Chapter Summaries

Madelyn restrained Homelander and followed Mr. Edgar’s orders to undermine Stark Industries through conventional business and political tactics. Meanwhile, Ian confronted Vought’s security at its psychiatric research center to obtain Compound V and walked unharmed through Lamplighter’s fire.

• Homelander demanded to attack Stark Industries directly, but Madelyn warned that it would leave evidence and damage his approval rating.
• Madelyn called Mr. Edgar, who told her to use media, politicians, and legal channels against Stark Industries rather than let Homelander act.
• Madelyn ordered public relations to amplify concerns about the Arc Reactor’s radiation and safety, and directed Legal to prepare a plausible patent-infringement claim.
• Ian arrived at the Vought International Psychiatric Research and Treatment Center and told Lamplighter that he had come for Compound V.
• Lamplighter attacked Ian with a stream of fire, but Ian emerged without injury and said the flames were not hot enough for his bath.

Ian breached Vought’s asylum and effortlessly defeated the guards and imprisoned superpowered subjects who attacked him. Lamplighter watched in terror, believing he had seen a second Homelander.

• Ian walked through gunfire unharmed and told Lamplighter he was Superman, unlike the murderous kind.
• Lamplighter summoned Homelander and ordered the release of the detained superpowered subjects, promising their freedom to whoever defeated Ian.
• A tattooed prisoner, Incinerator, and Mother Electric attacked Ian in turn, but Ian killed or incapacitated them without being injured.
• The remaining prisoners attacked Ian together, but their powers and weapons failed to harm him, and many fled or surrendered.
• Lamplighter stayed frozen as Ian stood among the defeated prisoners, and fear made Lamplighter think he had seen a second Homelander.

Ian confronted Homelander after defeating the supes in the corridor, and effortlessly endured Homelander’s attacks before overpowering him. The chapter ended with Homelander kneeling, badly injured and begging Ian not to hurt him.

• Lamplighter called Homelander for help, then watched Ian emerge from the corridor unharmed.
• Homelander arrived and attacked Ian with Heat Vision, but Ian dodged every beam.
• Ian accepted Homelander’s challenge to fight directly, and Homelander’s punch failed to move him.
• Ian seized Homelander’s fist and crushed it, then forced him to his knees.
• Ian broke Homelander’s thigh beneath his foot, and Homelander screamed and begged him to stop.

Ian left Homelander broken and begging in the ruins, then entered the hidden basement beneath the mental hospital to reach Vought International’s Compound V laboratory. After overpowering the security and finding the Compound V, Ian drank a prototype and gained strength.

• Homelander begged Ian for his life and offered him money, power, Vought International, and anything else he wanted.
• Ian withdrew his foot and walked away, leaving Homelander sobbing in the rubble while Lamplighter watched from beneath a car.
• Ian entered the secret base under the mental hospital and forced open the doors to its Compound V storage area.
• Ian withstood gunfire, broke through a glass wall, and reached the laboratory, where the scientists showed him where the Compound V was.
• Ian drank a high-concentration Compound V prototype, and the system increased his strength by 34.

Ian stole Vought’s Compound V and freed Soldier Boy from decades of hibernation. As they left the underground base, Ian revealed that Homelander was Soldier Boy’s son and pointed him toward the blood left behind.

• Ian drank bottles of Compound V, absorbed the remaining stock, and let the laboratory scientists leave.
• Ian found Soldier Boy suspended in a tank, woke him, and helped him out of the chamber.
• Soldier Boy learned he had been imprisoned for decades and followed Ian through the abandoned base.
• Ian and Soldier Boy reached the ruined parking lot, where Ian explained that he had fought a giant baby and Homelander had escaped injured.
• Ian told Soldier Boy that the blood and scraps of blue suit belonged to his son, Homelander.

Ian told Soldier Boy that Homelander was his biological son, then shielded him from Vought International’s tactical nuclear attack and destroyed the attack helicopters. They headed toward New York as Soldier Boy struggled to take in the modern world.

