Chapter Summaries

Salomon launched Latveria’s assault on Hungary after Wakanda delayed its promised aid, and the City of Immortals rapidly overwhelmed Hungarian forces with missile, electronic-warfare, and ground attacks. As Hungary lost its military communications and requested NATO assistance, Salomon headed toward Budapest to strike its leadership and remove NATO’s influence.

• Tony Stark accepted that the Avengers would have to sign the Sokovia Accords and planned to persuade Steve Rogers while hiding his doubts about confronting Salomon.
• After Wakanda’s Shuri explained that King T’Chaka had delayed the promised engineering aid, Salomon ordered replacement equipment transferred from the Mars Foundry and restricted Wakandans’ movements in the City of Immortals.
• Following the passage of US emergency and humanitarian aid acts, Salomon’s forces launched missiles against Hungarian air bases and advanced across the border, defeating Hungarian defenses in Kiskunhalas and Szeged.
• Salomon apologized to Kiskunhalas’s civilians, promised them justice and dignity, and ordered Latverian troops to destroy the city’s weapons and impose military rule.
• The City of Immortals destroyed Hungary’s airfields and air defenses, severed its communications, and left the Orbán Government isolated as it declared an emergency and requested NATO aid.
• Salomon sent an Assault Transport carrying Gene-modded Warriors toward Budapest to attack Hungarian headquarters and remove NATO’s influence from Hungary.

Salomon coordinated Latveria’s overwhelming assault on Hungary, balancing military objectives with plans to preserve civilian infrastructure and turn Hungary into an ally. As negotiations began, he prepared to lead a decapitation strike on Budapest before moving on to confront NATO.

• Salomon reviewed battlefield intelligence, adjusted supplies, and confirmed that Latveria’s strikes had crippled Hungarian air defenses and opened the way for mechanized troops.
• Stephanie Malik argued that Latveria could cooperate with Orbán’s government by helping Hungary break free of the European Union’s economic influence while supporting workers and farmers.
• Salomon planned a six-hour campaign that included negotiations with the Orbán Government, followed by strikes on NATO installations and an appeal for international unity over an approaching alien fleet.
• The Assault Transport concealed itself above Budapest as a transport pod descended toward the city, and Salomon armed himself for the operation.
• Four War Machines and Gene-modded Warriors deployed from the aircraft and began descending toward Budapest as the Assault Transport dived toward the city.

Latverian forces seized Budapest and Sándor Palace, where Salomon demanded Hungary’s surrender. Viktor Orbán announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the EU and NATO, and the golden-armored leader of Latveria addressed the city, promising reform and threatening NATO with retaliation.

• War Machines and armored vehicles advanced through Budapest while Gene-modded Warriors attacked Sándor Palace and captured fleeing government officials.
• Salomon confronted the Orbán Government officials and demanded that Budapest’s National Guard cease fire.
• Budapest restored external communications, and Viktor Orbán announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the EU and NATO and pledged cooperation with Latveria.
• After Orbán’s address, Latveria’s golden-armored leader spoke to Budapest’s residents, promising compensation and calling for humanity to unite against an approaching alien fleet.
• The leader condemned NATO and neoliberalism and threatened strikes on NATO satellites and government organizations if the alliance did not surrender or abandon its military campaign.

Salomon’s televised address announced Latveria’s plans to unify Europe, fight wars of aggression, and build a powerful human civilization, prompting worldwide alarm and debate. Tony Stark recognized his old friend on the broadcast and, after discussing the threat with Pepper Potts, remained troubled about the future.

• Salomon threatened military action against anyone obstructing Latveria’s plans and promised to kill leaders who continued launching wars.
• Tony Stark watched the address in New York and worried about the Avengers, his old friend, and the world his future daughter would inherit.
• Media outlets condemned Salomon while supporters and online communities debated Latveria’s weapons, military victories, and political claims.
• Latveria’s spokesperson revealed the forces used against Hungary, and governments around the world studied its advanced military technology.
• The U.S. President ordered countermeasures, sanctions planning, and military deployments while calling for international condemnation and dialogue.
• Pepper Potts joined Tony Stark as he drank and watched the news, and Tony told her Salomon had declared war on NATO.

