Recaps

Mark recruited Banner and Brandon to develop Payne Group’s satellite program, then founded Payne Aerospace Company and advanced his powers and film-effects business. After three months, he skipped grades into middle school at age eight, and Rosalie celebrated with a gathering at the manor.

• Mark asked Banner to lead Payne Group’s satellite project and assigned Brandon to assist him.
• Mark established Payne Aerospace Company, appointed Freeman Alda as its president, and tasked him with permits, supplies, and hiring.
• Over three months, Mark raised Heat Vision and Super Breath to Level 13, while Alice completed post-production on two films and Mark opened a special-effects studio.
• Mark told Rosalie he would skip grades again and passed the advancement exam into the middle school division.
• Rosalie held a gathering at the manor to celebrate Mark entering middle school, and the guests praised his achievement.

Mark secured approval for Payne Aerospace’s satellite launches while Payne Pictures promoted two films that portrayed Mutants as heroes and drew strong audiences. The satellite factory began operations, leaving Mark with a capacity of eight miniature satellites per day and plans to raise production to ten.

• Banner told Mark that the Aviation Administration had approved Payne Aerospace’s satellite launch application and that the production line would soon be ready.
• Mark learned that Banner expected mass production to begin the following month, and he said he could handle launching the satellites himself.
• Stark Industries promoted Windwalker and Heart Whisperer, while influential people hostile to Mutants criticized the films.
• Windwalker and Heart Whisperer premiered in successive months with strong opening-day box office results, and viewers sympathized with their protagonists.
• Mark concluded that the films could help Brian and Ivy face less public rejection if their Mutant identities were exposed.
• Banner told Mark the satellite factory could begin operations, producing eight miniature satellites per day and potentially increasing to ten.

Mark deployed one hundred mini-satellites in low Earth orbit, establishing a surveillance and communications network controlled by Alice. Three months later, a rocket assembly-line factory was complete, and Mark’s Biological Force Field had reached level 13.

• Mark carried one hundred mini-satellites into low Earth orbit and distributed them above the equator, exhausting much of his stored Solar Energy.
• Banner and Brandon connected the satellites to Payne Aerospace Company’s ground station, and the Federation Aviation Administration detected the satellites but found that Payne Aerospace had filed the required paperwork.
• Mark ordered Alice to take control of the satellites and display the network’s coverage, which allowed him to monitor areas within two thousand kilometers of the equator.
• Mark tested the receiver’s range in space and found that he could maintain a ground connection from up to one thousand kilometers away.
• Three months later, Banner and Brandon completed a rocket manufacturing factory, while Mark’s Biological Force Field reached level 13 and enabled him to fly faster than one thousand kilometers per hour and lift nearly ten tons.

After Lawrence received a life sentence and Laura arranged for her adult Mutant companions to join the Payne Group, Mark expanded his satellite network and grew stronger over the next year. When the Aviation Administration halted Payne Aerospace’s satellite launches, Mark contacted Coulson as Superman for help.

• Mark told Laura that Lawrence had received a thousand-year sentence and that the adult Mutant clones had gained Federation identification.
• Laura asked Mark to let her adult companions join the Payne Group, and he agreed.
• Over the next year, Payne Aerospace launched more than a thousand satellites while Mark’s powers reached level 14.
• The Aviation Administration suspended Payne Aerospace’s satellite launch authorization, and Mark told Banner to continue building the space station.
• Mark called Coulson as Superman to seek help influencing the Aviation Administration.

Mark asked S.H.I.E.L.D. to lift restrictions on Payne Aviation, agreeing to rescue two agents in Budapest in return. He arrived in Budapest and watched Natasha and Barton prepare to assassinate Dreykov, who appeared to greet his daughter Antonia.

