Chapter Summaries

Thor discovered that Asgard and most of the Nine Realms had been destroyed, then withdrew to Midgard after losing his dreams. Stormbreaker brought four time-traveling warriors to New York, where Seven and Lorna prepared to target Zhan Liu while Tyr and Venom pursued Peter Parker.

• Thor searched the devastated realms and learned that Odin and Frigga were dead, Loki had massacred the gods in Omnipotence City, and Asgard had not been restored.
• Thor gave up his ambitions and settled into a secluded life on Midgard, while Stormbreaker suddenly jumped toward Earth.
• Seven, Tyr, Lorna, and Venom arrived in New York from the future and divided their mission between Zhan Liu and Peter Parker.
• Tyr and Venom headed into the city, while Seven and Lorna left to investigate Zhan Liu and discussed evidence that memories across Earth had been erased.
• Seven concluded that Zhan Liu might possess the Time Stone and proposed obtaining another Infinity Stone before confronting him.

With most heroes gone, Norman Osborn turned the Illuminati into a tool for recruiting or coercing the new generation of superheroes. Gwen Stacy became Spider-Woman and was forced into the organization; while out at night, she encountered Tyr and Venom, who attacked her as they searched for Peter Parker and Tony Stark.

• Two Captain Americas awakened beneath Antarctica, Gwen Stacy was bitten by a Super Spider, and two Doctor Banners were exposed to Gamma Rays as new heroes began to emerge.
• Norman Osborn took control of the Illuminati, recruited Harry Osborn and the Doctor Banners, and used official pressure to bring superheroes such as Gwen under his control.
• Gwen returned to school and completed Illuminati missions, but sneaked out at night to patrol New York City.
• Gwen overheard Tyr and Venom discussing plans to capture Peter Parker and find Tony Stark's Iron Suit blueprints, then confronted them.
• Venom attacked Gwen while Tyr watched, and Gwen's Spider-Sense kept her fighting until Venom bound her with tendrils and slammed her around.
• Tyr summoned lightning, and Stormbreaker sensed it and leaped toward him from the distant sky.

Gwen fled from Venom while badly wounded and reached Zhan Liu, who became Venom and Tyr’s target. Zhan Liu fought them with Magnetic Field Control, and after Tyr transformed into the Thunder Werewolf, Zhan Liu launched a superheated steel ball at him.

• Gwen escaped through the streets as Venom pursued her, then hid behind Zhan Liu in a courtyard.
• Venom and Tyr arrived, and Tyr told Venom that Zhan Liu was Seven’s target before they attacked him.
• Zhan Liu caught Tyr’s lightning and redirected it at Venom, forcing Venom to retreat.
• Tyr transformed into the Thunder Werewolf and challenged Zhan Liu, who tested his Magnetic Field Control instead of fighting at close range.
• Zhan Liu used magnetic forces to accelerate a titanium-alloy steel ball, then fired it into the right half of Tyr’s body.

Zhan Liu defeated Tyr and Venom, seized Stormbreaker, and learned that Tyr had been sent after him because he became the Sorcerer Supreme. As Tyr’s ally arrived with Mjolnir and Stormbreaker, Zhan Liu found himself face-to-face with Thor.

• Zhan Liu used his magnetic powers and superior speed to defeat Tyr, who then healed with Stormbreaker’s power.
• Zhan Liu broke Tyr’s limbs, took Stormbreaker, and knocked Venom down when he tried to help Tyr escape.
• Zhan Liu questioned Tyr, who revealed that Seven would come for him and said their group opposed his becoming the Sorcerer Supreme.
• An unknown attacker struck at Zhan Liu’s hand, allowing Stormbreaker to fly away, while Zhan Liu caught Mjolnir.
• Thor appeared from the darkness holding Stormbreaker and descended in front of Zhan Liu.

Zhan Liu fought Thor and gained Mjolnir’s power, but Thor escaped with Tyr and the other captives. Shaken by the battle and its casualties, Gwen abandoned her Spider-Woman identity, only to learn that her father had been gravely injured.

• Zhan Liu realized Thor and the others were time travelers, then Mjolnir transformed him into an Asgardian warrior and acknowledged him as worthy.
• Thor attacked Zhan Liu with Stormbreaker, then used its teleportation power to escape with Tyr and the other captives.
• Zhan Liu found that the battle had destroyed his Martial Arts School and killed many people, so he left before the military arrived.
• Natalia brought Gwen Stacy to a safe base, where Zhan Liu questioned her and then sent her home.
• Gwen lost confidence in her abilities, cut up her Spider-Woman suit, and went to sleep after retiring from superhero work.
• Mrs. Stacy woke Gwen and told her that Chief Stacy had been badly injured while trying to stop a black monster.

