Chapter Summaries

Shaw emerged from the nuclear submarine empowered by its energy and overwhelmed Charles, Erik, and the others on the deserted island. As Shaw threatened Charles, Erik relived his mother’s death and hurled the island’s remaining submarine wreckage at him.

• Shaw cut his way out of the nuclear submarine and attacked Charles with a nuclear energy beam, but Hank knocked Charles out of its path.
• Erik and Alex attacked Shaw while the others tried to escape aboard the Blackbird jet, but Shaw absorbed Alex’s blast and scattered Erik’s submarine fragments with a shockwave.
• Shaw struck the Blackbird jet’s engine, and after Erik briefly steadied its fall, it crashed into the sea.
• Shaw smashed the Blackbird jet apart with a punch, leaving Charles unconscious in the water, while Erik bombarded Shaw with steel fragments that Shaw melted.
• Shaw gave Erik three seconds to save Charles, bringing back Erik’s memory of his mother’s death, and Erik hurled the remaining submarine wreckage at Shaw.

Sebastian Shaw killed Charles and prepared to destroy the American and Soviet fleets, but Azu confronted him and proved that Shaw could not absorb his concentrated power fast enough. As Azu declared he was done playing, Erik injected Hank's serum and became cold and indifferent.

• Sebastian Shaw melted Erik's metal projectiles and killed Charles with a beam of nuclear energy.
• Erik collapsed in grief while Raven held Charles's body, and Shaw flew toward the fleets to trigger a war.
• Azu intercepted Shaw and blocked his nuclear beam with the Cape of Justice's Bio-Field.
• Shaw struck Azu but was blasted back when Azu flicked him, revealing the limits of his energy absorption.
• Erik injected Hank's serum as Azu told Shaw he was done playing.

Azu explained why Sebastian Shaw could be killed despite his energy-absorbing powers, then stopped him from fleeing as Magneto prepared his revenge. Magneto launched a nuclear warhead at Shaw, killing him in a massive explosion while Azu shielded Raven and the others.

• Azu reasoned that Power Condensation could overcome Shaw's energy absorption and that Shaw had no opponent capable of defeating him at that stage.
• Magneto arrived with the Soviet nuclear warheads and revealed that he could use Earth's magnetic field to fly.
• Magneto threatened Shaw with the warheads, while Azu used his telepathic abilities to immobilize Shaw and agreed to protect Raven and the others.
• Azu carried Raven and the others away and shielded them with his Bio-Field as Magneto controlled Shaw with metal pieces.
• Magneto sent Shaw high into the sky and launched a nuclear warhead after him, killing him in the explosion.

After Charles died in the nuclear blast, Raven and the others argued over Azu’s refusal to intervene, and Azu left without explanation. Erik then turned the fleets’ attack back on them, sinking both fleets and prompting the Federation and Soviet Union to declare war.

• Azu landed on an island with Raven, Alex, Darwin, and Charles’s corpse after the nuclear explosion, and Darwin warned that Mutants would no longer remain a secret.
• Alex blamed Azu for not stopping Sebastian Shaw sooner, while Raven struggled with her own resentment; Azu said nothing and flew away.
• Darwin warned Alex that Azu did not consider them friends and might kill them if they provoked him.
• The Federation and Soviet Union fleets fired on Erik as he sank the remaining nuclear bombs, and Erik redirected their missiles toward the ships.
• The missiles destroyed both fleets, and the Federation and Soviet Union declared war the next day.

Azu and Lin Aida left the castle after Charles died, while Raven and the others buried him and chose their paths forward. In New York, a bearded man sought shelter as a nuclear blast struck the city.

• Azu told Lin Aida they needed to leave, and they stepped through a multicolored light to go home.
• Raven mourned Charles at the castle, then joined Erik, Hank, Alex, Darwin, and Moira in burying him.
• Raven decided to turn the castle into a school for Mutants, and Hank offered to help her.
• Erik invited the others to join his fight for Mutant acceptance; Alex and Darwin went with him, while Raven and Hank stayed behind.
• A bearded man in a New York bar caught a man's punch, noticed a flash in the sky, and rushed into a basement as a nuclear bomb exploded.