• Coulson agreed to help Mark with Payne Aviation after requesting that Superman rescue two agents in Budapest.
• Mark gave Coulson his phone number, transformed into Superman, and flew to Budapest while Alice blocked S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attempt to track him.
• Banner told Mark that the Aviation Administration had lifted the restrictions on Payne Aerospace.
• Superman used his hearing to locate Natasha and Barton watching Dreykov's apartment building from a rooftop.
• Natasha waited for Dreykov to appear so she could confirm he was inside before detonating the bombs she had planted.
• Dreykov came out to greet his daughter Antonia as she returned from school.

Mark rescued Antonia from the collapsing apartment building after Natasha detonated explosives to kill Dreykov. On the rooftop, Antonia recognized Natasha and suspected she had caused the explosion.

• Mark found Natasha and Barton watching Dreykov and Antonia from a rooftop, while Barton urged Natasha not to act before she was ready.
• Natasha decided she had to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and detonated the explosives planted around the apartment building.
• As the building collapsed, Dreykov abandoned Antonia and fled toward an underground passage.
• Mark rushed into the collapsing building, saved Antonia from falling debris, and carried her to safety.
• Mark brought Antonia to the rooftop, where Barton recognized him as the Superman sent by S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Antonia recognized Natasha and asked whether she had caused the explosion.

Mark evacuated Natasha and Barton from Budapest, then spent the next six months strengthening his powers and working with S.H.I.E.L.D. The chapter left him responding to Coulson’s urgent request to save passengers aboard a hijacked plane that was rapidly descending.

• Natasha questioned why she had killed Antonia’s father, while Antonia rejected Natasha and watched Mark fly away with Natasha and Barton.
• Mark carried Natasha and Barton beyond Budapest, where Barton explained S.H.I.E.L.D.’s knowledge of Mark and Natasha wondered whether he was truly righteous.
• Mark and S.H.I.E.L.D. strengthened their cooperation, exchanging help with the Payne Group’s difficulties and dangerous missions.
• Over six months, Mark raised Super Physique and Biological Force Field to level 15, gaining immense strength and supersonic flight.
• Coulson told Mark that terrorists had hijacked a passenger plane with more than 200 people aboard and asked him to rescue them as it descended.

Mark raced to stop a hijacked Boeing 737 from crashing into the White House and arrived just before impact. He lifted the plane’s nose with his Biological Force Field, steering it over the building and into a climb.

• Coulson alerted Mark to a hijacked passenger jet, and Mark flew toward its location over the Pacific.
• Owen informed President Bush that the Boeing 737 was headed for the White House, and Bush ordered maximum security while directing forces to protect the passengers.
• The terrorists killed the captain after he tried to change course, then continued their fanatic hymn as the plane approached the White House.
• Mark appeared beneath the plane, and onlookers in the plaza recognized him as Superman.
• Mark pushed up against the fuselage with his Biological Force Field, lifting the plane’s nose and sending it over the White House roof into a climb.

Mark saved the hijacked plane from crashing into the White House, took control of the cockpit, and contacted air traffic control for an emergency landing at Reagan Airport. He killed the remaining terrorists and reassured the passengers that they were safe.

• Mark held the plane aloft and guided it back into steady flight as the passengers realized they had survived.
• Mark broke into the cockpit, knocked out the two terrorists there, and took the pilot's seat.
• Mark upgraded Super Brain, learned to fly from the flight manual, and requested an emergency landing at Reagan Airport.
• The terrorists rushed the cockpit after their accomplices failed to respond, and Mark killed them with Heat Vision.
• Mark told the stunned passengers they were safe as the plane prepared to land.

Mark saved the passengers aboard a Boeing 737 and prevented terrorists from destroying the White House, making Superman’s existence public. After public attention surged, Coulson visited Mark at Payne Manor to invite him to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.

• Mark landed the Boeing 737 at Reagan Airport, then flew away before police and reporters could question him.
• Witness videos and news coverage spread Superman’s identity and rescue around the country, sparking excitement and disbelief.
• People in Los Angeles celebrated Superman, while people elsewhere debated whether he was real or an imitator.
• Rosalie told Mark that a S.H.I.E.L.D. representative had come to Payne Manor, and Mark returned from space to meet him.
• Coulson greeted Mark and asked whether he would join S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy after his advancement exam.

