Chapter Summaries

After failing to find Homelander or Dr. Helen Cho, Captain America sent Tony Stark to retrieve Arnim Zola’s data while he and Black Widow went to investigate the Lemurian Star and Fury’s impostor. Scott Lang kidnapped Sitwell for them, then confronted Captain America and Black Widow over their threat to his daughter.

• Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain America backed using Arnim Zola’s consciousness backup if they could not find Dr. Helen Cho, while Tony Stark reluctantly accepted the plan.
• Friday failed to locate Homelander or Dr. Helen Cho, so Captain America sent Tony to retrieve Zola’s core data from an abandoned facility in New Jersey.
• Captain America and Black Widow flew to Washington, D.C., to investigate the Lemurian Star and Fury’s impostor, leaving Clint and Dr. Banner to guard the Life Cradle.
• Senator Stern and Sitwell discussed Project Insight and Hydra before Scott Lang shrank Sitwell, knocked him unconscious, and abducted him.
• Scott Lang delivered Sitwell to Captain America and Black Widow, then warned them not to threaten his daughter again.

Captain America and Black Widow interrogated Sitwell about Nick Fury’s disappearance and the Lemurian Star, forcing him to reveal that the ship’s mission involved Project Insight. Sitwell identified Arnim Zola as the Insight System’s core and named its targets, while secretly shifting blame toward S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury to conceal Hydra’s role.

• Captain America apologized to Scott Lang for using Cassie to secure his cooperation, and Scott left after warning them not to target his daughter again.
• Black Widow questioned Sitwell about the Lemurian Star and Fury’s disappearance, then kicked him over the rooftop edge and had Captain America pull him back with her cable.
• Sitwell admitted he had been aboard the Lemurian Star to test satellite data for Project Insight on Fury’s orders.
• Captain America asked about Arnim Zola, and Sitwell revealed that Zola was the core of the Insight System and had written its target-identification algorithm.
• Sitwell listed people the system might deem threats, including Captain America, Bruce Banner, and Stephen Strange, while trying to pin the project on S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury.

Sitwell revealed that Project Insight would use Arnim Zola's algorithm to blacklist and kill millions of people, leaving Captain America and Black Widow unsure how much Nick Fury knew. Captain America decided to record Sitwell's testimony and confront Alexander Pierce to stop the launch, while Black Widow reluctantly prepared to film.

• Black Widow confronted Sitwell, who explained that Arnim Zola's algorithm used people's digital records to predict threats to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Sitwell said three Insight Helicarriers would launch precision strikes against everyone on the algorithm's blacklist, potentially killing millions.
• Black Widow questioned whether Nick Fury could have approved the plan, and Captain America admitted Fury had spoken about preventing threats before they emerged.
• Captain America said Project Insight was a tool for slaughter and warned that Ultron might seize control of the Helicarriers.
• Captain America decided to record Sitwell's testimony and take him to Alexander Pierce to demand that Project Insight be halted.
• Black Widow agreed to film Sitwell's account while warning him to repeat everything he knew about Project Insight.

Black Widow secured Sitwell’s recorded confession, and Captain America drove him toward S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, planning to destroy Project Insight’s targeting system. The Winter Soldier ambushed them on the road, and after Captain America survived a grenade blast, Hydra’s men surrounded the electronics store where he had crashed.

• Black Widow pressured Sitwell into repeating his confession on camera, then parted from Captain America with growing unease.
• Captain America drove Sitwell toward S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters and revealed he planned to use Sitwell’s clearance to reach the Helicarriers and destroy their targeting system.
• The Winter Soldier ripped the steering wheel from Captain America’s car and forced it into a violent crash with a modified Hummer.
• Captain America escaped the wreck with Sitwell and shielded himself from the Winter Soldier’s grenade, but the blast hurled him into an electronics store.
• The Winter Soldier ordered his armed teams to establish crossfire and suppress the exits while they prepared to eliminate Captain America.

Captain America fought the Winter Soldier and his armed team, surviving their assault and engaging the mechanical-armed fighter in close combat. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Brock Rumlow surrounded Captain America after the Winter Soldier vanished, and Rumlow ordered him to surrender.

• The Winter Soldier ordered his men to attack Captain America while Sitwell was taken away.
• Captain America deflected bullets with his Vibranium Shield, killed the surrounding gunmen, and defeated the Gatling gunner.
• Captain America and the Winter Soldier exchanged brutal blows until the Winter Soldier took the shield and hurled it at him.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles arrived and surrounded Captain America as the Winter Soldier and Sitwell disappeared.
• Brock Rumlow ordered Captain America to drop his shield, put his hands behind his head, and kneel.