The Avengers met with Thaddeus E. Ross as he pressed them to accept the Sokovia Accords, while Steve Rogers challenged the government’s authority and methods. Ross presented evidence of coordinated attacks and unrest in the United States, leaving the Avengers aware that an unseen enemy was disrupting the country.

• Tony Stark told Pepper that Hungary had fallen under martial law and warned that Salomon could plunge Europe and the United States into chaos.
• Thaddeus E. Ross arrived at the Avengers base to negotiate government oversight of the Avengers, while former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Maria Hill waited tensely outside.
• Steve Rogers asked about Doctor Banner, and Ross denied that Banner’s disappearance was relevant to the meeting.
• Steve Rogers rejected Ross’s coercive approach and argued that he would not let untrustworthy governments direct the Avengers.
• Ross showed the Avengers evidence of arrests, attacks, and protests linked to a coordinated campaign whose unknown operators had baffled American intelligence agencies.

Steve Rogers refused to sign the Avengers agreement and left the team after confronting Tony Stark over his plan to become Secretary of Defense. Meanwhile, Salomon’s campaign in Latveria continued unseen, and Victor von Doom proposed sending Balkan liberals to the City of Immortals’ lands in Africa.

• Thaddeus E. Ross urged the Avengers to sign the agreement and warned that hearings would continue if they refused.
• Tony Stark told the Avengers he had agreed to become Secretary of Defense so he could command them and stop the man causing destruction in Hungary.
• Steve Rogers argued that the agreement would make the Avengers serve unjust interests, refused to sign it, and accused Tony Stark of betraying Howard’s ideals.
• Steve Rogers left the conference room, followed by Sam and Quicksilver, while Natasha Romanoff said she would try to persuade him.
• Tony Stark, Vision, Rhodey, and Natasha discussed the mysterious man and the danger of drawing his attention.
• Victor von Doom suggested sending people who advocated individual freedom in the Balkans to the City of Immortals’ lands in Africa.

Salomon finalized Latveria’s preparations for a coming war while the country focused on reconstruction, then returned to his manor for a brief respite with Bayonetta and Jeanne. He left them to prepare for morning training as the countdown to the next stage continued.

• Stephanie agreed with Victor von Doom’s plan while she and her staff continued Latveria’s urgent reconstruction work.
• Salomon signed the final document of the day, and the Intelligence Department watched the United States’ Atlantic Ocean Carrier Strike Group sail toward Europe.
• Salomon set aside sixteen hours for personal matters before the next stage of his battle plan.
• Bayonetta woke to find Salomon at her bedside and learned that he had returned to the manor at three in the morning.
• Bayonetta comforted Salomon as he struggled with the cost of his actions, and Jeanne woke to the smell of tea and breakfast.
• Bayonetta told Jeanne to get ready for morning training and suggested they dance tango or Latin to set an example for the children.

Salomon cared for little Lorna before leaving to address the failed operation in Nigeria, where Radical Hydra had failed to secure evidence linking an Ebola outbreak to a U.S. military laboratory. He then set out to see an old friend, while Victoria Hand prepared information about the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

• Salomon and Bayonetta struggled to choose a name for little Lorna, who preferred telepathic communication and imitated Bayonetta's dancing.
• Salomon showed Lorna how to fire an Explosive Rounds Gun, drawing Jeanne to the shooting range with her magic pistol.
• After Lorna asked him to come home early, Salomon left aboard an Assault Transport to investigate Rumlow's failed mission in Nigeria.
• Diana List and Victoria Hand told Salomon that Steve Rogers' Avengers had exposed Rumlow's operation, preventing them from obtaining a sample of the Ebola Virus.
• Salomon ordered Victoria Hand to cut ties with Radical Hydra and asked her to send the U.S. Sixth Fleet's route, despite her objection to his planned military operation.
• Victoria Hand asked why Salomon was going to MIT, and he said he was visiting an old friend and would remain unknown.

