Recaps

Alexander Pierce and Nick Fury investigated a cruise missile strike on the abandoned Lehigh Camp, while Hawkeye and his team prepared to expose hidden Skrulls inside S.H.I.E.L.D. The chapter ended as White Queen began a ten-minute countdown and a golden-orange light sped toward Earth from near Jupiter.

• Pierce accused Daniel Whitehall of breaking their contract, but Whitehall insisted he had found the real Nick Fury and Clint Barton and refused to return Item 84.
• Pierce directed his secretary to send the Department of Defense's inquiry about the Lehigh Camp missile strike to Director Fury, then suspected Whitehall's renewed youth could be valuable.
• Nick Fury learned about the missile strike and the sinking of the Lemurian Star, but hesitated before calling someone and instead waited for Coulson and May to bring back clues.
• Clint Barton watched the Triskelion and coordinated with White Queen and Yelena to target the hidden Skrulls, warning Yelena not to attack Fury or act without authorization.
• White Queen started a ten-minute countdown for the operation as a golden-orange stream of light raced toward Earth from near Jupiter.

Phil Coulson and Melinda May returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters and reported their findings from the abandoned Lehigh Camp to Nick Fury. While Phil gave his report, the White Queen began exposing Fury’s secret projects across internal and public networks.

• Victoria Hand left Phil Coulson and Melinda May at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters after warning May to stay vigilant.
• Melinda told the field agents to get the wounded checked and cautioned Phil that the cruise missile attack on Lehigh Camp meant they should stay alert.
• Phil and Melinda encountered Selena, who complained about the pressure from Minister Pierce and Nick Fury, then headed to Fury’s office.
• Selena secretly contacted the White Queen, who announced the start of the Nick Fury Exposé Operation.
• Phil reported what happened at the abandoned Lehigh Camp while the White Queen released details of Nick Fury’s secret projects, including Project Black Sun and the Wall of Silence.

After learning HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. through Dr. Zola’s algorithm, Nick Fury tried to escape with Phil Coulson and Melinda May before Alexander Pierce could stop them. Pierce mobilized a strike team and led it himself, ultimately cornering the trio at the first-floor stairwell.

• Nick Fury identified Alexander Pierce as a HYDRA member, and Phil Coulson and Melinda May realized Selena could report their survival to him.
• Selena returned to Pierce too late to warn him before Phil and Melinda made it back alive.
• Pierce ordered a strike team to capture Nick, Phil, and Melinda, but several of his trusted agents, including Rumlow and Sitwell, were absent.
• Pierce decided to lead the strike team personally, while Nick chose the stairs to avoid a possible elevator trap.
• Nick, Phil, and Melinda hurried down the stairwell, but Pierce and his men reached the first floor and cornered them.

Nick Fury confronted Alexander Pierce and the strike team, then escaped with help from Zieg and two others after they brought down the ceiling. Pierce ordered his agents to fire at the escapees, unaware that two strike team members had turned their guns toward his back.

• Nick Fury accused Alexander Pierce of being a HYDRA remnant, but the strike team kept their weapons trained on Fury and his allies.
• Pierce ordered his agents to kill Fury, who offered to reveal a secret in exchange for sparing Phil Coulson and Melinda May.
• Hawkeye waited for the signal while Yelena and White Queen argued over White Queen's completed online exposure of Nick Fury's dirt.
• Nick Fury chose a third option, and Zieg and two others collapsed the ceiling onto Pierce and his strike team before helping Fury, Coulson, and May escape.
• Pierce ordered his agents to fire at the stairway, and as the escapees fled upstairs, two strike team members aimed their guns at Pierce's back.

Nick Fury exposed HYDRA’s infiltration of the Triskelion and activated an emergency protocol before portals pulled Zieg and two others away. They arrived on a nearby rooftop, where Yelena forced Zieg to reveal his Skrull form and attacked him.

• Pierce was shot, and Robert Chambers died protecting him before the special operations team killed the two traitors.
• Nick Fury activated Level 7 Emergency Directive, warning S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that HYDRA had infiltrated the Triskelion and ordering them to treat anyone operating a weapon as hostile.
• Pierce fired at Nick as he escaped, but a portal redirected a bullet into Nick’s left hip.
• Three crimson portals opened beneath Zieg and two others, transporting them to a rooftop near Hawkeye’s position.
• Yelena recognized Zieg as a Skrull, provoked him into revealing his true form, then broke his arm and struck his head with her baton.

