Chapter Summaries

James returned to New York, warned his colleagues about the dangers of psychic immersion, and arranged business matters before leaving for Kamar-Taj to study sorcery. He began learning Sanskrit and Vedic texts as the first step toward studying magic.

• Emma explained to Raven that absorbing others’ emotions during large-scale psychic work could overwhelm a telepath’s sense of self, and asked her to warn Charles.
• James arrived at the Special Talent Affairs Department with Peggy and told Peggy to keep intelligence operations running without acting prematurely.
• James instructed Emma and Raven not to overwork themselves and arranged for Mark Lane to receive the Howlett Group’s property at 177 Blake Street.
• James told Emma that he would leave to study with sorcerers, then had Azazel bring him and Peggy to the office and take him back to the Himalayas the next day.
• At Kamar-Taj, Xiao Li gave James Sanskrit and Vedic books to study before he could access books on magic, and James began reading them by candlelight.

Major William Stryker received equipment and intelligence for his new role in the Mutant Affairs Division while Edgar Hoover prepared to undergo an evolutionary procedure. At Kamar-Taj, James Howlett studied the Mystic Arts and learned why his self-reliant powers made him unsuited to borrowing magic, leaving him questioning whether sorcerers could ever become sources of power themselves.

• Bolivar Trask showed Major William Stryker a lead-lined hat that detected Charles Xavier's telepathic brain waves and warned him of probing.
• Edgar Hoover told Stryker that Mutants could become both America's greatest enemy and its best weapon, then entered a hidden facility to undergo treatment in the Evolution Chamber.
• James Howlett experimented with forming matter from his Gang Sha energy, but the unstable energy vanished without taking shape.
• The Ancient One explained that mystics borrowed power from other dimensions and used established magical formulas, while James's faith in his own strength prevented him from communicating with those sources.
• James asked whether sorcerers were forever limited to borrowing power, and the Ancient One explained that some dimensional lords had once been sorcerers who merged with dimensions.

Erik Lehnsherr and Magda discussed whether extraordinary powers were worth their cost while she concealed her uncertainty about his suspicions. In Washington, Senator Edwin Partridge introduced the Awakening Project to track and arrest Mutants, while a masked man urged him to let the proposal proceed through debate rather than rush it.

• Erik Lehnsherr asked Magda whether she would want magical powers, and she said she would rather live peacefully with her family.
• Senator Edwin Partridge proposed the Awakening Project, which would let the FBI arrest Mutants without cause and require them to register.
• Dr. Bolivar Trask questioned Director Edgar Hoover about the proposal, and Hoover said he had not initiated it.
• Hoover watched President John Kennedy and suspected that the Mutant president did not know about the bill.
• A child-sized figure snapped a chair back in the chamber as Partridge's proposal stirred debate.
• A masked man visited Partridge at home, told him not to rush the bill, and ordered him to let events proceed as planned.

Charles promised Raven he would limit his Cerebro use, then encountered the construction of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. At Kamar-Taj, James studied an account of Odin’s sacrifice and the origins of Rune Magic, whose power apparently required an Aesir’s blessing or permission.

• Raven warned Charles about the mental effects of telepathy, and Charles promised to limit his use of Cerebro.
• Azazel appeared without knocking, and Charles restrained him until Raven put on clothes; Raven and Azazel then left together.
• Master Mark Lane declined the Howlett Group’s construction team, while Kamar-Taj sorcerers magically expanded and renovated 177 Blake Street into the New York Sanctum Sanctorum.
• Master Wong appointed Mark the New York Sanctum’s resident sorcerer and returned to Kamar-Taj, where James secretly let apprentice Xiao Li try a cigar.
• James studied a Norwegian scroll describing Odin’s nine-night sacrifice to gain the Runes and learned that Rune Magic required Odin’s or a powerful Aesir’s blessing or permission.

