Recaps

Richard and Tony responded to a Harlem fight between Hulk and Abomination as the two giants battled through the streets, causing destruction and casualties. Hulk finally slammed Abomination into a crater, and the Crimson Nuns arrived through portals.

• Tony watched footage of Hulk and Abomination fighting and ordered Jarvis to activate super-speed mode.
• Richard identified Hulk and Abomination in live footage and ordered the Nun Guard to assemble.
• Abomination initially overpowered Hulk, wrecked buildings and vehicles, and killed a convenience store owner when the store collapsed.
• Abomination threw a school bus at the police, flattening a cruiser and injuring officers in the explosion.
• A woman called Bruce from a helicopter, distracting Hulk, but Hulk broke free and slammed Abomination into the road.
• Crimson Nuns emerged through portals as Hulk staggered away from the crater.

Richard’s Crimson Nuns rescued civilians and subdued Abomination and Hulk, who reverted to Bruce Banner. When the US military demanded Banner and opened fire on the Nun Guard, a giant crimson lotus appeared to shield them.

• Richard ordered the Crimson Nuns to rescue civilians and assigned Lisa and Zoe’s squads to restrain Abomination and Hulk.
• Lisa’s squad subdued Abomination with crimson chains, while Zoe’s squad kept Hulk from escaping until he transformed back into Bruce Banner.
• The military advanced to reclaim Banner, but Natasha and the Nun Guard stood between the soldiers and him.
• The military commander ordered the troops to fire, and a giant crimson lotus bloomed around the Nun Guard.

The Crimson Nun Guard protected Bruce Banner and Abomination from General Ross’s forces after Hulk’s shockwave devastated the soldiers. Natasha warned Ross that the guard would not negotiate, then offered Betty Ross the chance to leave with them, and Betty agreed.

• General Ross ordered the soldiers to attack the Scarlet Lotus, but Hulk’s shockwave scattered them and killed or injured many.
• General Ross ordered the surviving soldiers to find Bruce Banner, while Betty condemned her father for continuing the operation.
• Bruce Banner changed back from Hulk and apologized to the Crimson Nuns, who prepared to protect him.
• Richard told Natasha to warn the helicopter and retreat with Bruce Banner and Abomination, so Natasha ordered the guard to withdraw.
• Natasha confronted General Ross, sliced an M1A2 tank in half with a wheel of light, and invited Betty to come with them.
• Betty agreed to leave with Natasha and the Crimson Nun Guard.

Betty Ross rejected General Ross and joined Natasha's Crimson Nun Guard, which rescued her from Harlem and reunited her with Bruce Banner. Tony Stark learned the Guard had resolved the attack and resumed his trip to launch the Skrull Detector, while Nick Fury watched footage of the mysterious women and worried about Earth's growing supernatural forces.

• Betty Ross told General Ross she was no longer his daughter, and Natasha sent her through a portal to Bruce Banner.
• Natasha ordered the Crimson Nuns to retreat, and they left Harlem through portals.
• Tony Stark learned the Harlem attack was over and saw footage of the Crimson Nuns rescuing Betty.
• Richard told Tony that the women were his Crimson Nun Guard, not Kamar-Taj Mages, then urged him to get the Skrull Detector into orbit.
• Tony resumed flying toward his destination, while Nick Fury watched the footage at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and wondered how Earth had become so strange.

Bruce Banner joined the Red Room after Richard promised a way to address Hulk, then learned Richard could use magic to calm his transformations. Richard explained that Hulk was a separated part of Banner’s personality and began outlining a solution based on accepting him.

• Natasha brought Bruce Banner and Betty Ross to meet Richard aboard the Sky Fortress.
• After hearing that joining was a condition for help, Banner joined the Red Room because he trusted its actions in Harlem.
• Banner began transforming into Hulk, and Richard used soothing magic to calm him.
• Richard revealed that he was a member of Kamar-Taj and said magic could address Banner’s problem.
• Richard explained that Hulk was a separated entity born from Banner’s anger and trauma, and said reconciliation could reintegrate him.

Richard explained that the Grigori Soul Splitting Technique could separate Bruce Banner and Hulk into independent souls, though both would be incomplete and need a long recovery. Banner chose the procedure, and Richard successfully split the two souls at Kamar-Taj.

