and humanity, while the Avengers Initiative was intended as an emergency force against threats such as alien civilizations.
• Old Wang argued that Earth needed to take the fight beyond its borders instead of waiting for enemies to attack.
• Old Wang proposed establishing an organization dedicated to proactively confronting powerful threats beyond Earth.
• Old Wang debated whether to name the organization Shengun Bureau or Shengun Bureau.

Old Wang negotiated with Egghead to secure S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help establishing the Shengun Bureau in exchange for Resurrection Serums. He then reorganized plans for the Azeroth Iron Soldier into multiple price and equipment models and arranged to meet Colonel Rhodes.

• Old Wang offered Egghead Resurrection Serums in exchange for helping establish the Shengun Bureau, and Egghead agreed to the deal.
• Old Wang asked about Mar-Vell's Light Speed Engine blueprints, but Egghead refused to reveal where S.H.I.E.L.D. kept them.
• Old Wang visited the Azeroth Industries weapons factory, where Fitz described 361 flaws in the Azeroth Iron Soldier.
• Old Wang told Fitz to develop different Iron Soldier models with equipment suited to different prices, rather than putting every upgrade into each unit.
• Old Wang called Justin and asked him to arrange a meeting with Colonel Rhodes.

Old Wang secured a $100 billion Department of Defense order for Azeroth Iron Soldiers and began expanding Azeroth Industries into aircraft and naval technology. As Unit 1 entered production and the Azeroth Exhibition opened, Egghead called to say the United Nations Security Council had convened an emergency meeting.

• Old Wang had Fitz explain the Azeroth Iron Soldiers to Colonel Rhodes, who approved the proposed prices after consulting his superiors.
• Rhodes ordered forty Unit 1s, twenty Unit 2s, four Unit 3s, and other weapons for a total of $100 billion.
• Old Wang planned to use the profits and production ecosystem to supply the future Shengun Bureau, while directing technicians to study the Quinjet and destroyers.
• Fitz completed the Unit 1 design, and production began before the Azeroth Exhibition opened a month later.
• Egghead called Old Wang and said the United Nations Security Council had convened an emergency meeting, fulfilling his promise.

Old Wang attended a World Security Council meeting where the councilors debated who would lead the newly approved Shengun Bureau. After Egghead presented evidence of Old Wang’s Earthly birth and his connection to K'un-Lun, the councilors approved him as director and began discussing the bureau’s organization.

• Hill escorted Old Wang to Egghead’s meeting with four World Security Council councilors, who were arguing about controlling the five Winter Soldiers.
• Egghead introduced Old Wang and explained that the council needed to choose a director for the Shengun Bureau, which would handle extraterrestrial and otherworldly threats.
• The councilors nominated generals from their own countries, while Egghead argued that Old Wang’s connections and knowledge made him the best candidate.
• When the British councilor questioned whether Old Wang was an Earthling, Egghead presented documents showing that he was born and raised in New York, and Old Wang named Lord Lao as his teacher.
• The councilors approved Old Wang as director, then the British councilor asked Egghead to leave as they began discussing the bureau’s base, staffing, structure, and funding.

Old Wang and the congresswoman pressured Egghead to equip S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Sky Carriers with Azeroth Industries’ Iron Soldiers, while an exhibition showcased the machines’ capabilities. Egghead reconsidered his refusal to invest and asked Old Wang about the Iron Soldiers’ combat strength.

• Old Wang argued that the Sky Carriers’ defenses were too weak, and the congresswoman pressed Egghead to consider a stronger weapons deployment plan.
• The congresswoman and a male council member proposed buying Azeroth Industries’ remotely controlled Iron Soldiers, while the Russian and Chinese council members watched in silence.
• Old Wang confirmed that the Azeroth Industries exhibition had begun, and the Security Council watched Justin Hammer unveil forty Iron Soldiers.
• Pepper Potts welcomed the deal because it would ease pressure from the Department of Defense and Senate, and she believed Old Wang had properly obtained Tony Stark’s technology authorization.
• Egghead reflected on the threat posed by the Kree and asked Old Wang to explain the Iron Soldiers’ true combat capabilities.

