Chapter Summaries

Murphy launched Ghost Group’s forty-nine self-deploying satellites, restoring global satellite services and placing countries on equal footing. After using damaging revelations and stock-market moves to force his enemies to pay, he entered the Quantum Realm to search for Hank Pym’s wife.

• Ghost Group moved into its completed tower, while Murphy sent engineering robots to clear space debris for his satellites.
• Murphy launched forty-nine satellites that unfolded in geostationary orbit, providing global coverage, navigation, weather data, and paid military services.
• Murphy used his stock-market fortune and damaging information to drive hostile conglomerates into crisis and make them pay him.
• Murphy went to Ghana and agreed with Hank Pym to search the Quantum Realm for Hank’s wife, with plans to restrict her freedom if she was rescued.
• Hank Pym activated the passage, and Murphy piloted a two-person aircraft into the Quantum Realm.

Murphy calibrated the robots’ coordinates during his first Quantum Realm expedition and left Elizabeth to help Hank Pym sort the data. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. recovered Steve Rogers from the ice, and he woke to learn that he had been asleep for seventy years.

• Murphy explored the Quantum Realm, gathered the robots’ transmissions, and calibrated their coordinates before returning to Hank Pym.
• Murphy left Elizabeth to compile the information and told Hank Pym to continue launching robots using the updated coordinates.
• A polar expedition discovered the aircraft wreckage and Steve Rogers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. secretly transported him to New York.
• Nick Fury arranged a staged World War II-era hospital room for Steve Rogers, but Steve recognized the deception and escaped the guards.
• Nick Fury told Steve Rogers that he had been asleep for seventy years, and Steve said he still had a date.

Steve Rogers met Murphy at Ghost Tower and learned how his comrade survived as a mechanical being after the Tesseract sent him into space. Steve planned to adjust to the modern era and face his grief over Peggy Carter, while Murphy warned that Earth would soon be in danger.

• Nick Fury showed Steve Rogers a photograph of Murphy and asked whether he was his former comrade, so Steve went to Ghost Tower to meet him.
• Murphy explained that the Tesseract had sent him into space with Red Skull and that he had traveled through time to acquire his mechanical body.
• Steve said he would report Murphy's story to S.H.I.E.L.D. and try to adapt to the modern era, while admitting he was afraid to see Peggy Carter.
• Murphy told Steve that Earth faced a coming threat and that he was trying to become human, though their differing beliefs would eventually divide them.

Murphy built a Moon Base using local resources and engineering robots, then turned his attention back to Earth when Bruce Banner transformed into Hulk and escaped the military. Hulk remained at large in Brazil, while Steve Rogers learned about the military’s Super Soldier Program.

• Murphy planned a steel city on the Moon, and Nick Fury ordered the time-machine fragments destroyed after Steve Rogers reported what Murphy had told him.
• Murphy launched his transport ship in July 2005, chose a crater on the Moon for a base, and began building it with robots and local materials.
• By early 2007, the Moon Base’s factories were operating, and Murphy began monitoring Bruce Banner after the Super Soldier Program went wrong.
• Bruce Banner transformed into Hulk, escaped the military’s pursuit, and fled to Brazil while Murphy tracked him with satellites.
• Steve Rogers watched S.H.I.E.L.D.’s footage of Hulk and was disgusted by the U.S. military’s program.

Murphy watched Peter Parker and Bruce Banner as major events approached, then witnessed Peter gain his powers after a spider bred from Richard Parker’s genes bit him. He visited the ailing Norman Osborn to discuss a meeting, leaving their alliance undecided.

• Murphy monitored Peter Parker and Bruce Banner while the Ghost Group halted new investments despite its growing profits.
• Peter Parker visited Osborn Corporation’s laboratory with his school, where a spider bred using Richard Parker’s genes escaped and bit him.
• Murphy concluded that Norman Osborn’s declining health and plans for Cross-Species Gene Transfer could create a crisis, and arranged to meet him.
• Murphy drove to Norman Osborn’s villa and arrived to meet the ailing chairman of Osborn Corporation.

Murphy offered to cure Norman Osborn in exchange for the Osborn Corporation joining the Ghost Group, and Norman accepted. Murphy also explained the key to Curt Connors's genetic experiment, leaving Curt ready to resume his research and Norman hopeful of recovery.