James tested a rune carved into his hand as a possible foundation for a new power. Meanwhile, Charles agreed to let Major Stryker organize a Mutant special forces unit, and Director Halse told him that the president wanted to see him.

• James carved the Tiwaz rune into his hand with life energy, but it produced no noticeable effect.
• President Kennedy reviewed the Awakening Project proposal and called S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Mutant Power Research Department.
• Major Stryker persuaded Charles to support a Mutant squad for community service and special operations, citing pay and benefits for its members.
• Stryker proposed finding Mutants serving in the military and forming special combat squads, and Charles endorsed the plan.
• Director Halse arrived and told Charles that the president wanted to see him.

Charles Xavier met President Kennedy at the White House and promised to pursue his plan for Mutant heroes despite the likely Awakening Project. In the Mirror Dimension, the Ancient One used the Vishanti’s strongest spell to seal James Howlett, leaving him pinned and powerless.

• President Kennedy told Charles Xavier that his plan to win public trust through Mutant heroes was naive, warned that the Awakening Project would be difficult to stop, and asked him to try his idea; Charles promised.
• Erik Lehnsherr, Alex Summers, and Raven investigated the suspected Mutant thief Remy LeBeau in New Orleans and learned he was connected to Jean-Luc’s gang of thieves.
• Raven told Erik and Alex that Emma had gone with Azazel to find James Howlett, whose colleague planned to form a Mutant rescue team and reveal it to the public.
• James challenged the Ancient One during their fight and asked whether the power behind her Mirror Dimension came from a dangerous source rather than the Vishanti.
• The Ancient One summoned the Seal of the Vishanti, which pierced and immobilized James, sealed his life energy, and covered him in runes.
• The exhausted Ancient One approached James and apologized for sealing him away.

The Ancient One freed James Howlett from the Vishanti seal after their spar, warning him that sealing or banishment could stop even his immense power. In New York, Charles Xavier named his new mutant team the X-Men, while Major William Stryker advanced plans to recruit mutant soldiers.

• The Ancient One considered the disruption James Howlett posed to her fate, then shattered the Vishanti seal and released him.
• James recovered from his fall, and the Ancient One explained that sealing and banishment were the best ways to restrain someone as powerful as him.
• Charles Xavier named the newly assembled group of mutants the X-Men, and Hank encouraged him to lead them toward a different kind of hope.
• Major William Stryker announced that professionals would begin training the X-Men and asked Charles and Hank to start screening the military for mutant soldiers.
• Charles questioned whether high-ranking officers might be discovered, and Stryker assured him that the White House and military leadership had approved the plan.

Emma Frost and Azazel arrived at Kamar-Taj, where James discussed the Sorcerer Supreme’s succession with the Ancient One before hearing Emma’s report on Charles Xavier’s X-Men and the Mutants’ growing public exposure. As Emma and James planned to use the X-Men’s actions to test public and government reactions, Edgar Hoover prepared to intervene in the changing political landscape.

• James asked the Ancient One whether she had truly considered sealing him away, and she confirmed it while explaining that another Sorcerer Supreme would eventually take her place.
• The Ancient One sensed visitors and allowed Kaecilius to admit Emma Frost and Azazel into Kamar-Taj.
• Emma told James that Charles Xavier had formed the X-Men to perform public good deeds in response to the Awakening Project.
• James told Emma that public exposure fit his goal of winning acceptance for Mutants and that Xavier’s efforts could reveal the government’s response; Emma said Hoover was searching frantically for answers.
• At FBI headquarters, Edgar Hoover reflected on the changed political situation after President John Kennedy met with Charles Xavier and resolved to correct the country’s course.

Erik, Raven, and Alex tracked down Remy LeBeau in Miami, discovered that he could charge objects with explosive energy, and invited him to contact the Howlett Group if he wanted help. At Kamar-Taj, James adapted the structure of a sorcerer’s shield spell to his own life energy, beginning a new path of power.

