Recaps

Jean Grey and Emma Howlett discussed Jean’s suppressed emotions before helping Illyana return to class, where Emma revealed that Illyana and Peter hoped to earn enough merit to free their mother from Wolf Tower. Meanwhile, James destroyed Ceres while training with Hellfire, then returned to his starship as a Skrull fleet approached Earth under King Kl'rt.

• Emma advised Jean to meditate in Greenland and strengthen her emotional control, and Jean resolved to continue managing her suppressed emotions.
• Emma caught Illyana skipping literary appreciation to argue that she should join the Sirius Legion, but Jean and Emma escorted her back to class.
• Emma told Jean that Illyana and Peter hoped to earn battlefield merit to bring their mother out of Wolf Tower.
• James combined Hellfire with his power while training on Ceres, accidentally shattered the dwarf planet, and struggled with how poorly Hellfire worked with his abilities.
• James returned to his starship, while a Skrull vessel led by King Kl'rt confirmed that its destination was Earth and that Talos's people had answered its earlier message.

Six months after the Cosmic Storm project began, the Howlett Group prepared its advanced Space Laboratory for launch, while Johnny Storm showed Ben Grimm the special rewards available to the group’s personnel. Reed Richards and Susan Storm reviewed the mission plans, and Victor von Doom declined to join the flight, reminding Reed that the spacecraft would belong to the group after the mission.

• At Cape Canaveral, Ben Grimm complained that Johnny Storm had arrived late to inspect the Space Laboratory, and Susan Storm defended her brother’s record.
• Johnny showed Ben the Howlett Group’s special-personnel catalog and explained that Wolf Gold could be earned through missions and exchanged for advanced equipment and other rewards.
• Victor von Doom offered to buy Wolf Gold for cash, then joined Susan and Reed Richards as they discussed their preparations for the Cosmic Storm mission.
• Reed invited Doom aboard the Space Laboratory, but Doom declined and told Reed he would have to give it up after the mission.

James Howlett arrived at Cape Canaveral, warned Robert Morris that the Group’s upheaval would last a long time, and encouraged Victor von Doom to continue his work. As Reed Richards and the others began their Cosmic Storm mission in orbit, a golden, wing-shaped blaze followed the approaching storm.

• James Howlett landed at Cape Canaveral and met with Robert Morris, who asked how long the Group’s reassignment of scientists would continue.
• James told Morris to expect a long period of change, urged him to find new talent, and asked about the Cosmic Storm project.
• Morris credited Victor von Doom with leading the project, and James told Doom to do his work well before departing with Azazel.
• Doom chose to stay at Cape Canaveral to supervise the Cosmic Storm project rather than return to New York.
• Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, and Susan Storm launched the Space Laboratory and saw the orbital fortresses and approaching Cosmic Storm.
• As the Space Laboratory headed toward Jupiter’s orbit, a golden blaze shaped like wings followed behind the storm.

Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four approached a powerful Cosmic Storm, unaware that the Phoenix Force was hidden within it. The Skrull emperor Kl'rt prepared to capture the Phoenix Force, while his starship also detected the Fantastic Four's ship near the storm.

• Reed explained the Cosmic Storm's unusual properties as the Fantastic Four watched it draw closer.
• Johnny teased Reed about paying more attention to the storm than to Susan, and Susan silenced him.
• The Fantastic Four prepared to approach the storm while an immense particle fluctuation briefly appeared behind it.
• Emperor Kl'rt ordered Captain Belomo to power up the Skrull Royal Starship and ready its tractor beam to capture the Phoenix Force.
• Kl'rt assigned Paibok to help and planned to recuperate on planet C-53 after the capture.
• Captain Belomo reported that the ship had detected a vessel from planet C-53 near the storm, but Kl'rt cautioned that the Phoenix Force would not be easy to capture.

The Cosmic Storm overwhelmed Reed Richards's spacecraft as the Phoenix Force raced toward Earth and Jean Grey. The Phoenix merged with Jean on Greenland, leaving her collapsed with her red hair darkening toward black.

• The Phoenix Force pierced and scattered the Cosmic Storm, which engulfed Reed Richards, Susan, Johnny, and Ben aboard the Space Laboratory.
• Kl'rt watched the Phoenix head toward C-53 and ordered contact with Mutas.
• Jean Grey meditated beneath Greenland's ice while struggling to suppress her inner personality.
• Jean sensed the Phoenix Force, connected with its perspective, and saw it descend toward her.
• The Phoenix vanished into Jean Grey, who fell to her knees as her vivid red hair turned nearly black.