Gwen Stacy learned that Venom had gravely wounded her father, Chief Stacy, and blamed herself for leading the monster to the police convoy. As she rushed toward the hospital, she stumbled into a fight between Peter Parker in the Iron Suit and Professor Hulk, and her attempt to intervene ended with a missile striking the hospital.

• Gwen learned that Chief Stacy was dying and realized Venom had attacked him after she used the police convoy to escape.
• Gwen heard explosions near the hospital, left the police car, and ran toward it to find and kill Venom.
• Gwen reached the plaza and saw Peter Parker in the Iron Suit battling Professor Hulk while police and soldiers watched from the sidelines.
• Professor Hulk urged Gwen to help capture Peter, but she ignored him and tried to reach her father in the hospital.
• Gwen shot webs at Peter, whose artificial intelligence dodged them and fired a missile in retaliation; the missile broke through her webbing and hit the hospital, which collapsed as Gwen screamed.

Gwen’s attempt to help the Illuminati caused a missile to hit the hospital where her father was being treated, while Peter escaped and the battle ended in failure. Obadiah rejected Pepper’s plea to rescue Tony, then revealed that he had imprisoned Tony’s brain and was using it to produce Iron Armor blueprints.

• Gwen chose to sneak-attack Peter’s Iron Armor, but the suit dodged and fired a missile that Gwen failed to stop.
• The missile struck the hospital, and Gwen rushed inside to find her father while Professor Hulk went to rescue trapped patients and staff.
• Peter left the scene, and the Illuminati agents declared their mission a failure as military leaders shifted their support toward Osborn Corporation.
• Pepper urged Obadiah to use Stark Industries’ resources to find Tony or obtain the Iron Armor, but Obadiah refused and dismissed her concerns.
• Obadiah visited his secret research base, where he ordered the Brain in a Jar identified as Tony to print everything it knew about Iron Armor.

Zhan Liu and Natalia watched Iron Man battle Hulk and concluded that the armored fighter had come from the future. They pursued him to uncover the time travelers’ numbers, but Iron Man attacked them after landing in the wilderness.

• Zhan Liu and Natalia discussed the future attackers, while Natalia summoned Bug Race creatures from across the universe to strengthen her forces.
• They spotted Iron Man fighting Hulk and recognized his Mark 50 armor as technology from the future.
• Zhan Liu considered becoming Sorcerer Supreme to use the Time Stone, but he put off the decision and watched the battle instead.
• After Gwen was killed in the fight and the hospital collapsed, Zhan Liu and Natalia followed Iron Man as he left the scene.
• Iron Man detected their pursuit, landed in the wilderness, and attacked them with fiery meteors and a charging energy cannon.

Zhan Liu and Natalia survived Tony Stark’s orbital bombardment, but Peter’s energy cannon grievously wounded Natalia before he escaped. As Zhan Liu pursued Peter, Seven and Lorna stopped him, and Lorna accused him of helping destroy the world in their future.

• Zhan Liu and Natalia smashed Tony Stark’s guided orbital weapons, but the repeated impacts left them exhausted.
• Peter fired a fully charged energy cannon at Natalia, blasted a hole through her chest, and fled into space; Zhan Liu found her dying and abandoned his pursuit to stay with her.
• Magnetic Field Control dragged Zhan Liu from the sky, allowing Peter to escape, and Seven and Lorna blocked Zhan Liu’s path.
• Zhan Liu recognized two Infinity Stones on Seven’s gauntlet and avoided his attack, while Lorna’s magnetic assault failed to hurt him.
• Zhan Liu questioned the pair about his past and Natalia, and Lorna accused him and Peter of spreading Dark Magic, fueling wars, and causing hundreds of millions of deaths.

Zhan Liu fought Seven, who wielded the Power Stone, and survived a devastating attack before turning the battle around and killing Lorna. As Seven grieved and activated both the Power Stone and Reality Stone, he stripped Zhan Liu of his magnetic control and sent him falling, then pursued him with renewed attacks.

• Zhan Liu fought Seven and learned that Seven had powers nearly identical to his own, while Lorna claimed Seven had been naturally gifted.
• Seven used the Power Stone to strike Zhan Liu with planet-shaking force, but Zhan Liu survived and rapidly recovered.
• Zhan Liu adapted during the battle, broke Seven’s spine with Ultimate Emperor Leg, and killed Lorna when she tried to restrain him.
• Seven caught Lorna’s headless body and vowed revenge, while Zhan Liu mourned Natalia and swore to become the Sorcerer Supreme.
• Seven activated the Power Stone and Reality Stone together, nullified Zhan Liu’s attacks, and stripped away his magnetic control.
• Zhan Liu fell from the sky, and Seven canceled the stones’ power before pursuing him and attacking.