Mark rejected Coulson’s invitation to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, chose Columbia University, and visited the completed space station designed to let him study and work while absorbing sunlight. Doctor Banner said the station had passed its tests and could launch the following week.

• Mark refused Coulson’s offer to enroll at S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, then answered Coulson’s questions about Superman with a mix of truth and lies.
• Mark asked Brandon for advice on universities, chose Columbia University, and submitted an application to take the SAT.
• Doctor Banner invited Mark to inspect the finished space station, and Mark flew to Payne Aerospace Company as Superman.
• Mark inspected the five-meter station and approved its design for near-constant sunlight in a Dawn-Dusk Sun-Synchronous Orbit.
• Doctor Banner told Mark that the station had cleared agency filings and testing and could launch the following week.

Mark spent three months aboard the Space Station before returning to take the AT exam, which he finished in under ten minutes. A month later, he received a perfect score of 1600, stunning Beverly Elite High School.

• Mark spent three months absorbing Sunlight Value aboard the Space Station while occasionally patrolling Los Angeles as Superman.
• Mark returned to Payne Manor before the AT exam and went to Beverly Elite High School the next morning.
• A proctor initially doubted that nine-year-old Mark belonged in the exam room, but admitted him after checking his ticket.
• Mark completed the three-hour exam in under ten minutes, and the proctor found no obvious mistakes in his answers.
• Rosalie celebrated Mark's confidence that he had earned a perfect score and promised a party if he got into Columbia University.
• A month later, Mark earned a perfect 1600, astonishing Beverly Elite High School's students and teachers.

After earning admission to Columbia University, nine-year-old Mark traveled from Los Angeles to New York and registered as a new student. He planned to seek Professor Luo Gebo’s support so he could study independently rather than attend classes.

• Mark received Columbia University’s acceptance letter, and Rosalie celebrated with a party at Payne Manor.
• During the months before school began, Mark trained on the space station and raised Heat Vision to level 15.
• Mark flew to New York and learned from Orson that The Hand had not retaliated after losing Central Plaza, though Orson suspected they were plotting something.
• Mark registered at Columbia University, shocking the staff and other new students with his age.
• Mark headed to the professors’ apartment building to visit Brandon’s old friend, Professor Luo Gebo, hoping to gain the freedom to study on his own.

Mark proved his knowledge to Professor Luo Gebo and received permission to skip his major courses so he could study independently in Columbia University's library. As Mark began reading there, news of his enrollment spread across campus, and JARVIS informed Tony that Mark had arrived in New York.

• Mark showed Professor Luo Gebo Brandon's letter and asked to study independently instead of attending classes.
• Mark completed Professor Luo Gebo's advanced physics test in five minutes, and the professor agreed to excuse him from his major courses.
• Mark went to Columbia University's library and rapidly read a physics book that Alice had been unable to find online.
• A campus forum post about Mark's enrollment drew hundreds of replies, and students recognized him as Mark Payne, making him famous across the school.
• JARVIS told Tony that Mark had arrived in New York and enrolled at Columbia University.

Mark attended Columbia University’s freshman orientation, where Tony Stark delivered the guest speech and met with him afterward. Mark asked Tony to help build a robot that could scan library books, and said he already had its frame: the Adamantium skeleton left after he killed -24.

• Tony learned that Mark had entered Columbia University and reversed his decision to decline the school’s invitation to speak.
• Mark attended Columbia’s freshman orientation and drew attention from fellow physics freshmen because of his perfect SAT score and campus rumors about Tony.
• Tony delivered an engaging speech about technology to the freshmen and faculty.
• After the orientation, Happy brought Mark to meet Tony in a reception room.
• Mark explained that he wanted a robot to turn pages and upload books to Alice’s server so he could study while absorbing Sunlight Value in space.
• Tony agreed to help design and build the robot, and Mark said he would bring its Adamantium skeleton frame from Payne Manor’s laboratory.