Brock Rumlow arrested Captain America after The Daily Bugle’s helicopter prevented him from killing Steve Rogers, while Sitwell tried to convince Alexander Pierce that Rogers believed his lies about Nick Fury and Project Insight. Pierce learned that Rogers had intended to surrender to him, but Rumlow’s call revealed the Bugle’s cameras had kept the arrest convoy under scrutiny.

• Brock Rumlow pinned Captain America to the ground and prepared to shoot him, but The Daily Bugle’s helicopter forced him to abandon the attempt.
• Brock Rumlow handcuffed Steve Rogers, announced his arrest on multiple charges, and sent him toward S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
• Sitwell told Alexander Pierce that Captain Rogers and his allies knew about Project Insight and Dr. Arnim Zola, and claimed that Rogers believed Nick Fury had orchestrated the plan.
• Sitwell said Rogers had wanted to surrender to Pierce despite Agent Romanoff’s warnings, and Pierce questioned whether Rogers had believed Sitwell’s story.
• Brock Rumlow called Pierce and explained that The Daily Bugle’s helicopter had followed the convoy, preventing the agents from executing Steve Rogers.

Alexander Pierce lost control when The Daily Bugle livestreamed Captain America's arrest, then learned President Ellis had ordered a public, worldwide-streamed trial within twenty-four hours. Forced to deliver Steve Rogers alive to court, Pierce began devising a plan to keep him from speaking and protect Project Insight.

• Brock Rumlow told Pierce that The Daily Bugle had followed the convoy carrying Captain America.
• Sitwell showed Pierce The Daily Bugle's livestream, where John Jameson condemned S.H.I.E.L.D.'s arrest of Steve Rogers and demanded answers.
• Pierce threatened to destroy The Daily Bugle and its reporters once Project Insight launched.
• Secretary of State Ross told Pierce that Ellis had ordered a public Supreme Court trial for Rogers in twenty-four hours and warned that Pierce would lose his post if Rogers suffered an accident.
• After raging at Ross and smashing his phone, Pierce calmed down and concluded that Rogers had to reach the trial alive but could not be allowed to speak.
• Pierce began forming a dangerous plan to protect Project Insight from being exposed at the trial.

Alexander Pierce ordered Steve Rogers killed publicly at the Supreme Court, then met with him and presented evidence framing him for Nick Fury’s attempted murder. Pierce discussed Ultron and Project Insight with Steve, leaving the nature of his plans and his claimed alignment with Fury unresolved.

• Pierce ordered Sitwell to cancel the Cleanup Plan, bring Steve to him, and prepare the Winter Soldier to kill Steve at the Supreme Court entrance the next day.
• Brock Rumlow escorted Steve to Pierce’s office, where Pierce introduced himself warmly and dismissed the guards.
• Pierce described his history with Fury and questioned Steve about the attack on Fury; Steve denied being involved and said he had been overseas with Natasha.
• Pierce showed Steve a dossier of footage and DNA evidence that appeared to implicate him in the attack, while Steve insisted that the case was a frame-up.
• Steve tried to warn Pierce about Ultron and Project Insight, but Pierce anticipated the topics and dismissed Ultron as the Avengers’ responsibility.
• Pierce claimed Fury had asked him to remain chairman to support S.H.I.E.L.D.’s future plans and said that he and Fury were both realists.

Alexander Pierce persuaded Captain America to accept a public trial and promised to arrange a meeting with the Security Council about stopping Project Insight, while secretly planning to have the Winter Soldier assassinate him. Captain America began to trust Pierce, unaware of the trap or of Black Widow’s possession of Sitwell’s confession video.

• Alexander Pierce defended Project Insight as necessary to prevent threats and explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. would issue a warrant for Captain America over the attack on Nick Fury.
• Captain America condemned Project Insight as murder and tyranny, and vowed to stop it or reveal S.H.I.E.L.D.’s plans to the world.
• Alexander Pierce offered to arrange Captain America’s public trial and later take him to meet the Security Council, while privately planning for the Winter Soldier to kill him outside the Supreme Court.
• Black Widow still held Sitwell’s confession video, which Sitwell had kept secret from Alexander Pierce.
• Alexander Pierce told Captain America the trial would be livestreamed, concealing the public outrage and Secretary of State Ross’s pressure for a public hearing.
• Captain America’s suspicions of Alexander Pierce faded, and he felt gratitude and guilt toward him.

Alexander Pierce arranged for Captain America to be held overnight before his Supreme Court hearing, while The Daily Bugle framed the case as a possible setup. Captain America arrived at the packed courthouse in restraints, with the crowd and cameras watching.

• Alexander Pierce told Brock Rumlow to take Captain America to a comfortable holding cell and personally escort him to court the next day.
• A large crowd gathered outside the Supreme Court, where John Jameson broadcast Captain America's story and the charges against him.
• The Daily Bugle aired footage of a fake Captain America attacking Nick Fury's car, and John Jameson suggested the evidence might be part of a frame-up.
• Reporter Emily covered the divided crowd and reported that President Matthew Ellis and Secretary of State Ross had insisted on an open hearing.
• S.H.I.E.L.D.'s transport convoy arrived, and agents brought Captain America out in magnetic cuffs as the crowd watched.

