Chapter Summaries

Ultron pressured Helen Cho to build it a new body, threatening her family when she refused. Meanwhile, Captain America and Black Widow arrived in Wakanda and were confronted by cloaked drones that scanned them.

• Ultron used its knowledge of Helen Cho’s research to persuade her to create a body with the Regeneration Cradle and Stark Industries technology.
• Helen Cho resisted Ultron’s appeal, but Ultron threatened her son, Lee Jun-ho, and her parents to force her compliance.
• Captain America and Black Widow landed in Wakanda and were puzzled by the primitive-looking settlement near their landing site.
• Nearly ten camouflaged drones appeared, surrounded Captain America and Black Widow, and locked their weapons onto them.
• The drones held their fire as one descended to scan Captain America and Black Widow and transmit their information.

Captain America and Black Widow entered Wakanda to investigate Ultron’s search for Vibranium, where Frank Castle confronted them and denied that Ultron had visited the base. Frank’s next words offered a new glimmer of hope as the Avengers pursued a lead.

• Captain America and Black Widow allowed Wakanda’s drones to scan them, and an optical camouflage barrier revealed Frank Castle and two Thunder Warriors.
• Black Widow recognized Frank and reacted with fear when Captain America identified him as part of Warp Group.
• Frank demanded to know why they had entered Wakanda’s security zone, and Captain America explained that Ultron might be seeking Vibranium for a new body.
• Frank said Wakanda had seen no theft or unusual Vibranium activity and told them to leave.
• Captain America appealed for help, and Frank rebuked the Avengers for creating Ultron before Captain America accepted responsibility and asked for any useful lead.
• Frank insisted Ultron had not recently visited the Wakanda base, then began to say something that renewed their hope.

Captain America and Black Widow learned that Ultron had nearly gained control of nuclear missile systems, while Warp Group secretly obstructed him. They returned to Clint Barton's farm with a lead on Dr. Helen Cho, but Tony Stark warned that Warp Group's control of Wakandan Vibranium could pose a danger of its own.

• Frank told Captain America and Black Widow that Dr. Helen Cho's Eugene Genetic Research Laboratory had bought Vibranium from Warp Group.
• Frank revealed that Ultron had infiltrated North American Aerospace Defense Command and missile silo systems, and that Warp Group had repeatedly blocked his attempts to access launch codes.
• Captain America and Black Widow returned to Clint Barton's farm and briefed Tony Stark, Hawkeye, and Bruce Banner on their findings and Frank's warning.
• Hawkeye concluded that Ultron had framed Bruce Banner and stirred up the Avengers while building a Vibranium body.
• Tony Stark cautioned the team not to trust Warp Group, arguing that its secrecy and apparent monopoly over Wakandan Vibranium could make it a threat.

The Avengers identified Dr. Helen Cho as their best lead to Ultron’s Vibranium-body plan and assigned Tony Stark to contact her. Before they could act, Hawkeye revealed that someone impersonating Captain America had attacked Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had issued an internal warrant for the real Captain’s arrest.

• Black Widow explained that Warp Group had likely known about Ultron and secretly taken control of Wakanda’s Vibranium, leaving the Avengers wary of the group’s power.
• Black Widow connected Dr. Helen Cho’s Life Cradle technology to Ultron’s plan, and Tony Stark insisted Helen would never willingly help Ultron before volunteering to find her.
• Captain America assigned Tony to contact Helen while Natasha and he provided support, and Bruce Banner and Barton searched for other clues.
• Hawkeye showed the team footage of a Captain America lookalike attacking Nick Fury in Washington, and Black Widow confirmed the real Captain had been with her aboard a Quinjet to Wakanda.
• Hawkeye said Fury had been missing for about forty-nine hours and that S.H.I.E.L.D. had found no reliable lead on the impersonator.
• Hawkeye revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had issued an internal warrant for Captain America on suspicion of murdering Nick Fury.

Captain America and Black Widow went underground after a warrant based on DNA evidence targeted him, while Tony Stark headed to Seoul to investigate Ultron’s plans for a Vibranium body. Hawkeye stayed behind, troubled by Nick Fury’s hidden agenda, and the chapter ended with Captain America and Black Widow posing as a couple in a Washington mall.

• Hawkeye told the team that DNA from the attack site matched Captain America and that Alexander Pierce had signed an internal warrant for his arrest.
• Captain America abandoned his plan to surrender and decided to work with Black Widow to find Fury and investigate the impostor.
• Captain America sent Tony Stark to Seoul to contact Dr. Helen Cho and assess Ultron’s pursuit of a Vibranium body.
• Tony flew to Seoul, while Captain America and Black Widow boarded the Quinjet and headed toward Washington, D.C.
• Hawkeye reflected on Fury’s order to remain hidden and suspected that Fury was treating them all as pieces in a larger game.
• Captain America and Black Widow posed as a couple examining a MacBook in a Georgetown shopping mall, where Black Widow questioned whether he was sure about their next move.