After returning from the X-Men: First Class event, Azu spent three Awakening Stones to evolve Bio-Field into Absolute Domain. At dinner with Lin Aida, he watched public anger grow over the quarantine of residents after the Midnight Boil incident, with protesters calling for Homelander to become Secretary of Defense.

• Azu returned home with Lin Aida and received the event settlement, which included Proficiency Essence, a Survival of the Fittest Gene Capsule, and Multiverse Crystals.
• Azu checked the store, found only the Black King Gene Capsule, and rejected it because it would replace his existing genetic sequence.
• Azu invested three Awakening Stones in Bio-Field, evolving it into Absolute Domain, a powerful defensive barrier with a weakness to mental attacks.
• Azu ate dinner with Lin Aida while watching a report about protests over the continued quarantine of residents after the Midnight Boil incident.
• A protester threw an egg at the newly appointed Secretary of Defense, and the crowd demanded that Homelander take the position.

Wilson retained influence in the Department of Defense through his ties to Ryan, while Stormfront approached him to discuss getting rid of Homelander. Meanwhile, Azu met with Flash Army director Cowan and said he wanted to join the group.

• Wilson reflected on his loss of the Secretary of Defense position and believed Ryan was his bargaining chip for regaining it.
• Stormfront entered Wilson's home and told him she wanted to talk about removing Homelander, while Ryan watched her warily.
• Azu learned that Kenji had returned from an operation with the Flash Army and agreed to help him leave the group if Himiko cooperated.
• Azu took Kenji to meet Flash Army director Cowan, who welcomed the chance to recruit him.
• Azu told Cowan he wanted to join the Flash Army and promised he could lead it to greater success.

Stormfront offered Wilson access to the adult Super program and proposed training Ryan to help defeat Homelander. Meanwhile, Azu sought to meet the Flash Army’s leader and agreed to join an operation, threatening Cowan’s group if they deceived him.

• Stormfront revealed that she was Liberty Belle and offered Wilson a Super army created with Compound 5.
• Wilson agreed to consider Stormfront’s offer and said he would discuss Ryan’s training with Guardian.
• Ryan agreed to train with Stormfront so he could grow stronger and face Homelander sooner.
• Azu challenged Cowan’s leadership of the Flash Army, and Levin transformed into a werewolf to intimidate the armed men.
• Cowan said the leader would meet Azu if he helped with an upcoming operation, and Azu accepted while warning the group not to deceive him.

Azu entered Sage Grove Psychiatric Hospital to free its test subjects and recruit them for the Flash Army. After controlling the staff and patients, he imposed strict rules on their escape, and a short-haired woman challenged him to prove he was worth following.

• Cowan told Azu that Sage Grove was a Vought experimental site and asked him to free its test subjects and obtain Compound 5.
• Azu entered the hospital alone, used Mind Invasion to control the lobby staff, and had them open the patients' rooms.
• Lamplighter recognized Azu, but Azu controlled him and warned him not to reveal his identity.
• Azu stopped the patients from attacking Lamplighter, then forced a bearded man who defied him to shoot himself.
• Azu released the patients to take revenge inside the hospital, warned them not to harm anyone outside, and faced a short-haired woman who demanded proof that he was worth following.
• Azu asked the woman for her name.

Azu tested Cindy, accepted her devotion, and freed the Supers held at Sage Grove, while Lamplighter escaped. Stormfront learned that the release threatened Wilson’s plan and said it needed to be moved up.

• Cindy failed to affect Azu with her strength, confirmed her powers still worked on a guard, and pledged herself to him.
• Azu left the lobby and released his control over the guards, prompting the captive Supers to slaughter the staff.
• Lamplighter fought his way outside and ran after Azu let him go.
• Cowan and Kenji watched the massacre, and Azu handed the freed patients over to them before leaving with Cindy.
• Lamplighter told Stormfront that Homelander had released the Sage Grove patients, and Stormfront warned Wilson that his plan had to be moved up.

Wilson asked the president to authorize the Sword Bearer Plan, a plot to kill Homelander with Stormfront and Guardian’s help. The president agreed to provide deniable assistance but demanded a way to lure Homelander to the plan site, and Stormfront proposed using Ryan.