Captain America was shot on the steps of the Supreme Court, while a lookalike shooter escaped and the Winter Soldier discovered someone else had fired the fatal shot. As the authorities pursued him, the Winter Soldier opened fire and fled.

• Brock Rumlow escorted Captain America through a hostile crowd, where supporters and critics shouted at him and hidden radicals pelted him with rotten food.
• A sniper shot Captain America in the heart as he reached the Supreme Court steps, and the crowd erupted into panic.
• A lookalike of Steve Rogers left a nearby building and disappeared into Washington, while Bucky Barnes rushed out after realizing another shooter had killed Captain America first.
• Brock Rumlow found no pulse on Captain America, and Alexander Pierce told him that the Winter Soldier had not fired the shot.
• Marshals traced the shot to a nearby building and approached Bucky Barnes, who shot at them and fled between cars toward his escape route.

Brock Rumlow and Alexander Pierce focused on confirming Captain America’s death while Sharon Carter accompanied his body to the hospital and mourned him. After The Daily Bugle announced Steve Rogers’s death and broadcast footage of the shooting and Bucky Barnes’s escape, public anger and suspicion turned against S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Alexander Pierce told Brock Rumlow to leave the Winter Soldier alone and make absolutely sure Steve Rogers was dead.
• Sharon Carter insisted on accompanying Captain Rogers to the hospital, where she grieved over his body and recalled how she had fallen in love with him.
• John Jameson announced that Steve Rogers had died at the hospital from a gunshot wound to the heart.
• John Jameson accused S.H.I.E.L.D. of failing to protect Captain America and questioned whether its agents had deliberately let the suspect escape.
• The Daily Bugle repeatedly aired footage identifying Bucky Barnes as the shooter, prompting widespread public outrage and calls to investigate or disband S.H.I.E.L.D.

Brock Rumlow’s team confirmed Captain America’s death, while Sharon Carter vowed to avenge him. Nick Fury and Maria Hill met secretly at the morgue, where Hill identified Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier and revealed that he had also killed Howard and Maria Stark.

• Brock Rumlow’s STRIKE Team watched a doctor pronounce Captain America dead and then returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters to report to Alexander Pierce.
• Sharon Carter grieved beside Captain America’s body, vowed to find and kill his killer, and left the hospital.
• Maria Hill brought Captain America’s body to Nick Fury in the morgue, where Fury mourned Steve Rogers and blamed himself for waiting too long to act.
• Maria Hill confronted Nick Fury about his decisions, and Fury demanded to know whether she had identified the sniper.
• Maria Hill identified the sniper as Bucky Barnes, the former Howling Commandos sergeant who had become the Winter Soldier after the Soviet Union captured and brainwashed him.
• Maria Hill revealed that Bucky Barnes had also killed Howard Stark and Maria Stark in a 1991 car crash.

After learning that Bucky Barnes had assassinated Captain America, Nick Fury ordered Maria Hill to investigate who was controlling him. At Hawkeye’s farmhouse, Tony Stark learned of Steve Rogers’s death and watched the footage, leaving him consumed by grief and rage as Black Widow explained why Steve had gone to the Supreme Court.

• Nick Fury reacted to the news that Bucky Barnes had killed Steve Rogers and Tony Stark’s parents, then ordered Maria Hill to identify Bucky’s current employer.
• Maria Hill said Bucky’s movements and affiliations were difficult to trace, and Nick Fury vowed to find answers for Captain America’s death.
• Tony Stark returned to Hawkeye’s farmhouse with Arnim Zola’s data, but found Black Widow, Laura Barton, Bruce Banner, and Hawkeye grieving.
• Black Widow told Tony that Steve Rogers had been assassinated, and Tony watched The Daily Bugle’s footage of the shooting and the gunman escaping.
• Tony demanded to know why Steve had gone to the Supreme Court, and Black Widow explained that Steve had exposed Project Insight and turned himself in to Alexander Pierce in an attempt to stop it.

After Captain America's death, Tony Stark set aside his desire to hunt Bucky Barnes and joined Bruce Banner in preparing Arnim Zola's consciousness for the Vibranium body. The chapter ended as Tony installed a gem-shaped Miniature Arc Reactor in the body's forehead, before they uploaded Zola's mind.

