Recaps

Apocalypse arranged for powerful beings from Parallel Universes to establish direct contact with S.W.O.R.D. and leave traces of their auras in Vibranium beads. When one being refused, Apocalypse used a causal link to pursue it and asked Wanda and Stephen to help him find it.

• Apocalypse told Nick Fury to gather S.W.O.R.D.’s founding members and the believers who claimed to speak for powerful beings.
• More than a dozen cult leaders met with Apocalypse and said their gods wanted contact, with some offering to join his ranks.
• Apocalypse asked the cult leaders to have their gods leave traces of their auras, and Stephen sealed those auras inside Vibranium beads supplied by Vision.
• Apocalypse discovered that one bead was empty and learned that the being behind its cult leader had cut off contact.
• Apocalypse followed the remaining causal link and asked Wanda and Stephen to use the Darkhold and the Book of Vishanti to help locate the fugitive being.

Apocalypse used the Causal Line to find Cross, who had hidden in another universe after fleeing into the Quantum Realm. Cross tried to escape again, but Apocalypse pursued him into the Quantum Realm and destroyed him.

• Wanda and Stephen joined Apocalypse in following the Causal Line across universes to find the hidden powerhouse.
• Apocalypse discovered that the powerhouse was Cross, who had located Earth-616 and was hiding underground after learning Apocalypse was searching for hidden powerhouses.
• Apocalypse struck Cross's underground hideout with the Fist of Laws, but Cross escaped into the Quantum Realm.
• Apocalypse sent Pym Particles carrying the Fist of Laws into the Quantum Realm and struck Cross before he could flee.
• Cross's metallic body dissolved into points of light, and its particles returned to the Quantum Realm.

After Apocalypse restored the shrunken Parallel Earth and ordered all powerful beings to seek S.W.O.R.D.'s approval before entering Earth, the Sacred Timeline changed to revolve around Earth-616. Kang abandoned the TVA, whose employees became free to leave and enter universes across time.

• Apocalypse restored the Parallel Earth after Pym Particles shrank it, and the Moon was pulled back into an altered orbit.
• The remaining Pym Particles fused with the Parallel Earth, creating Sumeru Particles and leading to new technology, superheroes, and the Sumeru Divine Cult.
• Apocalypse declared that powerful beings had to contact S.W.O.R.D. and receive approval before entering Earth, officially establishing the organization.
• The Sacred Timeline transformed into a doughnut of timelines centered on Earth-616, and Kang told TVA employees they were free to leave.
• Kang vanished to meet Apocalypse, while TVA employees collected treasures and entered different universes and eras as time began passing in the TVA.

Apocalypse joined Odin, Thor, Jane, and Sif on a Norwegian seaside cliff as Odin prepared to die and entrusted the future of Asgard to him. Apocalypse agreed to protect Asgard and spare Loki and Hela if possible, while Thor suggested that Apocalypse could simply extend Odin’s life.

• Thor called Apocalypse and told him that Odin wanted to speak with him by the sea in Scandinavia.
• Apocalypse arrived and promised Odin that he would protect Asgard, reminding him that Asgard had once helped him with the Eternal Flame.
• Odin explained that he had sealed Hela away after she challenged the Celestials and asked Apocalypse to spare Hela and Loki.
• Apocalypse agreed to spare Loki under Earth’s laws and to seal him away if he committed further crimes.
• Thor revealed that he had not been grieving because he thought Apocalypse could extend Odin’s life by thousands of years.

Odin died and Apocalypse separated his soul from his body, allowing him to enter the Soul World and travel to Valhalla. As Thor prepared to return to Asgard, Hela appeared and demanded that he kneel before his queen.

• Apocalypse told Thor he could not extend Odin’s lifespan, but offered to help Odin enter the Soul World after his death.
• Odin chose Valhalla, and Apocalypse used a fragment of his soul to separate Odin’s spirit from his dissolving body.
• Odin said farewell to Thor and traveled toward Valhalla, leaving Thor grieving but comforted that they could meet again someday.
• Thor asked Apocalypse to contact Odin for him, then decided to return to Asgard to tell his mother the news.
• Hela emerged from a portal, dismissed Apocalypse as a mortal, and ordered Thor to kneel before his queen.

