Chapter Summaries

Maeve fought through Jeff’s Battle Armors to rescue Arnold from the Empire State Building, while Starlight held off the Titan armor. Maeve escaped through the building’s windows with Arnold, and Starlight directed everyone else toward the fire escape.

• Jeff realized the police and Secretary of Defense had been decoys and flew toward the Empire State Building after Starlight’s light blinded him through the Titan armor.
• Maeve defeated the Savage Fighter and Unfalling Fortress, seized its shield, and tried to carry Arnold toward the lobby doors.
• A Wilderness Hunter sniper shot Maeve, but she recovered and smashed a Wild Chariot armor that was closing in on Arnold.
• When gunfire collapsed the route to the doors, Maeve carried Arnold through the windows and slowed their fall by tearing into the building’s outer wall.
• Starlight blasted the Titan armor away and told everyone to escape through the breach Maeve had made to the fire escape.

Azu watched Jeff use the Black Lord Battle Armor to overpower Maeve during her attempt to escape with Arnold. As Jeff continued fighting Maeve, Edgar contacted Azu and asked to speak with him.

• Maeve landed with Arnold and the president of Olga Company, but Jeff crashed into their getaway car and confronted her.
• Jeff used the Black Lord Battle Armor to overpower Maeve and explain that its AI had learned how to counter her.
• Jeff burned Maeve with red beams, cut a car in half, and attacked her with the armor’s cape and knee strike.
• Maeve threw Jeff through a storefront, but he returned and struck her with a device that compressed a nearby car into an iron ball.
• Jeff continued to suppress Maeve as Azu watched from above and judged the armor more impressive than Maeve.
• Edgar called Azu and asked whether he was free to discuss something.

Edgar failed to persuade Homelander to help Manhattan, but Secretary of Defense Wilson Brown offered him a federal post and military rank. Homelander then demanded 30% of Vought, leaving the deal unresolved as Manhattan was devastated by the Earth Shaker.

• Edgar offered Homelander 10% of Vought, then 20%, to intervene, but Homelander refused and said Edgar was not qualified to take part.
• Mr. Z announced that he would destroy Manhattan, and a Raptor Battle Armor activated the Earth Shaker at Times Square.
• Maeve was badly injured as the earthquake wrecked buildings, streets, and ships around Manhattan; Azu watched without concern.
• Wilson Brown called Homelander and offered him a federal superhuman oversight position and the rank of colonel to fight for the Federation.
• Homelander agreed to help if he received Edgar's promised shares, then demanded 30% of Vought from Wilson.

Azu waited until Manhattan faced disaster, then stopped the earthquake and rescued civilians, earning the city’s praise as Homelander. Jeff’s plan to use Earth Shaker was thwarted, but he remained confident in the Black Lord armor just as someone confronted him.

• The Secretary of Defense agreed to persuade Edgar to hand over 30% of Vought’s shares, while Azu said he would act soon.
• Edgar learned that he would lose 30% of Vought and sent a message advancing the Eclipse plan as Manhattan shook.
• Edgar and the others saw Homelander hovering above Manhattan, and Edgar feared he was waiting for the right moment to become the city’s savior.
• Homelander rescued a boy, steadied a tilting skyscraper, destroyed Earth Shaker, and stopped the earthquake before announcing that the people were safe.
• Jeff blamed Homelander for ruining his plan and insisted the Black Lord armor would win, then heard a man behind him challenge him.

Azu confronted Jeff in his upgraded Black Lord Battle Armor and overwhelmed him despite Jeff’s claim that the armor’s data made it superior. Azu killed Jeff with his Heat Ray before Jeff could finish revealing what he knew about Zero.

• Jeff charged Azu and struck him, but Azu was unharmed and sent Jeff crashing through a shopping mall.
• Azu repeatedly slammed Jeff into the street, deflected his Laser Eyes, and endured his attacks with his Bio-Field.
• Azu dodged Jeff’s weapons, blasted him with Heat Ray, and stomped him into the ground.
• Jeff insisted his armor had been upgraded using Azu’s collected data, but Azu said yesterday’s data could not defeat him.
• Jeff offered Azu greater rewards if they obtained Zero from Arnold, but Azu refused and killed Jeff with his Heat Ray before Jeff could finish speaking.