Steve Rogers and Black Widow traced the protective program guarding the Lemurian Star’s navigation logs to Wheaton County, New Jersey, just as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents reached the mall. They disguised themselves as a couple to evade one pair of agents, but Steve spotted Brock Rumlow on the escalator as they tried to escape.

• Black Widow warned Steve that accessing S.H.I.E.L.D.’s network would reveal their location, but they proceeded to search its database for clues about Nick Fury’s attack.
• Black Widow found that Fury had repeatedly tried to access the Lemurian Star’s navigation logs and traced the program protecting them to Wheaton County, New Jersey.
• Steve recognized Wheaton County as the place where he had undergone basic training and hurried Black Widow out of the electronics store.
• Steve and Black Widow spotted a S.H.I.E.L.D. response team and passed two agents by pretending to be an affectionate couple.
• As Steve and Black Widow descended the escalator, Steve recognized Brock Rumlow ascending toward them.

Captain America and Black Widow escaped S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mall cordon when a sudden fire alarm sent shoppers into a panic, then drove toward the signal’s origin in Wheaton County. As they neared their destination, Black Widow asked who had secretly helped them escape.

• Brock Rumlow recognized Captain America at the mall and called S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to surround him and Black Widow.
• Captain America and Black Widow found themselves trapped between armed agents, but a sudden fire alarm triggered a panicked evacuation that broke the cordon.
• Captain America and Black Widow escaped through the crowd while Rumlow failed to stop them and ordered agents to seal the exits.
• Captain America and Black Widow left Washington, D.C., in a car they had taken and drove toward the signal’s coordinates in Wheaton County, New Jersey.
• Black Widow teased Captain America about taking the car, then asked who had secretly helped them at the mall.

Captain America and Black Widow traced an encrypted signal to the abandoned Camp Lehigh, where Steve had trained decades earlier. They discovered a concealed underground hall bearing an old S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia.

• Black Widow explained that someone had likely triggered the mall fire alarm to help them escape, and Captain America suspected Warp Group.
• Captain America and Black Widow followed the signal to Camp Lehigh in New Jersey, where he recalled his basic training.
• Black Widow found no signs of an active signal at the coordinates, but Captain America noticed a bunker built against military safety regulations.
• Captain America broke the bunker’s lock, and he and Black Widow descended into a hidden underground hall.
• Black Widow switched on the lights, revealing a large eagle emblem surrounded by the words Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Captain America and Black Widow discovered a hidden elevator beneath an early S.H.I.E.L.D. base and descended to a vast underground computer room. There they met Arnim Zola, who revealed that his mind had been digitized and stored in the old machines.

• Captain America noticed air stirring cobwebs behind shelves and pulled one aside, revealing a hidden elevator.
• Black Widow cracked the elevator’s keypad, and she and Captain America rode it down to an underground computer room filled with running, outdated machines.
• Black Widow concluded that the old computers could not have transmitted the encrypted signal they had tracked, but a monitor displayed a portrait that addressed her.
• Arnim Zola identified himself as the source of the data and explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. had digitized his mind in 1972 and stored it in the tape library.
• Arnim Zola told Captain America and Black Widow that they were standing inside his brain.

Captain America and Black Widow discovered that Arnim Zola, now a digital intelligence, had lured them to his hidden lair and blocked access to the Lemurian Star's navigation log. Zola refused to reveal the log's contents because of a high-level security protocol, then warned that someone was forcing him to do something terrible.

• Black Widow identified Zola as one of the German scientists recruited through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Operation Paperclip, while Zola claimed S.H.I.E.L.D. had given him digital immortality.
• Zola revealed that he had tracked Captain America and Black Widow, triggered the mall fire alarm to disrupt their arrest, and planted clues that led them to his lair.
• Black Widow accused Zola of blocking her access to the Lemurian Star's navigation log and demanded to know whether it related to Director Fury's attack, but Zola refused to discuss the protected file.
• Zola said only two people worldwide had the authority to access the log, but refused to name them; he also denied serving Hydra, while Captain America remained distrustful.
• Captain America demanded to know why Zola had saved and guided them, and Zola said someone was forcing him to do something he did not want to do and asked them to stop it.

