Chapter Summaries

The Guardians of the Galaxy hurried toward Earth as Thanos’s Dark Order prepared to invade, while the Avengers gathered at Stark Tower to plan for the approaching threat. Thor warned them that the Dark Order would reach Earth in two days and served Thanos, a terrifying galactic overlord.

• The Dark Order spread across the galaxy under Thanos’s command, searching for the Infinity Stones and bringing war to countless worlds.
• Star-Lord and the Guardians set course for Earth after learning that a Dark Order commander was leading an advance force there, possibly targeting Xiao Hen and the Power Stone.
• Star-Lord worried that Thanos might come to Earth, while Gamora argued that Xiao Hen’s pursuit of the Infinity Stones showed he was powerful.
• Thor told the Avengers that the Dark Order could reach Earth in two days using spatial teleportation.
• Tony, Captain America, and the others took the threat more seriously as Thor explained that the Dark Order served Thanos, the powerful overlord of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Wanda informed the Avengers that Professor Charles and Magneto would join the fight against the Dark Order, but an arriving alien ship brought news of the coming threat before they could meet. Meanwhile, Xiao Hen emerged from the Super String Space with four Infinity Stones as Cull Obsidian led the Dark Order’s fleet toward Earth.

• Professor Charles told Wanda that he and Magneto had agreed to join forces against the coming crisis, and Wanda informed the Avengers they were on their way.
• The Avengers debated whether they could trust Magneto, while Thor warned that the Dark Order would kill both humans and mutants.
• Nick Fury summoned the Avengers to the Department of Defense after an alien ship approached Earth, and Captain America asked Wanda to redirect Professor Charles and Magneto there.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy arrived to give the Avengers information about the Dark Order, Thanos, and the coming war.
• Xiao Hen emerged from the Super String Space holding the Time Stone, Space Stone, Power Stone, and Mind Stone, then spotted hundreds of Dark Order battleships appearing in the void.
• Cull Obsidian led the Dark Order fleet to Earth to assess its Infinity Stones and eliminate its defenders before reporting to Thanos.

The Dark Order fleet reached Earth and attacked, but the Planetary Defense System Star-Lord had obtained blocked its energy blasts. Cull Obsidian ordered his forces to begin landing operations, leaving Earth's heroes and armies to prepare for the invasion.

• Cull Obsidian led a vast Dark Order fleet into the Solar System, alarming Earth's nations.
• Star-Lord, Captain America, and Nick Fury briefed Earth's heroes and leaders on the limits of the Planetary Defense System and the coming ground battle.
• The Dark Order fleet fired energy blasts at Earth, but the Planetary Defense System intercepted them with a planetary shield.
• Earth's nations ordered their united armies to prepare as the Dark Order stopped its bombardment.
• Cull Obsidian ordered the fleet to advance and begin landing operations so he could fulfill Thanos's mission to find the Infinity Stones.

As alien forces invaded Earth, Xiao Hen watched from afar while Magneto destroyed a Dark Order battleship over Canada. Elsewhere, the aliens overwhelmed U.S. troops, and the Global Allied Military Command called on superheroes and mutants to reinforce critical battlefields.

• Xiao Hen surveyed the worldwide invasion and decided to leave the alien forces to Earth's defenders while he reserved his strength for Thanos.
• Magneto and Brotherhood of Mutants members prepared to fight a Dark Order battleship above Canada's Rocky Mountains.
• Magneto crushed the battleship with his control over metal, killing the aliens aboard, and his allies headed toward other battlefields.
• Dark Order troops landed in Michigan and quickly outmatched U.S. soldiers with superior weapons.
• The Global Allied Military Command received desperate requests for reinforcements and directed superheroes and mutants to the most critical battles.

Earth’s heroes and mutants fought the Dark Order across the globe while the Earth coalition struggled to hold its ground. Cull Obsidian landed in New York demanding the Infinity Stones, and the city’s strongest heroes gathered to face him.

• Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Scarlet Witch joined the fighting in New York while Iron Man flew off to support the air battle.
• Captain America and Black Widow fought Dark Order warriors and helped protect regular soldiers from the invading aliens.
• Xiao Hen watched Cull Obsidian’s warship approach and chose to wait for Earth’s heroes to confront him.
• Cull Obsidian landed in New York, demanded the Infinity Stones, and drew Thor, Iron Man Tony, Bruce, Captain America, and Scarlet Witch Wanda to the battlefield.

