Chapter Summaries

Apocalypse and the others entered the Quantum Realm and shrank through microbial, cellular, molecular, and atomic scales while Dr. Pym checked their chamber. Their observations sparked speculation that Ball Lightning might be an enlarged electron, dark matter might consist of colossal atomic nuclei, and enormous life could exist; Apocalypse said he knew the universe contained a strange energy called Dark Energy.

• Dr. Pym activated the Quantum Chamber, carrying Apocalypse, Scott Lang, Ava, and the others into the Quantum Realm while Hope and Bill Foster stayed behind.
• Dr. Pym guided the group down through increasingly tiny scales and repeatedly checked that the Quantum Chamber remained safe.
• Apocalypse wondered whether Ball Lightning could be an electron enlarged to a giant scale, and Dr. Pym suggested the idea could explain dark matter and enormous atomic nuclei.
• Ava asked whether giant organisms or intelligent life could exist on the scale of atoms, and the group considered what such beings might be like.
• Apocalypse said he knew an immense energy called Dark Energy existed but did not know whether it was related to dark matter or a gigantic atomic nucleus.

Dr. Pym, Apocalypse, Scott Lang, and Ava entered the Quantum Realm to find Janet, while Apocalypse discovered that its strange lights carried fragments of physical laws. The chapter ended with him absorbing countless rays to accelerate his cultivation.

• Dr. Pym entered the Quantum Realm and broadcast the chamber’s location, hoping Janet would detect the signal and find him.
• Ava left the chamber, and Apocalypse brought Scott Lang outside despite Scott’s protests.
• Apocalypse encouraged Ava to absorb quantum energy and shift into her physical state, which restored her body without pain.
• Dr. Pym explained that the Quantum Realm’s lights might reveal physical laws, prompting Apocalypse to recognize a fragment of gravity’s law.
• Apocalypse absorbed the surrounding rays of light, deepening his understanding and pushing his cultivation forward.

After awakening from his cosmic-rules comprehension, Apocalypse learned that Cross had escaped through the Quantum Tunnel and arranged for S.H.I.E.L.D. to supply Ava with the quantum energy she needed. He left Janet to reunite with Hope and went with Scott to visit Cassie, whose household panicked when Apocalypse arrived.

• Apocalypse completed his comprehension of cosmic rules and found Janet beside Dr. Pym.
• Janet told Apocalypse that she had treated Cross, but he had tricked her, learned about the Quantum Tunnel, and escaped to an unknown space-time.
• Janet examined Ava and said she needed periodic quantum energy; Apocalypse promised that S.H.I.E.L.D. would provide it.
• Janet reunited with Hope, while Apocalypse and Scott left the Pym family to catch up.
• Scott asked Apocalypse to visit Cassie, and Cassie's household shrieked in alarm when they arrived.

Apocalypse visited Cassie and had dinner with her family, where he revealed Scott’s superhero identity and welcomed the local police chief to join them. After taking Scott and Ava to S.H.I.E.L.D., Apocalypse learned that Tony had gone after the Winter Soldier and Steve had disappeared, apparently to stop him.

• Cassie greeted Scott and Apocalypse, and Apocalypse confirmed that Scott had fought alongside him during the recent battle.
• At dinner, Apocalypse told Cassie that Scott was Ant-Man and planned to take him to S.H.I.E.L.D.; he also introduced Ava as White Ghost.
• Cassie’s stepfather invited the local police chief to dinner, and Apocalypse allowed the chief to join them.
• After dinner, Apocalypse took Scott and Ava to S.H.I.E.L.D., where Nick Fury and Black Widow told him Tony had gone after the Winter Soldier.
• Black Widow said Steve had lost contact and probably went to stop Tony, while Nick Fury wondered how they had both learned the information.

Apocalypse explained why the Sokovia Accords and the Avengers’ civil war would not unfold as they had before, but warned that Colonel Zemo was still trying to turn Iron Man against the Winter Soldier. Black Widow found Zemo’s identity, and she asked Tang whether he would go find Tony.

• Apocalypse reasoned that his power and his ties to the superheroes made the Sokovia Accords and an Avengers split over them unlikely.
• Apocalypse explained how Colonel Zemo had used the Winter Soldier to drive Iron Man and Captain America apart in the original timeline.
• Apocalypse warned Nick Fury and Black Widow that Zemo was still operating and that Iron Man would pursue Bucky over his parents’ deaths.
• Black Widow cross-checked Sokovia mission files and identified Zemo’s deceased wife and child in the records.
• Black Widow asked Tang whether he would go find Tony.

