Chapter Summaries

James and the Ancient One bound Mephisto inside the Mirror Dimension and began exhausting his hellish energy so the Vishanti seal could imprison him. As their God Hunt continued, Steve Rogers discussed a strange case with Peggy and Raven outside the Mirror Dimension.

• James held Mephisto back with Crimson Chains while the Ancient One bound him with dozens of mystic chains.
• Mephisto revealed that the Ancient One had been drawing power from Dormammu’s Dark Dimension, but she stayed silent and continued restraining him.
• James gouged out Mephisto’s right eye and rejected his attempt to turn James against the Ancient One.
• The Ancient One explained that they needed to deplete Mephisto’s energy before she could seal him with the Seal of the Vishanti.
• James and the Ancient One attacked the bound Mephisto together as hundreds of Kamar-Taj mystic masters supported the God Hunt.
• Outside the Mirror Dimension, Steve Rogers discussed a strange case with Peggy and Raven at the Order Whip headquarters.

Raven and Alex led an Order Whip team to investigate Jason Stryker, whose psychic illusions had trapped his mother and spread across a Louisville neighborhood. They found that his powers had harmed over a thousand people, and the chapter ended with Jason collapsing under Lazaro’s attack as Raven called for emergency services.

• Raven and Peggy briefed Steve on the Louisville incident and revealed that Jason Stryker was the son of William Stryker.
• Steve approved Raven joining Alex’s team to investigate Jason, a minor whose unstable psychic powers might require academy discipline or confinement.
• Jason struggled to keep his mother, Marcy, immersed in an illusion while exhaustion and the surrounding disturbance overwhelmed him.
• Raven, Alex, and Lazaro arrived in Wolf Fang wearing brainwave isolation helmets, and Lazaro used his power to make Jason vomit and collapse.
• Raven called for police and emergency services after learning Jason’s illusions had affected over a thousand people, causing deaths and lasting mental damage.

While Laura and her friends were caught trying to skip class, Silver Fox redirected them toward a lesson about Rasputin. Meanwhile, Apocalypse and Caliban traveled through Siberia to find powerful mutants, and Apocalypse condemned mutants who accepted life under human rule.

• Laura finished reassuring Emma, then invited her friends to plan an outing instead of attending class.
• Silver Fox caught Laura, Jean Grey, Kurt, Warren Worthington, and Jubilation Lee preparing to skip class and told them to attend a history lesson about Rasputin.
• As the children learned about Rasputin’s rise and death, Caliban told Apocalypse the story while leading him across Siberia toward a village of mutants.
• Apocalypse mocked Rasputin for serving a mortal ruler and declared that mutants were born to rule while ordinary humans were their slaves.

Apocalypse found Alexandra Rasputin and her son Peter in Siberia, transformed Alexandra into his War Knight, and took them with him. Meanwhile, Bucky reviewed Jason Stryker’s case and sent him to Wolf Tower before summoning LeBeau for a fight.

• Apocalypse subdued Nikolai and learned that Alexandra Rasputin and her son Peter were being treated as bargaining pieces by the man she called her cousin and husband.
• Apocalypse transformed Alexandra into the War Knight, increasing her power to Alpha Level 5 and forging armor for her and Peter.
• Apocalypse led Alexandra and Peter through a portal, leaving their village destroyed.
• Bucky reviewed Jason Stryker’s file and ordered him transferred to Wolf Tower after learning his illusions had harmed thousands of people.
• Bucky told a guard to bring LeBeau so he could spar with him.

Remy LeBeau fought Warden Barnes in Wolf Tower, showing how much he had improved while imprisoned. Barnes stopped Gambit’s strongest strike with a Mystic Art of Lord Wolf, and the chapter ended as a portal opened above the prison.

• Guards escorted Remy LeBeau from his cell to meet Warden Barnes, and Gambit complained about his isolation and asked to be moved nearer the new prisoner.
• Barnes removed Gambit’s energy-suppression armor and offered better living conditions if Gambit could hurt him, along with a possible reward if he won.
• Gambit charged his staff with mutant energy and attacked Barnes, forcing the warden to dodge and block rather than take the blows directly.
• Gambit feinted and thrust at Barnes’s chest, but Barnes summoned a blood-red energy shield that stopped the attack.
• Barnes countered with an Adamantium short sword, while guards discussed how Lord Wolf’s Mystic Art could be learned through the Killing Technique path.
• A purple-red portal opened above Wolf Tower with a thunderous crash.