• Murphy visited the ill Norman Osborn and offered to cure his hereditary disease if he handed the Osborn Corporation over to the Ghost Group.
• Norman accepted, summoned Curt Connors and his lawyer, and arranged to transfer the company.
• Murphy granted Norman three percent of the Ghost Group's shares and planned to remove the Osborn Corporation's other shareholders.
• Murphy told Curt Connors that the experimental organism had to be cultivated using the intended user's genes, explaining that Richard Parker had used his own genes to cultivate the spiders.
• Curt Connors agreed to return to his research and save Norman, while Murphy promised to help and protect them.

Murphy planned his superhero and scientific teams while preparing for the coming conflict with Thanos, and he ordered John Smith to collect a blood sample from Peter Parker after Peter was bitten. The sample was sent to Curt Connors for study as Murphy continued assembling his forces.

• Murphy met Jennifer's new assistant, Natasha Romanoff, and recognized her as the Black Widow sent by S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Murphy outlined a team featuring Ant-Man, Wasp, Spider-Man, Harry Osborn, and scientists including Norman Osborn, Curt Connors, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne.
• Murphy worried about the Infinity Stones, the unfinished Ghost warship, and the unclear intentions of his business partner Obadiah Stane.
• Curt Connors devoted himself to his work while Murphy sent John Smith to infiltrate Peter Parker's home after Peter was bitten.
• John Smith drew blood from the unconscious Peter and delivered the changing sample to Osborn Corporation for Curt Connors to study.

Murphy arranged for John Smith to intercept Bruce Banner’s blood sample and studied how Hulk’s cells compared with Asgardian cells and enhanced variants. The experiments produced calm, golden mutant cells, leaving Murphy unsure whether Hulk’s blood alone would be the right choice for enhancing himself.

• Murphy monitored Bruce Banner’s communications with Mr. Blue and waited for Bruce to mail a blood sample.
• Bruce Banner sent Mr. Blue a blood sample, and John Smith bribed a postal clerk to intercept the package and forward it to Murphy.
• General Ross traced Bruce Banner to a contaminated soda bottle and pursued him until he transformed into Hulk.
• Murphy received the package and found that Hulk’s cells devoured unenhanced Asgardian cells.
• Murphy tested Hulk’s cells against Asgardian cells enhanced with Super Serum and T-Virus, and the enhanced cells won but mutated into golden cells.

Murphy tested the limits of Golden Cells and prepared to obtain Thor's cells, while Peter Parker unknowingly gained new abilities and Murphy planned to control his future. At Osborn Corporation, Curt Connors advanced his gene experiments as Natasha Romanoff continued watching the organization from within.

• Murphy experimented with different enhancement sequences and found that the resulting Golden Cells resisted heat, electricity, and radiation but formed a protective shell against a cutting tool.
• Murphy struggled to decide whether to use the Golden Cells on himself, then discovered sulfuric acid could destroy them and cleaned the laboratory.
• Murphy awaited Thor's arrival, planning to obtain his cells and investigate the Destroyer.
• Peter Parker woke with new strength after his blood had been taken, while Murphy chose not to prevent Ben Parker's death and planned to control Peter through his family.
• Curt Connors studied Peter's blood and cultivated two new breeds using Norman Osborn's genes as Osborn Corporation increased laboratory security.
• Natasha Romanoff continued monitoring the organization while working as Jennifer's assistant at Osborn Corporation headquarters.

Murphy oversaw the lizard gene experiments and decided Norman Osborn and Curt Connors should wait a year before receiving treatment. Norman agreed to the plan, and Osborn Corporation was merged into Ghost Group with Harry Osborn joining its board of directors.

• Murphy met Black Widow at Ghost Group Headquarters, then left and had Laura monitor for anyone following him.
• Murphy inspected Curt Connors’s genetically transformed adult lizards and ordered Connors to breed them and wait a year before proceeding with treatment.
• Murphy told Curt Connors that he would kill him if he rushed the experiment and created a monster, and promised him a future position in Ghost Group’s biology department.
• Murphy proposed freezing Norman Osborn until the lizard genes matured, and Norman agreed and said he would call Harry back.
• Norman bought back all the shares in Osborn Corporation, which merged into Ghost Group in exchange for three percent of its shares.
• Harry Osborn joined Ghost Group’s board of directors, while Osborn’s headquarters and divisions were absorbed into Ghost Group.