President Clinton learned that an unknown energy entity had destroyed four orbital fortresses and entered Earth’s atmosphere, while James ordered the Legion to prepare for combat. Jean Grey returned from the ice field acting strangely powerful and flirtatious, leaving Scott stunned.

• President Clinton received William Perry’s report about the destroyed orbital defenses and called the Howlett Group, but James declined the call.
• Hank McCoy told James that the entity had breached the defenses and that a second object might have entered the atmosphere; Erik led a team to investigate near Wolf Nest.
• James placed the Legion on combat alert, ordered repairs to the orbital defenses, and tasked Peggy with mobilizing intelligence and monitoring the researchers.
• Jean Grey woke on the ice field and walked toward Wolf Nest without leaving footprints.
• Scott Summers found Jean in the base and saw her use effortless telekinesis and hover above the floor.
• Jean changed into a revealing outfit and teased Scott, who could barely respond.

Jean Grey used telekinesis to let Scott Summers see without his visor, then sensed Charles Xavier in the Wolf Nest and was told that she was not Jean. In Greenland, James and the Sirius Legion searched for the missing Jean, and James felt a sudden warning as he asked where she was.

• Jean Grey removed Scott Summers's visor with telekinesis and restrained his optic blasts so he could see her clearly for the first time.
• Jean sensed Charles Xavier meditating below the Wolf Nest, and Charles opened his eyes and said that she was not Jean.
• Laura found Jean's cloak in the Greenland snowfield, while Erik Lehnsherr, Storm, and Warren searched for the vanished energy presence without finding it.
• James arrived with Azazel and Beast Hank, and Azazel took Jean's cloak from Laura and draped it over himself.
• James felt Beast Perception stir and urgently asked where Jean Grey was.

Professor Charles Xavier confronted the Dark Phoenix, a powerful personality emerging from Jean Grey, in a psychic battle that threatened everyone in Wolf Nest Base. The storm suddenly ended, and Charles realized Mr. Howlett had arrived in time to save him.

• Charles identified the force in the Psychic Realm as a repressed personality inside Jean Grey and insisted it could not take over her identity.
• The Dark Phoenix erupted in the Throne Hall, inflicted psychic pain across Wolf Nest Base, and declared that power made her the true Jean Grey.
• Charles fought the Dark Phoenix through a candle flame, but her black-red fire overwhelmed his defenses and nearly consumed him.
• The psychic storm suddenly vanished, restoring everyone in Wolf Nest Base and leaving Charles alive in the underground chamber.
• Charles caught his breath, checked that his newly grown hair remained, and remarked that Mr. Howlett had arrived just in time.

James Howlett subdued the Dark Phoenix possessing Jean Grey while Professor Charles and Emma prepared to confront her in the Spirit Candle Mind Realm. The Dark Phoenix began breaking free as Charles and Emma entered the mental realm to try to awaken Jean.

• James sensed a grave threat, returned to Wolf Nest, and pinned the Dark Phoenix to the throne with his Mystic Arts.
• Laura, Erik, Azazel, and the others arrived, and Professor Charles explained that Jean's other personality had gained power beyond her previous limits.
• James bound the Dark Phoenix with Crimson Chains and learned that the Phoenix power would not leave Jean; Charles said they needed to awaken Jean with Emma's help.
• James ordered Azazel to fetch Emma, sent everyone from the hall, and had Erik seal the palace while Scott remained outside.
• The Dark Phoenix shattered James's inner shackles and threatened Charles and Emma as they entered the Spirit Candle Mind Realm.

Professor Charles and Emma entered Jean Grey’s mind to try to awaken her while James guarded her body against the Dark Phoenix. Meanwhile, Viper told Doom that the Cosmic Storm had caused an unknown kind of mutation in Susan Storm, Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm, and Reed woke as she approached his chamber.

• Professor Charles brought Emma into his Spirit Candle Mind Realm and showed her that Jean was already there.
• James kept watch over Jean, anticipating that the Dark Phoenix might attack their bodies if Charles and Emma reached her.
• At Cape Canaveral, Doom regretted missing exposure to the Cosmic Storm while the four astronauts and researchers remained unconscious.
• Viper told Doom that all four had developed an unknown genetic trait without expressing an X-Gene.
• A researcher reported that one of the four had awakened, and Viper headed for Reed Richards’s isolation chamber.