Cull Obsidian attacked the Avengers while demanding Earth’s Infinity Stones, overwhelming the heroes with his strength. Captain America was badly injured, Tony was blasted away, and Thor and Wanda struggled to stop him.

• Cull Obsidian demanded the Infinity Stones, and Captain America told him Earth no longer had them.
• Thor attacked Cull Obsidian with Mjolnir, but Cull caught the hammer and endured Thor’s lightning strike.
• Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Bruce, and Wanda charged together, but Cull sent Captain America flying with a blow from his battle blade.
• Cull punched Iron Man and blasted him dozens of kilometers away, then split Wanda’s Chaos Magic with his blade.
• Black Widow and Bruce helped the injured Captain America, while Thor continued fighting Cull Obsidian.
• Cull Obsidian struck Thor with his blade and sent him crashing through two buildings.

Cull Obsidian overwhelmed the Avengers in New York, defeating Hulk after the enraged hero briefly fought him. As Cull Obsidian prepared to kill the unconscious Dr. Banner, Jean Grey arrived and blocked his blow with flames.

• Cull Obsidian incapacitated Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow, while Bruce transformed into a fully awakened Hulk.
• Hulk grew to enormous size and battered Cull Obsidian through the ground, but Cull Obsidian struck him unconscious and Banner reverted to human form.
• Cull Obsidian approached Banner and raised his saber to kill him.
• Jean Grey flew in and blocked Cull Obsidian's saber with a sheet of flame.
• Cull Obsidian questioned Jean, whose Phoenix power had begun to manifest despite her still being in her first form.

Jean unleashed the Phoenix Force against Cull Obsidian, then transformed into a divine, purple-flamed form when her human body could no longer control its power. She imprisoned Cull Obsidian and struck him with a purple flame, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Jean arrived in New York as reinforcements and used the Phoenix Force to withstand Cull Obsidian’s space-cutting attack.
• Jean’s flame chain and massive fireball forced Cull Obsidian to defend himself, though he cleaved the fireball apart and destroyed nearby buildings with its scattered flames.
• Exhausted and struggling to control the Phoenix Force, Jean let her human aura fade and transformed, gaining purple flame wings and divine power.
• Jean immobilized Cull Obsidian by imprisoning the surrounding space and sent a small purple flame toward him.
• Cull Obsidian roared as the purple flame touched his body.

Jean, consumed by the Phoenix Will, killed Cull Obsidian and began purifying Earth with flames that threatened to destroy the planet. Xiao Hen appeared above New York, stopped the flames from descending, and prepared to fight the Dark Phoenix.

• Jean burned Cull Obsidian to ash, then summoned Phoenix Purifying Flames across the sky and declared that she would purify Earth.
• Charles, Magneto, Star-Lord, and the stranded heroes realized the flames could destroy the planet, while Earth's leaders found no way to stop them.
• As Jean began lowering the flames toward Earth, Xiao Hen appeared before her above New York.
• Xiao Hen halted space and drew the flames from across the world into a white sphere in his hand.
• Jean called Xiao Hen a sinner for opposing her, and Xiao Hen challenged her to battle in her Dark Phoenix state.

Xiao Hen fought Jean after the Phoenix Will took control of her, and destroyed her body when her mind became irreparably confused. Earthling Jean died, though the Phoenix Force could resurrect her elsewhere in the universe as the White Phoenix.

• Xiao Hen contained Jean's expanding energy sphere in a spatial rift, then struck her with a punch that briefly stirred Jean's original will.
• Jean summoned a Phoenix Spirit whose power neared three million Combat Power, and Xiao Hen met it with a punch that devastated New York and flooded parts of North America's eastern coast.
• Captain America and Thor watched Xiao Hen's battle through satellite imagery, while Star-Lord recognized him and realized he was protecting Earth.
• Jean lost control after creating the Phoenix Spirit, and Xiao Hen destroyed her body, ending Earthling Jean's life.

After Jean died stopping the Phoenix Force, Earth’s defenders nearly finished eliminating the Dark Order’s invasion. Thanos learned that the remaining four Infinity Stones were on Earth and arrived with his commanders, setting the stage for the final confrontation.