Tony Stark relived a reconstructed memory of his parents and then faced a grieving mother who blamed him for her son’s death in Sokovia. Salomon challenged Tony’s guilt by defending the choice to save billions, then questioned why he had acted before the alien invasion gave him an easier path to power.

• Tony Stark watched a Bicon reconstruction of a Christmas in 1991, where he told his parents he loved them before they left for their final trip together.
• After the hologram ended, Tony encountered Charlie Spencer’s mother, who accused him of causing her son’s death in Sokovia.
• Salomon appeared and argued that the Avengers had needed to stop Ultron to save more than a billion people, despite the deaths of thousands.
• Tony accused Salomon of starting a war, killing innocents, and wanting to launch nuclear bombs, and asked what had happened to the kind teenager he knew.
• Salomon compared the billions he had sought to save with the millions who would die, then asked Tony why he had not waited for the alien invasion to weaken humanity before taking control.

Salomon explained to Tony Stark why he believed war and ruthless sacrifice were necessary to save humanity, recalling the killings he had carried out as a child. He promised Tony’s future daughter Morgan would survive the apocalypse, then ordered the Battle Sister to take him to Latveria to prepare for the next war.

• Salomon described the suffering and guilt behind his decision to kill in order to save others, and told Tony Stark about fighting for his life at age twelve.
• Salomon invoked Robespierre and argued that tyranny could be a means to end tyranny, while accusing Tony of failing Afghanistan’s civilians and showing him evidence of the devastation there.
• Salomon condemned Tony for the deaths connected to his past actions, including Charlie Spencer, and said he would sacrifice individuals if doing so saved more lives.
• Salomon told Tony that he was likely to have a daughter named Morgan, promised to protect her through the apocalypse, and warned Tony not to come to the battlefield.
• Salomon told the Battle Sister to go to Latveria, saying they had to prepare for the next war and could not turn back.

Salomon and Victor von Doom prepared a coordinated assault on US Navy fleets, with Salomon assigned to lead the strike against the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The plan was finalized as the forces readied to attack before the Sokovia Accords meeting.

• The City of Immortals tracked the Sixth Fleet and concluded that destroying its Mediterranean battle group was necessary to secure Serbia's cooperation.
• Salomon entered the mountain bunker, equipped his Power Armor, and joined Victor von Doom and the operation's commanders in the command center.
• Victoria Hand reported that the Russian Black Sea Fleet had agreed not to interfere and would accept a captured gift if the strategic objectives were achieved.
• Victor von Doom proposed that he and Salomon handle the Mediterranean fleet while other strike forces attacked the Arctic and Atlantic sectors.
• Salomon approved the deployment plan, including Malphas's experimental combat robots, and ordered the operation completed before the Sokovia Accords meeting.

Victoria Hand commanded the Helicarrier’s surprise assault on a U.S. Atlantic carrier group as Latverian forces began boarding and seizing its ships. The attack continued with Fortress-type Combat Robots destroying the carrier bridge and turning their fire on nearby destroyers, while Victoria Hand awaited the next phase of the operation.

• Victoria Hand spotted the incoming Assault Transports and ordered communications interference, a drone launch, and the Helicarrier’s strike systems activated.
• Victoria Hand ordered the Helicarrier to fire, and its laser, cannon shells, and drones crippled ships and defenses in the Atlantic carrier group.
• Gene-modded Warriors and Armored Personnel Carriers landed on the ships, fought through deck defenses, and cut passages into the vessels to capture their crews.
• Constantine led the assault on the USS George H.W. Bush, where Gene-modded Warriors attacked aircraft and breached the ship’s decks.
• Five Fortress-type Combat Robots bombarded the carrier bridge with Siege Rams, then shifted their fire to nearby Missile Destroyers.
• Victoria Hand watched the combat timer and worried that the operation to drive the U.S. Navy out of Europe could provoke a thermonuclear conflict.

