Chapter Summaries

Whitehall’s heavily armed force approached the Darkhold Laboratory while Grant Ward’s S.H.I.E.L.D. agents infiltrated it, watched through cameras hidden on insects. Whitehall expected them to find the Winter Soldier and other targets, but Bakshi spotted something on a screen that interrupted his confidence.

• Bakshi told Whitehall that Ghost Rider had killed Wilson Fisk and Bullseye in New York, and that Fisk had likely become Beast.
• Whitehall learned that Grant Ward was leading fifty S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents into the laboratory while the attackers monitored them using insect cameras made through a secret Pym Technologies deal.
• Whitehall reasoned that Pierce wanted to awaken the Winter Soldier and steal the Darkhold and the Obelisk, while he intended to preserve the valuable items inside the laboratory.
• Ward’s teams searched the apparently empty laboratory and quickly identified important locations, leading Whitehall to expect they would find the Winter Soldier within five minutes.
• Bakshi pointed at one of the surveillance screens and shouted for Whitehall to look.

Whitehall and Bakshi watched Elektra, Daredevil, and Stick slaughter S.H.I.E.L.D. teams, then launched three Jericho Missiles against their enemies. Old Wang appeared before the launch and stopped the operator, but after hundreds of armed men opened fire on him, he split into four figures.

• Elektra ambushed and killed a S.H.I.E.L.D. field team, prompting Whitehall to demand that she be captured for research.
• Daredevil and Stick attacked other teams, and Bakshi urged Whitehall to use Jericho Missiles against the secured locations.
• Whitehall ordered three Jericho Missiles launched, and an operator prepared to fire them.
• Old Wang appeared beside the operator, moved his hand away from the launch control, and killed him.
• Bakshi ordered his forces to attack Old Wang as Whitehall fled in an off-road vehicle.
• Old Wang shook his body and became four people as the soldiers fired on him.

Old Wang used four permanent elemental bodies to attack Hydra, while Whitehall ordered Sonic Cannons to stop him. Skye arrived and challenged the cannons with her shockwaves.

• Old Wang split into four elemental bodies and overwhelmed Hydra elites with wind, fire, water, and earth.
• Whitehall dismissed the four Old Wangs as an illusion and ordered Hydra to saturate the area with firepower.
• Bakshi deployed two Sonic Cannons, which Whitehall ordered fired at Old Wang and the Hydra fighters around him.
• Skye arrived and blasted Hydra members with shockwaves, prompting Whitehall to redirect a Sonic Cannon toward her.
• Skye released her energy and challenged the Sonic Cannon to a contest of waves.

Old Wang and the four elemental Iron Fists fought Whitehall’s forces, forcing Whitehall to flee by helicopter. Old Wang revealed himself aboard the helicopter, killed Whitehall’s followers, and left Whitehall in his custody as a call from Egghead came in.

• Old Wang’s Earth and Storm Spirits evaded the Sonic Cannons and killed Hydra agents, while Ember Spirit and Water Spirit attacked the rest of the force.
• Skye used her powers to repel the Sonic Cannon’s shockwaves and overturn it, while Whitehall escaped toward a waiting helicopter.
• Whitehall planned to use Hydra’s resources and the Darkhold to pursue his ambitions as he flew away with Bakshi and his trusted followers.
• Old Wang revealed that he had been watching Whitehall, then killed everyone aboard except Whitehall and ordered him to fly back to The Laboratory.
• Egghead appeared on Old Wang’s phone as it rang.

Old Wang refused Egghead’s billion-dollar offer for Whitehall and negotiated with Coulson to sell Hydra’s remaining spoils while keeping the Jericho Missiles and Sonic Cannons. He brought Whitehall back to The Laboratory for Skye to interrogate, warning her not to kill him because someone else hated him more.

• Egghead offered Old Wang one billion dollars for Whitehall, but Old Wang refused and agreed to let S.H.I.E.L.D. negotiate for the other spoils of war and surrendered Hydra members.
• Old Wang returned to the battlefield, where Skye guarded the surviving Hydra agents as Coulson and Melinda arrived in a Quinjet.
• Old Wang agreed to sell Coulson the remaining spoils and Hydra prisoners, but kept the Jericho Missiles and Sonic Cannons for himself.
• Old Wang sent Tony Stark photographs of the weapons, and Tony replied that he owed Old Wang one.
• Whitehall tried to win Skye over by offering help with her Inhuman ability, but Skye threatened to cut him into pieces.
• Old Wang took Skye and Whitehall to The Laboratory and told Skye she could torture Whitehall but must not kill him.