Hela demanded that Thor, Apocalypse, Jane, and Sif kneel, then fought Thor after Apocalypse intervened. She repeatedly slapped Thor into the ground, while he insisted on handling the clash with his sister himself.

• Hela ordered the group to kneel and attacked them with Flying Swords; Thor deflected one, and Apocalypse caught the others and made them vanish.
• Apocalypse told Hela that Odin had entrusted her to his care and urged her to end her grudge, but Hela attacked him with a larger sword.
• Thor stopped Hela's attack and challenged her, transforming into his armored battle form as Hela summoned her antler-like headdress.
• Hela struck Thor down with a slap when he charged at her, and she slapped him into the dirt again when he attacked from above.
• Thor got up and forbade the others from helping, while Apocalypse explained that Hela needed to vent her anger after being imprisoned for thousands of years.

Apocalypse let Hela fight Thor to temper him, then intervened when she nearly crushed Mjolnir and took control of the battle. He restrained Hela and declared he would guard her until she stopped killing people, but she refused to obey.

• Hela overwhelmed Thor at the seaside cliff, mocked his claim to the throne, and caught Mjolnir before cracking it in her hand.
• Apocalypse commanded Mjolnir to return, and the hammer escaped Hela before reluctantly flying back to Thor.
• Hela demanded that Apocalypse become her divine general, but she attacked him and the others when he suggested she could rule a parallel universe instead.
• Apocalypse shielded Sif and Jane, shattered Hela's ground spikes, and pulled her close before pinning both her hands.
• Apocalypse told Hela he would be her guardian until she stopped killing people, but Hela refused to promise obedience.

Apocalypse recaptured Hela after she escaped through the Bifrost, then punished her by cutting her hair whenever she cursed him. Once they reached Asgard, Hela’s power surged, and she declared that the realm was the source of her strength.

• Hela escaped from the Bifrost, but Apocalypse reached across space and time to pull her back.
• Apocalypse refused to let Hela take the throne, then cut her hair each time she cursed him until she stopped.
• The group arrived in Asgard, where Heimdall greeted Apocalypse, Thor, Hela, and Sif.
• Thor left with Jane to tell their mother about Odin’s whereabouts, while Apocalypse, Sif, and Hela crossed the Bifrost.
• Hela’s power grew stronger after she stepped onto Asgard, and she claimed the realm was its source.

Hela broke free from Apocalypse and unleashed her full power, slaughtering Asgard’s soldiers and civilians before using the sun’s essence to destroy him. She restored the sun to its orbit and walked toward the royal palace as Asgard’s continent curled and cooled around her.

• Hela freed herself from Apocalypse and attacked him with spikes and flying swords, then slaughtered the soldiers and civilians who confronted her.
• Apocalypse drove Hela toward the edge of Asgard, but Hela pulled the sun down and summoned Sunfire Heavenly Dragons to pursue him underground.
• The Sunfire Heavenly Dragons overwhelmed Apocalypse in Asgard’s core, incinerating him and destroying the formations that sustained the continent.
• Hela sent another Sunfire Heavenly Dragon across Asgard to kill anyone still hiding, then returned the sun to its orbit.
• Asgard’s continent cooled and curled inward as Hela walked toward the royal palace.

Hela conquered the Nine Realms and much of the universe in a world created by Apocalypse, fought the Celestials, and returned to a ruined Asgard in regret. After the illusion ended, she realized she had been defeated and refused Thor’s Recovery Potion, choosing death over what she saw as humiliation.

• Hela left the palace, awakened her army of the dead, and began conquering the Nine Realms and the stars.
• Hela defeated a Four-Tile Celestial but was badly wounded and forced to flee from the Celestials led by Arishem.
• Hela returned to the lifeless remains of Asgard, regretted her choices, and wept beside Frigga and Thor.
• Apocalypse ended the illusion, revealing Hela kneeling beside Frigga with Thor and Prince Tang nearby.
• Hela realized that Apocalypse had created the world she had experienced, admitted defeat, and collapsed from exhaustion.
• Thor offered Hela a Recovery Potion, but she refused it, and Apocalypse stopped Thor from forcing her to drink.

Apocalypse mocked Hela by planning to permanently portray her as grotesque in Asgardian art and opera, prompting Hela to recover and beat Thor. Hela returned to Asgard, where Frigga reassured the realm that she had repented, though many remained doubtful.