Salomon captured the Naples naval support facility and targeted the U.S. command chain as Latveria’s Mediterranean campaign unfolded. Natasha kept secret that Salomon had anticipated her surveillance, while Steve remained distracted by Bucky and Peggy Carter.

• Victoria Hand learned that Constantine’s forces had captured prisoners and supplies, then planted bombs to scuttle the ship they had seized.
• Salomon rode Pegasus into the Naples naval support facility and prepared to capture Vice Admiral Frank Craig Pandolfo, whose meeting had helped gather the Mediterranean Fleet.
• Salomon monitored the base from a nearby barbecue bar using a Mechanical Eagle while disguised by illusion magic.
• The U.S. Navy’s reconnaissance confirmed that three carrier battle groups had been destroyed, and the Russian Black Sea Fleet began making moves.
• Natasha Romanoff told Steve Rogers she had obtained surveillance footage of Salomon near the base, but she withheld the letter he had left for her.
• Steve remained preoccupied with Crossbones mentioning Bucky and news that Peggy Carter was critically ill.

Steve Rogers reflected on the Sokovia Accords and decided to use the blood-red shield, while Natasha Romanoff went to Brooklyn to confront Salomon. She learned that Salomon had given Rogers an advanced shield and questioned his ties to New York’s criminal syndicates.

• Natasha Romanoff told Steve Rogers she could not choose between his and Stark’s positions, then said she was heading to New York and had evidence about the Virus Laboratory.
• Steve Rogers considered how Salomon’s books and advice had shaped his views, wondered whether Salomon could see the future, and resolved to use the blood-red shield.
• Natasha Romanoff searched for Salomon in Brooklyn and found him in a crime-ridden neighborhood where gangs had recently been driven away.
• Natasha Romanoff asked Salomon whether he had given Rogers a shield, and Salomon confirmed it had a Directional Ion Shield.

Salomon asked Natasha Romanoff to join the City of Immortals, arguing that the world was nearing war and offering her a place free of her troubled past. Their conversation ended with an interruption from his neighbors, whose ordinary family life mattered deeply to him.

• Natasha confronted Salomon about giving Russia an aircraft carrier, and he said he had meant to frighten the White House and then turned the discussion to her past.
• Salomon reminded Natasha that S.H.I.E.L.D. had protected her and asked whether she needed a new place to belong as the Avengers fell apart.
• Salomon invited Natasha to join the City of Immortals and described Wanda, Pietro, Steve Rogers, and Tony Stark's positions toward his plans.
• Two elderly neighbors arrived with food and a baby, and Salomon greeted them warmly while Natasha lowered her gun.
• Salomon told Natasha about buying the apartment building and bakery, helping the Bernadello family, and naming their newborn.

Victor von Doom began a diplomatic mission to Serbia and planned to bring neighboring Balkan nations under Latveria’s influence, while Latveria worked to destabilize NATO’s hold over Albania and Kosovo. Silver Sablinova returned to the administrative headquarters, where Salomon questioned her about the Wild Legion’s delayed mission.

• Natasha Romanoff remembered how she had come to know Salomon as he arranged food and travel for her and told her to pass his regards to Bayonetta.
• Victor von Doom left Latveria for Serbia to pursue an alliance using security guarantees, advanced technology, and Unified Truth.
• Latveria targeted Albania and Kosovo with broadcasts exposing officials’ scandals and promoting Unified Truth, while preparing to unite local forces against NATO.
• Silver Sablinova returned from the countryside to the administrative headquarters after the administrative department summoned her.
• Salomon told Silver that Victor had gone on secret diplomacy and demanded an explanation for the Wild Legion’s delayed mission.