Apocalypse went to Siberia to intervene in Iron Man’s pursuit of Captain America and Bucky and prevent Colonel Zemo from awakening hundreds of Winter Soldiers. Zemo stimulated the dormant soldiers, causing many to mutate, while Apocalypse watched as they emerged inside the sealed base.

• Apocalypse told Nick Fury that hundreds of dormant Winter Soldiers might pose a danger, then flew to Siberia after explaining matters concerning Ant-Man and Ava.
• Iron Man pursued Captain America and Bucky into a Siberian base, where the three fought hand-to-hand after the entrances were sealed.
• Apocalypse entered the base and found no sign that Colonel Zemo was mutating, then located him in the control room.
• Colonel Zemo injected a potential-stimulating gas into hundreds of hibernation pods, causing some Winter Soldiers to burst while others emerged grotesquely mutated.
• Apocalypse spread his mental power through the base as Colonel Zemo ordered the mutated Winter Soldiers to kill everyone.

Iron Man, Captain America, and Bucky fought through Colonel Zemo’s Mutant Winter Soldiers as poison gas filled the chamber. Apocalypse stopped Zemo’s mutation and then disrupted a void that tried to pull him away, leaving workers in a spacetime rift stunned that Apocalypse might have seen them.

• Iron Man, Captain America, and Bucky fought the Mutant Winter Soldiers until the soldiers overwhelmed Iron Man and forced the three into a defensive formation.
• Colonel Zemo released poison gas into the chamber and sprayed catalyst on himself to trigger his own mutation.
• Apocalypse restored Zemo to normal with a Green Recovery Potion and told him that S.H.I.E.L.D. was not responsible for his family’s deaths.
• Zemo’s hatred triggered another mutation, so Apocalypse pinned him down and snapped the connection to a black void behind him.
• Workers in an unknown spacetime rift watched Apocalypse disrupt the void, and the middle-aged Black woman wondered if he could see them.

Apocalypse intervened in the Siberian timeline, saved Iron Man, Captain America, and Bucky, and removed Hydra’s conditioning from Bucky. After helping the despondent Iron Man, Apocalypse decided to seek out Spider-Man and took Happy along, promising to introduce him to a woman.

• Apocalypse severed the Time Variance Authority’s timeline around Zemo and sensed the Authority’s direction, while its agents discussed his growing power.
• Apocalypse entered the poisoned hall, destroyed the remaining Mutant Winter Soldiers, and helped Iron Man, Captain America, and Bucky survive.
• Iron Man left without killing Bucky, and Apocalypse erased Hydra’s mental conditioning from Bucky, increasing Bucky’s trust in him.
• Apocalypse visited the grieving Iron Man and reflected that Black Panther and Spider-Man had not entered the Avengers’ circle because events had changed.
• Apocalypse decided to find Spider-Man and asked Happy to come along, saying he would introduce him to a beautiful woman.

Apocalypse took Happy to meet Aunt May, hoping to bring the two together and have Happy become Spider-Man’s liaison. Meanwhile, Pepper’s gossip made Black Widow and the women at S.H.I.E.L.D. believe Apocalypse was pursuing another woman, and they began tracking him.

• Happy worried that the woman Apocalypse planned to introduce would be out of his league, but agreed to go with him.
• Iron Man teased Apocalypse about his reluctance to pursue the women around him, while Pepper Potts called Black Widow and told her Apocalypse had taken Happy to pick up women.
• Black Widow grew suspicious and angry, and Nick Fury and the women at S.H.I.E.L.D. joined in tracking Apocalypse’s trip toward Queens.
• Apocalypse intended to introduce Happy to Aunt May, whose relationship with Spider-Man and future connection to Happy would make her a good match.
• Apocalypse and Happy arrived at Aunt May’s building, where Happy learned Apocalypse had not told her about him and had never met her before.

Apocalypse brought Happy to meet May, Peter Parker’s aunt, under the pretext of discussing a scholarship and research project. Happy tried to impress May by claiming he ran a huge foundation, but when she asked for Peter’s full name, he could not remember it.