• Banner lost control and transformed into Hulk, who roared that he hated Banner before Richard contained him with a crimson shield.
• Natasha and Betty suggested that Hulk’s words expressed his anger at Banner, prompting Banner to reconsider their conflict.
• Richard described the Grigori Soul Splitting Technique, and Banner chose it so he could reunite with Betty.
• Richard began the procedure at Kamar-Taj, shaking Banner’s soul until its blue and green aspects separated.
• Richard severed the last connection between the souls, leaving Banner and Hulk with two independent souls.

Richard captured the Hulk's soul and sent Bruce Banner back to the Sky Fortress, where Betty Ross asked to join the Red Room and Melina recruited her for the Scientific Research Department. Baron Strucker proposed a plan to absorb HYDRA's branches, while Shay learned that his joke about Wong had earned him Mage Marcus's hostility.

• Richard sealed the Hulk's soul in a Sealing Spirit Orb and sent Banner to the Sky Fortress, where Melina arranged for his care.
• Betty Ross asked to join the Red Room, and Melina invited her to lead biological research projects in the Scientific Research Department.
• Baron Strucker proposed exploiting HYDRA's arrogance and independent branches to annex them one by one while minimizing casualties.
• Shay asked Richard for mind-control magic, and Richard learned Shay had mocked Wong, Marcus's apprentice, prompting Marcus to retaliate after Wong went on a week-long sick leave.
• Baron Strucker advised Shay to volunteer for a month's worth of chores to appease Marcus, and Richard's meaningful look made Strucker fear his scheme had been noticed.

Richard contacted the unborn Celestial Tiamut beneath the Indian Ocean and argued against the Celestials’ plan to destroy Earth. By appealing to Tiamut’s connection to humanity, Richard made him question his purpose, leaving Tiamut yearning to become a warmer kind of deity.

• Richard told Shay that the Crimson Believers’ conversion could begin, then went to the secret chamber and took the Eye of Agamotto.
• Richard traveled above the Indian Ocean, sensed Tiamut deep beneath the seabed, and awakened him through a mental message.
• Tiamut explained that Earth’s destruction was necessary for a Celestial’s birth and for cosmic balance, while Richard argued that civilizations and their creations could not be reduced to energy calculations.
• Richard’s words about Celestials being prisoners of algorithms angered Tiamut, whose agitation stirred the ocean until Richard calmed him with Crimson Mana.
• Richard reminded Tiamut that Earth’s life had shaped his memories and emotions, and Tiamut began to doubt the Celestials’ cold calculations and long for a warmer nature.

Richard persuaded Tiamut to delay his awakening and help protect Earth, promising to gather the Infinity Stones needed for a safe birth. He also recruited Tiamut to control the Virtual World Core, setting them on a path toward building a virtual world and eventually a virtual universe.

• Richard offered Tiamut the Time Stone and Space Stone to sustain his growth and guide his birth, but Tiamut warned that Earth would still be destroyed unless Richard obtained the Reality Stone.
• Richard identified Svartalfheim as the Reality Stone’s location, and Tiamut began doubting the Celestials’ judgment of Earth after three Infinity Stones were found there.
• Richard promised to retrieve the Reality Stone, and Tiamut declared that he loved Earth’s life, art, music, literature, and emotions and would protect the planet.
• Richard showed Tiamut the Virtual World Core and explained his plans to create a virtual Earth that could eventually expand into a virtual universe.
• Tiamut enthusiastically agreed to help realize the virtual universe, and the Virtual World Core entered his body and lit his six eyes.

Richard’s attempt to construct the virtual Earth world triggered a global earthquake, prompting people and defenders across the planet to respond. As Kamar-Taj’s sorcerers prepared for a suspected invasion and the Cloak of Levitation sought out familiar people, Tiamut urgently called Richard about the Space Stone.

• Tiamut’s energy caused the magma in Earth’s core to surge and triggered earthquakes around the world, forcing the sky fortress to restore its balance with the Gravity Reversal Device.
• Tony, Pepper, Wanda, and Pietro escaped the Malibu villa, and Jarvis reported that the earthquake was global.
• Mordo and Kaecilius divided the Kamar-Taj forces among the Sanctums and the main base after finding no unusual activity on the Earth Defense Network.
• Mordo’s group reached the New York Sanctum, where the Cloak of Levitation sniffed Shay and then jumped onto Baron Strucker.
• Tiamut urgently called Richard about the Space Stone while Richard was on the surface of the Indian Ocean.