Yelena Team captured five Skrull imposters at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters while Hawkeye confronted Yelena for injuring Nick Fury. As Fury went into hiding and left S.H.I.E.L.D.'s future to Phil Coulson, Alexander Pierce ordered a retreat, and Natasha prepared to punish Yelena.

• Yelena Team captured five Skrull imposters, and Hawkeye led the team back through a portal after warning Yelena that he would tell Natasha about her role in Nick Fury's injuries.
• Phil Coulson treated Nick Fury's wound as Fury decided to disappear and entrusted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s future to Phil and Melinda May.
• Phil vowed to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. standing after Nick Fury left, while Melinda realized Phil was already thinking like the new director.
• HYDRA's infiltration became international news, and Alexander Pierce ordered his agents to retreat as U.S. military forces rushed toward Washington, D.C.
• Yelena Team locked the five captured Skrulls in isolation cells, and Hawkeye told Natasha what Yelena had done, prompting Natasha to roll up her sleeves in anger.

Natasha bound Yelena to punish her for misconduct on a mission, while Talbot’s convoy learned that Alexander Pierce’s fleeing Quinjet had been destroyed by an unknown hypersonic missile. Tony watched the strike with Richard’s help and invited him to celebrate, only to become captivated by Richard’s magical wine.

• Natasha stormed into Melina’s office and used the Crimson Chains of Destiny to bind Yelena before dragging her away for punishment.
• A S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet carrying Alexander Pierce and his special operations team escaped the Triskelion as Talbot’s convoy approached.
• Talbot ordered an airborne interception, but the Quinjet flew too fast for the base to catch.
• An unidentified hypersonic missile destroyed the Quinjet, and Talbot ordered his men to investigate where it had come from.
• At Tony’s Malibu villa, Richard helped Tony watch the Quinjet explode through a portal, and Tony thanked him for making the strike possible.
• Richard produced a bottle of Dragon Saliva Heart-Blazing Brew, and Tony became fascinated when he heard it could enhance physical fitness, mana capacity, and kidney function.

Tony arranged a feast to coax Richard into sharing his otherworldly wine, while Brigadier General Talbot arrived at the Triskelion with US military forces to investigate S.H.I.E.L.D. Amid the confrontation, Sharon Carter learned that Alexander Pierce had taken people to Hangar No. 1 and led Phil Coulson and Melinda to face the military probe.

• Tony persuaded Richard to fetch a banquet from the Hansen Hotel using a portal, then arranged for Pietro to bring Wanda back from school.
• Brigadier General Glenn Talbot ordered his troops to seal the Triskelion and entered with an officer to meet S.H.I.E.L.D.'s leaders.
• Phil Coulson and Melinda told Sharon Carter that HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Alexander Pierce was a HYDRA member.
• Sharon learned Pierce had gone to Hangar No. 1, but the hangar did not answer her calls and a staff member lay dead beside a communicator.
• After Sharon heard that Talbot's armed soldiers had entered the lobby, she ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to resume normal operations and hurried downstairs with Phil and Melinda.

Brigadier General Glenn Talbot tried to take control of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, but Sharon Carter and Phil challenged him and prevented the soldiers from advancing. The standoff ended with both sides armed and furious, while Melinda watched.

• Yvette Oliveira confronted Talbot at the lobby entrance, then gained confidence when she pointed out that she was Swiss.
• Talbot announced that the US Air Force would take control of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and Sharon Carter arrived to oppose him.
• Phil defused Talbot's anger by explaining that Sharon was Peggy Carter's niece.
• Talbot claimed HYDRA agents had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and ordered the soldiers to secure the building, but Sharon rejected his authority.
• Sharon aimed her pistol at Talbot as the Special Forces trained their rifles on her, while Phil tried to keep both sides from firing.

Carol Danvers arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters looking for Nick Fury, but a US military unit opened fire and she devastated the lobby while defending herself. Phil Coulson survived the attack, and he, Sharon Carter, and Melinda faced the aftermath as Carol asked again for Fury’s whereabouts.

• Talbot ordered the soldiers to shoot the golden-orange figure who had flown into the lobby asking for Nick Fury.
• Carol Danvers deflected the bullets with an energy barrier and sent them flying back, killing or injuring many soldiers and wrecking the lobby.
• Melinda pulled Sharon away while Coulson shielded Yvette from the blast.
• Coulson recovered with Yvette’s help and warned Sharon and Melinda that they were in trouble.
• Carol revealed herself as Carol Danvers and asked where Nick Fury was, and Coulson said Fury had left headquarters.