Old Wang sent ten remotely operated Iron Soldiers to target Baron Strucker’s Hydra forces in Sokovia while the Avengers prepared to follow. As the Iron Soldiers flew toward the mission, Old Wang outlined the Shengun Bureau’s structure and plans for five bases, then announced that the operation was about to begin.

• Egghead identified Baron Strucker’s Hydra base in Sokovia as a target and described Strucker’s forces and scientist, Dr. List.
• Old Wang ordered Skye to deploy ten Air Force-model Iron Soldiers, and Justin began livestreaming their flight at the exhibition.
• Egghead ordered Captain Rogers, Agent Barton, and Agent Romanoff to begin the operation, while Captain America hesitated because the Avengers were not ready.
• Old Wang told Captain Rogers that the Iron Soldiers would reach Sokovia within two hours and explained that Skye would contact him.
• Old Wang presented the Shengun Bureau’s plans for five remote bases and five Deputy Directors from the permanent member states.
• After two hours passed, Skye contacted Old Wang, who announced that the show was beginning.

At Strucker Castle, Captain America and the Avengers prepared to attack Hydra’s heavily fortified base, but Skye sent ten Azeroth Iron Soldiers to clear the enemy forces. As the assault began, Captain America ordered the Iron Soldiers to capture Baron Strucker, Dr. List, and the researchers alive, then led his team toward the castle.

• Captain America received Barton’s report that Strucker Castle held at least a thousand Hydra forces and was heavily protected by artillery, missiles, and surveillance.
• Skye revealed that ten Azeroth Iron Soldiers had arrived and ordered them to attack the castle and surrounding sectors.
• The Iron Soldiers killed the Hydra soldiers outside the castle with precise gunfire and missiles, while the survivors took cover inside or in tanks.
• Captain America stopped Skye from ordering the Iron Soldiers to eliminate everyone and insisted that Baron Strucker, Dr. List, and the researchers be captured alive.
• Egghead called on Captain America, Barton, and Romanoff to join the battle, and Captain America sent Barton to infiltrate from the rear before advancing with Romanoff.

After watching Air Force One Zero defeat Baron Strucker’s Hydra forces, S.H.I.E.L.D. ordered ten Azeroth Iron Soldiers on a tight budget. Old Wang then announced that the Shengun Bureau planned to buy one hundred more and asked the United Nations when it would release the funding.

• The Security Council watched Air Force One Zero defeat Hydra soldiers and capture Baron Strucker and Dr. List.
• Egghead ordered ten Azeroth Unit 1s for the Air Force and Navy, with two due within a month and eight a year later, and agreed to pay a ten percent deposit.
• Old Wang explained that S.H.I.E.L.D.’s order was small compared with the global market he expected after other nations saw the Iron Soldiers’ capabilities.
• Old Wang announced that the Shengun Bureau intended to order one hundred Iron Soldiers and asked when the United Nations would release the funding.

Director Wang negotiated funding and Iron Soldier purchases with the Security Council, then learned that General Ross's Air Force wanted to buy additional Azeroth aircraft. The chapter ended with Wang questioning why Ross needed so many Iron Soldiers, while Talbot called the reason classified.

• Egghead hinted that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed additional funding, and the council members agreed to seek money for the Shengun Bureau after negotiating among themselves.
• The council members said the funding would take at least a month to arrive, and Wang accepted their decision as the meeting ended.
• Azeroth Industries' exhibition concluded, and Justin Hammer received purchase inquiries from officials who still needed approval for their deals.
• Wang returned to the Azeroth arms factory through a portal and met Air Force Brigadier General Talbot, General Ross's subordinate.
• Talbot said the U.S. Air Force wanted ten Azeroth Air Force Model 1 units and one Model 2 within three months.
• Wang asked why General Ross needed more Iron Soldiers after the Department of Defense's order, and Talbot replied that the reason was classified.