• Ian told Soldier Boy that Vought International had used his genes to create Homelander, and Soldier Boy accepted that Ian had beaten him.
• Soldier Boy said he wanted revenge on Vought International and planned to find the Compound V formula as they left the asylum ruins.
• Vought International’s helicopters arrived, and Mr. Edgar ordered a tactical nuclear strike on Ian and Soldier Boy.
• Ian survived two nuclear explosions without injury, while Soldier Boy was thrown into the ruins and burned by the blast.
• Ian destroyed both attack helicopters with Heat Vision, then told Soldier Boy his name and the current year as they set off for the city.
• Soldier Boy stared at New York’s skyscrapers and was shocked to see two men kissing.

Ian helped Soldier Boy adjust to the modern world, then flew north to revive Captain America from a World War II plane frozen in the Arctic. Captain America learned that the war had ended about seventy years earlier and flew away with Ian, uncertain what awaited him.

• Soldier Boy reacted with disbelief to modern clothing and relationships, bought dark sportswear, and kept his old uniform.
• Soldier Boy vowed to make Vought International pay, while Ian declined his offer to join him and said he planned to unseal someone else.
• Ian flew to the Arctic, found a World War II plane trapped in ice, and revived Captain America, Steve Rogers.
• Steve freed his shield and learned that the war was over, the people had won, and about seventy years had passed.
• Ian carried Steve away from the ice field, and Steve asked what Ian was before Ian called himself Steve's lifesaver.

Ian brought Captain America to modern New York, gave him money and identification, and left him to adapt to the world. He then warned Tony Stark about future threats, met Tony’s new assistant Natasha, and prompted Tony to investigate her.

• Ian flew Captain America to New York and gave him cash and an ID card before leaving him to find a hotel and adjust to modern life.
• Ian returned to Tony Stark’s garage, saw the Mark II armor, and warned Tony that stronger threats, including Vought International’s superhumans and other monsters, would appear.
• Tony and Ian ate dinner, where Ian noticed Tony’s new assistant Natasha and cautioned that she might not be as simple as her clean background suggested.
• Ian left to find someone else, and Tony called Pepper to ask her to investigate Natasha after saying Ian Kent had advised him to do so.

Tony and Pepper investigated Natasha Romanoff’s hidden past while Ian observed Soldier Boy defeat Vought’s heroes and tried to use the Time Stone to reach an apocalyptic future. The timeline blocked Ian, leaving him unable to access the catastrophe he sought.

• Tony insisted Pepper investigate Natasha Romanoff that night, and Pepper found that Natasha’s records began only when she joined Stark Industries.
• Pepper told Tony that Natasha’s identity appeared to have been created by an official agency or large organization and that her abilities suggested she might have been specially modified.
• Tony decided not to confront Natasha and instead kept her as his assistant while he investigated who was behind her.
• Ian left a restaurant and saw Soldier Boy defeat The Deep, Queen Maeve, A-Train, and other Vought superhumans outside Vought International Tower.
• Ian traveled to Kamar-Taj and touched the Eye of Agamotto to search the timeline for the frozen-world apocalypse from his memories.
• The timeline resisted Ian and pushed him back, so he left Kamar-Taj without reaching the apocalyptic node.

Soldier Boy stormed Vought International to confront Edgar and demanded the whereabouts of his former Payback teammates, then left with a handwritten list. He told Ian that the Compound V formula was probably in a safe in Edgar’s top-floor office, while the list revealed that Steve Rogers had once been listed as a teammate but was now missing.

• Soldier Boy brushed off Vought’s gunfire, broke into the tower, and climbed the stairs after finding the elevators out of order.
• Soldier Boy confronted Edgar, who claimed Soldier Boy had agreed to cryogenic preservation, and demanded information about Payback.
• Madelyn gave Soldier Boy a tablet with the team’s details, but he thought she had made up the information and punched her.
• Edgar handed Soldier Boy a handwritten list of names and addresses; Soldier Boy noticed Steve Rogers was listed as missing and left with the paper.
• Ian met Soldier Boy outside Vought, and Soldier Boy said he had no personal grudge against Steve Rogers but intended to find the teammates who betrayed him.
• Soldier Boy told Ian that the Compound V formula was likely in a safe in Edgar’s top-floor office.