After Homelander defeated the battle armor in Manhattan, he carried off the injured Maeve while the Department of Defense abandoned plans to confront him. The next morning, Azu reviewed his new Tyrant armor and used his rewards to acquire Absolute Hit and plan upgrades to his abilities.

• Colonel Yuri’s battle armor returned to normal, and he and Starlight saw Homelander standing over the defeated Jeff below.
• Azu received the event rewards, then teased Maeve and carried her away as she asked him to take her down.
• Secretary of Defense Wilson told the Department of Defense to forget dealing with Homelander and asked Dr. Kyle about research on mutated samples from Silver Tree Town.
• Colonel Yuri learned that Levin’s spinal injury might leave him unable to stand, and he hurried into the building as reporters followed.
• The next morning, Azu studied the Tyrant armor, exchanged Proficiency Essences for Absolute Hit, and decided to upgrade Heat Ray and Bio-Field.

After Homelander’s upgrades and his rescue in Manhattan boosted his public approval, he planned to visit injured Private Levin and confronted Edgar’s absence. Edgar met secretly with Victoria Neuman, who warned that Homelander was beyond his control, while Edgar asked her to secure bargaining chips once the crisis was resolved.

• Azu upgraded Heat Ray and Bio-Field with Proficiency Essences, gaining a higher heat limit, increased range, and a force-field effect.
• News coverage of Homelander’s Manhattan rescue showed civilians praising him, and Ashley told Azu his approval rating had risen by 42%.
• Azu decided to visit injured Private Levin at the hospital and told Ashley that Queen Maeve would be unable to join them.
• Azu called Angelina about Edgar, then suspected Edgar was avoiding him and warned that he could not hide forever.
• Victoria Neuman told Edgar that Homelander was out of control and nearing a Department of Defense appointment, while Edgar asked her to use her authority to secure favorable bargaining chips.

Azu visited the crippled Private Levin at St. George Military Medical Center and announced that Vought would create a fund for people injured by superheroes, naming Levin its first beneficiary. That night, Lin Aida praised Homelander as a good person, and Azu teased her over the last egg tart.

• Azu flew to St. George Military Medical Center and told reporters he had waited to intervene in Manhattan because he thought the crisis was a reality show until the Federation contacted him.
• Azu visited Private Levin, promised to provide him with the best medical resources, and held his hands as reporters took photographs.
• Azu answered reporters' questions by saying Maeve was injured and by announcing Vought's special fund for people harmed by superheroes, with Levin as its first beneficiary.
• Ashley wondered whether Vought's leadership knew about Azu's sudden announcement.
• That night, Lin Aida called Homelander a good person while watching television, and Azu teased her about warming his egg tart in her chest.

Azu repaired Lin Aida’s microwave and left her apartment after checking that it was safe, while Butcher found Compound V in a hospital’s neonatal unit and triggered its security system. Three days later, Azu flew to an orphanage hostage crisis as he considered his growing power and prepared for his appointment as a Department of Defense official.

• Azu fixed Lin Aida’s microwave, teased her, and reminded her to secure her home before leaving.
• Azu briefly saw Lin Aida shower through the walls, checked her apartment for danger, and flew away.
• At St. Maria’s Mercy Hospital, Butcher found Compound V hidden in the neonatal intensive care unit and began taking a sample.
• A baby’s blue eye-lasers struck the incubator glass, and footsteps in the corridor revealed that the hospital security system had been triggered.
• After Seven Tower resumed hero activities, the Department of Defense Secretary’s office told Azu that his appointment and Colonel Rank would be announced on Friday.
• Azu reached an orphanage where criminals held staff hostage, scanned the building, and accelerated toward the activity room.

Azu rescued the children at the welfare home, but the kidnappers used a Superpower Inhibitor to weaken him. He attacked Lizard after surviving a barrage of gunfire, only for a mysterious figure to strike at the back of his neck.

