Chapter Summaries

Luke discovered that he could control dark energy directly and declared himself the Shadow Lord, disrupting Andrews’s control of the Dark Dimension. Andrews sealed Luke’s connection to the dimension and tried to escape, but a yellow figure appeared and asked for all of Luke’s energy.

• Luke converted 150 Shadow Ninjas into Blade Soldiers, and his Shadow Squads began pushing back Andrews’s forces.
• Luke blocked Andrews’s attack with dark energy and realized he could wield it directly, unlike Andrews, who relied on spells and techniques.
• Luke declared himself the Shadow Lord, and the dark energy responded to him while Andrews struggled to control it.
• Andrews used a forbidden spell to seal Luke’s connection to the Dark Dimension, but Luke learned that his energy recovered from within himself and continued fighting.
• Andrews tried to flee through the spatial rift, and Luke hesitated to pursue him because flying would consume too much energy.
• A yellow figure appeared beside Luke as the sound of shattering glass rang out and asked him to give over all his energy.

Ancient One rescued Luke from Andrews and helped him restore his connection to the Shadow World, but Luke was stranded there for five days while he wore down a seal. After returning to the Material World, Luke helped Tony confront Obadiah in Iron Monger, and the fight ended with Obadiah surrendering inside the armor.

• Ancient One used Luke's energy to trap Andrews in the Mirror Dimension and killed him, then gave Luke coordinates for unclaimed Dark Dimensions.
• Luke spent five days wearing down the seal, restored his connection to the Shadow World, and returned to find Tony's messages about his stolen Arc Reactor.
• Luke brought Tony's Arc Reactor to him, and Tony, Luke, and Rhodey used a portal to reach Stark Industries, where they found Potts and Coulson.
• Iron Monger attacked, and Luke's Shadow Ninjas and Blade Soldiers pinned the armor down before Obadiah escaped into the air.
• Luke hid in Tony's armor, transferred onto Iron Monger, damaged its helmet and neck, and sent Shadow Ninjas inside to threaten Obadiah.
• Obadiah stopped maneuvering and landed after a ninja blade reached his neck, and Luke ordered him to get out of the armor.

Tony handed Obadiah and the damaged Iron Monger armor to S.H.I.E.L.D., then announced that he would stop selling weapons and focus on energy. At a press conference, Tony revealed that he was Iron Man and named Luke the Shadow Lord, leaving Luke caught in the spotlight.

• A Ninja Soldier escorted Obadiah out of the Iron Monger armor, and Coulson asked Tony to hand them both over to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Tony removed the armor's reactor before allowing the agents to take Obadiah and Iron Monger away.
• Tony told Rhodey that Stark Industries would stop selling weapons and turn to energy, while Luke joked that Tony should not sell burgers.
• Luke arrived at Tony's press conference and photographed Tony as he declared, "I am Iron Man."
• Tony introduced Luke to the reporters as his superhero sidekick, the Shadow Lord, then left with his bodyguards.

Luke tested Tony Stark’s jet boots, raced him using dark energy, and accepted thanks from people he had saved during the Stark Industries battle. While sharing burgers, Luke suggested a new all-in-one smartphone to help Tony earn money, but their conversation was interrupted by an Egghead.

• Luke reviewed his Shadow Legion’s strength and planned to expand his forces after mining the remaining tiny dark dimensions.
• Tony gave Luke miniature-reactor jet boots that could break the sound barrier, and Luke formed a dark-energy suit to protect himself.
• Luke and Tony raced along a route plotted by JARVIS, and Luke used dark energy to accelerate past Tony before slowing down from exhaustion.
• Luke met Tony at a burger joint, where the crowd thanked Luke for saving people from Obadiah, and the two shared burgers.
• Luke suggested Tony build an all-screen smartphone with many features and a simple voice assistant, and Tony agreed to try it.
• An Egghead appeared behind Luke and Tony while they were talking.

Luke gave Fury misleading information about the Hulk and Antarctica, then returned to developing his Shadow World. With Ancient One’s help, he arranged for elite mages to draw on his dark energy and connected his dimension to Kamar-Taj, preparing to explore another dimension.