Bruce Banner returned to the United States and tried to reunite with Betty Ross, while S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared Captain America to respond if Banner transformed. The military cornered Banner on a university campus, where he became Hulk under fire.

• Bruce Banner returned to the United States, and Murphy watched him while S.H.I.E.L.D. tracked his movements.
• Nick Fury briefed Captain America on Hulk and asked Steve Rogers to remain on standby.
• Bruce Banner contacted Betty Ross, but the man beside her reported him to General Ross.
• General Ross sent soldiers to capture Bruce Banner, and Emil Blonsky eagerly joined the operation after receiving an immature Super-Soldier Serum.
• The soldiers cornered Bruce Banner on campus as he sought experimental data, and his heartbeat rose beyond control.
• Bruce Banner transformed into Hulk, and General Ross ordered the soldiers to open fire.

Hulk rampaged through the military forces, and Steve Rogers intervened to draw him away from the city. Steve escaped aboard a Quinjet, leaving Hulk furious and reaching for the aircraft.

• Hulk destroyed military vehicles as Emil Blonsky and sonic cannons failed to stop him.
• General Ross ordered armed helicopters to join the assault, while Nick Fury held Steve Rogers back and Betty Ross pleaded for Bruce Banner.
• After Hulk spotted Betty Ross and destroyed the sonic cannons, Steve Rogers descended from a Quinjet and fought him with his shield.
• Steve struck Hulk and then fled to lure him away, while S.H.I.E.L.D. cleared the route and Hulk pursued in increasingly long leaps.
• Steve leaped onto a Quinjet’s open rear hatch, then threw his shield into Hulk’s face as Hulk jumped toward the aircraft.

Steve Rogers drew Hulk away from New York and tried to stop him with his shield and fighting skills. Although he stayed on his feet, Hulk remained far stronger and Steve could not hurt him.

• Nick Fury agreed to have Steve Rogers fight Hulk again and told him to lead Hulk toward Ghost Tower if he was in danger.
• Steve Rogers jumped from the Quinjet and met Hulk on the outskirts, but Hulk's first powerful punch sent him flying.
• Steve Rogers avoided Hulk's blows and repeatedly struck his weak points, keeping Hulk disoriented for several minutes.
• Hulk slammed his fists into the ground, disrupted Steve Rogers's footing, and sent him flying again with a punch.
• Steve Rogers stood back up while Murphy watched him and wondered what gave him such endurance.

Hawkeye and Captain America fought Hulk, but Hulk destroyed their Quinjet as they tried to escape. After Captain America led Hulk toward Ghost Group, Nick Fury asked Murphy to help, and Murphy agreed to discuss the price later.

• Hawkeye fired explosive and shock arrows at Hulk, while Captain America attacked him with his shield.
• Nick Fury confronted General Ross, asserted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority, and ordered Captain America to lure Hulk into the wilderness.
• Captain America and Hawkeye bombarded Hulk from the Quinjet, but Hulk caught its wing and sent it crashing to the ground.
• Captain America lured Hulk away while Hawkeye reported the crash and their direction to Nick Fury.
• Nick Fury called Murphy for help, and Murphy agreed on the condition that S.H.I.E.L.D. would do its utmost to meet his later demands.

Murphy joined Steve Rogers to fight Hulk and helped draw him away from Murphy’s headquarters. After Hulk reverted to Dr. Bruce Banner, Murphy and Steve watched from the headquarters, where Steve wondered what could cause the transformation.

• Murphy flew to Hulk’s location and joined Steve Rogers, who had been leading Hulk away from the headquarters.
• Murphy and Steve attacked Hulk together, with Murphy blocking his blows while Steve struck from behind.
• Murphy used Liquid Metal to restrain Hulk, then knocked him face-first into the ground before grabbing Steve and flying away.
• Murphy lured Hulk farther from the headquarters and escaped his pursuit by flying out of sight.
• Murphy and Steve watched Hulk’s rage subside and his body shrink back into Dr. Bruce Banner, who collapsed unconscious.
• Steve asked what could make Banner transform, but Murphy did not answer.