Mark and Tony completed the blueprints for a humanlike robot built around an Adamantium Skeleton, with Vibranium protecting its control core. The design included powerful sensors, communications, combat weapons, synthetic muscles, and skin, and Tony estimated it would take a week to build.

• Mark returned home to see Rosalie, then flew back to New York with the Adamantium Skeleton and a piece of Vibranium.
• Tony tested the skeleton and Vibranium, confirmed their remarkable properties, and used JARVIS to project a 3D scan of the skeleton.
• Mark and Tony designed the robot around the skeleton, adding advanced sensors, communications equipment, and twelve chips for its control core.
• Mark proposed encasing the control core in Vibranium, and Tony spent two hours shaping the metal.
• Tony and Mark added Adamantium Bone Claws, an Electromagnetic Gun, an electric shock weapon, and a TNT self-destruct option to the design.
• Tony showed Mark nanomuscles and synthetic skin and estimated that building the robot would take about a week.

Mark and Tony completed a humanlike robot, which Mark named Ultron, and Mark used it to absorb nearly every book in Columbia University's library. After staying away from campus for a year, Mark took his finals and earned A+ grades in every subject, stunning the students who had assumed he had neglected his studies.

• Mark and Tony finished the robot, tested its self-diagnostics, book-reading ability, and bone claws, and Mark named it Ultron.
• Mark thanked Tony for helping build Ultron and flew to the space station the next day while Ultron entered Columbia University's library to read books using Mark's student ID.
• Over the next year, Ultron read nearly every book in the library, and Mark absorbed and stored the knowledge through Ultron's perspective.
• As Mark missed classes throughout the year, Columbia University students speculated on the campus forum that he had wasted his talent.
• Mark arrived on campus for the year-end exams, finished his papers in three minutes, and left as students discussed his apparent lack of preparation.
• Three days later, Mark received A+ grades in every subject, leaving the students who had criticized him stunned.

Mark's professors praised his papers and recommended him for an accelerated degree program, while he continued strengthening his abilities on the space station. When terrorists attacked Columbia University, Mark authorized Ultron to engage, and Ultron killed them all.

• Mark's professors were impressed by his papers, suggested he submit them to leading journals, and recommended him for the university's combined bachelor's and doctoral program.
• Tony Stark donated $75 million to Columbia University through the Stark Foundation after hearing about Mark's news.
• Mark returned to the space station and continued absorbing Sunlight Value after raising Super Physique and Biological Force Field to level 16.
• Ultron left Columbia University's library for Mark's Manhattan villa as the university began its three-month break.
• A van exploded at Columbia University's gates, and masked gunmen opened fire on students and parents nearby.
• Mark authorized Ultron to attack the terrorists, and Ultron fought through the gunfire and killed them all in twenty seconds.

After Ultron saved civilians from terrorists at Columbia University, Mark had Tony repair him and give him a new face. Months later, Mark improved his Heat Vision, and Coulson called for help after sending footage of a strange woman in Sweden who mesmerized passersby.

• Ultron killed the terrorists at Columbia University, then left as Mark had ordered while witnesses and the media spread footage of the attack.
• Mark saw students searching for Ultron online and took him to Tony, who repaired his damage and changed his face.
• Mark returned to classes as a second-year student, while Ultron went back to Columbia University unrecognized.
• Mark raised Heat Vision to level 16, reaching 5,000 degrees, and then received a call from Coulson.
• Coulson sent Mark surveillance footage of a woman carrying a staff in a Swedish town, where people stopped and stared at her in a daze.

Mark confronted Amora, an Asgardian enchantress who had enthralled residents across a Swedish town, and resisted her magic before attacking her. Amora survived his punch with a shield, but Mark’s Heat Vision rapidly weakened her defenses.