Apocalypse and his Riders found Wolf Tower and forced open its Vibranium entrance. Bucky emerged to confront them, and Apocalypse reacted with fury to the power of a man without mutant abilities.

• Alexandra Rasputin and Apocalypse reached the Arctic island after Caliban sensed Wolf Tower and unusual mutant presences beneath the ice.
• Apocalypse pulled Wolf Tower's entrance out of the ice while Bucky defeated Gambit in a sparring match inside the prison.
• Wolf Tower's alarms sounded, and Bucky armed the Frost Guards and led them toward the surface.
• Rasputin failed to open the Vibranium gate with her spatial powers, so Apocalypse unlocked it with telekinesis.
• Bucky emerged from Wolf Tower with a blazing crimson aura, and Apocalypse felt insulted by the power of an ordinary human and prepared to kill him.

Apocalypse and his two knights attacked Wolf Tower Prison, where Bucky and the Frost Guards fought back. Apocalypse crushed Bucky and headed underground, but Bucky’s skull began to regenerate as the chapter ended.

• Bucky ordered the Frost Guards to fire on Apocalypse, and Rasputin deflected their attack with her spatial powers.
• Bucky fought Apocalypse in the air while Caliban’s Mental Plague weakened the guards, but the Winter Wolves resisted and attacked the knights.
• Rasputin killed several guards with spatial distortions, while Bucky activated James Howlett’s Six-Armed Wolf King form and struck Apocalypse.
• Apocalypse immobilized Bucky and crushed him inside a mass of stone, then healed Rasputin and Caliban after the fight.
• Apocalypse led his knights into Wolf Tower Prison, and Bucky’s shattered skull began to move.

Apocalypse led Caliban and War Rasputin in breaking into Wolf Tower, freeing its prisoners and urging them to overthrow the human-led order. After mutant prisoners slaughtered the human inmates, Apocalypse unlocked Gambit's power and offered him a place at his side.

• Caliban and War Rasputin gathered Wolf Tower's prisoners in the training grounds after killing the guards and freeing the inmates.
• Apocalypse introduced himself as En Sabah Nur, freed the prisoners' restraints, and declared that mutants would rule while humans became slaves.
• Old Snake killed Fatso, and mutant prisoners attacked and killed the human inmates as Apocalypse watched.
• A mutant prisoner attacked the pale young man, but the attack turned against him and killed him.
• Apocalypse lifted Gambit into the air and unlocked his power, raising it to a level Caliban thought might be the peak of Level 5.
• Gambit removed his Vibranium suppressing armor, looked at Apocalypse, and sighed.

Apocalypse transformed Jason Stryker and the prisoners into his Horsemen and led them through a portal, while James Howlett battled Mephisto in the Mirror Dimension. Ancient One sealed Mephisto, but Zarathos’s spirit and Hellfire possessed James, leaving her to try to separate them.

• Apocalypse named Jason Stryker the Horseman of Famine and transformed him and the other mutants into armored Horsemen.
• Apocalypse opened a portal to a golden plain and led the prisoners through, leaving corpses behind in Wolf Tower.
• James Howlett continued weakening Mephisto, who released Zarathos’s spirit and Hellfire into James.
• Ancient One completed the Seal of the Vishanti and imprisoned Mephisto on Earth.
• Ancient One rushed to James and tried to tear Zarathos’s soul and Hellfire out of him.

After Apocalypse’s attack on Wolf Tower left Bucky and Old Wolf among the few survivors, Magneto learned that the mutant prisoners had been taken and set out to confront the intruder. Meanwhile, Apocalypse began remaking Cairo, declaring that his dynasty would rise again.

• Bucky survived the blizzard, found the badly injured Old Wolf, and carried him back into Wolf Tower.
• Bucky and Old Wolf mourned their fallen comrades and anticipated the Wolf Lord’s furious response.
• Alex found Erik Lehnsherr in seclusion near the North Magnetic Pole and told him that Apocalypse had breached Wolf Tower and taken the mutant prisoners.
• Erik learned that his father was away dealing with dimensional demon gods, then left with Alex for New York to act against Apocalypse.
• Apocalypse stood over the captured mutants and ordered his dynasty to rise again, causing Cairo and the Giza Plateau to collapse and transform.