Sitwell told Alexander Pierce that Iron Fist’s team had captured Whitehall and killed the agents sent to stop them, forcing Pierce to abandon plans to pressure or kill Fury. Pierce ordered Anton to launch missiles against the group, while Old Wang brought Whitehall to The Laboratory and checked on the surviving team.

• Sitwell reported to Pierce that Ward had been killed, Whitehall had been captured, and Skye had defeated the Sonic Cannon with her shockwave powers.
• Pierce rejected Sitwell’s plans to pressure Fury or kill him, then called Anton and ordered a missile strike to annihilate everyone.
• Old Wang arrived at The Laboratory with Whitehall, whom Skye had tortured during the journey, and warned her not to kill him.
• Old Wang found Daredevil, Stick, and Elektra unharmed after their battle, though they had killed every enemy combatant.
• Old Wang ordered the trio to secure The Laboratory and asked Fitz when the brain-mapping and memory-upload technology would be finished.

Tony uncovered evidence that Obadiah had sold weapons to the Ten Rings and called Old Wang for help as Obadiah confronted him at Stark Industries headquarters. Old Wang heard the call from the Darkhold Laboratory, then sensed a missile approaching.

• Tony ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to prepare Mark 3 and went to Stark Industries headquarters after learning Obadiah was attending an event in his place.
• Tony broke into the company mainframe and found records showing Stark Industries had sold Jericho missiles to the Ten Rings in Afghanistan.
• Tony linked the Ten Rings deal to his kidnapping and feared Obadiah had conspired to kill him, but he hesitated to call Pepper or the authorities.
• Obadiah entered Tony's office, and Tony secretly called Old Wang as Obadiah confronted him.
• Old Wang heard Tony and Obadiah arguing while Fitz discussed a difficult formula, then spotted a missile flying toward the laboratory.

Old Wang diverted a missile aimed at the Darkhold Laboratory through a portal, causing it to explode harmlessly over the sea outside San Juan and exposing Hydra’s attack. After Coulson connected Old Wang to the incident, Old Wang teleported to Stark Headquarters, while Coulson reported his abilities to his superior.

• Old Wang detected an incoming missile and opened a portal that sent it to detonate over the sea outside San Juan.
• The explosion panicked San Juan residents, and Rear Admiral Anton Kisin halted the launch of four remaining missiles before calling Pierce.
• Old Wang returned to the Darkhold Laboratory after waiting for further missiles, where Coulson confronted him about the attack.
• Old Wang denied knowing about the missile, then used Dragon Bone to teleport to Stark Headquarters in Los Angeles.
• Coulson found Old Wang gone and reported that he could teleport himself and other objects, and had caused the missile explosion.

Old Wang arrived at Stark Industries and killed Obadiah after he ordered Tony executed, then arranged a cover story and gave Tony an address connected to brain-mapping technology. Tony took credit for defeating the attackers, while Old Wang teleported away and Tony considered using his armor to fight criminals.

• Obadiah confronted Tony in the chairman's office, demanded his armor and Arc Reactor technology, and ordered his men to kill him.
• Old Wang appeared, incapacitated Obadiah's armed men, and killed Obadiah by stopping his heart with True Qi.
• Old Wang told Tony to claim that terrorists had attacked and that Tony had defeated them, then said S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would handle the aftermath.
• Old Wang gave Tony an address and asked whether he was interested in brain mapping and memory-upload technology before teleporting away.
• Pepper and Happy entered, and Tony took credit for defeating the attackers as he considered using Mark 3 to fight criminals and terrorists.

Old Wang dealt with Egghead over the San Juan missile incident and Tony Stark’s rescue, then invested in Stark Industries as its stock fell. Three days later, Tony arrived at the Darkhold Laboratory in the Mark 3 and revealed that he had created the new element.

• Old Wang told Egghead that he had redirected the missile near San Juan and saved Tony, then asked Egghead to transfer him money.
• Egghead helped frame the San Juan battle as a military operation, while General Anton resigned and Glenn Talbot was sent to Puerto Rico.
• Tony announced plans to develop new industries for Stark Industries after surviving an attack, but the company’s stock continued to drop.
• Old Wang used the money Egghead transferred to buy Stark Industries stock as its price fell.
• Tony flew to the Darkhold Laboratory in the Mark 3 and told Old Wang he had created the new element using his father’s model.