Phil told Carol Danvers that HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Nick Fury had withdrawn after being wounded, while Melinda and Sharon knew the injury story was misleading. As rumors and leaked files spread, the Five Powers met to address Nick Fury’s alleged embezzlement and secret bases, leaving Gideon Malick unable to defend Alexander Pierce.

• Phil explained to Carol Danvers that HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and claimed Nick Fury had withdrawn because he was wounded.
• The White Queen helped spread Nick Fury’s secrets online, and a dark-web author published an eroticized novel about him that drew thousands of comments.
• Participants in a secret video conference debated whether Nick Fury had embezzled funds to build twenty-seven private bases.
• The Five Powers convened an emergency meeting after the leaked materials circulated.
• Gideon Malick demanded to know why Alexander Pierce had not joined the World Security Council conference, while other representatives called for the money to be recovered and Pierce and Fury to be held responsible.
• Britain, Gaul, and Goose supported the demand, and Gideon Malick resigned himself to the tide turning against Pierce.

The Big Five issued a global warrant for Nick Fury after Gideon Malick failed to prevent the vote, while sparing Alexander Pierce for the moment. The notice fueled outrage against S.H.I.E.L.D. and attacks on its bases, and Phil Coulson learned of the crisis as Carol Danvers arrived.

• Gideon Malick supported a warrant for Nick Fury but objected to including Alexander Pierce, then agreed after Hawley pushed the vote through.
• The Big Five published a global warrant accusing Nick Fury of human experimentation, abuse of power, embezzlement, mass surveillance, attempted war crimes, and treason.
• The warrant sparked online outrage and prompted factions to begin attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. bases.
• Agents across S.H.I.E.L.D. debated Nick Fury's guilt as his reputation collapsed within the organization.
• Eric Koenig told Phil Coulson about the warrant, then cut off their call when his base came under attack.
• Phil told Melinda, Sharon Carter, and Yvette about the warrant, and Carol Danvers arrived, realizing Nick had nowhere left to hide on Earth.

Carol Danvers refused Phil Coulson’s request for help after revealing that Nick Fury had been hit with a joint global arrest warrant, then fought Brigadier General Talbot when he shot at her. With Talbot badly injured and U.S. soldiers arriving, Major Wyatt evacuated the surviving troops and warned that the Department of Defense would summon Phil and the others.

• Phil Coulson asked Carol Danvers to help S.H.I.E.L.D., but Carol refused and revealed that Nick Fury faced a joint global arrest warrant from the Five Powers.
• Brigadier General Talbot fired repeatedly at Carol, who caught the bullets and knocked him into a wall with a photon shockwave before flying away.
• Phil urged Melinda May to check Talbot, and she found him alive but severely injured with multiple fractures and internal injuries.
• U.S. soldiers and Major Wyatt arrived, treated Talbot’s condition as urgent, and ordered their squads to evacuate with their dead and wounded.
• Major Wyatt warned Phil Coulson, Sharon Carter, Melinda May, and Yvette that the Department of Defense would formally summon them, and Phil’s expression turned grim after the soldiers left.

Phil Coulson secured Sharon Carter’s cooperation as S.H.I.E.L.D. reeled from Nick Fury’s disappearance and wanted notice. At Baron Strucker’s Sokovia base, Brock Rumlow and other former Pierce loyalists learned Pierce was dead and were recruited to help seize HYDRA’s forces within S.H.I.E.L.D. and join the Red Order.

• Phil Coulson asked Sharon Carter to stabilize headquarters morale, and she agreed to cooperate despite objecting to Nick Fury appointing his successor.
• Melinda left to investigate the online situation while Phil followed Sharon and Melinda toward the elevators with Yvette’s support.
• Baron Strucker brought Brock Rumlow, Jasper Sitwell, and the others to Sokovia, where Thomas revealed Alexander Pierce had died.
• Baron Strucker showed them footage of Pierce’s death, and the group pledged to help him take control of Pierce’s HYDRA forces within S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Baron Strucker showed Nick Fury’s global wanted notice, prompting the recruits to offer connections at S.H.I.E.L.D. bases.
• Baron Strucker manifested crimson Mana flames and invited them into the Red Order, while Thomas, Figo, and the other young HYDRA members demonstrated their magic.

Phil Coulson and Melinda May coordinated with Victoria Hand as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s overseas bases came under attack and the organization faced abandonment by the World Security Council. Phil represented Triskelion Headquarters at an emergency conference, where the other leaders demanded an explanation for the crisis.