• Apocalypse told Thor he wanted Hela commemorated in opera, portraits, and books as an obese, filthy, grotesque figure, and Thor suggested adding a foot-picking habit.
• Hela drank Thor’s restorative potion, attacked Apocalypse, then turned on Thor and beat him while scolding him for his suggestion.
• Hela left the palace after venting her anger, while Frigga thanked Apocalypse and went to speak with her; Thor lamented that he had fallen out of favor.
• Hela’s return stirred gossip and concern among Asgardians, but Frigga announced that Hela had spent her two thousand years in exile reflecting and writing millions of words of repentance.
• Many Asgardians remained skeptical of Frigga’s reassurance that Hela was no longer vicious.

Frigga convened Asgard’s leaders to settle the past with Hela and discuss who should rule after Thor admitted he did not want the throne. Hela emerged as the leading candidate, but her plans for conquest left Apocalypse unconvinced.

• Hela reluctantly returned the elders’ greetings after Apocalypse prompted her, then agreed not to hold their past allegiance to Odin against them.
• Frigga explained that Odin’s soul had returned to Valhalla, and the elders accepted that Hela would put old grievances aside.
• Frigga proposed that Hela take the throne because Thor disliked ruling, while an elder suggested Apocalypse as another candidate.
• Apocalypse declined the throne, saying he lacked time to govern Asgard, and Thor clarified that he did not want to remain king.
• Hela accepted the possibility of becoming queen and promised to restore Asgard’s glory through conquest, expecting Apocalypse to defeat any formidable opposition.

Apocalypse rejected Hela as a candidate for Asgard’s throne and proposed Valkyrie instead. The elders agreed to invite Valkyrie back as king, while Apocalypse ordered Hela to lead her Pegasus as an act of atonement.

• Apocalypse said Hela was too bloodthirsty to rule, and Queen Frigga confirmed that Thor would remain king for now.
• Apocalypse suggested Valkyrie as a better future ruler, and Queen Frigga agreed that Asgard needed her sense of responsibility.
• Apocalypse described how Valkyrie cared for the surviving Asgardians in the original timeline, convincing the elders to support her unanimously.
• Queen Frigga and the elders decided to invite Valkyrie back to Asgard as king.
• Apocalypse told Hela to lead a Pegasus when they invited Valkyrie, and Hela refused until he reminded her of her blood debt to the Valkyrie Corps.

Apocalypse, Thor, and Hela traveled to Sakaar to find Valkyrie, where the Grandmaster recognized Apocalypse and escorted them to her. They found Valkyrie near the gladiator arena, where she braced for a fight as the ships surrounded her.

• Heimdall sent Apocalypse, Thor, Hela, and a Pegasus to Sakaar through the Bifrost.
• Hela killed the aliens who threatened to capture and exploit them.
• Apocalypse used his mental power to locate Valkyrie and alert the Grandmaster.
• The Grandmaster met the group, recognized Apocalypse, and invited them to his palace; Thor was offended when the Grandmaster did not recognize him.
• The Grandmaster led them to Valkyrie, who raised her weapons and challenged him as the ships surrounded her.

Apocalypse, Thor, and Hela invited Valkyrie to return to Asgard and become its king, leaving her convinced she was dreaming. Hela resented the choice, while the Grandmaster worried that Valkyrie might use her new authority to settle a debt with him.

• The Grandmaster brought Apocalypse, Thor, and Hela to meet Valkyrie, who recognized Hela and reacted with fear and anger.
• Apocalypse introduced himself as Prince Tang and told Valkyrie that Thor ruled Asgard and Odin had died.
• Valkyrie refused to answer Asgard's summons, but Apocalypse clarified that they had come to invite her to become king.
• Valkyrie assumed she was dreaming and started heading back to her spaceship, so Thor stopped her.
• Hela tried to slap Valkyrie awake, but Apocalypse caught her hand and warned her not to disrespect Asgard's future king.
• The Grandmaster wondered whether Valkyrie had a hidden identity and worried she might ask Apocalypse to collect the money he owed her.

Apocalypse persuaded Valkyrie to return to Asgard and become king, while forcing Hela to lead her Pegasus as an apology. The group reached Asgard by Bifrost, leaving the Grandmaster to deal with a subordinate Apocalypse had transformed into a Pegasus.