Emma Howlett and Professor Charles attacked Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix personality in the Spirit Candle Mind Realm while James fought her possessed body in the throne room. As both battles continued, Dark Phoenix revealed that she and Jean wanted to become the Black Queen.

• Jean Grey complained to Emma Howlett that Professor Charles was bullying her, and Emma mocked Dark Phoenix’s appearance before the fight began.
• Emma attacked Dark Phoenix with psychic diamond swords while Professor Charles transformed the Spirit Candle Mind Realm into an execution ground and bound her with chains.
• Jean’s body broke free of the Mystic Arts chains, unleashed black-red Phoenix flames, and fought James with telekinetic blasts and shockwaves.
• James battered Dark Phoenix with his claws and energy arms as soldiers outside the sealed throne room heard the battle and recognized Jean as a formidable fighter.
• Dark Phoenix broke free of Professor Charles’s restraints, transformed into a giant black phoenix, and told Emma that they wanted to become the Black Queen.

Emma and Professor Charles entered Jean’s mind to awaken her and stop the Phoenix, while James fought the awakened force in Wolf Nest. Jean finally opened her eyes and joined Emma against the Phoenix, but Professor Charles warned that the danger was not over.

• Emma and Professor Charles concluded that Jean’s will was resisting the unknown power and that the Dark Phoenix could become too strong to contain if the two forces merged.
• Emma turned to diamond and had Professor Charles send her into Jean’s mind, where she found Jean asleep beneath a golden Phoenix and tried to wake her.
• The Phoenix opened its eyes, destroyed Emma’s diamond form, and attacked James, burning away his flesh before he regenerated.
• James corrupted the hall’s Vibranium with Hellfire, forged it into armor, and fought the Phoenix while worrying about Emma and Professor Charles.
• Emma and Professor Charles battled the Phoenix in Jean’s mind and repeatedly called out to Jean until she opened her eyes.
• Jean stepped out from the Phoenix’s wings and joined Emma, while Professor Charles warned that the danger was not over.

James defeated the Dark Phoenix and learned that Jean would have to change her personality to control her power, while the Skrull Emperor Kl'rt prepared to seize Earth before the Kree arrived. The chapter ended with Kl'rt calling for a Secret War.

• James carried the unconscious Jean from the ruined palace and told Laura that she would live.
• Charles explained that Jean would need to unite her divided will to control the Dark Phoenix, and James accepted that she might change while remaining herself.
• James and Charles discussed the Kree threat and the possibility that Skrulls were hiding on Earth.
• Mutas and Tessa presented the Skrull Emperor Kl'rt with intelligence about Earth’s superhumans and admitted they had failed to collect James’s pheromones.
• Kl'rt declared that the Skrulls had come for the Child of the Universe and urged them to launch a Secret War before the Kree arrived.

James Howlett and Emma questioned Kree prisoners in the Wolf Tower, seeking the coordinates of Hala. Mar-Vell revealed that the Supreme Intelligence prevented Kree from disclosing the homeworld’s location, but told James the pureblood Accuser Corps might have weaker mental restrictions.

• Bucky welcomed James and Emma to the Wolf Tower and explained how its defenses blocked spatial travel.
• Emma removed the Kree prisoners’ power-inhibiting collars, then killed Atlas and Bron-Char while the third Kree proved unable to reveal Hala’s coordinates.
• James questioned Mar-Vell, who explained the Supreme Intelligence’s restrictions and described the Kree Empire’s history and place in the wider universe.
• Mar-Vell suggested that the pureblood Accuser Corps might be able to reveal Hala’s location, and James left after telling her Howard Stark wanted to visit.
• Mar-Vell tried and failed to kill herself because Professor X’s suggestions prevented her from doing so.

James Howlett and Emma discussed the coming war with the Kree while Jean Grey demonstrated her Phoenix power in a sparring match with Laura. At a Howlett Group research base, Reed Richards demanded access to research on the Cosmic Storm crew, but Viper refused to let them leave.

• James Howlett agreed with Emma that they should take the initiative against the Kree after years of preparation.
• Jean Grey overwhelmed Laura in their sparring match, then helped her recover and formed a light-armor suit around her.
• Laura told Jean that only Jean's first attack had been serious, and Jean asked Laura what kind of man would be worthy of her.
• Reed Richards demanded access to the Cosmic Storm research and freedom for himself and the others to leave the base.
• Viper refused Reed's demands, calling the four crew members important research assets and potential superhumans who needed to be restrained.

