Chapter Summaries

James found Mar-Vell’s Kree cruiser and discovered that her orange cat, Goose, was a dangerous Flerken, then entrusted it to Anya. Meanwhile, two Skrulls in a remote California town argued over a signal from their royal family and learned that Earth’s strongest power had clashed with the Kree.

• James, Erik, and their group boarded Mar-Vell’s cruiser, and Hank began studying its controls and technology.
• Goose transformed and attacked the researchers with enormous tentacles, but James and Erik subdued it and placed a muzzle on it.
• James brought Goose to Anya, who recognized it as a Flerken and agreed to look after it; she warned that a war was coming and would leave unseen scars.
• James watched Warren fight at the training grounds before finding Anya among animals gathered peacefully around her.
• In California, Andara Jacobsen’s visitor revealed himself as a Skrull and questioned her about a signal from the royal family and Talos.
• The Skrull visitor told Jacobsen that Earth’s most powerful force had already clashed with the Kree and warned that Earth might be conquered.

Mutas and Tessa discussed the Skrull Empire’s plans to use the Phoenix Force against the Kree, while James worried that Earth’s young heroes might face an alien war. At the Howlett manor, Magda gave birth to twins and named them Wanda and Pietro.

• Mutas told Tessa that the Skrull royal family had found the Phoenix Force and hoped to use it to restore their empire and take revenge on the Kree.
• Andara Jacobsen left town with Mutas in his car.
• Warren fought Remus II in the manor’s arena, and James watched while reflecting on the growing alien threat and his renewed desire for power.
• James and Erik waited anxiously as Magda went into labor, and Laura, Kurt, Jean, and Warren joined them.
• Magda gave birth to a boy and a girl, with the girl arriving first, and named them Wanda and Pietro.

Scott Summers, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Warren Worthington fought a vast horde of demons in the Hell Dimension as the Sirius Legion attacked Horn Mountain. The legion held its ground against overwhelming numbers, while Scott urged his squad toward Jean and the other women fighting at the front.

• Scott Summers, Colossus, and Nightcrawler waited for the demon tide after Warren Worthington drew demons from Horn Mountain.
• Warren Worthington returned from attacking the demon lair, and the four mutants prepared to face the approaching horde.
• James Howlett watched the Sirius Legion assemble and told his commanders to assess the young units’ tactics.
• Colossus smashed through demons, Scott Summers fired optic blasts, Warren Worthington fought in the air, and Nightcrawler teleported among flying enemies.
• The Sirius Legion’s veterans held the line while three women pushed deeper into the demon tide toward high-level demons.
• Scott Summers asked Colossus to help him reach the front left, where Jean and the other women faced increasing pressure.

The Sirius Legion launched its largest training assault in Limbo, with Storm’s catastrophic weather attacks and the front-line fighters cutting through a demon army. Demon lord Uranus emerged from Horn Mountain, fought off Jean Grey, Laura, and Sharon Rogers, then headed for James as Jean heard a familiar voice in her mind.

• Scott, Kurt, and Colossus cleared demons while Kurt teased Scott about Laura and the others.
• Storm unleashed the Flame Catastrophe, and Archangel helped clear the sky as James and Erik discussed Storm’s growing powers.
• Jean, Laura, and Sharon advanced through the demon army and headed toward Horn Mountain when they sensed its tremors.
• Uranus emerged from Horn Mountain, recognized the invaders as humans, and fought the three women, healing its wounds and throwing them aside.
• Uranus flew toward James at the rear of the legion, while Jean’s Phoenix attack was repelled and a familiar voice spoke in her mind.

James fought the demon lord Uranus in Hell and destroyed him with Hellfire after overpowering him in combat. With Uranus gone and a true dimensional lord likely to take notice, James ordered the Sirius Legion to withdraw to Earth.

• Jean Grey suppressed the dark personality in her mind after it briefly surged out and blasted Laura away.
• Erik ordered the Sirius Legion to part and let Uranus pass, while Gambit and Havok prepared to fight.
• James struck Uranus, then battered him with martial arts and four crimson Mystic Arts arms.
• Uranus regenerated and summoned a colossal scythe, but James restrained him with Crimson Chains and used Hellfire to burn him into ash.
• James ordered the legion to retreat, and Kurt Howlett teleported Cyclops and the others through Azazel's portal to Greenland.

After the Sirius Legion completed its final large-scale combat drill, James and Erik prepared for the coming war with the Kree while the Legionnaires recovered at Wolf Nest Base. In New York, Reed Richards reluctantly arrived at the Howlett Group with Ben Grimm to seek funding for his research, leaving his meeting with the company ahead.