Erik and the Order Whip team prepared to confront Apocalypse, but Azazel arrived and joined them as Apocalypse expanded his reach across the world. The chapter ended with an armored man confronting Apocalypse and asking him to judge his talent.

• Erik rejected Steve's nickname for him and insisted that Order Whip could face Apocalypse without mobilizing Wolf Nest or Winter of the Wolf.
• Bucky tore off his empty sleeve and declared that the undead of Frost Guard were ready to fight, while Erik revealed he was just short of completing his secondary mutation.
• Azazel opened a portal into the council chamber and urged the team to handle Earth's problems while James fought aliens.
• Old Snake and Caliban captured Ororo and other mutants for Apocalypse's divine kingdom, while Apocalypse used Jason Stryker's power to draw mutants worldwide through portals.
• Apocalypse ordered Caliban to select gifted mutants and children, then a red-cloaked armored man emerged through a portal and challenged him to assess his talent.

Erik Lehnsherr and Apocalypse began a destructive battle in the royal palace as the Order Whip and Apocalypse’s forces fought across the capital. Steve Rogers, Bucky, and their allies faced the Horsemen and former prisoners, and the fighting remained unresolved.

• Alex, Raven, and the Order Whip forces attacked Apocalypse’s prisoners in the plaza while Erik confronted Apocalypse in the palace.
• Erik reclaimed Bucky’s Adamantium arm with magnetic force, and Bucky reattached it before Erik and Apocalypse exchanged threats.
• Apocalypse attacked Erik, who resisted with an electromagnetic field and began crushing Apocalypse’s armor and the palace around him.
• Apocalypse shielded Jason Stryker and fought Erik in midair while Gambit challenged Bucky and Steve on the palace floor.
• Bucky fought Gambit as Steve charged Apocalypse’s former prisoners, including the poison-using mutant Caliban.
• Azazel failed to breach Apocalypse’s shield around Jason and was drawn into a spatial battle with Lady Rasputin.

Laura Howlett realized an unknown force was abducting mutants through portals and followed them into Apocalypse Royal City, with Jean Grey close behind. There, Erik Lehnsherr pierced Apocalypse with Adamantium blades while Order Whip forces struggled against controlled mutant civilians.

• Laura woke Jean Grey from mind control, then charged through a portal after her nephew Kurt and the other abducted mutants.
• Jean Grey overcame her hesitation and followed Laura through the portal into Apocalypse Royal City.
• Erik Lehnsherr battled Apocalypse above the plaza, using his electromagnetic power to control Adamantium blades and metal structures.
• Apocalypse ordered Famine to turn the controlled mutant civilians against the Order Whip forces, and Alex Summers ordered his team to kill attackers without mercy.
• Apocalypse trapped Erik in an energy attack, but Erik struck him with Adamantium blades accelerated by the planet's magnetic field and declared that the true Progenitor had paved the way for a third mutation.

Erik Lehnsherr and the others battled Apocalypse and his Horsemen in the pyramid palace, while Steve ordered a retreat and Raven infiltrated the hall. The chapter ended with Apocalypse ordering Rasputin to stand down so he could face Steve himself.

• Erik Lehnsherr wounded Apocalypse with Adamantium shuttle spears, but Apocalypse regenerated and teleported past his attacks.
• Steve Rogers defeated Caliban as Old Snake escaped, then called for Azazel and the others to end the battle quickly.
• Azazel used a falling stone beam to attack Rasputin, but she survived by warping space around it.
• Steve ordered Alex and the team to retreat through Azazel's portal while Banshee's sonic attack struck the evacuation.
• Raven revealed that she had reached the hall and disguised herself, while the illusion-controlled mutants gathered outside the sealed entrance.
• Apocalypse told Rasputin to stand down and prepared to fight Steve.

Steve, Raven, and Azazel subdued War Knight Rasputin and her son Peter awakened a steel body, while Steve confronted Jason Stryker. Apocalypse defeated Magneto and intervened before Steve could kill Stryker, leaving the two powerful enemies facing off.