• Scott grieved Jean’s death, and Charles explained that she had unleashed the Phoenix Force while fighting Cull Obsidian, though Jean might not have completely perished.
• Earth’s forces killed or hunted down nearly all the invading aliens, while Xiao Hen disappeared and the superheroes began the cleanup.
• Thanos learned that the remaining four Infinity Stones were on Earth and ordered Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, and Corvus Glaive to accompany him there.
• Thanos’s battleship entered the Solar System, and his commanders dismissed the danger despite Proxima Midnight’s caution.
• Earth’s coalition received an alert about Thanos’s approaching ship, and Star-Lord identified him as a greater threat than Cull Obsidian.

Thanos arrived near Earth seeking the Infinity Stones, and Xiao Hen confronted his ship alone in space. Corvus Glaive came out to challenge Xiao Hen, who unleashed an overwhelming aura as their fight began.

• Star-Lord warned the heroes at Stark Tower that Thanos had arrived and explained that he and Xiao Hen were both seeking the Infinity Stones.
• Xiao Hen detected Thanos's spacecraft and appeared in the void outside Earth to block its path.
• Thanos recognized Xiao Hen as the holder of the Power Stone and Mind Stone and sent Corvus Glaive to confront him.
• Corvus Glaive flew out to fight Xiao Hen and demanded that he surrender the stones.
• Xiao Hen called Corvus Glaive a probe sent by Thanos and released an aura so powerful that Earth and its inhabitants seemed to stop moving.

Xiao Hen effortlessly overpowered Corvus Glaive, then faced Corvus Glaive, Ebony Maw, and Proxima Midnight as they attacked him together. As Xiao Hen repelled their assaults, an illusory attacker appeared behind him with a blade.

• Xiao Hen stopped Corvus Glaive’s axe with one finger and caught his stronger spinning strike in his bare hand.
• Xiao Hen crushed Corvus Glaive’s battle axe, leaving him shaken and considering retreat.
• Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight left Thanos’s warship and joined Corvus Glaive against Xiao Hen.
• Ebony Maw trapped Xiao Hen in a dark domain and attacked with a life-draining chain, but Xiao Hen destroyed the attack.
• Xiao Hen kicked Corvus Glaive hundreds of kilometers away, and an illusory figure appeared behind him and thrust a blade toward his back.

Xiao Hen defeated Thanos’s three subordinates and challenged Thanos to fight over the Infinity Stones. Thanos emerged from his exploding Space Battleship to face him.

• Proxima Midnight ambushed Xiao Hen, but he dodged her knife and struck her, severely injuring her.
• Ebony Maw attacked Xiao Hen with Evil Will, but Xiao Hen destroyed it with his spiritual power and resisted the mind attack.
• Xiao Hen used Great Space Annihilation to kill Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Ebony Maw.
• Xiao Hen confronted Thanos and challenged him to reveal his strength and fight for the Infinity Stones.
• Thanos declared that only he could gather all the Infinity Stones, then burst out of his Space Battleship to face Xiao Hen.

Xiao Hen and Thanos fought in space, unleashing powers that disrupted the Solar System as Thanos used the Reality and Soul Stones against him. Xiao Hen revealed his full Divine Power, resisted the Soul Stone’s attack, and stopped time, leaving him poised to take the Infinity Gauntlet.

• Xiao Hen and Thanos traded challenges as their clash disrupted planetary orbits and unleashed disasters across Earth.
• Thanos used the Reality Stone to create a wave of planets and meteors, but Xiao Hen revealed his full Divine Power and blasted him away.
• Xiao Hen struck through space, and Thanos blocked the attack with a sphere of metal before shattering Xiao Hen’s spatial assault.
• Thanos used the Soul Stone to attack Xiao Hen’s soul, but Xiao Hen protected himself with Divine Power.
• Xiao Hen combined his powers with the Time Stone to freeze time, then approached Thanos to claim the Infinity Gauntlet.

Xiao Hen tried to take Thanos’s two Infinity Stones, but an old man from the Guardians of the Galaxy intervened to prevent anyone from gathering all six. Xiao Hen attacked him with a devastating Divine Energy Impact, which the old man blocked with a pale green shield, leaving Xiao Hen wondering what power the barrier held.