• Raven, Erik, and Alex found Remy LeBeau gambling at the Good Luck Casino and watched Erik stop him from cheating with a silver ring.
• Remy’s eyes glowed red, and he caused the ring to explode before fleeing with Raven and the others in pursuit.
• Raven revealed her blue-skinned form, and Remy panicked and ran until Erik trapped him in metal bindings.
• Remy explained that he could learn techniques after seeing them once and had recently discovered he could charge objects to make them explode; Erik gave him a Howlett Group card before the group left.
• James studied a sorcerer’s shield spell at Kamar-Taj and used its structure to form a new energy pattern in his body, injuring himself before his healing restored him.

Edgar Hoover consolidated control of S.H.I.E.L.D. while secretly using Hydra to enhance his agents, as Charles Xavier’s team rescued a damaged airliner and made mutants headline news. James Howlett continued testing ways to increase his power at Kamar-Taj, then went to meet the Sorcerer Supreme.

• Edgar Hoover oversaw secret injections of third-generation Super Soldier Serum into himself and his trusted agents, invoking Hydra’s cause to reassure Dr. Maierle.
• Charles Xavier lamented that the X-Men needed a major public opportunity, then used Cerebro to coordinate a response when two airliners collided near New York.
• Angel guided one damaged plane while Banshee cleared Grand Army Plaza; Darwin, Benjamin Benson, and Hank McCoy stopped the plane before it hit a building.
• Newspapers reported that Charles Xavier’s mutant team had saved all 128 passengers, and Emma Frost wondered whether the rescue was James Howlett’s predicted turning point.
• James Howlett repeatedly injured and healed himself while testing how life energy affected his power, then answered the Sorcerer Supreme’s summons and prepared to return.

James Howlett exchanged research and a newly forged Adamantium fan with the Ancient One before leaving Kamar-Taj for New York. Meanwhile, Charles Xavier and the X-Men headed to a television interview, preparing to introduce Mutants to the public as rumors of an ancient Mutant named Apocalypse raised questions about their history.

• The Ancient One gave James Howlett her reverse-engineered research on Kamar-Taj’s Mystic Arts, and he presented her with an Adamantium fan forged by Erik and Dr. McMahon.
• The Ancient One tested the fan and told James about powerful materials beyond Earth, including Uru, Yaka Metal, and branches of the World Tree.
• James told the Ancient One he planned to return to New York, and she said she would find him when the dimensional lord revealed himself.
• On November 22, 1963, Charles Xavier prepared for a television interview after speaking with President Kennedy, while Raven helped him choose a tie.
• Moira MacTaggert drove Charles and the X-Men to the broadcasting station, where they discussed claims that En Sabah Nur, also called Apocalypse, had ruled ancient Egypt.
• Charles led the X-Men into the station, ready to make their first public television appearance as Mutants.

James left Kamar-Taj and returned to New York as Hoover expanded his control through S.H.I.E.L.D. and organized a force to capture or exploit Mutants. During a televised interview meant to present Mutants positively, Charles learned that President John Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas.

• Xiao Li opened a portal for James, who gave him cigars and promised to visit before returning to New York.
• James saw Charles Xavier on the front page of The Washington Times and resolved to save him.
• Dr. Trask told Hoover that his drug could work on the target with continued injections, while Hoover ordered him to keep developing it.
• Major Stryker reported that 150 Mutant soldiers had been transferred to a research base, and Hoover ordered him to recruit obedient soldiers and detain or use the rest.
• Sean Cassidy damaged studio equipment with a controlled shriek during the X-Men's television interview, while Charles prepared to answer questions about Mutants and crime.
• Charles read the news from a panicked man's mind that President John Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas.

Charles Xavier faced growing suspicion and isolation because of his telepathy while continuing his work at the Mutation Power Research Institute. At Wolf Nest Base, Peggy Rogers completed her evolution with the Styx serum, and James Howlett postponed action against the political network behind the Kennedy assassination until its attempt to capture someone else became clearer.