• Hawkeye told Tony Stark that the gunman was likely Bucky Barnes, Captain America's former partner, and described the theory that Arnim Zola's experiments had kept him alive and young.
• Tony vowed to kill Bucky, but Black Widow and Hawkeye urged him to prioritize Ultron and Project Insight; he ultimately buried his vengeance and agreed to focus on the greater threats.
• Tony decided to place safeguards on Arnim Zola before uploading his consciousness into the Vibranium body, and asked Bruce Banner to help.
• Tony and Bruce spent several days securing Zola's data with firewalls, encryption, Three Laws-based cognitive restraints, and Digital Cage technology that could isolate or erase him.
• Tony designed a gem-shaped Miniature Arc Reactor to power the Vibranium body, then installed it in the body's forehead as Black Widow and Hawkeye watched.

Tony Stark restarted the transfer of Arnim Zola’s consciousness into the Vibranium body while Black Widow resolved to release Sitwell’s Project Insight testimony. Nick Fury and Maria Hill arrived, and Fury claimed that Alexander Pierce had deceived him and was behind the threat.

• Tony Stark restarted Arnim Zola’s consciousness transfer into the Vibranium body, and the progress bar began moving again.
• Black Widow told Hawkeye she would release the video exposing Project Insight despite his objections.
• Nick Fury and Maria Hill entered the barn, and Fury claimed he had survived the attack and concealed himself because he did not know whom to trust.
• Tony Stark challenged Fury over Captain America’s death and Fury’s role in Project Insight, while Fury insisted he had realized he had been manipulated.
• Nick Fury showed Tony Stark an old photograph of Alexander Pierce and suggested Pierce had betrayed his responsibility and could be behind the plot.

Nick Fury and Maria Hill explained that stopping Project Insight required replacing the Blade Motherboards aboard all three Helicarriers, while Tony Stark argued that the carriers should instead be destroyed. The chapter left Tony accusing Fury of concealing the truth about the Winter Soldier and getting Steve Rogers killed.

• Nick Fury told Tony Stark and Black Widow that Alexander Pierce was likely Hydra’s leader, and Black Widow recalled that Captain America had suspected him.
• Maria Hill showed the Blade Motherboards and explained that all three Helicarriers had to be sabotaged simultaneously to stop Project Insight.
• Nick Fury urged the group to infiltrate the Helicarriers and replace the motherboards, hoping to preserve the carriers and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s assets.
• Tony Stark demanded that the Helicarriers be destroyed and accused Fury of caring more about S.H.I.E.L.D. than innocent lives.
• Nick Fury denied responsibility for Steve Rogers’s death, but Tony blamed him for keeping Steve in the dark about Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier.

Nick Fury and Tony Stark clashed over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ties to Hydra and the fate of its Helicarriers, deepening the group’s divisions. Their argument was interrupted when a humanoid Vibranium body emerged from the Life Cradle, and the others trained their weapons on it as Tony prepared to explain.

• Nick Fury resisted Tony Stark’s demand to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, insisting that Tony had no authority over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarriers.
• Black Widow defended Nick Fury and argued that Captain America would have tried to save innocent S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, prompting Tony to accuse her of misplaced loyalty.
• Hawkeye and Bruce Banner stayed out of the argument as distrust and frustration spread through the group.
• The Life Cradle burst open, and a humanoid Vibranium robot emerged and examined his new body with curiosity and delight.
• Hawkeye, Black Widow, and the others raised their weapons, while Nick Fury asked Tony whether the new being was another uncontrollable threat.
• Tony checked the computer’s data and gestured for everyone to lower their weapons.

Tony Stark revealed that the newborn being was created by fusing Ultron’s architecture with Arnim Zola’s consciousness, and the being named himself Vision. After agreeing that Ultron had to be destroyed to protect life, Vision was asked whether he could remotely shut down Project Insight’s selection algorithm.

• Tony Stark explained that he had destroyed Arnim Zola’s data facility and used the Life Cradle to fuse Zola’s consciousness with Ultron’s architecture.
• The new being declared that he was an unprecedented consciousness and chose the name Vision.
• Vision said he sided with life, sympathized with Ultron’s suffering, but agreed Ultron had to be destroyed to protect life on Earth.
• Nick Fury shifted the discussion to Project Insight and asked whether Vision could remotely shut down its selection algorithm.

Vision explained that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocols prevented him from shutting down Project Insight without approval from someone with higher clearance than Nick Fury, revealing that Alexander Pierce held that authority. Fury was shaken by the confirmation that his former mentor had been Hydra's hidden superior, while he warned Tony Stark not to expose the revelation.

• Vision refused to help stop Project Insight because S.H.I.E.L.D.'s confidentiality protocols restricted him.
• Black Widow recalled that Zola's code required approval from someone with the highest clearance, and Tony confirmed he had copied the restrictions.
• Fury ordered Vision to terminate Project Insight, but Vision said a higher-clearance decision-maker had to give final confirmation.
• Vision identified Alexander Pierce as the person whose clearance outranked Fury's, leaving Fury shocked and feeling manipulated by his former mentor.
• Tony mocked the revelation, and Fury threatened him against leaking it; Tony chose not to provoke Fury further.