• Valkyrie accepted Apocalypse's invitation to return to Asgard after he argued that becoming king would protect her from Hela and help her avenge the Valkyrie Corps.
• Apocalypse insisted that Hela keep leading Valkyrie's Pegasus until Valkyrie ascended the throne.
• Apocalypse transformed one of the Grandmaster's subordinates into a Pegasus, convincing Hela to keep leading Valkyrie's horse rather than risk suffering the same fate.
• Hela called Heimdall, who sent Apocalypse, Thor, Hela, Valkyrie, and the Pegasus back to Asgard through the Bifrost.
• The transformed subordinate flew after them, and the Grandmaster ordered his people to take her back and feed her.

Valkyrie arrived in Asgard to an elaborate welcome and accepted the throne, while Apocalypse tried to secure her rule and made Surtur her servant. The chapter ended with Surtur awakening in his incomplete Eternal Flame form and attacking the palace with his giant sword.

• Heimdall saluted Valkyrie, and Asgardians lined the Bifrost to welcome her as Hela led her Pegasus.
• The queen and Council of Elders welcomed Valkyrie, and Thor formally handed her the royal scepter during the abdication ceremony.
• Apocalypse declared that Hela could refuse the king’s commands but must not endanger Asgard or obstruct divine decrees.
• Apocalypse used the Eternal Flame and Surtur’s horns to transform Surtur, but the depleted flame left him in a squat, incomplete form.
• Surtur awoke, celebrated his Eternal Flame Body, and plunged his giant sword toward the palace.

Apocalypse restrained Surtur and gave him to Valkyrie to guard Asgard, then returned to Earth and planned a way to save Earth while allowing the Celestial Baby to be born. Nick Fury arranged a meeting with ten people on the Mesopotamian Plain, and Apocalypse guessed they were homesick.

• Apocalypse stopped Surtur’s attack, bound him with laws, and gave Valkyrie control of him as protection against Hela.
• Valkyrie stationed Surtur by the Bifrost, and Asgard celebrated her inauguration with a three-day feast.
• Apocalypse returned to Earth while Thor traveled to Nidavellir to repair his hammer.
• Apocalypse decided he could preserve Earth and safely allow the Celestial Baby to be born, and he assigned Nick Fury to make preparations.
• Nick Fury told Apocalypse that the ten people he had located wanted to meet on the Mesopotamian Plain in three days, and Apocalypse guessed they were homesick.

Apocalypse explained the Eternals’ role in protecting planets until the Celestials’ offspring emerged and arranged a meeting with them in Mesopotamia. He recognized the Eternals and the unexpected eleventh person, whose identity remained unrevealed.

• Apocalypse told Nick Fury that the Eternals had arrived on Earth in 5000 BC and explained their service to the Celestials and the threat of celestial emergence.
• Nick Fury agreed to have S.W.O.R.D. coordinate communication with powerful beings, and Apocalypse asked for a representative to attend the meeting.
• Three days later, Apocalypse, Nick Fury, and other S.H.I.E.L.D. members met the Eternals on the Mesopotamian Plain.
• Apocalypse greeted Ajak and recognized Sersi, Ikaris, Thena, Gilgamesh, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Druig, and Makkari by name.
• Apocalypse noticed a young man beside Sersi who was not an Eternal, and told the nervous stranger that he knew him.

Apocalypse helped Dane with the Ebony Blade and agreed to speak to Arishem on the Eternals’ behalf. Arishem arrived on Earth, triggering catastrophic gravitational disturbances, and Apocalypse shielded the planet from his pull.

• Apocalypse told Dane that he remembered him from a previous life and advised him to send the Ebony Blade to S.H.I.E.L.D. for its malice to be cleansed.
• Dane declared that he would go wherever Sersi went, and Apocalypse promised to put in a good word for him.
• Apocalypse asked Ajak to contact Arishem, so the ten Eternals joined their powers and sent a message into space.
• Arishem appeared above Earth, and his immense gravity pulled the atmosphere and debris toward him, threatening to create a global superstorm.
• Apocalypse raised an energy barrier that cut off Arishem’s gravitational interference, then demanded to know what Arishem meant by his actions.

Apocalypse faced Arishem in a contest of strength and gravitational control, with Earth as the stake. Arishem conceded after Apocalypse kept the planet’s oceans and environment undisturbed, leaving the fate of the Celestial Baby in Apocalypse’s hands.