• Coulson told Mark that a blonde woman had enchanted residents in multiple towns and left them unconscious after they followed her.
• Mark found the woman, who had controlled more than a hundred thousand residents of Moen City, and asked who she was.
• The woman identified herself as Amora from Asgard, and Mark recognized her as a skilled enchantress.
• Mark ordered Amora to leave Midgard, but she tried to enchant him and refused to stop her rampage.
• Mark resisted Amora’s magic, punched her into the street, and then attacked her with Heat Vision, weakening her shield.

Mark drove Amora to flee Earth after resisting her charm magic and tracking her across cities. Amora escaped through a portal to Asgard, while Mark chose not to follow and resolved to grow stronger before traveling there.

• Amora teleported away from Mark after his Heat Vision nearly destroyed her shield, and the people she had charmed began recovering.
• Mark asked Alice to locate Amora, then flew to Fulin City after she was found more than five hundred kilometers away.
• Amora began opening a portal to Asgard when Mark arrived and attacked her with Heat Vision.
• Amora entered the portal before Mark broke through her weakened shield, and the portal disappeared.
• Mark decided not to pursue Amora to Asgard and left to continue improving his strength.

Amora expanded a fading portal with a stolen space gemstone, sending Mark to the frozen realm of Jotunheim. After identifying Frost Giants attacking Asgardian soldiers, Mark flew in to save them and improve his chances of getting home through the Bifrost.

• Amora used a stolen magical gemstone to expand the portal and send Mark spinning through space.
• Mark landed in a sunless, frozen world and heard a battle nearby.
• Mark flew over a mountain and recognized the attackers as Frost Giants and the surrounded soldiers as Asgardians.
• A Frost Giant leader ordered his warriors to attack the Asgardians, and Mark rushed to intervene.
• A Frost Giant struck an Asgardian soldier with a spiked club, sending him flying with his shield.

Mark rescued an Asgardian squad from Frost Giants and earned the trust of its captain and General Sif. Sif brought him into the military camp to meet Thor, whom Mark hoped to persuade to lend him the Bifrost.

• Mark defeated the Frost Giants surrounding the Asgardian soldiers, then killed their leader and helped the soldiers finish off the remaining attackers.
• Mark told the squad captain that he came from Midgard and offered to escort three seriously injured soldiers to the military camp.
• The captain agreed, and Mark traveled with the squad to the camp, where scouts spotted them and rode out to meet them.
• Sif learned how Mark had saved the squad and thanked him for his help.
• Mark asked to visit Thor, and Sif led him into the camp, arranged treatment for the wounded, and took him toward Thor's tent.

Mark joined Thor’s campaign against the Frost Giants, saving more than a hundred Asgardian soldiers during a battle against a tribe. After Thor spared the tribe’s noncombatants, Laufey and his Frost Dragon arrived, and the Bifrost appeared to shield the Asgardians from the dragon’s soul-freezing breath.

• Mark introduced himself to Thor as Clark Kent, offered to fight alongside him, and Thor welcomed his help despite Odin’s order to withdraw.
• Thor led more than five hundred Asgardian soldiers against a Frost Giant tribe, while Mark rescued soldiers in danger across the battlefield.
• Thor killed the tribe’s chief, and Mark’s intervention left the Asgardians with no deaths and only a dozen or so minor injuries.
• Thor ordered the tribe’s elderly, weak, women, and children spared because they had not fought.
• Laufey arrived on a Frost Dragon and unleashed a blast of magical frost, but a Bifrost appeared and an energy barrier enveloped the Asgardian soldiers.

Mark returned to Asgard with Thor after Odin ended the battle in Jotunheim. After meeting Loki and settling into the palace, Mark asked Thor to take him to the library to study magic.

• Odin ordered Thor and the Asgardians to leave Jotunheim, and Mark crossed the Bifrost with them.
• Thor invited Mark to stay at the palace, where Loki dismissed Mark and mocked Midgard.
• Thor apologized for Loki’s behavior, and Mark said he would be willing to spar with him someday.
• The next morning, Thor took Mark to the palace library after Mark asked to read books about magic.