• Apocalypse told Happy that he and May were fated, then brought him to her home to meet Peter Parker.
• May welcomed the two men inside after Apocalypse said they wanted to discuss a scholarship and research project for Peter.
• Apocalypse presented Happy as the person in charge of a foundation, helping the nervous Happy find confidence.
• Happy claimed the foundation had tens of billions of dollars, making May suspicious when she had never heard of it.
• May asked Happy for Peter’s full name, and Happy stumbled over the answer, calling him “Peter... Fucker.”

Happy convinced May that Peter’s scholarship application was legitimate, and Apocalypse met Peter Parker and Ned at the Parker home. Peter recognized Apocalypse and was stunned to learn that he already knew about him.

• May initially rejected Happy and Apocalypse, but Happy called Iron Man to verify the foundation.
• Iron Man and Pepper Potts reassured May, who warmed to Happy and enthusiastically discussed Peter’s scholarship.
• Apocalypse inspected Peter’s room, found a poster of himself and Peter’s homemade spider suit, and noted that Peter would need a stronger suit.
• Peter and Ned returned, and May introduced Happy as the foundation’s representative.
• Apocalypse emerged from Peter’s room, greeted Peter and Ned, and raised Peter’s trust level to 60 percent.
• Peter asked Apocalypse if he had come to arrest him.

Apocalypse met Spider-Man and Ned, praised Ned’s talent, and offered to teach him cultivation methods. He revealed Peter’s identity to Ned and invited Peter to train with S.H.I.E.L.D., leaving Peter eager to persuade May to let him go.

• Apocalypse asked Peter and Ned about the photo of him that Ned had downloaded from the dark web.
• Ned asked Apocalypse to accept him as a disciple, and Apocalypse instead offered to teach him cultivation methods.
• Apocalypse stopped Peter from asking to become his disciple and told Ned that Peter was Spider-Man.
• Ned and Peter agreed that Ned would cover for Peter, while Peter would recognize Ned as his friend at school and attend his birthday party.
• Apocalypse told Peter he could receive S.H.I.E.L.D. training after passing an assessment, but Happy and Peter would have to persuade May.

Apocalypse taught Ned to cultivate Asgardian God-Force and arranged for Tony to make Spider-Man a suit, then gave May a Recovery Potion through Happy. Pepper Potts, Iron Man, Captain America, Daisy, Quicksilver, and Black Widow arrived at May’s apartment, claiming to have come for other reasons while plainly curious about Happy and May.

• Apocalypse advised Spider-Man to develop his spider power and said Tony would make him a suit, while Ned asked for one too.
• Apocalypse told Happy to give May a Recovery Potion, and Happy warned her to keep it for a life-threatening injury.
• May hugged Happy after he gave her the potion, but the doorbell interrupted them.
• Pepper Potts, Iron Man, Captain America, Daisy, Quicksilver, and Black Widow arrived, and May, Spider-Man, and Ned were stunned to see them.
• The visitors offered excuses for coming over, while Apocalypse recognized that they were curious about Happy and May.

Apocalypse and Black Widow left for Scandinavia after she revealed that her sister had asked for help. On the journey, Black Widow recounted her childhood undercover with her adoptive family and her recruitment into the Red Room.

• S.H.I.E.L.D.'s group visited May's home under the pretext of investigating Spider-Man, and May mistook their friendliness for respect for Happy.
• Apocalypse explained Spider-Man's situation to Iron Man and Captain America, then asked Black Widow what she needed him for.
• Black Widow asked Apocalypse to accompany her to Scandinavia for a family matter involving her sister, and he agreed.
• Quicksilver returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. to tell Wanda that the Spider-Man investigation was no longer needed, while Daisy reflected on her feelings for Apocalypse.
• As Apocalypse flew toward Scandinavia with Black Widow, she described how she had lived undercover with the Red Guardian, Melina, and Yelena before being sent to the Red Room.

Black Widow and Apocalypse traveled to Budapest to rescue Yelena, who had been shot after trying to defect from the Red Room. Yelena survived, and the sisters learned the Red Room's control pheromone had an antidote, though General Dreykov had another method of control.

• Black Widow worried about facing Yelena, and Apocalypse promised to support her as they flew to Europe.
• Black Widow led Apocalypse to her Budapest safe house, where Yelena fired at them before recognizing her sister.
• Apocalypse found and removed a Red Room tracker from Yelena, and Black Widow gave her a Recovery Potion that healed her wounds.
• Yelena told Black Widow she had tried to defect from the Red Room but had been hunted down by the other Widows.
• The sisters learned that researchers had developed an antidote to the Red Room's Conquest pheromone, but General Dreykov had another trick up his sleeve.