• Melinda May warned Phil Coulson that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s overseas bases were being attacked, and Victoria Hand confirmed that several had suffered armed assaults.
• Victoria Hand asked Triskelion Headquarters to send a representative to an emergency video conference, and Sharon Carter selected Phil Coulson.
• Victoria Hand opened the conference with more than twenty base leaders, including Robert Gonzales, Victor Sanchez, Elena Volonkova, and Marcus Lane.
• Park Min-jung accused Triskelion Headquarters of being the source of the crisis and demanded that Phil explain what had happened.

Phil Coulson told the S.H.I.E.L.D. directors that HYDRA had infiltrated the agency, and the council formed a temporary leadership after learning Alexander Pierce was dead. HYDRA attacks on S.H.I.E.L.D. branches were repelled by reinforcements, while Felix Blake received a mysterious call as he headed to Providence.

• Phil Coulson explained that Project Paperclip had brought HYDRA members into S.H.I.E.L.D., and Victoria Hand recognized the meaning of Dr. Arnim Zola's phrase "Hydra-Shield."
• Park Min-jung reported that Alexander Pierce had died when a Quinjet fleeing the Triskelion was destroyed by a supersonic missile, and Phil urged the directors to act while HYDRA lacked its leader.
• The directors established the S.H.I.E.L.D. Temporary Council, which began coordinating agency operations and sent Felix Blake to reinforce Eric Koenig's Providence base.
• High-ranking HYDRA members received footage of Pierce's death and calls from their contacts, then Crimson Believers opened portals to bring Baron Strucker's elite soldiers to besieged S.H.I.E.L.D. bases.
• The reinforcements drove off the attackers, who retreated to their lairs, and the council received reports that the branch bases were secure.
• As Felix Blake flew toward Providence, a woman he had longed for called him by name.

The World Security Council placed S.H.I.E.L.D. under strict supervision, while the Skrulls debated exploiting the agency’s turmoil. Gravik learned that Carol Danvers had returned and ordered his people into hiding; aboard the Wanderer, Skadi prepared to meet Carol and warned Nick Fury that she was back.

• Hawley told S.H.I.E.L.D.’s interim council that the agency would face audits and supervision, with disbandment threatened if further abuses came to light.
• Victoria Hand, Robert Gonzales, Phil Coulson, and Park Min-jung argued over Nick Fury’s secrecy and how transparent S.H.I.E.L.D. should become.
• Hawley revealed herself as the Skrull Hana and urged Gravik to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., but Gravik refused and ordered the Skrulls to hide after sensing Carol Danvers’s return.
• Skadi saw Carol outside the Wanderer, ordered the crew to prepare the hatch, and contacted Varra to bring Nick Fury to the conference room.
• Nick Fury learned Carol had returned and confronted Skadi over Talos’s exile, Soren’s death, and G’iah’s disappearance.

Carol Danvers returned to the Wanderer and learned that Nick Fury had summoned her to confront Richard and Kamar-Taj. She flew to Earth to test Richard’s abilities, asking Skrull to tell Talos she wanted to see him afterward.

• Skrull welcomed Carol Danvers aboard the Wanderer and told her Talos was on Earth while Nick Fury was in the conference room.
• Carol reunited with Nick Fury and learned that his wife was Varra, also known on Earth as Winnie.
• Nick told Carol that Richard was a powerful Mage connected to the ancient organization Kamar-Taj and had stolen the Cosmic Cube from S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Nick asked Carol to deal with Richard and Kamar-Taj, and she agreed to test Richard’s methods.
• Carol asked Skrull to notify Talos, then flew from the Wanderer toward Earth.

Richard returned to the Sky Fortress after Strucker found Bucky Barnes and five other frozen Winter Soldiers, then went to Tony Stark’s seaside villa with Bucky. He told Tony he had come back to deliver a gift, leaving Bucky standing in front of him.

• Strucker reported that he had found Bucky Barnes and five frozen Winter Soldiers, and Richard ordered him to test whether the others could be controlled.
• Richard told Strucker to accelerate S.H.I.E.L.D.’s subjugation, spare those who resisted, and watch Daniel Whitehall and the Obelisk.
• Richard warned Strucker that the Obelisk could turn humans without Inhuman genes to stone, then took Bucky through a portal to Malibu.
• At Tony Stark’s villa, Wanda and Pietro argued about whether they wanted Tony and Pepper Potts to have a little sister or brother, and Richard sent them to bed to absorb the brew.
• Tony returned to the living room, and Richard revealed Bucky to him as the gift he had brought.

Richard gave Tony Bucky Barnes, whom Tony sent to the basement, while Carol Danvers attacked Kamar-Taj and fought its mages. After Sorceress Emilia wounded Carol, Carol resolved to unleash her full strength against them.