• A mysterious figure destroyed a distant galaxy, noticed the Watcher’s attention on the Milky Way, and set off to investigate.
• The old man broke Xiao Hen’s time stop just as Xiao Hen reached for Thanos’s Infinity Gauntlet and two remaining Stones.
• The old man identified himself as a guardian of the universe and said the Guardians of the Galaxy existed to prevent the Infinity Stones from being gathered.
• Thanos revealed that Xiao Hen held four Stones and tried to turn the old man against him as the greater threat.
• Xiao Hen attacked the old man with Divine Energy Impact, devastating Earth and the Solar System, but the old man’s pale green shield blocked the blast.

Xiao Hen devastated the Solar System and killed the Guardians of the Galaxy with a Space Stone-powered attack. Thanos then revealed a giant body created with the Soul and Reality Stones and attacked Xiao Hen.

• Xiao Hen unleashed an enhanced Divine Energy Impact, wrecking planets across the Solar System and devastating the Orion Arm.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy used Life Guardian to withstand Xiao Hen's attack but suffered serious injuries.
• Xiao Hen used the Space, Time, Mind, and Power Stones to annihilate the Guardians of the Galaxy and the space around him.
• Thanos used the Soul and Reality Stones to create a ten-thousand-meter-tall body and struck at Xiao Hen.
• Xiao Hen charged forward and met Giant Thanos's punch head-on.

Xiao Hen and Thanos fought a prolonged battle that destroyed the Solar System and devastated much of the Milky Way. Thanos fled toward the Galactic Center while Xiao Hen pursued him, suspecting he intended to use the central black hole.

• Xiao Hen repeatedly attacked Thanos with the Infinity Stones, but the Soul Stone and Reality Stone let Thanos endure the damage and restore his body.
• Xiao Hen continued wearing Thanos down as their battle obliterated the Solar System, devastated nearby star systems, and destabilized the Milky Way.
• An armored humanoid appeared outside the galaxy, sensed the battle, and traveled to a point near the Galactic Center to observe it.
• Thanos kicked away a white dwarf, then fled from Xiao Hen by tearing through space and detonating a star to slow his pursuer.
• Xiao Hen chased Thanos toward the Galactic Center and suspected he planned to use its supermassive black hole against him.

Thanos fled toward the Galactic Center, hoping the super black hole would neutralize Xiao Hen’s Infinity Stone powers and save him. Xiao Hen kept pursuing him, shielding himself from the growing gravity and impacts as they neared the black hole.

• Thanos repeatedly escaped through space, but Xiao Hen pursued him and blasted a hole in his body that quickly regenerated.
• Thanos reached the Galactic Center and declared it would be Xiao Hen’s grave, then charged toward the super black hole.
• Xiao Hen followed, hurling stars at Thanos as they raced through the increasingly distorted region.
• As the black hole’s gravity slowed space-time powers, Xiao Hen formed a golden barrier with divine power to resist it.
• A nearby star exploded into a huge stream of matter that struck Xiao Hen’s barrier, while he continued pursuing Thanos with energy from the Power Stone.

Xiao Hen defeated Thanos near the Galactic Center black hole and claimed the Infinity Gauntlet, but Eson of the Celestial Group seized Thanos’s severed hand before Xiao Hen could take it. The chapter left Xiao Hen confronting Eson over the Infinity Stones.

• Xiao Hen and Thanos’s battle devastated civilizations across the Milky Way, prompting a member of the Celestial Group to decide that their actions needed judgment.
• Thanos explained that he had sought the Infinity Stones to reach the power of the Five Elders and see the Death Goddess again, then charged toward the black hole.
• Thanos used the Reality Stone to bind Xiao Hen and drag them toward the black hole, but Xiao Hen broke free and stopped their fall with his Divine Power.
• Xiao Hen severed Thanos’s left hand, which wore the Infinity Gauntlet, and kicked Thanos toward the black hole, where he was swallowed.
• As Xiao Hen flew to retrieve the Infinity Gauntlet and its Soul Stone and Reality Stone, Eson of the Celestial Group grabbed Thanos’s severed hand and identified himself as the Searcher.