Richard and Tiamut completed a virtual Earth, and Richard proposed expanding it into many specialized planes for games, training, and warfare. He planned to keep the mirrored Earth as a dream world to lure the Lord of Dreams and eventually confront dimensions threatening Earth.

• Richard gave the Cosmic Cube to Tiamut, whose activation of the Space Stone caused a blue wave to envelop Earth as the virtual world was constructed.
• The US Space Agency detected the Indian Ocean anomaly and sent the Seventh Fleet toward the area to investigate.
• Tiamut taught Richard how to enter the completed virtual world, where they met in the form of a golden-armored, six-eyed figure above an endless ocean.
• Richard proposed building diverse virtual planes beyond the mirrored Earth, and Tiamut agreed that redesigning the world would take more time.
• Richard asked Tiamut to preserve the mirrored Earth so he could use it as a dream world to bait the Lord of Dreams and confront other dimensions threatening Earth.

Richard returned to Kamar-Taj after Tiamut’s actions caused a global earthquake, calmed the sorcerers and his allies, and prepared to question Li Ze about the Virtual World Core. The chapter ended with Li Ze answering through the Bifrost Spirit Mirror.

• Richard returned to Kamar-Taj and learned that Mage Marcus had sent Sorcerers Mordo, Hamir, and Kaecilius to support the Three Sanctums after a global earthquake.
• Richard told Mage Marcus there was no dimensional invasion and explained that his friend had accidentally caused the earthquake.
• Richard assured Maria Hill that the earthquake had ended and told her to disband the assembled Nun Guard.
• Richard told Tony Stark the earthquake was an accident and warned him that Earth would face threats from alien forces and major dimensions.
• The Cloak of Levitation returned to Richard and draped itself over him.
• Richard contacted Li Ze through the Bifrost Spirit Mirror and asked whether he had meddled with the Virtual World Core.

Li Ze explained that the Virtual World Core had a passive master recognition program, then learned Richard had installed it in an unborn Celestial to control the Virtual World. Richard agreed to bring Red Queen's data back for Little Yan to study digital life.

• Li Ze revealed that Little Yan and other artificial intelligences were bound by passive master recognition, and said he had placed such a program in the Virtual World Core.
• Richard told Li Ze that using the Virtual World Core had triggered a global earthquake and that Tony Stark was busy raising a baby and dealing with the Skrulls.
• Richard explained that Wanda and Pietro were thirteen in his Marvel world and that Tony had reconciled with them and become their godfather.
• Richard revealed that the unborn Celestial lodged deep within Earth was the Virtual World's controlling intelligence, and Li Ze praised his choice while warning about Arishem The Judge.
• Li Ze asked Richard to copy Red Queen's program data for Little Yan, who wanted to study digital life and its possible combination with mechanical life.

Richard discovered that the White Queen could wield Crimson Mana and suspected her soul stored it, then began considering links between souls and mechanical ascension. Baron Strucker arrived at Kamar-Taj with a cassette tape recovered from a secret Siberian base.

• Richard rejected White Queen's program data and said he did not want to bring her back, prompting White Queen to reveal her resentment toward her sister, Alicia, Wesker, and Dr. Isaacs.
• Richard comforted White Queen and promised not to bring her sister back, sealing the promise with a pinky swear.
• Richard noticed Crimson Power in White Queen's eyes and watched her summon and shape Crimson Mana.
• White Queen grew exhausted after using mana, so Richard urged her to rest; she said her sub-entity in his watch could handle anything he needed.
• Richard returned to Kamar-Taj, where Baron Strucker presented him with a cassette tape found in a secret base in Siberia.

Richard received surveillance footage showing that Howard Stark and his wife had been murdered, then showed it to Tony, who watched the recording begin with Howard pleading for help. Richard also told Baron Strucker to capture Bucky Barnes alive and prepare for a journey to the stars once HYDRA’s forces were unified.

• Baron Strucker brought Richard a tape from an abandoned HYDRA base and said it showed that Howard Stark and his wife had been murdered, likely by Bucky Barnes.
• Richard ordered Baron Strucker to capture Bucky alive, accelerate HYDRA’s consolidation, and prepare to travel to the stars with him.
• At Tony’s Malibu villa, Richard arrived while Tony, Pepper, Wanda, and Pietro were cleaning, then pulled Tony aside to discuss the tape.
• Tony had Jarvis play the footage, which showed the Starks’ car crash, Howard escaping the burning wreck, and a motorcycle-riding attacker grabbing him by the hair.