Seven nearly killed Zhan Liu, but the Bug Race invaded and resurrected Natalia as the Bug Queen. After Natalia drove off Seven and Thor and led the swarm into space, Seven resumed his attack on Zhan Liu, who escaped through a spatial gate just before the final blow.

• Seven battered Zhan Liu, but a spatial rift opened and the Bug Race swarm poured onto Earth, distracting him from finishing the fight.
• The Bug Race nourished Natalia beneath the ruins, resurrecting her as the Bug Queen.
• Natalia overwhelmed Seven, then fought off Thor when he arrived to help; she and the swarm flew into space.
• Seven returned to Zhan Liu and used the two Infinity Mu Jins to push his injured body close to collapse.
• A spatial gate opened beneath Zhan Liu and swallowed him before Seven's final strike landed.

Natalia fought Thor and Seven in space until Tony Stark arrived, reclaimed the Infinity Stones, and revealed that he had recovered his memories. Tony and Natalia left for his base so he could explain her resurrection and transformation, while the Bug Race began rebuilding its forces.

• Thor blocked Natalia and battled the Bug Swarm, while Seven joined the fight as the Bug Hive arrived.
• Thor and Natalia fought fiercely until Seven gave Thor the Infinity Gauntlet, but Natalia severed Thor's hand and took the stones.
• Tony Stark appeared, took the Infinity Stones from Natalia, and destroyed the gauntlet before embedding the stones in his armor.
• Tony told Natalia that he had recovered his memories and that Eternity had arranged her transformation into the Bug Race.
• Thor and Seven charged Tony and Natalia, but Tony knocked them unconscious, reattached Thor's hand, and sent them toward Earth.
• Tony and Natalia flew toward his base as the Bug Race consumed battlefield remains to nurture new members.

Tony explained to Natalia that Eternity had revived her to serve as the Positive Universe’s Bug King and that she had to achieve Star Shattering to escape her fate. Natalia agreed to Tony’s plan, and he used the Infinity Stones to restore her human body and seal her memories before sending her toward Earth.

• Tony brought Natalia to his hidden research base and explained that Eternity had chosen her as the unique Bug King needed to unite the Negative Zone’s Bug Race.
• Tony told Natalia that Eternity’s fate had guided events around her and that she would need to achieve Star Shattering before Magnetic Field Rotation Force was fully assimilated to become free.
• Tony explained that he could use the Reality Stone and technology to restore Natalia’s human body and give her entry-level Magnetic Field Rotation Force, though the process would leave her weaker and put her at risk.
• Natalia accepted the danger and agreed to Tony’s plan to challenge fate.
• Tony used the Reality Stone, Mind Stone, and other Infinity Mu Jins to restore Natalia’s human form and seal her memories.
• Tony covered Natalia in a white bodysuit and launched her out of the base toward Earth.

Wong persuaded Zhan Liu to accept the Sorcerer Supreme role and begin learning White Magic, but Tony Stark attacked Kamar-Taj and destroyed it. Tony restored Zhan Liu’s entry-level Magnetic Field Rotation Force and left him to seek Star Shattering, while the fate of the surviving mages remained unknown.

• Wong explained the risks and necessity of magic, and Zhan Liu reluctantly agreed to inherit the Sorcerer Supreme position.
• Wong brought Zhan Liu to Kamar-Taj, where Tony Stark arrived and launched missiles at the assembled mages.
• Zhan Liu shielded the mages from Tony’s attack, but Tony seized him with a tractor beam and threw him down the mountain.
• Zhan Liu returned to find Kamar-Taj in ruins and Wong and the other mages apparently dead, then shouted a challenge at Tony.
• Tony caught Zhan Liu’s punch, restored his entry-level Magnetic Field Rotation Force, and said Zhan Liu had to achieve Star Shattering to gain freedom.

After burying Kamar-Taj’s dead, Zhan Liu reunited with Natalia and learned that her Bug Race transformation had left her powers weakened. They suspected future Tony Stark was working with Obadiah and planned to rescue the imprisoned Tony, while Norman Osborn recruited Obadiah into the Illuminati.

• Zhan Liu buried Kamar-Taj’s dead in unnamed graves and flew back to the United States.
• Natalia reunited with Zhan Liu, described her transformation and weakened powers, and speculated that her memory loss was connected to becoming a Bug Race creature.
• Zhan Liu and Natalia suspected future Tony Stark had joined forces with Obadiah and arranged for present-day Tony to be arrested as an impostor, so they decided to rescue the prisoner.
• Zhan Liu and Natalia discussed whether bringing the two Tonys together could erase the future version through the laws of spacetime.
• Norman Osborn invited Obadiah to join the Illuminati, and Obadiah accepted.