Reed Richards and the other astronauts faced the Howlett Group’s control after the Cosmic Storm, while Susan comforted Reed over their past. On Hala, Yon-Rogg trained Vers for her coming battle with the Wolf Emperor, James Howlett.

• Ophelia Sarkissian told Reed that the Howlett Group’s authority superseded ordinary laws and that he was under house arrest.
• Ophelia teased Johnny Storm about his stamina, leaving him humiliated, while Ben Grimm fell ill and retreated to his room.
• Reed apologized to Susan for neglecting her, and Susan reassured him that the Group’s research could help them return to normal life.
• Yon-Rogg warned Vers not to rely on her Marvel power and trained her in hand-to-hand combat.
• Yon-Rogg pressed Vers to name her enemy, and she unleashed her power and vowed to kill James Howlett.

James Howlett visited the Ancient One at Kamar-Taj with Wanda and Pietro, then asked her about the Phoenix Force. After explaining its multiversal origins and Jean Grey’s role as its host, the Ancient One warned James that Jean could not be stabilized forever and urged him to help seal and banish her.

• Howard Stark argued with Tony, then remembered Jarvis and realized his son was still grieving.
• James Howlett brought Pietro to the New York Sanctum and then took him to Kamar-Taj, where Wanda was apprenticed to the Ancient One.
• James asked the Ancient One about the Phoenix Force, and she revealed that it was the divided remnant of the primordial Child of the Universe.
• The Ancient One explained that Phoenix fragments existed across countless universes and that Jean Grey was the Phoenix’s chosen host.
• The Ancient One warned James that Jean’s condition was only temporarily stable and advised him to join her in sealing and banishing Jean.

James refused The Ancient One’s suggestion to seal Jean Grey away, while Wanda and Pietro found Kaecilius stealing the Book of Cagliostro in the Sanctum library. Pietro and Wanda fought Kaecilius, and the chapter ended with him screaming after his legs were stripped to bone.

• James told The Ancient One he would not seal Jean Grey away, even if the Phoenix threatened his family.
• Wanda repaired a broken Mystic Arts lock, and Pietro used it to bind Kaecilius as he took the Book of Cagliostro.
• Kaecilius broke free, raised a shield against Wanda, and tried to escape through a portal, but Pietro took his Sling Ring.
• Wanda confronted Kaecilius with crimson Mystic Arts shields and drove him through the wrecked library hall.
• Pietro pulled a crimson shield from the wall, and Kaecilius collapsed as the flesh vanished from his legs.

At Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One banished Kaecilius after he stole the Book of Cagliostro, while the Skrull Emperor Kl'rt prepared a secret plan to seize human leaders amid the coming conflict between the Howlett Family and the Kree. The chapter ended with Steve Rogers joining Howard Stark on his trip to Wolf Tower prison.

• Wanda Lehnsherr caught Kaecilius stealing the Book of Cagliostro, and Pietro accidentally cut off his legs while trying to help her.
• Kaecilius blamed the Ancient One and the Vishanti for failing to save his wife, and the Ancient One banished him from Kamar-Taj.
• Tessa learned that the Skrull royals used transformation pods to copy powerful abilities and that copying memories required an original specimen or physical contact.
• Kl'rt ordered the Skrulls to infiltrate human leadership and wait until the Howlett Family and the Kree were weakened before striking.
• Howard Stark traveled toward Wolf Tower to visit Dr. Wendy Lawson, and Steve Rogers joined him.

After a Cosmic Storm experiment transformed the Fantastic Four, Ben Grimm escaped the Howlett Group facility and headed for New York, furious and afraid his fiancée would reject him. Reed pursued him, while Susan and Johnny flew after them to prevent the Order from treating them as threats.

• Howard Stark met Steve Rogers, who accompanied him aboard a shuttle to visit Wolf Tower.
• Ben Grimm broke through the research facility’s isolation wall, and Reed Richards tried to calm him while Susan and Johnny arrived.
• Ophelia warned Ben that leaving could get him arrested, but he rejected her advances and declared he would find out whether Debbie could accept him.
• When security attacked, Ben fought his way through the facility and escaped toward New York, with Reed running after him.
• Susan convinced Johnny to help pursue Ben and Reed, and Johnny discovered he could fly as the Human Torch, carrying Susan’s energy sphere toward the city.

Ben Grimm fled the research facility, and Reed Richards tried to restrain him before the Order Whip intervened with force. Their pursuit reached Grand Army Plaza, where the Skrull emperor Kl'rt and his disguised companions watched as Susan and Johnny joined the fight.