Dr. Bruce Banner struggled to survive while searching for a way to contact Mr. Blue and learn what happened to his blood sample. After deciding the sample had been taken and that he needed to flee America, he returned near Betty Ross’s home but left without speaking to her.

• Dr. Bruce Banner walked to New York, stole clothes, and slept in an alley while S.H.I.E.L.D. agents watched over him.
• Dr. Bruce Banner borrowed a chance to use a laptop and emailed Mr. Blue, who replied that he had never received the blood sample.
• Dr. Bruce Banner suspected someone had taken his blood sample and decided to leave America and hide elsewhere.
• Dr. Bruce Banner saw Betty Ross throw out the belongings of the man who had betrayed him to General Ross.
• Dr. Bruce Banner hesitated outside Betty Ross’s door, then left and planned to earn money for his escape.

Murphy visited Peter Parker and May Parker to reveal what he knew about Richard Parker and Peter’s spider-like abilities, while explaining why he had kept Richard under his control. The conversation left Peter angry and uncertain about his father’s past and Murphy’s role in it.

• Murphy decided to recruit Spider-Man and went to Peter Parker’s apartment at dinner time.
• Murphy told May Parker and Peter Parker that Richard Parker had worked for Murphy Biotechnology Company for nearly ten years.
• Peter Parker demanded to know why his father had never contacted them, and Murphy said he had refused to let him.
• Murphy revealed that Peter had gained spider-like abilities after being bitten by a spider, shocking May Parker.
• Murphy accused Richard of repeatedly betraying his employers and described the cloning, memory implantation, and gene cultivation technologies Richard had obtained.
• Peter Parker asked how Murphy had acquired Osborn Corporation.

Murphy recruited Peter Parker for his superhero team by offering him the chance to see his missing parents, then showed him the advanced suit and training he had prepared. Peter arrived at Murphy’s headquarters and reunited with Richard and Mary Parker.

• Murphy told May Parker he wanted Peter Parker for his superhero team, and Peter agreed to go after Murphy offered him a chance to see his parents.
• Murphy arranged for John Smith to bring Richard and Mary Parker to the New York headquarters while he took Peter there.
• Murphy showed Peter the headquarters and a proposed Vibranium combat suit, explaining its features and Peter’s need for training.
• Murphy showed Peter footage of his recent activities and criticized the damage caused by his attempts to help people.
• Murphy and Peter returned to the office, where Richard and Mary Parker had arrived.

Murphy kept Richard and Mary Parker under surveillance while offering them work at Ghost Group headquarters, and Peter Parker agreed to join Murphy’s team. The team still lacked a name as Peter prepared to begin training after school.

• Murphy refused to let Richard Parker’s family reunite outside his supervision, but offered Richard a research position alongside Curt Connors at headquarters.
• Murphy explained that he planned to recruit people with special abilities because Earth would face future dangers, while warning against creating superhumans on a mass scale.
• Peter Parker agreed to join Murphy’s team despite Richard’s protests, saying he felt responsible for using his abilities to protect others.
• Murphy told Peter that a powerful being in space intended to kill half of all life in the universe and said Earth needed to build its own strength.
• Peter asked what the team was called, and Murphy said they would decide on a name later and that Peter would train after school.

Murphy traveled to Wakanda to learn how to incorporate Vibranium into combat suits for his expanding team. Shuri showed him the Black Panther Suit and shared Wakanda’s manufacturing approach, leaving Murphy with the knowledge he needed to develop a suit for Spider-Man.

• Murphy flew to Wakanda and told T'Challa he wanted to learn its Vibranium manufacturing techniques.
• T'Challa brought Murphy to meet Shuri, who led Wakanda’s technology department.
• Murphy explained that Spider-Man and other enhanced people on his team needed combat suits, and Shuri agreed to show him Wakanda’s technology.
• Shuri presented the Black Panther Suit, and Murphy examined it while asking about its design and capabilities.
• Murphy learned how Wakanda layered materials around Vibranium to preserve its toughness while accommodating equipment, and Shuri asked for nothing in exchange.