• Rumors that Charles Xavier had secretly read and manipulated people's minds drove most students away from his class and made the faculty avoid him.
• Erik Lehnsherr comforted Charles in the faculty lounge, and Charles left for the Cerebro Room without telling Erik what he had considered sharing.
• Peggy Rogers underwent the Styx serum procedure at Wolf Nest Base under Dr. Erskine's supervision, and Steve Rogers completed his own final evolution with a supplementary dose.
• Peggy tested her improved strength and took up the special pistols James Howlett had given her and Steve as a wedding gift.
• Peggy told James that she had confirmed the political elite's positions, and James said he would wait a few more days before acting against the network connected to the assassination.

After the Kennedy assassination and a wave of lawsuits against the X-Men, Charles Xavier suspected Vice President Johnson and decided to break the rules. Johnson and FBI Director Hoover prepared to use a serum and a mysterious weapon against the threat they believed Charles posed.

• Charles Xavier exhausted Cerebro searching for the truth behind Kennedy’s assassination and the deaths of Oswald, Tippit, Ruby, and other people connected to the case.
• Sean told Charles that hundreds of people were suing him over hearing injuries caused by his sonic waves, while Salvador reported a lawsuit against Charles and accusations that Mutants spread disease.
• Michael Halse promised the Mutant Power Research Institute would support the team, but Charles returned to Cerebro, distressed that the Mutants had become public pariahs.
• After Johnson took office, Charles realized the new president might be involved in the assassination and vowed to break the rules.
• Johnson and Hoover met in the White House wearing telepathy-blocking helmets; Hoover warned that Charles might act extremely and said they should move to a nuclear bunker.
• Johnson asked about his serum and pressed Hoover on their preparations, and Hoover began to describe their most important weapon.

Major William Stryker sent a mutant special forces team to capture Charles Xavier while Charles tried to reach President Lyndon B. Johnson through Cerebro. Charles's assault on the White House Bunker failed to draw Johnson out, and Stryker's team captured Charles after sabotaging Cerebro.

• Major William Stryker briefed the newly assembled mutant special forces and ordered them to the Mutation Power Research Institute.
• Charles Xavier searched for President Lyndon B. Johnson, suspecting he knew the truth about Kennedy's assassination, but could not find him through Cerebro.
• Johnson and Edgar Hoover stayed inside the White House Bunker wearing telepathy-blocking helmets as people outside repeated, "Mr. President? Please come out."
• Hoover told Johnson that Stryker's team was expected to capture the creature they were hunting and argued that mutants had to be controlled or eliminated.
• Hank McCoy noticed Cerebro's power surging, and an electrical overload knocked Charles unconscious.
• A teleporting Black soldier injected Charles, while Fred Dukes restrained Hank and Stryker ordered his team to prepare for new guests.

At Wolf Nest Base, James Howlett tested Alex Summers’s destructive shockwaves and demonstrated a powerful Bio-field shield. After advising Alex and reprimanding Erik Lehnsherr to focus on training, James urged Erik to bring someone back, and Peggy Rogers relayed that Raven wanted to see him.

• Alex Summers fired his full-strength shockwaves at James Howlett, who endured them and tested his limits.
• James formed a mystical Bio-field shield that blocked Alex’s attack, leaving Alex exhausted and unconscious.
• James praised Alex’s power, explained its destructive-power rating, and advised him to reach the third stage of the Evolution Technique before considering the Killing Technique.
• James scolded Erik Lehnsherr for neglecting his training and told him to bring someone back right away.
• Peggy Rogers contacted James and said Raven wanted to see him.

Major William Stryker used a drugged Professor Xavier to seize control of mutants across America, while President Johnson and Director Hoover planned to imprison and exploit them. After Xavier’s psychic influence reached Wolf Nest Base, James Howlett launched the Wolf Calamity and led an assault on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s New York institute.