• Wilson asked the president to authorize the Sword Bearer Plan and introduced Stormfront as an ally who wanted Homelander dead.
• Stormfront showed the president footage of the Sage Grove massacre and said Homelander had built an army of Supers.
• Stormfront claimed Homelander’s eyes were vulnerable and said she and Guardian could help kill him under the plan.
• The president agreed to provide support without leaving any connection to the Federation and insisted they find a pretext to bring Homelander to the plan site.
• Ryan initially refused to return to Homelander, but Wilson urged him to avenge his mother, and Ryan eventually agreed to try.
• Stormfront said she would write Ryan a script to give him a reason to enter Homelander’s sight.

Azu pursued political and operational matters while waiting for the Flash Army leader, and the quarantine-zone crisis revealed that Homelander’s son Ryan had developed dangerous powers. The chapter ended with Azu recognizing Ryan in a video after the boy killed several Chimeras to save Queen Maeve.

• At Victoria Neuman’s home, Azu asked Victoria to help him with a plan, then left with Cindy and returned to Seven Tower.
• Ashley told Azu that quarantined Boiling Midnight residents were mutating into monsters, that Queen Maeve and the other heroes remained deployed, and that Starlight had taken leave after the reserve team died.
• After waiting several days without results, Azu visited Cowan at a dockside warehouse and forced him to promise that the Flash Army leader would appear in three days.
• Ashley showed Azu a video in which Queen Maeve defended a boy from Chimeras, and the boy killed the monsters with a red beam.
• Azu recognized the boy as Homelander’s son, Ryan.

Azu found Ryan in the Isolation Zone and brought him back to Seven Tower, hoping to learn how the boy had reached the camp and gained control of his powers. Ryan agreed to go with him for the promise of a burger, but after arriving, he insisted on eating before answering Azu’s questions.

• Azu learned Ryan was in the Isolation Zone and flew there, wondering how Wilson had found Becca and her son.
• Azu killed a Chimera that attacked the camp, then asked an officer to lead him to Ryan.
• Azu found Ryan in an armored vehicle and asked how he had learned to use his laser eyes, but Ryan did not explain.
• Ryan agreed to leave with Azu after he promised to buy him a burger, then showed that he could fly.
• Azu took Ryan to Seven Tower, had him bathe and change, and tried to question him.
• Ryan refused to answer until Azu bought him a burger, leaving Azu frustrated.

Ryan told Azu how he survived an attack that killed Becca and was later taken by Wilson, while Azu investigated the abandoned town where they had lived. Wilson activated the Sword Bearer Plan with Homelander as its codename, but his head suddenly exploded.

• Ryan told Azu that attackers had killed Becca, that he had killed some of them with his newly awakened powers, and that Wilson later took him to a military base and sent him to fight monsters in New York.
• Azu suspected Ryan's account might have been scripted and decided to investigate the attack and Becca's death.
• Wilson and Stormfront discussed how Ryan's contact with Homelander was meant to lure Homelander into their plan.
• A month later, Azu found the abandoned town and began restoring deleted surveillance footage from its network.
• Wilson activated the Sword Bearer Plan under the codename Homelander, then his head exploded as he celebrated.

Ryan held Homelander in place long enough for Stormfront’s crew to strike Love Island with a nuclear missile, after which Stormfront appeared to kill Homelander with a nanoblade. The destruction then peeled away like a false scene, leaving Stormfront to discover that the island’s facilities, trees, and mountains were intact.

• Ryan and Homelander fought across Love Island, tearing apart its landscape and shattering the surrounding sea.
• Ryan restrained Homelander from behind, giving Stormfront the opening to launch the Apocalypse nuclear missile.
• The missile struck Love Island, and the blast left the island apparently destroyed beneath a rising mushroom cloud.
• Stormfront flew to the blast site and learned that Wilson had killed Ryan’s mother and framed Homelander.
• Stormfront stabbed Homelander in the eye with a nanoblade and laughed as he appeared to die.
• Stormfront watched the ruined scenery peel away to reveal intact facilities, trees, and mountains.