• Richard revealed Bucky Barnes to Tony, who thanked Richard and ordered Jarvis to take Bucky to the underground equipment room.
• Carol Danvers found Kamar-Taj in Kathmandu and attacked its protective barrier, prompting Mordo and the mages to confront her.
• Mordo and Kaecilius led the mages in an assault, and Emilia and Kaecilius pierced Carol’s shield with their weapons.
• Carol’s counterattack sent the mages flying, but Emilia endured the damage and cut Carol’s right calf before collapsing.
• Kaecilius caught Emilia and sent her through a portal to recover as Carol dodged the mages’ spells and decided to use her full strength.

Carol Danvers attacked Kamar-Taj, but Mordo, Kaecilius, and Hamir restrained her and brought her back to the temple. Richard returned after being notified and found Carol in a detention cell, where they finally met.

• Carol used Binary Form to attack the Kamar-Taj sorcerers, but Hamir and his assistants raised a defense formation to withstand her strike.
• Carol charged Mordo, whose shield stopped her, and Kaecilius and three other sorcerers bound her with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.
• Hamir recognized that Carol's energy resembled the Space Stone's, and Carol said she had come to find Sorcerer Richard.
• Mordo, Hamir, and Kaecilius used the Trinity Sealing Secret Art to seal Carol's energy and took her through a portal to Kamar-Taj.
• Richard received White Queen's notification, returned to Kamar-Taj, and found Carol in a detention cell.

Richard confronted Carol Danvers over her attack on Kamar-Taj and rejected her claims that she had protected Earth. After she was restrained, he said he would send her to America for trial but first strip the Cosmic Cube energy from her, leaving Carol desperate to escape.

• Carol met Richard at Kamar-Taj and claimed she had meant no harm when she fired an energy bomb to confirm the location.
• Richard scolded Carol for endangering Earthlings and told her that Kamar-Taj had guarded Earth for thousands of years.
• Carol disputed Richard’s claims and insisted that she and Nick Fury had protected Earth from alien threats.
• When Carol tried to chase Richard, a crimson chain restrained her and the Trinity Sealing Technique blocked her energy.
• Richard said Carol would face American laws after he stripped the Cosmic Cube energy from her body.
• Carol realized how much of her power came from the Cosmic Cube and resolved to escape Kamar-Taj and Earth.

Carol struggled to free herself from the magic binding her powers, then learned that Richard was the designated next Sorcerer Supreme and continued trying to escape. Meanwhile, Richard visited Tiamut beneath the Indian Ocean and entered its newly built game dungeon to test it.

• Carol failed to break the crimson chain or regain control of the energy sealed inside her body.
• Mordo brought Carol lunch and told her that Richard was the current administrator of Kamar-Taj and the next Sorcerer Supreme designated by Ancient One.
• Carol tried to charm Mordo into helping her escape, but he fled in disgust, prompting her to smash the food tray and a chair.
• Carol resumed meditating to reach her sealed energy.
• Richard contacted Tiamut beneath the Indian Ocean, learned it had built a game dungeon, and let it pull him inside.

Richard returned to Kamar-Taj and learned that his frequent Portal use had overwhelmed Sorcerer Zalv and inspired Mordo to draft restrictions. After Richard signed the regulations and made them effective, Mordo immediately violated one and was sentenced to clean Arcane Dust for a month.

• Richard asked Tiamut to adjust the Dungeon’s combat system and female character templates, then received the Space Stone and returned to Kamar-Taj.
• Mordo explained that Richard’s frequent Portal use had caused the Warding Barrier to trigger alarms hundreds of times a day and nearly driven Sorcerer Zalv to quit.
• Mordo gave Richard the new Portal-use regulations, which Richard signed despite recognizing they targeted him.
• Richard declared the regulations effective, activating a Gold-Red Barrier over Kamar-Taj.
• Mordo used a Portal to put away the regulations and was immediately sentenced to clean Arcane Dust for one month.

Richard used the Space Stone to try to extract Carol’s power, but released the seal restraining her energy. Carol transformed into her Binary Form and vowed to kill him.

• Richard returned to the detention room and confronted Carol, binding her with a Crimson Chain as she tried to escape.
• Carol pleaded and offered to help Richard, but he immobilized her and mocked her before attempting to use the Space Stone.
• Richard activated the Space Stone, causing the sealed energy inside Carol to surge.
• Richard released the seal, and Carol entered her Binary Form, broke free of his immobilization, and threatened to kill him.