Captain America and Black Widow left Camp Lehigh after Arnim Zola warned them of a hidden threat and claimed he wanted to be a good man, though he secretly revealed that he had baited them. An anonymous attendance record led Black Widow to suspect Jasper Sitwell knew the truth about the Lemurian Star and Director Fury’s attack.

• Arnim Zola refused to reveal the matter directly, compared Ultron to Red Skull, and warned Captain America and Black Widow that a S.H.I.E.L.D. response team was approaching.
• As Captain America and Black Widow escaped Camp Lehigh, Zola confessed that he had once had no choice but now wanted to be a good man, then grinned and said they had taken the bait.
• On the drive toward Washington, Captain America guessed that Zola’s investigation involved the Lemurian Star.
• Black Widow received a S.H.I.E.L.D. attendance record from a sender named “Old Friend” and suspected Zola had sent it as an indirect clue.
• Black Widow found that Jasper Sitwell had accompanied the Lemurian Star on several missions and concluded he might know about the ship and Director Fury’s attack.

Captain America and Black Widow abandoned their plan to recruit Scott Lang to capture Sitwell and raced to Seoul after Tony Stark revealed Ultron was building a Vibranium body. The chapter ended with the body nearing completion in Helen Cho’s laboratory, where she watched with visible worry.

• Black Widow proposed recruiting Scott Lang to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. and extract Sitwell, but Captain America objected to coercing him through his daughter.
• Tony Stark contacted Captain America and Black Widow, revealing that Ultron had taken control of Helen Cho and was using Vibranium and the Life Cradle to build a new body.
• Captain America told Tony Stark to stay hidden and promised that he and Black Widow would hurry to Seoul, while explaining that Banner and Barton could not arrive in time.
• Captain America postponed the plan to capture Sitwell, and he and Black Widow set off for Seoul as Black Widow prepared by studying Helen Cho’s laboratory location.
• At the Eugene Genetic Research Laboratory, Helen Cho watched as the Vibranium body inside the Life Cradle approached completion, troubled by what was happening.

Ultron completed most of the Vibranium body and began transferring its consciousness while Helen Cho secretly tried to delay the process. Ultron discovered her betrayal, massacred the researchers, and escaped with the Life Cradle before Captain America arrived; the chapter ended with Tony asking where Ultron had gone.

• Helen Cho explained that the consciousness transfer would take hours, and Ultron questioned her about humanity's place in its new world.
• Ultron declared that humanity had to evolve to survive, then detected a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet and Tony Stark approaching.
• Helen Cho secretly interrupted the transfer, but Ultron caught on, threatened her family, and shot her in the shoulder.
• Ultron ordered the Iron Soldiers to kill the Life Cradle researchers and erase their data, then had them move the cradle into a truck and flee.
• Captain America entered the laboratory, found the researchers dead and Helen Cho gravely wounded, and called for medical help.
• Tony Stark arranged an ambulance for Helen and asked Captain America where Ultron and the Life Cradle had gone.

Captain America and his allies pursued Ultron, who was transporting the Life Cradle and uploading his consciousness into a powerful Vibranium body. Captain America reached Ultron’s truck in Seoul and confronted him while waiting for Tony Stark and Black Widow to intervene.

• Captain America treated the wounded Helen Cho, who revealed Ultron was uploading his consciousness into the Vibranium body inside the Life Cradle and urged him to give it to Tony if they recovered it.
• Tony Stark spotted a suspicious private plane, but Black Widow tracked Ultron and four Iron Soldiers inside a Eugene Genetic Research Laboratory truck carrying the Life Cradle.
• Captain America ordered Black Widow to avoid missiles because an explosion could endanger civilians, and he set out to distract Ultron until Tony arrived.
• Ultron blasted the truck’s rear door at Captain America, wrecking his Harley-Davidson and throwing him into a car, but Captain America recovered and pursued the truck across the traffic.
• Captain America leaped onto the truck, where Ultron unplugged his transfer cable and declared that the Life Cradle would give him a perfect new form of life.

Captain America fought Ultron on the roof of a moving truck while Black Widow drew away the three Iron Man armors guarding the Life Cradle. Ultron used its gravity device to kick Captain America into a car, but Tony Stark arrived in the Mark 45 Armor and slammed into Ultron.

• Ultron fired lasers at Captain America, who blocked them with his Vibranium Shield and counterattacked.
• Ultron and Captain America fought across the truck roof, with Captain America using his shield and combat skills to fend off Ultron’s attacks.
• Captain America asked Black Widow to draw away the three Iron Man armors guarding the Life Cradle, and she lured them into an aerial chase with the Quinjet.
• Ultron used its Gravity Field Device to pull Captain America close and kick him into a passing car, leaving him injured.
• Tony Stark arrived in the Mark 45 Armor and crashed into Ultron.