Tony watched footage of Bucky Barnes murdering his parents and learned that Bucky had been used by a HYDRA branch led by Vasily Karpov. After Tony injured his hands in rage, Richard brought him to the Sky Fortress and treated his wounds, removed the Arc Reactor, and began healing his chest.

• Tony watched Bucky kill Howard and Maria, then demanded to know the killer’s identity from Richard.
• Richard identified Bucky as a former Winter Soldier and explained that Vasily Karpov had supervised the project for a HYDRA branch.
• Tony learned Karpov was dead, lost control, and smashed his bleeding hands against an alloy table until Richard calmed him.
• Richard took Tony to the Sky Fortress medical department, where Christine directed them to the Wax Bath Treatment Room.
• Richard put Tony to sleep, removed shrapnel and the Arc Reactor from his chest, and used mana and bath wax to seal the wounds as new flesh began to grow.

Richard showed Tony that HYDRA's reach included Alexander Pierce and Arnim Zola, whose Zola Algorithm predicted future threats by analyzing personal data. Tony learned about Zola's achievements and the algorithm, leaving its implications unexplored.

• Tony woke after Richard removed the Arc Reactor and discovered that the wound in his chest had healed.
• Richard brought Tony to the Flying Fortress, where Tony asked to buy its blueprints and said Pepper would handle negotiations.
• After confirming Tony could control his anger, Richard gave him a document identifying Alexander Pierce as a secret HYDRA leader.
• Richard explained Pierce's S.H.I.E.L.D. career and described how HYDRA members had also sacrificed themselves for S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Tony read about Arnim Zola's work, including his AI survival and the Zola Algorithm, which used personal data to predict whether someone might become a threat.

Richard warned Tony that HYDRA could use the Zola Algorithm and Helicarriers to eliminate millions of people, while hinting that Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce would soon turn against each other. Elsewhere, Victoria Hand mobilized a team for New Jersey, Brock Rumlow left on a mission after Thomas asked him to seek Adele’s hand in marriage, and Nick Fury reacted with shock to an encrypted hard drive.

• Richard explained to Tony how HYDRA’s Zola Algorithm identified direct and potential threats, then described a future in which Helicarriers targeted millions of people.
• Tony insisted they had to stop HYDRA, and Richard predicted that Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce would soon turn against each other.
• Victoria Hand received an alarming message, ordered Felix Blake to bring trusted operatives, and flew with them toward New Jersey.
• Thomas asked Brock Rumlow to seek Baron Strucker’s permission for him to marry Adele, and Rumlow agreed to raise the request with Commander Pierce after the mission.
• Thomas’s teammates teased him over his confession, while Nick Fury inspected an encrypted hard drive at a New York safehouse and swore in shock.

Phil Coulson and Melinda May accessed the hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. Facility 13 at Lehigh Camp and found Dr. Zola, asking him for the Zola Algorithm. Alexander Pierce learned that Nick Fury knew about the algorithm and ordered Zola to give everything for HYDRA.

• Phil Coulson and Melinda May arrived at Lehigh Camp, where Coulson explained that the old warehouse concealed an early S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
• Melinda used her Level 7 clearance to open the hidden elevator, and she and Coulson descended into the underground computer room.
• Dr. Zola’s computer system activated and greeted Coulson and May, and Coulson asked Zola for the Zola Algorithm.
• Dr. Zola called Alexander Pierce and told him Nick Fury knew about the algorithm and that Coulson and May had arrived.
• Pierce warned Zola that Nick Fury must not obtain the algorithm and told him to give everything for HYDRA.

Phil Coulson and Melinda May uncovered that Dr. Zola was a HYDRA operative who had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and used the Zola Algorithm to profile people and fuel global crises. Trapped in the computer room, they confronted Zola until Victoria Hand blasted her way in.

• Alexander Pierce ordered Zola to sacrifice himself for HYDRA, but Zola refused and ended the call.
• Zola revealed HYDRA had secretly survived within S.H.I.E.L.D. and used the Zola Algorithm to analyze people and promote conflict.
• Melinda shot the surveillance camera, while Phil and Melinda fired at the computer equipment and tried to escape.
• Zola sealed the exits and said they would die with him, but Phil tried to persuade him to help them.
• Zola claimed HYDRA was deeply rooted in S.H.I.E.L.D., and Victoria Hand entered through an explosion in the wall.