• James sent the mystics back to the Sanctum Sanctorum after they helped the Sirius Legion fight demons in Limbo, and Erik announced that the Legion would shift from live-fire drills to rest and war preparations.
• James and Erik discussed the Kree threat, the Legion’s lack of space-combat experience, and the time needed to use captured Kree technology to build ships and fighters.
• Young Remus healed from severe wounds after injecting blood donated by Warren, whose Mutant healing ability had strengthened after his second awakening.
• Young Remus and Remus I talked about the battle and the younger generation of warriors, while Scott offered Jean a Heart-Shaped Herb drink and described his dream of exploring space with her.
• Ben Grimm pushed Reed Richards to seek work and research funding from the Howlett Group, while Reed complained that James Howlett and the company manipulated science and society.

Reed Richards and Ben Grimm negotiated with Victor Doom to fund Reed’s Cosmic Storm research, then learned Susan Storm would oversee the project. At the Howlett family castle, James Howlett caught the speedy young Pietro and asked where he had hidden Wanda.

• Ben Grimm accompanied Reed Richards to the Howlett Group, where they discovered Victor Doom was leading its Technology Project Department.
• Reed explained his plan to study the approaching Cosmic Storm, and Doom offered funding in exchange for eighty percent ownership and profits, later raising Reed’s share to twenty-five percent.
• Susan Storm told Reed and Ben she would oversee the project, that Johnny would handle spacewalks, and that they should meet her at nine the next morning.
• Susan urged Reed to consider joining the Howlett Group, but he refused, saying the Howletts frightened people; she directed them to meet her at the research base.
• At the Howlett family castle, James Howlett teased Erik about parenting and caught Pietro Lehnsherr as he sped through the halls.
• James tickled Pietro and asked where he had hidden his sister Wanda.

Wanda Lehnsherr began her magical apprenticeship with the Ancient One, while James told Erik that Wanda’s power had immense, undefined potential. Later, Peggy and Steve discussed Professor Charles’s disappearance and the strange patterns Peggy had noticed in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intelligence reports.

• James and Erik took Wanda to the New York Sanctum, where she bid farewell to her family and warned Erik she might tell their mother about his beachside conversation with a woman.
• Wanda knelt before the Ancient One and became her apprentice, while James noticed the Ancient One had lost her hair and discussed Wanda’s Chaos Magic with her.
• James told Erik that Wanda was an Omega whose potential was impossible to define, then refused to explain where Professor Charles had gone.
• Peggy studied intelligence reports at home and worried about faint, unfamiliar patterns she had noticed in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files.
• Steve visited Peggy before returning to Order Whip and asked whether she knew where Professor Charles had gone.

Steve Rogers questioned Maverick and Iceman about disobeying the Aerospace Force’s orders and explained why the command had not built its strategy around the dangerous Pegasus fighters. Meanwhile, Peggy investigated the disappearances of Professor Charles and Moira as Skrull infiltrators impersonated Order Whip personnel and planned their next targets.

• Steve Rogers asked Maverick and Iceman why they had challenged the operations command’s plan, and they warned that humanity might be outmatched by the Kree.
• Steve showed the pilots the Pegasus test craft’s catastrophic crash and asked whether they would risk testing a weapon that could vaporize its pilot; Maverick said he would fight the aliens anyway.
• Peggy told Steve that Professor Charles and Moira had disappeared and suspected the Sirius Legion was involved, then reopened her files to investigate a series of incidents.
• A Skrull impersonating Steve gave Peggy’s hair to his companions, and the group discussed how their pheromone-collecting operation had failed to reveal Professor Charles’s location.
• The Skrulls debated whether to target the White Queen or James Howlett next, and Tessa suggested drawing lots rather than risk confronting the Wolf Emperor.

Valery Polyakov and Eileen Collins inspected a lunar base site while discussing the Wolf Emperor and the strange canyon left by his battle with the Mutants’ progenitor. James Howlett tested a warp-capable warship near the asteroid belt, then trained by smashing asteroids, while Emma Howlett told Jean Grey that she had been born at the Jianshen level and addressed the mysterious voice that had returned.

• Valery Polyakov tried to tamper with Neil Armstrong’s protected footprint before Eileen Collins hurried him toward their lunar inspection site.
• Polyakov and Collins discussed the canyon’s rumored origin and the human forces building lunar and orbital defenses against the Kree Empire.
• Hank McCoy brought James Howlett to the asteroid belt aboard a warp-capable ship and explained how the warp bubble worked.
• James refused a spacesuit, entered space, and smashed asteroids to train while the ship’s crew watched.
• Emma Howlett told Jean Grey that she was the third Mutant to reach the Jianshen level and that her core power was driven by emotions.
• Jean asked Emma whether she could finally absorb or kill the voice that had returned after more than ten years.

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.