Silver Sablinova asked Salomon for more equipment and training for the Wild Legion, which helped restore order and evacuate civilians across Latveria. Salomon promised new anti-armor fusion weapons and ordered her to use them against any superheroes who entered Latveria.

• Silver Sablinova told Salomon that the Wild Legion needed time and training to use its new weapons and said her comrades preferred solid-projectile guns.
• The chapter described how the Wild Legion used advanced equipment to fight resistance groups, gangs, and land mines while helping evacuate civilians from war zones.
• Salomon rejected Silver’s request for free medical treatment for injuries caused by reckless use of heavy weapons and said new equipment training would begin in five days.
• Salomon told Silver that the next equipment would include miniaturized industrial devices and individual fusion weapons with anti-armor capabilities.
• Salomon ordered Silver to use fusion weapons against superheroes who entered Latveria in the name of maintaining peace.

Salomon explained to Silver Sablinova why he opposed worshipping superheroes and promoted materialism, arguing that humanity should gain power through its own efforts. He then gave the Wild Legion one week to prepare to join a campaign against armed Vampire forces in Transylvania.

• Silver Sablinova questioned Salomon’s rejection of superheroes, and he compared superhero worship to religious superstition and urged people to believe in humanity’s potential.
• Salomon told Silver that Latveria would teach ordinary people to gain strength and would rely on human knowledge rather than gods or superheroes.
• Silver challenged Salomon’s plans for an interstellar warship and asked why he had chosen to rule Latveria, and he explained that he wanted to cultivate people who shared his ideals.
• Salomon gave the Wild Legion one week to prepare to join the Latverian army, the Gene-modded Warriors, and the Sisterhood in a campaign in Transylvania.
• Salomon revealed that the campaign would target Vampires armed with modern weapons and said the Wild Legion would receive specialized training to help clear them from the Balkan Peninsula.

Peggy Carter’s funeral brought Natasha Romanoff and Mycroft Holmes together as they considered the political tensions surrounding the Avengers and the hidden dealings between Britain and Latveria. Natasha left for Vienna to avert a further escalation, while Mycroft received a news alert that abruptly changed his mood.

• Steve Rogers and the other pallbearers carried Peggy Carter’s coffin to the altar at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, where Sharon Carter was invited to speak.
• Natasha Romanoff left the funeral and encountered Mycroft Holmes in the cathedral’s gallery.
• Natasha told Mycroft she was going to Vienna, and he confirmed that a private jet was waiting at Heathrow Airport.
• Mycroft reflected on secretly sharing information with Latveria to protect Britain’s independence and the Queen’s position.
• Mycroft saw a news alert on his phone, and his good mood vanished.

As the White House announced sanctions and portrayed the destruction of the Sixth Fleet as terrorism, Victor von Doom declared Latveria would attack U.S. communications satellites and reveal secrets recovered from the carriers. At a funeral, Mycroft Holmes realized the confrontation could destroy the United States and potentially trigger a nuclear catastrophe, and he reluctantly sent a text message.

• The White House spokesperson described the Sixth Fleet's losses, and the vice president praised the fallen sailors and condemned the attackers as terrorists.
• The president announced sanctions against several countries, including Hungary, until they proved they had no connection to the attack.
• Victor von Doom appeared in Serbia, declared that Latveria had destroyed three U.S. carrier battle groups, and offered to share the recovered technology and intelligence.
• Victor von Doom threatened to systematically strike U.S. communications satellites and warned that Latveria would retaliate against anyone seeking to use nuclear weapons for their own greed.
• Mycroft Holmes considered the threat of a decapitation strike, recalled Britain's plans for confronting Asgard, and concluded that U.S. officials might recklessly provoke disaster.
• Mycroft Holmes sighed at the funeral and sent a text message saying he had done what he was supposed to do and should not be bothered.