Victoria Hand arrested Phil Coulson and Melinda May as suspected HYDRA agents, then tried to recruit Arnim Zola before a S.H.I.E.L.D.-ordered missile destroyed his facility. At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Alexander Pierce saw that Zola’s threat list had marked Pierce himself as a threat.

• Victoria Hand ordered Phil Coulson and Melinda May arrested, but Melinda disarmed an operative before Hand called off the arrest.
• Victoria Hand offered Arnim Zola a choice between living and dying, then proposed recruiting him into S.H.I.E.L.D.; Zola rejected her appeal and mocked the organization.
• Agent Felix Blake reported that S.H.I.E.L.D. had launched a cruise missile at the warehouse, forcing Victoria Hand, Phil, Melinda, and the others to flee.
• The missile destroyed the warehouse, and S.H.I.E.L.D. reported that Arnim Zola’s electronic signal had vanished.
• Alexander Pierce examined the Zola Algorithm’s threat list and saw his own name on it.

White Queen recovered Arnim Zola’s backup data as Phil Coulson’s group escaped the destroyed warehouse with Victoria Hand’s help. On the Lemurian Star, Crossbones and Strike Team 1 began their operation, with Captain Floyd Benson as their target.

• White Queen found Arnim Zola’s backup and took his remaining data with her.
• Victoria Hand agreed with Melinda’s point about Nick Fury and offered to fly Phil Coulson’s group back to Washington, D.C.
• Melinda reported that their vehicles had been destroyed and that their wounded needed medical care, so Phil accepted Victoria Hand’s offer of transport.
• Crossbones and Strike Team 1 landed on the Lemurian Star, where Crossbones questioned boatswain Derrick White about Captain Benson’s whereabouts.
• Crossbones identified Captain Floyd Benson in the bridge and ordered Chambers to move in as gunfire and screams sounded over the headset.

Floyd Benson tried to destroy the Lemurian Star after learning HYDRA had marked him as a threat, but Crossbones stopped him, interrogated him, and killed him. Crossbones escaped before the ship exploded, while Richard confronted White Queen about the strange gift hovering above her projection.

• Floyd Benson activated the Lemurian Star's self-destruct device, but a bullet from Crossbones wounded his hand before he could confirm it.
• Crossbones killed the second mate and interrogated Floyd, who revealed that HYDRA had placed him on a list of threats because he knew too many secrets.
• Crossbones killed Floyd and two special operations agents, then activated the self-destruct device and evacuated with Chambers.
• The Lemurian Star exploded after the Quinjet had flown away toward America.
• Richard pointed out the green data stream wrapped in crimson Mana above White Queen's projection and asked if it was her gift.

Richard welcomed Arnim Zola as an ally and promised to give him a living body, while Vivian reported that Alexander Pierce and Nick Fury were nearing a falling-out. The chapter ended with Thomas warning Brock Rumlow that he was going to die.

• Richard discovered that the crimson-and-green ball contained Arnim Zola, whom the White Queen had rescued from the network world.
• Zola explained that he had uploaded his consciousness in 1972 and had battled the White Queen before she saved him.
• Richard offered Zola a new body or a server, and Zola chose to become human again, so Richard sealed his soul in a Sealing Spirit Orb until he could reshape a body for him.
• Vivian reported that Agent Barton's secret work was beginning to drive Alexander Pierce and Nick Fury toward a confrontation.
• Thomas met Brock Rumlow at the Starlight Bar and warned him that he was going to die.

Thomas convinced Brock Rumlow that Alexander Pierce was eliminating people named on the HYDRA Threat List and urged him to seek Baron Strucker’s protection. Rumlow agreed to flee to Sokovia, while Cass warned Sitwell that he was going to die.

• Thomas told Brock Rumlow that his name appeared on the HYDRA Threat List alongside Floyd Benson and Sitwell, and that Alexander Pierce was eliminating those listed.
• Thomas urged Rumlow to defect to Baron Strucker, claiming the Baron rejected Pierce’s elimination campaign and could protect him.
• After Figo ordered Thomas to stop speaking, Rumlow drank whisky and asked Thomas to arrange a meeting with Baron Strucker.
• Thomas contacted Adele, who agreed to report Rumlow’s decision to her father, then advised Rumlow to hide in Sokovia.
• At a coffee shop near Starlight Bar, Cass told Sitwell that he was going to die.