Storm used Ryan to lure Homelander to Love Island, where a nuclear missile was ready to launch. After Ryan attacked Homelander, Storm watched them fight as the plan moved forward.

• Ryan asked Azu to take him to Love Island for his birthday because his mother had wanted to visit it, and Azu agreed.
• Storm met Colonel Rodris aboard a cargo ship and explained that Ryan would serve as a net to keep Homelander on Love Island for a nuclear strike.
• On Ryan’s birthday, Azu brought him to Love Island and promised to show him a recording about his mother.
• Storm ordered the nuclear missile prepared and messaged Ryan to begin the operation.
• Ryan destroyed Azu’s phone with his Laser Eyes, accused him of killing his mother, and attacked him.
• Ryan punched Homelander back onto Love Island as Storm watched and praised Ryan as the net.

Azu helped Ryan learn that Wilson had attacked his home and killed his mother, then guided Stormfront into confirming the truth. Ryan and Azu defeated Stormfront, and Azu killed her after she revealed that Mallory was alive and seeking Soldier Boy.

• Azu used Twist Reality to show Ryan a video implicating Wilson and made Stormfront believe the nuclear blast had been real.
• Ryan attacked Stormfront in fury, and she struck back with lightning before trying to flee.
• Azu caught Stormfront, protected himself with Absolute Domain, and hurled her back toward Ryan.
• Ryan blasted Stormfront with his Laser Eyes, but Azu stopped him from killing her and turned him away.
• Stormfront begged for mercy and revealed that Mallory was alive and had gone to find Soldier Boy.
• Azu dismissed Stormfront's offer, destroyed half her head, and threw her corpse into the Pacific Ocean.

Azu killed Stormfront and Wilson, then took Ryan to New York and arranged for Cindy to look after him. The chapter ended with Azu leaving Ryan in Cindy’s care and warning her to contact him if Ryan lost his temper.

• Ryan found Stormfront’s corpse floating in the ocean, and Azu told him Wilson was dead too.
• Azu promised to look after Ryan and said he would find him a place to live and someone to care for him.
• Azu destroyed the cargo ship carrying the nuclear missile, killing Colonel Rodris and the crew aboard.
• Azu brought Ryan to an apartment building in Chinatown and introduced him to Cindy as a child who needed temporary care.
• Azu showed Cindy a video of Ryan killing Chimera, gave her money and instructions, and left Ryan with her.

The president met with Azu, who demanded promotion to general and secured Victoria Neuman a job in the Department of Defense. Victoria later learned Azu had arranged her appointment and sought a more personal reward from him.

• The president's officials reported that Wilson's killer remained unidentified and that the Sword Bearer Plan had failed, while the president prepared to meet Homelander alone.
• Azu told the president he wanted no more hearings, a promotion to general, and Victoria Neuman appointed Secretary of Defense's secretary, then left before the president could respond.
• The president angrily recognized Azu's demands as a notification and summoned others to announce something.
• Victoria returned home excited about her upcoming appointment and discovered Azu with her daughter, Zoe.
• Azu confirmed that he had arranged Victoria's appointment and told her that obeying his orders was the best way to thank him.
• Victoria asked Azu for a greater reward, while Zoe wondered aloud whether her mother was sick.

Azu arrived aboard Thanos’s ship during the events of Avengers: Infinity War, carrying the Tesseract and facing Thanos after Hulk’s defeat. Thanos’s Power Stone-powered punch struck Azu’s Absolute Domain, but the barrier held.

• Azu checked his abilities, prepared his Vibranium Suit and other equipment, and used the Traveler’s Ring to enter the Marvel Universe.
• Azu arrived aboard Thanos’s ship, where he saw Loki, Thor, Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, Hulk, and Thanos, and learned that the Avengers: Infinity War event had begun.
• Thanos demanded the Tesseract, while Loki identified Azu as the Conqueror he had encountered six years earlier.
• Hulk attacked Thanos but was eventually beaten unconscious; Azu offered to trade the Tesseract for Thanos’s Infinity Gauntlet.
• Thanos charged Azu and struck him with a Power Stone-enhanced punch, but Azu’s Absolute Domain stopped the blow.