• Luke told Fury that damaged alien technology had revealed possible Hulk activity at a beverage factory in Brazil and a powerful energy source in Antarctica.
• Luke admitted to Tony Stark that he had lied to Fury, while Tony avoided discussing what was wrong with him.
• After finishing excavation at his known coordinates, Luke returned to Kamar-Taj and learned from Mordo that Ancient One had left him a booklet and offered mages to help fight for dark dimensions.
• Luke tested dark-energy contracts with Mordo and several elite mages, then connected the Shadow World to Kamar-Taj through a portal.
• Luke entered his expanded Shadow World, selected a target dimension from the booklet, and asked Mordo to bring the others.

Luke and Mordo defended a spatial fissure against a dimension’s army, using the Shadow Legion and Dark Energy to turn the battle in their favor. After Luke wounded the enemy Dimension Lord, the Lord escaped, leaving Luke to finish off the remaining troops.

• Luke opened a fissure into an enemy dimension and sent the Shadow Army through while Mordo and the mages formed a defensive magic circle.
• The enemy infantry and mages attacked, but Luke’s Shadow troops and the mages’ ranged spells repelled the first wave.
• Enemy cannons shattered the defensive circle, so Luke summoned Troll Soldiers and used the Shadow Legion to clear a path toward the cannons.
• Luke gathered Dark Energy into armor and wings, entered the enemy dimension, and fought the Dimension Lord while the Troll Soldiers advanced on the cannons.
• Luke wounded the Dimension Lord with a Dark Energy spear, but the Lord escaped; Luke then joined the Shadow Legion in defeating the troops left behind.

Luke absorbed an enemy dimension into the Shadow World, strengthened his forces, and helped Tony develop a new phone. After learning that General Ross was preparing to pursue the Hulk, Luke planned to keep watch on Doctor Samuel and prevent the Hulk’s enemies from emerging.

• Luke and the ninjas defeated their enemies, brought their magical equipment to Kamar-Taj for study, and merged the conquered dimension into the Shadow World.
• Ancient One told Luke that Kamar-Taj still had thousands of spells to adapt, while Luke calculated that his enlarged forces would have to wait until the next day to level up.
• Luke strengthened himself, left ten Shadow Ninjas with Pepper, and visited Tony to test a new phone and discuss creating a company for it.
• Luke summoned a Troll Soldier for Tony, who mentioned that General Ross had ordered sonic weapons and was likely pursuing the Hulk.
• Luke decided to have the ninjas watch Doctor Samuel so he could prevent the Leader and Abomination from causing destruction.

Luke visited Nick Fury to ask whether S.H.I.E.L.D. could help Tony, but left unimpressed by Fury’s unfinished treatment for palladium poisoning. After a Hydra-linked oversight department contacted him about suspected corruption, Luke falsely accused Fury of embezzling funds, leaving the spy to report the complaint to Hydra.

• Luke posted photos of the ocean view from Tony’s house and used a ninja to remove malicious comments from his blog.
• Luke visited S.H.I.E.L.D. and asked Nick Fury for help with Tony’s worsening condition; Fury said an injection to suppress palladium poisoning was still being developed.
• Alexander Pierce learned Luke was at S.H.I.E.L.D. and sent people to assess his attitude toward Fury while planning to secure more funding.
• A woman claiming to represent a World Security Council oversight department called Luke about corruption at S.H.I.E.L.D., and Luke confirmed with Coulson that the department existed.
• Luke suspected the department was tied to Hydra, then called back and accused Nick Fury of stealing S.H.I.E.L.D.’s funds because Luke’s pay had not increased.
• The Hydra spy recorded Luke’s complaint and planned to report it to a superior, while dismissing the idea of a genuine investigation.

Luke expanded his Shadow Army and tested two dimensions, retreating from one filled with enormous sleeping beasts before driving another Dimension Lord away. With the system mining energy and his troops handling battles, he went out for a walk and considered pressuring Fury for the complex model.