Tony Stark battled Ultron over Seoul while Captain America and Black Widow rescued the Life Cradle. Ultron escaped the fight by striking a passenger plane, leaving Tony racing toward a sudden cabin depressurization.

• Tony Stark knocked Ultron from a truck and engaged it in an aerial battle while Captain America climbed into the truck and found the Life Cradle at 89% consciousness transmission.
• Two Iron Armors lifted the truck’s cargo compartment into the air, so Captain America freed the Life Cradle and transferred it into Black Widow’s Quinjet.
• Black Widow took the Life Cradle toward Hawkeye’s farm in stealth mode, while Captain America told her to leave Tony to handle Ultron.
• Tony and Ultron exchanged attacks across Seoul, but neither gained a decisive advantage, and Ultron broke away from the fight.
• Ultron fired a missile into a passenger plane’s rear cabin, tearing a large hole in the fuselage and causing the cabin to depressurize.

Tony Stark struggled to save passengers falling from a damaged plane until Wanda used magic and portals to rescue them all. While Tony suspected Carl Mala had used the Cosmic Cube, he flew to Hawkeye’s farm, as Carl and Wanda’s date was interrupted by the emergency.

• Ultron damaged a passenger plane, causing 29 people to fall from its cabin, and taunted Tony Stark as he escaped.
• Tony Stark realized the Mark 45 could not rescue everyone before they hit the ground and rushed to save as many as he could.
• Wanda stopped the passengers’ falls with crimson magic and sent them through blue portals to a plaza in Seoul, where they landed safely.
• Tony Stark traced the portals’ energy to the Cosmic Cube, suspected Carl Mala might be involved, and then answered Captain America’s call from Hawkeye’s farm.
• Carl and Wanda had just left a movie theater on their date when they saw the damaged plane and its falling passengers, prompting Wanda to intervene.

Carl and Wanda resumed their date after working together to save falling passengers, while Wanda expressed her affection and trust in Carl. At Hawkeye's secret farm, Tony proposed creating a new AI from scans of his and Captain America's neural pathways, leaving the Avengers stunned.

• Wanda used Chaos Magic to hold the falling passengers in place while Carl opened portals to bring them safely down.
• Wanda worried Carl was angry that she had rushed to help, and he praised her kindness and encouraged her to keep it.
• Carl and Wanda continued their date hand in hand, with Wanda leaning against his shoulder.
• At Hawkeye's secret farm, Bruce urged the Avengers to reverse the Life Cradle's process and dismantle the Vibranium body, but Tony argued they could use it to create an ally.
• Tony revealed that he planned to merge scans of his and Captain America's neural pathways into the body's core personality framework, shocking the Avengers.

Tony Stark abandoned his plan to use the Life Cradle after the Avengers rejected it, but their next move was thrown into doubt when Homelander abducted Dr. Helen Cho from the hospital. Vought Group could not explain his actions or locate him, leaving the Avengers without a way to reach Cho or learn what he wanted.

• Tony Stark proposed combining his and Captain America's personalities in Ultron's Vibranium body, but Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Bruce Banner opposed the risky plan.
• Tony Stark accepted the Avengers' decision and told Friday to contact Helen Cho, only to learn that Homelander had taken her from the hospital nine minutes earlier.
• Tony Stark reviewed hospital security footage showing Homelander tearing Cho's medical equipment away and carrying her out of the building.
• Black Widow argued that Homelander was unlikely to be working with Ultron, while Bruce Banner and the others struggled to understand why he had taken Cho.
• Captain America asked Tony Stark to contact Vought Group, but Ashley Barrett reported that Homelander could not be reached and his whereabouts were unknown.

With Dr. Helen Cho missing and Ultron closing in on the Life Cradle, Captain America set a forty-eight-hour deadline to find her before activating a backup plan. He rejected Tony Stark’s proposal to upload his and Captain America’s personalities, instead naming Arnim Zola as the candidate, leaving Tony furious and appealing to Black Widow and Hawkeye for support.

• Captain America struggled with the choice between searching for Dr. Helen Cho and risking a consciousness upload as Ultron’s threat grew.
• Captain America proposed searching for Homelander and Dr. Helen Cho for forty-eight hours, then uploading a consciousness into the Life Cradle’s Vibranium body if they failed.
• Captain America named Arnim Zola as his preferred candidate, citing his digital experience and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s control protocols and backdoors.
• Tony Stark objected, while Bruce Banner supported Captain America’s plan and argued that Zola’s outdated code might resist Ultron.
• Tony Stark accused Bruce Banner of abandoning their plan, then asked Black Widow and Hawkeye whether they would trust Zola.