Tony Stark studied Fitz’s brain-mapping and memory-uploading research, solved its central formula, and designed the necessary equipment, while Zala turned to Justin Hammer for help with the Mark I armor. The chapter left Fitz preparing to build equipment with Tony and Zala seeking a new supplier.

• Old Wang introduced Fitz and his research to Tony, who agreed to inspect The Laboratory.
• Tony rapidly reviewed months of research, worked through the complex formula overnight, and canceled his commitments to focus on the project.
• The next evening, Fitz told Old Wang that Tony had solved the formula and designed the crucial equipment, then invited Fitz to help build it at his house.
• Old Wang sent the exhausted scientists to sleep with True Qi and raised the room’s temperature.
• In Afghanistan, Zala displayed the reassembled Mark I armor and named Justin Hammer as a possible new ally after Obadiah’s death.

Old Wang established the Azeroth Laboratory and oversaw the installation of equipment for mapping and uploading memories from multiple brains. As he prepared to map Whitehall, the Winter Soldier, and the Five Fingers, visitors emerged through a portal nearby.

• Tony returned to Los Angeles, while Fitz and Old Wang’s team prepared a new laboratory in San Juan and began construction on the Azeroth Laboratory.
• Skye registered the Azeroth Group, recruited researchers, and arranged for the laboratory’s equipment to be built and delivered.
• Fitz and Eli installed the brain-mapping equipment, and Old Wang ordered Whitehall to be used as the first test subject.
• Fitz explained that the machine could map sixteen brains at once, so Old Wang ordered the Winter Soldier and the Five Fingers brought in for simultaneous mapping.
• Old Wang sensed a spatial fluctuation, and more than a dozen people stepped through a golden portal.

Daniel found two sites of frequent spacetime fluctuations and asked Kaecilius to investigate the one near San Juan. Kaecilius used the assignment to pursue the Darkhold, then confronted Old Wang and demanded that he hand it over.

• Daniel calculated that the strongest spacetime fluctuations were near San Juan and in Chinatown, then went to Kamar-Taj to find the Sorcerer Supreme.
• Kaecilius told Daniel he had found answers in the Book of Cagliostro, and Daniel asked him to observe the San Juan site without starting a fight.
• Kaecilius gathered his apprentices and urged them to follow him, hoping the Darkhold would help him revive his wife and child.
• Kaecilius recognized Old Wang as the Immortal Iron Fist and demanded the Darkhold.
• Old Wang refused, so Kaecilius ordered his apprentices to attack with magical whips.

Old Wang watched Skye and Daredevil struggle against Kamar-Taj apprentices, then intervened when Skye was nearly captured. He revealed the apprentices were no match for his power and slaughtered them, leaving the fight in the Laboratory a rout.

• Old Wang explained that Kamar-Taj apprentices drew mana from mystical entities and struggled to control it, while Daredevil and Skye engaged them.
• Daredevil fought with his True Qi-enhanced staff and gauntlets as Skye’s shockwave attack initially stunned the apprentices, but their shields countered her.
• An apprentice tried to bind Skye from behind, but Old Wang struck him with a palm and destroyed his body.
• The apprentice’s soul tried to attack Old Wang, but Old Wang used Jade Lightning to annihilate it and the other scattered souls.
• Old Wang unleashed a series of abilities and killed the apprentices, turning the Laboratory into a slaughterhouse.

Kaecilius trapped Old Wang inside the Mirror Dimension and attacked him with Images of Ikonn. Old Wang vanished beyond Kaecilius's duplicates, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Kaecilius attacked Old Wang, but Old Wang sensed his teleportation and struck him before he could land a blow.
• Kaecilius pulled Old Wang into a Mirror Dimension that covered the Azeroth Laboratory and separated him from Skye, Daredevil, and the other fighters.
• Kaecilius offered to spare Old Wang if he surrendered the Darkhold, but Old Wang said he could finally fight seriously without worrying about others.
• Kaecilius used Images of Ikonn to create numerous duplicates and sent magical whips at Old Wang.
• Old Wang vanished and reappeared beyond Kaecilius's duplicates.