• Luke assigned two Ninja Soldiers to watch Doctor Samuel and expanded his forces to 1,500 Ninja Soldiers, 150 Blade Soldiers, and 30 Troll Soldiers.
• Luke opened a connection to a dimension filled with giant birdlike beasts, but withdrew after his Troll Soldiers could not lift one of them.
• Luke marked the dangerous dimension’s coordinates and disconnected from it before selecting another target.
• Luke’s Shadow Squads exhausted the second dimension’s Dimension Lord until it retreated, and the Mage Corps brought back the spoils.
• Luke returned home, then left for a walk with his camera and planned to watch for agents and pressure Fury for the complex model.

Luke discovered that characters from other fictional works might exist in real worlds and asked Ancient One how to reach them through the Dark Dimension. He learned to search for traces of a world's aura in captured equipment, but found none and left determined to obtain a useful artifact next time.

• Luke visited a comic convention and wondered whether the costumed characters represented real worlds after he recognized a monster from a dangerous dimension.
• Luke asked Ancient One whether he could reach other worlds through the Dark Dimension, and she explained that he needed their coordinates and gave him a spell to detect a world's aura.
• Luke went with Mordo to examine equipment captured in a dimensional war and used the spell to test it.
• Luke found only ordinary dark energy in the equipment and regretted not taking the Dimension Lord's unusual longsword.

After running short on dimensions to explore, Luke planned to ask Odin for help once Thor’s storyline began, but Coulson summoned him to Los Angeles to deal with vampires. Luke agreed to hunt them for S.H.I.E.L.D. while learning that the vampires had powerful allies and an intelligence network.

• Luke conquered three Small Dimensions without finding useful coordinates and planned to seek dimensional observation help from Odin.
• Luke called Tony and spoke with Pepper, then received an urgent call from Coulson and flew to Los Angeles.
• Coulson showed Luke a vampire prisoner, whom Luke’s ninja decapitated, and explained the danger posed by vampires and their Blood Servants.
• Coulson told Luke that the authorities had agreed to coexist with the twelve vampire elders and hired him to investigate vampire killings for a thousand dollars per vampire.
• Coulson warned Luke that vampire supporters had attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. investigators and killed agents, so Luke needed to operate carefully.

Luke uncovered a vampire bar in Los Angeles, rescued its captive victims, and led a purge that killed the vampires inside. After Coulson explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. would not openly pursue the higher-ups, Luke headed to the Hailier Hotel to find a vampire superior.

• Luke found a vampire feeding in an alley, killed him, and asked Coulson to dispose of the body.
• A vampire guide lured Christina and Carrie to a hidden vampire bar, where they were knocked unconscious and taken inside.
• Luke followed the vampires, rescued the captives, and called Coulson, who arrived with S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel.
• Luke killed vampires throughout the building, tortured one into naming the Hailier Hotel as a meeting place, and destroyed the vampires gathered on the dance floor.
• Coulson told Luke that S.H.I.E.L.D. would leave the hunt for vampire higher-ups to him, and Luke went to the Hailier Hotel.

Luke ambushed a banquet of vampires at the Hailier Hotel and used his ninjas to capture or kill them. After forcing the host to reveal the vampires’ bases, Luke purged Los Angeles and left to hunt in other cities.

• Hall grew uneasy when his subordinate failed to report on the vampire banquet, while the other vampires gathered to feast on drugged girls.
• Luke interrupted the vampires’ meal, summoned an army of Shadow Ninjas, and trapped the guests and their servants inside the hall.
• Hall urged the vampires to attack Luke, but Luke defeated him and the other high-level vampires, then captured the survivors.
• Luke offered the host Hall in exchange for information about vampire bases, and the host agreed before killing Hall.
• Luke and the host purged vampires throughout Los Angeles, and Luke watched the host burn at sunrise before leaving for other cities.

Luke returned to see Tony after Pepper reported that Tony had withdrawn from business and spent all his time in the lab. Luke purged some of the palladium toxins from Tony’s body, but Tony still had no cure, so Luke urged him to go out and fulfill his wishes.