• Arishem destroyed Apocalypse’s shield but made no further attack, and Apocalypse recognized that the Celestial leader wanted to test him with Earth at stake.
• Apocalypse enlarged himself to more than three hundred thousand kilometers tall and faced Arishem beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
• As Arishem maneuvered around Earth, Apocalypse adjusted his position and gravity to preserve the balance between the two giants, the planet, and the Moon.
• Arishem realized Apocalypse’s mastery of gravity surpassed his own and admitted that the contest was under Apocalypse’s control.
• Arishem conceded and said the Celestials would accept Apocalypse killing the Celestial Baby at Earth’s core and making it part of Earth.

After defeating Arishem, Apocalypse agreed with him on a plan to deliver the Celestial Baby without destroying Earth. Nick Fury organized a seven-day evacuation of the Sahara and Pacific, and as it was completed, astronomers discovered Jupiter hurtling toward Earth.

• Apocalypse told Arishem his plan to deliver the Celestial Baby, and Arishem agreed to help.
• Apocalypse asked Nick Fury to clear the Pacific Ocean and Sahara Desert for twenty-four hours and instructed him to enlist Namor and the Underwater Clan.
• Apocalypse went into space to prepare while Nick Fury and the Eternals began evacuations, and Sersi told Dane he could speak with Apocalypse after the baby was born.
• Nick Fury issued the Delivery Plan, and authorities cleared the Sahara while Helicarriers, Iron Man suits, and the Underwater Clan helped move ships out of the Pacific.
• The evacuation finished on the seventh day, when astronomers discovered Jupiter was hurtling toward Earth.

Arishem ignited Jupiter and forged rare metals inside it while Apocalypse prepared Earth for the Celestial Baby’s birth. The baby emerged from the Pacific and was lifted away, leaving Earth nearly hollow and dependent on Apocalypse’s Law Force as he began the next stage.

• Arishem compressed Jupiter until it ignited as a small sun.
• Arishem sustained Jupiter’s fusion, creating elements and rare metals while most of its mass became fuel.
• Apocalypse enveloped Earth in his Law Force as Arishem triggered the Celestial Baby’s emergence from the Pacific.
• The Celestial Baby stood nearly 10,000 kilometers tall, grasped Arishem’s finger, and was lifted away from Earth.
• Apocalypse kept Earth’s remaining shell from collapsing and told his allies to begin filling it in.

Apocalypse and Arishem safely filled Earth’s hollow core with molten rock from Jupiter and adjusted its rotation, completing the Celestial Baby’s birth. After Apocalypse explained his belief that intelligent life gives the universe meaning, Arishem agreed to protect life during future Celestial Emergence and prepared to leave with the infant and the Eternals.

• Arishem poured molten rock from Jupiter into Earth’s core while Apocalypse used Law Force to prevent catastrophic earthquakes, then restored the planet’s magnetic field.
• Apocalypse told Arishem about the anthropic principle and said a higher being had guided him to value life and save the Celestial Baby.
• Shocked by Apocalypse’s account, Arishem agreed that future Celestials would relocate intelligent life before a Celestial Emergence.
• Arishem felt his stagnant power level loosen after making the decision and wondered whether the higher being had rewarded him.
• Arishem declared the work on Earth complete, took the Celestial Baby, and summoned the Eternals to leave with him.

After Arishem departed, Apocalypse allowed nine Eternals to remain on Earth, where Sersi reunited with Dane and Ajak declared the group would follow Earth's rules. When Apocalypse later ventured into a city with Black Widow, people worshipped him so fervently that he had to prevent injuries before flying away.

• Sersi, Sprite, and the other Eternals except Ikaris asked to remain on Earth, and Apocalypse granted their request.
• Arishem departed with Ikaris, while Ajak declared that the nine Eternals would consider themselves Earthlings and obey Apocalypse's commands.
• Apocalypse returned Jupiter to its original orbit and shrank back to normal size.
• Apocalypse went for a walk with Black Widow, but crowds recognized him and rushed to worship him.
• Apocalypse used his power to prevent a stampede, treat an elderly man, and stop believers from hurting themselves before warning them that suicide would not lead to the Soul Realm.
• Unable to calm the crowd, Apocalypse flew away with Black Widow.