• Azu used his Golden Beams to kill kidnappers in the activity room and save the children.
• Azu killed the rooftop sniper and attacked the remaining kidnappers with Heat Ray.
• The kidnappers released gas that disabled Azu’s flight and Heat Ray, and Lizard revealed the Superpower Inhibitor.
• Azu charged through the gunfire and tackled Lizard inside the office building.
• A figure appeared behind Azu and sent a streak of black light across the back of his neck.

Black Noir killed Homelander during a Vought-backed ambush, but a black-armored Tyrant emerged from the smoke and killed Black Noir. Edgar went to Vought’s laboratory expecting Homelander’s corpse, only to find the Tyrant waiting there.

• Black Noir killed Homelander and the robbers, but Homelander’s headless body disappeared before he could deal with it.
• The Tyrant confronted Black Noir, accused Edgar of arranging the ambush, and killed him with a Molecular Cutting Chain Blade.
• Police found the orphanage criminals dead and Homelander missing, while news reports said Homelander had resolved the hostage incident and left.
• Edgar received Black Noir’s message claiming he had gotten Homelander and headed to the laboratory to have the body examined and its cells extracted.
• David’s reaction led Edgar to a dark room, where the black-armored Tyrant stepped out before him.

Azu survived Edgar’s attempt to kill him by using the Tyrant Battle Armor, then confronted Edgar about the Superpower Inhibitor and his plots against him. Edgar offered him all of Vought’s shares, but Azu told him he was not as valuable as he thought.

• Edgar called Stormfront, who attacked the room with a powerful lightning bolt, but the Tyrant figure remained unharmed.
• The room exploded, and the black figure carried Edgar and David out before revealing himself as Homelander.
• Azu explained that he had used a duplicate to lure out Black Noir, killed him with the Tyrant armor, and used his phone to deceive Edgar.
• Edgar admitted Stormfront was his secret weapon and offered Azu Vought’s shares in exchange for forgiveness.
• Azu confronted Edgar over the Manhattan incident and the attempt to kill him, then said Edgar was not as valuable as he thought.

Azu killed Edgar after learning that Becca and Homelander’s son were alive, then destroyed the remaining Superpower Inhibitors and killed David. He left to hunt the Invisible Man and Storm.

• Azu confronted Edgar, who tried to save himself by revealing that Becca and Homelander’s son were alive and hidden away.
• Azu deduced why Edgar had kept Becca and her child hidden, then killed Edgar with his Heat Ray.
• Azu questioned David about the Superpower Inhibitor and learned that David alone knew its formula and controlled the remaining stock and records.
• Azu destroyed the two remaining Inhibitors, their equipment, and the stored data, then killed David.
• Azu announced that he would search for the Invisible Man and confront Storm, then flew away through the warehouse roof.

The Invisible Man fled to Florida after learning Edgar planned to move against Homelander, but Azu traced him using a hacked phone and set out to find him. The Invisible Man escaped the motel on foot, and Azu began searching nearby buildings for his hiding place.

• The Invisible Man watched news of the New York incident, tried to reach Edgar, and grew alarmed when Maverick told him to attend an award ceremony at Seven Tower.
• Homelander called, prompting The Invisible Man to smash his phone, destroy its chip, and flee the motel while leaving his clothes behind.
• Annika identified the Florida motel from footage secretly captured by The Invisible Man's hacked phone, and Azu flew there after arranging to detain Maverick and his mother.
• Azu found the motel room empty, then asked Annika to search Highway 95 surveillance and map nearby buildings.
• Annika found no suspicious vehicles, so Azu narrowed his search to buildings within ten kilometers of the motel.

Azu tracked The Invisible Man to an abandoned shop near Highway 95 and pursued him after he fled with a hostage. After rescuing the girl and confronting The Invisible Man about his betrayal, Azu rejected his plea for forgiveness and prepared to kill him.

• Azu searched buildings near Highway 95 with Heat Ray, forcing The Invisible Man to flee the abandoned shop in a stolen car.
• The Invisible Man took a girl hostage and threatened Azu, but Azu sliced the car in half and used his Bio-Field to save her from the explosion.
• Azu blasted The Invisible Man when he tried to escape invisibly, then questioned him about betraying Azu and Edgar's Superpower Inhibitor.
• The Invisible Man blamed Azu for killing The Deep and claimed he had been forced into betraying him.
• Azu acknowledged that The Invisible Man had acted out of fear but said betrayal still meant death, and The Invisible Man challenged him by boasting about his diamond-hard skin.