Ian entered the burning Vought International building, took the original Compound V formula from a hidden safe, and escaped. After Vought blamed superhuman terrorists for the attack, Edgar ordered a thousand Homelander clones and launched a search for the missing Homelander.

• Ian flew to Vought International, entered the conference room, and demanded the Compound V formula from Edgar.
• Ian forced open a hidden safe, found the original Compound V formula, and absorbed the document before flying away.
• Vought’s head of public relations told reporters that superhuman terrorists had attacked the company and claimed its critical data remained secure.
• Edgar ordered the Clone Homelander Project activated and demanded that Vought produce one thousand Homelanders.
• Edgar learned that Homelander’s implant signal had vanished and ordered a search and retrieval operation.

Ian left Vought International and watched Gwen Stacy before meeting Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on a rooftop. After Ian flew away, Coulson reported to Fury, who reassigned him and led him toward a secret mission.

• Ian flew to an apartment rooftop and watched Gwen Stacy study before leaving without approaching her.
• Coulson confronted Ian with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, questioned his origins, and heard Ian claim he was first a Kryptonian and then a Saiyan.
• Ian admitted the Saiyan story was made up and flew away, knocking several agents down with the force of his departure.
• Coulson reported Ian's powers and claims to Fury, who said another agent would follow up on Ian and relieved Coulson of the assignment.
• Fury led Coulson through a secured door and down a staircase to begin a secret mission.

Coulson discovered that Homelander had been secretly removed from S.H.I.E.L.D. by infiltrators who declared allegiance to Hydra, while Ian asked Tony to build a machine to cross a time blockade. Tony doubted time travel was possible, and Ian hinted that he would seek help from his uncle.

• Fury showed Coulson the severely wounded Homelander and ordered him to learn about Homelander's powers, Vought's methods, and any secrets he knew.
• Coulson learned that an alien protein sample might rapidly heal injuries and could theoretically restore damaged bodies if their genomes remained intact.
• Coulson found Homelander missing, discovered that forged transfer papers had been used, and learned the surveillance recordings had been erased.
• The people who removed Homelander loaded him into an SUV and said, "Hail Hydra" before driving away.
• Ian asked Tony to build a machine that could break through a time blockade and take him to the future, but Tony said time travel was impossible with current physics.
• Ian said he would ask his useless uncle for help, prompting Tony to ask who his uncle was.

Ian insisted Tony take time travel seriously, then tested Tony’s Anti-Ian Armor and showed that it could not harm him. As Tony considered how to redesign it, Pepper reported that Homelander had returned fully healed and wanted to talk to Tony.

• Ian told Tony that his uncle could defeat God, and Tony agreed to look into time travel.
• Tony showed Ian the Anti-Ian Armor and invited him to test it for a gold bar.
• Ian blocked the armor’s attacks without injury, and Tony concluded that the design had failed.
• Ian urged Tony to imagine an opponent beyond anything he had already encountered, and Tony vowed to improve the armor.
• Pepper announced that Homelander had returned with his injuries healed, criticized Tony at a press conference, and said he wanted to talk to him.
• Ian warned Tony that the anti-Superman test might need to happen sooner, then left.

Ian watched Soldier Boy track down the former Payback members who signed the document that led to his cryopreservation. Soldier Boy killed Gunpowder and the TNT Twins, spared Countess Crimson and Black Noir, and left Ian wondering whether Captain America would also be kinder than expected.

• Ian watched Soldier Boy confront Countess Crimson, who admitted she had signed Vought's cryopreservation agreement under orders, and Soldier Boy left after testing her blood-control power.
• Soldier Boy confronted Mindstorm about the agreement, overpowered his illusions, and left him motionless on the floor.
• Gunpowder said he had signed what he thought was a retirement document, so Soldier Boy shot and killed him outside the bakery.
• Soldier Boy broke into the TNT Twins' home and knocked both of them down before continuing toward Vought Medical Center.
• Soldier Boy found the injured Black Noir in a hospital room but chose to let him live, surprising Ian and stirring Ian's intuition about Captain America.