Seven and the others joined the Illuminati, while Obadiah secretly traded Iron Armor technology for biological research to pursue greater power and longevity. After Zhan Liu attacked and provoked him, Obadiah fell to his death, and the Mark 50 Armor carried Tony Stark’s brain to a new body, where he declared his return.

• Seven and the others joined the Illuminati, and Norman Osborn welcomed them after confirming they had traveled from the future.
• Norman and Obadiah exchanged technology while each concealed his true plans and regarded the deal as a chance to gain an advantage.
• Zhan Liu attacked Obadiah and taunted him about stealing Tony Stark’s Iron Armor technology, prompting Obadiah to activate the armor’s advanced mode.
• Obadiah fell from the sky and splattered into a mess of flesh in front of Zhan Liu and Natalia, while the Mark 50 Armor flew away.
• The Mark 50 Armor reached Obadiah’s underground base, used Brain in a Jar and biological materials to build Tony Stark a body, and Tony declared that he had returned.

Tony Stark attacked the Illuminati’s base in his Mark 50, and the battle drew Zhan Liu and Natalia into the fight. Zhan Liu killed Venom’s host and destroyed its symbiote, then battled Tyr until a mysterious newcomer intervened and matched him move for move.

• Tony Stark bombarded the Illuminati’s base, fought Professor Hulk, and battled Seven, Tyr, and Venom in his Mark 50.
• Zhan Liu concluded that the Illuminati and Hydra were behind the enemies targeting him, then transformed into Thor and killed Venom’s host.
• Zhan Liu used Mjolnir to destroy Venom’s remaining symbiote while Natalia attacked Tyr and Professor Hulk charged at her with Professor Banner.
• Zhan Liu fought Tyr and subdued him, but a figure appeared to rescue Tyr and fought Zhan Liu to a standstill before kicking Tyr away.

Zhan Liu pursued the Illuminati’s Taskmaster through the base after Seven’s time-displaced existence revealed that the warrior was his pregnant mother. He confronted Councilor Garrett and broke through the Tesseract-powered barrier, but Garrett’s last-minute claim that Taskmaster was made using Natasha and carried Zhan Liu’s child stopped him from killing Garrett.

• Zhan Liu questioned the silent armored warrior, then resumed fighting when she did not answer.
• Seven became intangible and revealed that the warrior was his mother and that he was the child in her womb, prompting the fighters to protect her.
• The warrior escaped into the base, and Zhan Liu and Natalia pursued her while Seven held off Tony so the others could follow.
• Zhan Liu tore through the base and found Councilor Garrett protected by a spatial barrier powered by the Tesseract.
• Zhan Liu passed through the barrier using the Eye of Agamotto and seized Garrett, who revealed that Taskmaster was made using Natasha and was pregnant with Zhan Liu’s child.

Zhan Liu learned that Seven was his son with Natasha and went to find Taskmaster, hoping to rescue her and prevent a deadly confrontation. When Natalia touched Natasha, she accessed her memories and awakened to Star Shattering.

• Garrett told Zhan Liu that Natasha had been pregnant with his child and that Seven was their son, while the Illuminati had transformed Natasha into Taskmaster.
• Zhan Liu struggled to accept fatherhood but decided to find Natasha before explaining the truth to Seven.
• Natalia battled Taskmaster and the Illuminati’s forces, grew rapidly stronger, and held her ground until Zhan Liu arrived with Garrett as a hostage.
• Zhan Liu ordered Garrett to reveal Taskmaster’s face, and Seven and Natalia saw Natasha’s mutilated, machine-controlled state.
• Natalia touched Natasha, resonated with her, and received memories from Natasha’s first life.
• Natalia awakened and achieved Star Shattering.

Natasha regained her memories and healed, while the Illuminati’s crimes and Hydra ties were exposed, shattering its members’ faith in the organization. Zhan Liu and Seven were left together in the ruins, beginning to bond as father and son as Zhan Liu promised to find a way to resurrect Lorna.

• Resonance restored Natasha’s memories and repaired her brain, and she chose not to abort Seven, though she called Zhan Liu her Master before leaving with Natalia.
• Tony destroyed the Illuminati base and revealed its Hydra connection, while Garrett confessed that he and other Hydra agents had infiltrated the organization.
• Seven struggled with learning that the Illuminati had been corrupt, that Zhan Liu was his father, and that Lorna had died by Zhan Liu’s hand.
• After everyone else left, Zhan Liu and Seven talked through the night and grew closer despite their awkwardness over whether to call each other father and son or brothers.
• Zhan Liu showed Seven the Eye of Agamotto and promised to learn magic, use the Time Stone to revive Lorna, and restore Kamar-Taj.