Azu tortured and killed Translucent after revealing how he could overcome Translucent’s invulnerable skin. At the Department of Defense, Dr. Vogbaum offered the Compound 5 formula in exchange for protection from Homelander, and the Secretary tasked him and Dr. Kyle with dealing with Homelander.

• Azu explained that his heat rays could melt Translucent’s organs through his tough skin, then rejected Translucent’s plea for another chance.
• Azu captured Translucent, crushed him with a road roller, and melted the steel plate beneath his corpse to conceal the remains.
• Dr. Kyle entered a Department of Defense meeting and learned that Dr. Vogbaum, Homelander’s creator, had come seeking protection.
• The Secretary said Edgar had died at Homelander’s hands and told Dr. Kyle and Dr. Vogbaum to work together against Homelander in exchange for Vogbaum providing the Compound 5 formula.

Azu discovered that Lin Aida’s sleepwalking was connected to a glowing doorway between universes and chose to enter it with her. They emerged in a dangerous street, where Azu protected Lin Aida from an oncoming truck.

• As Lin Aida soaked her feet, she said that Homelander must be lonely because his power and status left him with few people who could understand him.
• Azu noticed a brilliant, shifting light beyond the kitchen door and realized it was the doorway Lin Aida used to travel between universes.
• Azu told Lin Aida that the doorway had appeared and offered to go through it with her as a friend.
• Lin Aida put on her sunglasses, took her cane, and entered the light with Azu.
• They arrived amid traffic, and Azu shielded Lin Aida with his Bio-Field before splitting an oncoming truck with his golden beams.

Azu and Lin Aida arrived in the DC Universe, where news reported that Superman had disappeared after an explosion at a hearing. After the Pentagon identified Azu in footage of him cutting a truck apart, officials prepared to send troops to the town where he and Lin Aida were staying.

• Azu used his Heat Ray to cut an oncoming truck apart, then flew with Lin Aida to a quiet town and took her to an inn.
• Azu learned from the inn's television that Superman had disappeared after an explosion at a hearing.
• Azu discovered that his credit card did not work in the DC Universe, so Lin Aida paid for their rooms with cash.
• A Pentagon general watched footage of Azu and ordered nearby troops to control the roads into and out of the town.
• A man on a snowy mountain watched a pile of rocks and said that the nightmare would never stop.

Lois Lane learned that a man suspected of being a Kryptonian had appeared in Metropolis, while Azu received a Dawn of Justice multiverse event and prepared to confront the military. After Azu destroyed two fighter jets and attacked a military convoy, a mysterious figure intervened to block his Heat Rays.

• Lois Lane watched footage of a plaid-shirted man using Golden Beams to cut a truck in half and tried unsuccessfully to call Clark.
• Azu read the Dawn of Justice event details, summoned Stone Golem and Replicant to guard Lin Aida, and flew away from town in his Night Lightning suit.
• Military personnel tracked Azu leaving town, and General Archer confronted him in the desert with fighter jets and an armed convoy.
• Azu warned the soldiers to leave, then destroyed the two F-15s with Golden Beams after General Archer ordered lethal force.
• The convoy opened fire, but Azu's Force Field Barrier stopped the attacks, and his Heat Rays swept across the highway.
• A black figure descended and blocked Azu's Heat Rays just before they reached General Archer.

Superman returned to protect General Archer and confronted Azu, who had attacked the military troops. Their argument over power, restraint, and responsibility ended with Clark preparing to stop Azu.

• Azu's Heat Ray attack nearly hit General Archer, but Superman arrived and blocked it.
• Azu and Clark used Insight on each other, and Azu's Insight proficiency upgraded as he recognized Clark as a Level 5 lifeform.
• Azu and Clark argued over whether Azu's retaliation against the troops was justified and whether powerful beings should guide or frighten humanity.
• Azu said he followed no one's views and did whatever he wanted, while Clark called his outlook dangerous and said he needed to be restrained.
• Clark pointed to Azu's attack on the military as evidence that he had already caused substantial destruction.