Old Wang fought Kaecilius and his apprentices in the Mirror Dimension, killing the abandoned apprentices despite Ancient One’s attempt to stop him. Ancient One examined Old Wang’s past and possible futures, decided he was no enemy, and became curious about him.

• Old Wang exchanged for Blink and battled Kaecilius with magic and martial arts until Kaecilius escaped through a portal, abandoning his apprentices.
• Old Wang killed the apprentices who tried to flee or beg for mercy, even after a powerful magical shield blocked his path.
• Ancient One appeared and restored the Mirror Dimension’s ruined surroundings, but Old Wang told her she had intervened too late.
• Ancient One used the Eye of Agamotto to inspect Old Wang’s past and seventy-two million possible futures.
• Ancient One concluded that Old Wang was not an enemy and wondered about the necklace he had carried since birth.

Ancient One tried to recruit Old Wang into Kamar-Taj and warned him about the dangers of the Darkhold and Dark Energy. Old Wang refused to join, declared that Earth would be safe while he was there, and agreed to hear what Ancient One would offer in exchange for the Darkhold.

• Ancient One recognized that Old Wang was not Iron Fist and concluded that he had a separate source of magical power.
• Ancient One invited Old Wang to exchange knowledge with Kamar-Taj and offered to help him draw power from the Vishanti Trinity, but Old Wang declined.
• Old Wang said he was content with his life and claimed no one would dare invade while he was there.
• Ancient One warned that the Darkhold and Dark Energy could corrupt Old Wang and draw the attention of Dormammu or Mephisto, but Old Wang said he did not fear them.
• Ancient One offered to trade for the Darkhold, and Old Wang agreed to hear her proposal as she opened a portal.

Old Wang returned the Darkhold to Kamar-Taj and negotiated access to its restricted library in exchange for giving it up. Ancient One agreed that he could read there without a time limit, and Old Wang said he would only read for one day.

• Old Wang collected magical artifacts from the fallen enemies, then assured Ancient One that they were his spoils of war.
• After the Mirror Dimension vanished, Old Wang warned Skye and the others that Kaecilius might return and told them to bury the dead respectfully.
• Old Wang traveled with Ancient One to Kamar-Taj, where Baron Mordo and the apprentices were training.
• Ancient One showed Old Wang the restricted library and offered him access if he joined Kamar-Taj or the Three Sanctums.
• Old Wang returned the Darkhold and asked to read the restricted books; Ancient One agreed he could read there but not copy them.
• Old Wang offered his recovered artifacts as payment, then said he would only read for one day.

Old Wang secretly absorbed the knowledge in Kamar-Taj’s library, then headed for the restricted section while Wang the Fatty watched him. Meanwhile, Ancient One warned the Three Sanctums’ guardians that Kaecilius was trying to contact Dormammu and ordered them to track him and the world’s mages.

• Ancient One allowed Old Wang to use the library for a day and asked Wang the Fatty to watch over the books.
• Wang the Fatty offered Old Wang beginner books, but Old Wang rapidly removed an entire shelf and made the books briefly disappear.
• Old Wang revealed the books were unharmed, explained nothing, and used his powers to return them to their places.
• Old Wang absorbed the knowledge in the books through a Time-Space Channel, gained 0.1 grams of Azeroth Blood, and went toward the restricted section.
• Ancient One told Daniel and the other guardians that Kaecilius might use Dormammu’s power to try to resurrect his family, and assigned them to monitor mages while she watched the Dark Dimension.

Ancient One and Mordo discovered that Old Wang had taken hundreds of forbidden books into the space inside the Heart of Azeroth, but Ancient One chose not to stop him. Old Wang exchanged the books for a vast store of Azeroth Blood, while Ancient One hoped he might one day succeed her as Sorcerer Supreme.

• Mordo questioned Ancient One's trust in Old Wang, then learned that hundreds of library books had vanished.
• Ancient One and Mordo watched a mirror and saw Old Wang unlock the forbidden books and send them into the Heart of Azeroth.
• Ancient One explained that a powerful magical entity was behind Old Wang and decided not to interfere with their exchange.
• Ancient One told Mordo that Old Wang might surpass her and revealed that she had seen him stand with Earth in many futures.
• Old Wang exchanged the forbidden and ordinary books for more than fifty grams of Azeroth Blood and thanked Wang the Fatty.