Ian discovered that Captain America had secretly joined Hydra and was arranging a public return, then warned Soldier Boy and asked Tony to keep watch on Captain America. The chapter left Tony questioning Ian’s sanity as Ian prepared to leave the matter in his hands.

• Ian tracked Soldier Boy and realized he was holding back from revenge, then found Captain America in an underground Brooklyn base reviewing operational maps beside a Hydra uniform.
• Ian overheard Captain America tell an elderly contact that he had returned and agree to appear publicly as Captain America the next day.
• Ian met Soldier Boy and told him that Captain America was also Captain Hydra, warning that their paths were diverging and Hydra might have been involved in Soldier Boy’s betrayal.
• Soldier Boy dismissed Ian’s warning and walked away, while Ian decided to tell Tony about Captain America.
• Ian found Tony working on the Mark II and asked him to keep an eye on Captain America, prompting Tony to question whether Ian had had his brain checked.

Tony investigated Steve Rogers’s movements and prepared surveillance for a meeting with Obadiah, worried that Ian’s suspicions might be justified. As Tony went to secure a hidden warehouse, Spider-Man intervened in a robbery and revealed himself as Tony’s son.

• Tony tried to access Steve Rogers’s surveillance records, then asked Natasha to track someone and installed a facial-recognition plugin in the city surveillance network.
• Tony agreed to meet Obadiah about clean energy and hired Deadpool to watch for unusual people at the meeting.
• Tony drove to a hidden warehouse to prepare ways to protect himself.
• Three armed robbers confronted Tony outside the warehouse and demanded his keys and wallet.
• Spider-Man disarmed the robbers with a web and landed in front of Tony, his father.

Tony met Spider-Man after the young hero stopped three robbers, then hired him to watch for threats and secretly identified him as Peter Parker. After finding Obadiah’s whiskey suspicious, Tony left without drinking and investigated Peter, while Ian returned to the DC Universe and woke to an ordinary morning with the Kent family.

• Spider-Man stopped three robbers from continuing their approach to Tony, accepted Tony’s autograph, and agreed to protect him without taking payment.
• Tony asked Spider-Man about his origin and recruited him to watch for danger when Tony visited certain places.
• Tony visited Obadiah, refused to drink the whiskey, and left after discussing the company’s clean-energy transition.
• Tony asked Jarvis to search for a young Queens science-exhibition participant and identified Peter Parker as Spider-Man.
• Ian returned to the DC Universe at dawn and joined Lois, Clark, and Jonathan for breakfast.

Ian spent the day trying to live as an ordinary student, secretly relying on Clark to stop a robbery before he went home and listened to humanity’s prayers as God. His quiet evening ended when a badly wounded Lucifer fell through a spatial rift into Ian’s room and collapsed.

• Ian went to school, finished a math exam, and earned the top grade in the PE tests by a single point.
• Ian stopped near two men robbing a car, and Clark used an unseen force to fling them behind a garbage truck.
• Ian returned home and listened to prayers from people facing worries, grief, and illness.
• Ian heard a strange prayer-like sound in his room and watched Lucifer fall from a closing spatial rift.
• Lucifer, badly wounded and bleeding Divine Blood, warned that something was wrong before passing out.

Ian healed Lucifer after he appeared gravely injured, but Lucifer remained unconscious and then vanished without a trace. After dinner, Ian found Jonathan and Jordan arguing and discussed Metropolis’s troubling changes with them, ending in a quiet exchange of uncertainty about whether things could be saved.

• Lucifer appeared badly wounded, and Ian used God’s power to heal his body.
• Lucifer did not regain consciousness despite Ian’s checks, and Ian left him in the bedroom to join his family for dinner.
• Ian returned upstairs and found that Lucifer had vanished from the locked room without leaving any trace.
• Ian went downstairs after hearing a commotion and found Jonathan and Jordan arguing over belongings and a spilled glass.
• Ian learned that Lois had left for an interview concerning a hospital incident, then discussed Metropolis’s changing institutions and failing systems with Jonathan and Jordan.
• Jonathan said he believed Dad could save everything, and Ian answered, “Hope so.”