• Raven revealed herself after impersonating Apocalypse and knocked War Knight Rasputin down, while Azazel and Steve helped capture her.
• Peter Rasputin protected his mother from Azazel, and his body transformed into steel when Azazel's tail struck him.
• Steve and his allies confronted Jason Stryker as Angel Salvador attacked, and Azazel incapacitated her while the group hurried to stop Stryker.
• Apocalypse broke through Magneto's defenses and incapacitated him with a hidden power, while Steve and Azazel brought down the pillars supporting Stryker's platform.
• Steve broke through Stryker's energy barrier and attacked him, but Apocalypse stopped Steve and carried the still-breathing Magneto toward the ruined throne.

James Howlett fought Zarathos in his soul while Emma and Professor Charles watched helplessly. As Ancient One urged them to trust James, he gained the upper hand and began devouring fragments of Zarathos’s soul.

• Ancient One explained that James had to defeat Zarathos himself because psychic intervention would risk burning Emma and Professor Charles’s souls.
• Emma urged Professor Charles to return to New York to help the others respond to Apocalypse’s awakening.
• James’s Hellfire shattered much of the Mystic Arts seal, and Emma tried to intervene before Ancient One stopped her and declared her faith in James.
• In the soul world, James broke through Zarathos’s attacks and mocked the demon for lacking understanding and reason.
• James grew to match Zarathos’s size, pinned him with soul claws, and tore into his skeletal neck to devour pieces of his soul.

Jean Grey and Laura gathered their mind-controlled companions while Steve Rogers fought Apocalypse and Bucky Barnes clashed with Gambit. Bucky learned that Gambit was secretly stalling, but Gambit revealed he had grown powerful enough to overpower him as Apocalypse continued to dominate the central battle.

• Jean Grey and Laura captured Warren Worthington and Kurt, using an Order Whip helmet to help Kurt recover from mind control.
• Kurt spotted Azazel and Raven trapped in stone pillars while Steve Rogers fought Apocalypse and Erik Lehnsherr lay unconscious.
• Bucky Barnes confronted Remy LeBeau, who used his energy-charged Vibranium staff and cards to restrict Bucky’s movements.
• Remy admitted he had been stalling rather than serving Apocalypse, but Bucky demanded he move aside so he could reach the central battle.
• Remy attacked Bucky in earnest and declared that his greater power meant Bucky would lose.

Apocalypse defeated Steve Rogers and rebuilt his royal city, then captured Jean Grey, Kurt, and Laura. When he learned Laura was James Howlett’s daughter and she called for help, James appeared through a sparkling doorway.

• Apocalypse imprisoned Steve Rogers in stone, restored Rasputin, and left Caliban to die while trying to recruit Azazel and Raven as Horsemen.
• Apocalypse rebuilt the royal city and seized Jean Grey, Kurt, and Laura, showing an intense interest in Jean’s power and declaring that Kurt would grow up beside him.
• Apocalypse dismissed Laura as mediocre until she said her talent matched her father’s and called for James Howlett.
• James Howlett appeared through a doorway of tiny sparks and answered Laura’s call.

James returned from his battle with Zarathos and confronted Apocalypse in the pyramid palace, rescuing his family and allies while Charles organized the displaced mutants. The chapter ended with Apocalypse approaching James as the two prepared to fight.

• James emerged from the San Venganza ruins after spending several days battling Mephisto and asked the Ancient One to open a portal to Apocalypse’s palace.
• James freed Laura and Kurt from their restraints, rescued Steve and the others, and had Azazel teleport the poisoned Erik Lehnsherr to safety.
• James rejected Apocalypse’s claim that the people were his subjects and struck him hard enough to shatter his statue and cave in his head.
• James directed Charles, speaking through Jason Stryker, to calm the gathered mutants and move them away from the palace.
• Charles soothed the mutants around the world while Apocalypse regenerated and walked toward James, removing pieces of his armor.

James fought Apocalypse in a furious battle after the ancient mutant threatened the order James had built. Apocalypse unleashed the powers he had absorbed, but James ultimately beheaded him.

• Apocalypse discarded his armor and challenged James’s belief that mutants could live as equals with humans.
• James drove his bone claws through Apocalypse’s defenses and chest, then pursued him through his rapid teleports and repeatedly tore into his regenerating body.
• Azazel and the other mutants watched from a nearby pyramid as James kept carving Apocalypse apart.
• Apocalypse revealed that he had absorbed the powers, vitality, energy, and spirit of powerful mutants, then blasted through James’s Blood Bell and chest armor.
• James struck Apocalypse with a backhanded claw and severed his head.