Yelena gave Apocalypse the antidote and learned that Natasha’s husband considered her family, offering her a home after she left the Red Room. When the other Widows attacked, Apocalypse protected them while Natasha fought back, leaving Yelena asking what to do with the captured women.

• Yelena gave Apocalypse the remaining antidote and said about a thousand doses would be needed to save the Widows around the world.
• Yelena recognized Apocalypse, introduced herself as Natasha’s younger sister, and embraced him after he welcomed her as family and offered her a place in his home.
• Attackers threw grenades into the room and fired through the windows, but Apocalypse contained the explosions and stopped the bullets before they could reach them.
• Natasha went outside to face the attacking Widows while Yelena stayed with Apocalypse, then joined the fight and took down one of them.
• Natasha knocked the other Widows unconscious, and Yelena asked her what they should do with them.

Black Widow, Yelena, and Apocalypse freed a group of Red Room Widows from Dreykov’s control and arranged for them to serve under Yelena with Apocalypse’s backing. Black Widow planned to attack the Red Room, but learning that their parents were alive left Yelena shaken and raised the question of whether they would visit them first.

• Black Widow and Yelena debated what to do with the captured Widows, and Apocalypse suggested placing them under S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Yelena proposed that the Widows serve under Apocalypse’s name, and he agreed so long as she and Black Widow managed them.
• Apocalypse neutralized the Widows’ pheromone conditioning and stopped them from escaping; Yelena told them they now served the Apocalypse King and would take orders from her.
• The Widows questioned Yelena’s authority, but she revealed that the Apocalypse King was her brother-in-law, and Black Widow reluctantly let Yelena lead them for the time being.
• Black Widow said she intended to storm the Red Room, and Apocalypse reminded her that their parents were alive; Yelena reacted with surprise and sadness.

Black Widow and Yelena led a group of freed Widows to a prison in the fighting nation to rescue their father, Red Guardian. After breaking into the prison and searching the cells, they found him in its largest and most comfortable cell.

• Yelena asked Apocalypse to help her find Red Guardian and Melina, and Apocalypse agreed to take her and Black Widow to Red Guardian's prison.
• Apocalypse flew the sisters and the Widows to an icy basin prison, where Black Widow and Yelena chose to carry out the rescue themselves.
• Yelena and the Widows used their sensors to summon Red Room helicopters, and Black Widow leaped into the prison while the others descended by ropes.
• Black Widow and the Widows fought off the guards, then split into teams to search the prisoner cells.
• Black Widow and Yelena found Red Guardian in the prison's largest and most comfortable cell.

Black Widow and Yelena freed Red Guardian from prison and escaped with him and more than a dozen Widows, while Black Widow’s attack on a tank triggered an avalanche. Aboard the helicopter, Red Guardian learned that Black Widow was married to Apocalypse, and Yelena asked him where their mother was.

• Red Guardian agreed to leave prison with Black Widow and Yelena, then got stuck in the bars until Black Widow broke them apart.
• Black Widow struck a tank’s cannon upward, sending its shell over her head and triggering an avalanche.
• Black Widow, Yelena, Red Guardian, and more than a dozen Widows escaped the prison by helicopter.
• Red Guardian learned that Black Widow and Yelena had defected from the Red Room and that Apocalypse was Black Widow’s husband.
• Red Guardian threatened to punish Apocalypse if he mistreated Black Widow, and Apocalypse said Red Guardian’s standing depended on whether Natasha called him Father.
• Yelena asked Red Guardian where their mother was.

Apocalypse explained how changing the past created branching timelines, then flew with Yelena, Red Guardian, and the Widows to Melina’s home near Saint Petersburg. Melina’s defenses attacked their helicopters, but Apocalypse diverted the bullets and the group approached unharmed.

• Red Guardian said Melina was likely living in seclusion outside Saint Petersburg, and the group set out to find her.
• Apocalypse asked whether Red Guardian had fought Captain America and explained that changing the past created a branching timeline rather than altering the present.
• Yelena said she wished she could change her own past, but Apocalypse explained that their current lives would remain unchanged.
• As the helicopters neared Melina’s house, its defenses fired RPGs and Gatling guns at them.
• Apocalypse bent the incoming bullets away from the helicopters, and Yelena showed Red Guardian that the bullets were real by tossing out a steel plate.