• Salvador Bohuszuk arrived at the empty institute, where Hank McCoy led her to a drugged Professor Xavier and Stryker used Cerebro to bring her under control.
• President Johnson and Director Hoover discussed using Xavier to gather mutants into a camp, experiment on them, and neutralize the Howlett Family.
• James Howlett assembled the Wolf Pack, promised to begin a new era for mutants and his family, and declared the start of the Wolf Calamity.
• David Nord prepared to assassinate Erik Lehnsherr as Stryker kept Xavier connected to Cerebro and prepared for an attack.
• James and his allies arrived at the institute in the Wolf Seat; Emma Frost, Erik, Azazel, Raven, and Alex moved to rescue Xavier and Hank.
• Erik shook the institute with his magnetic powers as troops surrounded the plaza, and Emma unleashed a psychic blast that knocked the soldiers unconscious.

Azazel, Erik, Emma, and their allies defeated the forces at the Mutant Power Research Institute and rescued Charles, while Darwin’s mutation spiraled out of control and left him bound for transport. As James’s Wolf Calamity operation spread across America, his agents killed officials tied to the Awakening Project, and James arrived at the White House at dawn.

• Azazel killed Ghost, then joined Erik and Emma as they fought the brainwashed mutants and soldiers at the institute.
• Alex and Emma defeated several attackers, Erik killed Zero and crushed the institute, and Azazel rescued Charles while Erik brought Hank to safety.
• Darwin’s uncontrolled adaptations let him resist psychic and energy attacks, but James knocked him down and Erik restrained him with Vibranium chains.
• James sent Darwin back to the mansion aboard the Wolf Seat and went with Erik and Emma to the White House.
• Bucky killed Senator Edwin Partridge, while Peggy killed former SSR director Roger Dooley with an Adamantium bullet.
• Winter Wolves and Wolf Pack warriors began killing officials across America who opposed Mutants, and James stood before the White House as dawn broke.

James Howlett and his allies dismantled Edgar Hoover’s attempted coup, seized control of the American government, and staged Hoover’s public trial and execution. As the execution approached, James asked Erik whether he had chosen a name for the child.

• James Howlett, Erik, and Emma entered the White House, incapacitated its security, and confronted President Lyndon Johnson.
• Bucky captured Edgar Hoover after defeating the men who tried to help him escape, while Steve and his wife met Bucky on his way back.
• James gave Johnson a list of new appointments and threatened to cripple America’s strategic and economic power unless the president cooperated.
• Hoover’s crimes and coup were publicly exposed, and he was sentenced to be hanged before a worldwide audience.
• Raven impersonated Hoover at his trial while Erik and Emma kept the real Hoover captive and prepared him for execution.
• James stood with Steve and Bucky near the execution plaza and asked Erik whether he had chosen a name for the child.

After recovering at the Howlett estate, Charles Xavier warned Emma and James Howlett that their actions could provoke future resistance, while James showed him the family’s warm and complicated relationships. Elsewhere, William Stryker was found alive and arrested, and James told Robert Kennedy he could become president before Kennedy balked at the challenge of securing a place for mutants.

• Charles Xavier recovered from the nerve-control drug and watched Edgar Hoover’s execution before Emma warned him not to oppose the Howlett Family’s plans.
• Charles told Emma and James that violence and oppression would turn people against them, while James questioned why Charles divided the world into humans and mutants.
• At dinner, Charles met Erik’s pregnant partner Magda Gurzsky and Captain Rogers, and saw Raven at ease among the Howlett Family.
• Workers uncovered Major William Stryker alive in the ruins of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Mutant Power Research Institute, and military police arrested him after he demanded to speak with Hoover.
• Robert Kennedy visited the Howlett estate and told Azazel that he could control his shadow and that his brother John Kennedy had gills.
• James told Robert that Johnson would appoint him vice president and make way for his presidential run, but Robert doubted he could secure equality for mutants.