• Ophelia Sarkissian ordered her assistant to seek an audience with Wolf Nest, then left the base while security personnel pursued the escaped scientists.
• Reed caught up with Ben in Brooklyn and bound him, but Order Executor Lazaro weakened Reed and the Order team attacked Ben with energy weapons.
• Ben resisted the Order team, and Reed brought down two shuttles while helping Ben escape toward Grand Army Plaza.
• Kl'rt and other disguised Skrulls watched the fight after discussing humanity's evolutionary potential at the Flight 826 memorial.
• Johnny and Susan joined Reed and Ben at the plaza, where Susan blocked a shuttle blast and Reed punched through its canopy as the Skrulls continued watching.

Kl'rt and his Skrull forces disguised themselves as Magneto and Storm and attacked Brooklyn, where the Fantastic Four fought back. James Howlett arrived and recognized the impostor as a Super-Skrull, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Kl'rt ordered Koralder, disguised as Magneto, to capture the Fantastic Four and devastate the area while framing the Kree.
• Koralder trapped Reed, Ben, Susan, and Johnny in steel, but they escaped as Safali, disguised as Storm, unleashed a destructive storm across Brooklyn.
• James comforted Wanda at the Sanctum, then left for Brooklyn after the sorcerers reported a strange disaster there.
• James used his enhanced sight to see through the fog and recognized the figures as Erik and a young Miss Munroe.
• Colossus attacked Ben while Magneto restrained Reed and Susan lay unconscious, until James confronted the apparent Magneto and called him a Super-Skrull.

James Howlett fought the Skrulls disguised as his allies after they ambushed him in Brooklyn, and he exposed their leader Kl'rt’s inability to match the strength of the people he copied. As the battle drew witnesses and rumors of Howlett Family infighting spread, Red Devil searched the ruins for a piece of Kl'rt’s regenerating body near Reed Richards’s sealed steel sphere.

• Johnny Storm fell after Storm and Havok overwhelmed him, while James landed among the ruins and recognized the gathered Skrulls disguised as familiar allies.
• Magneto ordered the attack, and James fought through the assembled heroes, injuring Psylocke, defeating the Summers brothers, and burying Colossus in the ground.
• Kl'rt revealed himself as the Skrull king and copied James, but James tore into him and used his six-armed form to rip off Kl'rt’s arms and head.
• Koralder and the remaining Skrulls attacked James with metal and lightning as observers watched and rumors spread that the Howlett Family had turned on itself.
• Red Devil searched the ruins and found Kl'rt’s regenerating body crawling toward the steel sphere containing Reed Richards.

Kl'rt copied the powers of the Fantastic Four and fought James Howlett, but James revealed his Hellfire and overwhelming resilience. James defeated the Skrull emperor and left him battered as he complained about his ruined clothes.

• Red Devil retrieved Kl'rt's severed arms and teleported the unconscious Fantastic Four to him, while Kl'rt copied their physical forms and powers.
• James killed Paibok and subdued the Skrull who had taken Magneto's form as Kl'rt confronted him with the combined abilities of the Fantastic Four.
• Kl'rt trapped James in a supernova of flames, but James survived as a skeletal figure crowned with bone spikes and burning Hellfire.
• James killed the Skrull disguised as Red Devil, chased down the invisible Kl'rt, and smashed him into the ground.
• James repeatedly punched Kl'rt with Hellfire-infused blows until the emperor was badly injured, then complained that his clothes had been ruined.

Peggy Rogers and Charles Xavier secured the Skrulls after their attack on Brooklyn, while James Howlett retrieved Pietro and brought him home. At Wolf Nest, Ophelia Sarkissian was led before the Howlett Family’s inner circle as Reed Richards and his companions were confined.

• Peggy Rogers took command of the response in Brooklyn and ordered suspected shapeshifters captured or killed if they resisted.
• Nick Fury identified Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, and Peggy ordered them placed under Level One confinement.
• Charles Xavier identified the attackers as Skrulls and explained that he and James Howlett had learned of them from Kree prisoners.
• James Howlett returned with the wounded Skrull King, warned that the restraints might not hold the Skrulls, and told Peggy and Raven to take them to Wolf Nest.
• James found Pietro at the Sanctum Sanctorum, then brought him home as Pietro described helping people and meeting a blind, unusually fast man.
• Ophelia Sarkissian entered Wolf Nest and was brought before the Howlett Family’s inner circle, where Reed Richards and his companions were sealed in metal coffins.