• Pepper called Luke about Tony’s strange behavior, and Luke agreed to return after finishing his vampire hunt.
• Luke and his Shadow Ninjas defeated a group of vampires, and Coulson asked him to stop hunting while S.H.I.E.L.D. negotiated a ceasefire with the vampire elders.
• Luke reunited with Tony and Pepper, then learned Tony had given Pepper the CEO position and was drinking chlorophyll juice.
• Luke confronted Tony about his palladium poisoning and used dark energy to temporarily purge the toxins from his body.
• Tony admitted he had found no element to replace palladium, and Luke encouraged him to seek inspiration and fulfill his wishes.
• Tony agreed to go out and enjoy himself, insisting that Luke stay and join him.

Luke pushed Tony to ask Pepper on a date, and Tony awkwardly invited her to spend a day together before the Stark Expo opened. Pepper accepted and planned a classic date, while the expo construction neared completion with help from Luke’s Shadow Legion.

• Tony took Luke on a week of activities he called his last wishes while Luke’s Shadow Legion helped build the Stark Expo.
• Luke suggested Tony should spend time dating Pepper, and Tony admitted he was worried about his illness affecting her.
• Luke brought Tony to Stark Industries, where Tony awkwardly invited Pepper to check the expo site with him.
• Pepper recognized Tony’s invitation as a date, accepted, and suggested lunch, a movie, and a candlelit dinner.
• Luke thanked Pepper with a grin, then led the dazed Tony out of her office.

Luke fought the mutated Abomination, who had absorbed Hulk’s blood and grown far stronger than expected. Luke destroyed him with dark energy, but reporters and traffic cameras captured Luke’s face, while Fury opened a file bearing the Avengers emblem.

• Luke learned that Abomination had appeared on Broadway and sent the Shadow Legion to rescue civilians and contain him.
• Luke’s ninjas explained that Abomination had mutated after Samuel forced him to absorb Hulk’s blood, and Abomination grew larger and began overpowering the Shadow Legion.
• Banner jumped from a helicopter, transformed into Hulk, and fought Abomination, while their battle caused widespread destruction.
• Luke gathered immense dark energy, struck Abomination with a spear, and poured energy into him until Abomination vanished.
• Luke discovered reporters had photographed him without his disguise, threw their cameras into the Dark Dimension, and flew away.
• Fury put away his pager and opened a file bearing the Avengers emblem.

After Luke’s identity was exposed, he hid at Tony’s home and retaliated for Tony’s showboating by posting embarrassing photos from his captivity. The next day, Luke and Tony handled paperwork with Pepper and Natasha, while Tony grew suspicious of Natasha.

• Luke hid at Tony’s home after online users exposed his identity and swarmed his residence.
• Luke watched Tony open the Stark Expo, then posted old photos of Tony forging iron in captivity online.
• Tony confronted Luke about the photos before Pepper arrived to complete paperwork transferring the CEO role to her.
• Pepper told Luke he was the phone company’s second-largest shareholder and gave him documents requiring his approval.
• Tony sparred with Happy while Luke relaxed and Pepper worked through Stark Industries paperwork with Natasha.
• Tony questioned Natasha, searched her online profile, and looked at her modeling photos until Pepper and Luke stopped him.

Luke attended a race with Tony and Natasha, where Ivan Vanko attacked them as Whiplash. Tony survived the fight but discovered that Whiplash’s chest device used his technology, leaving him worried about the danger ahead.

• Luke and Tony attended the race, while Natasha explained that Fury had sent her to watch Tony and asked whether Luke had treated his palladium poisoning.
• Tony escaped Hammer’s conversation by heading to the restroom, where Whiplash attacked and forced him outside.
• Luke summoned Ninja Soldiers to fight Whiplash, but Whiplash’s electric whips cut through the restroom walls and drove them back.
• Tony transformed a briefcase into the Mark 5 armor and confronted Whiplash, who trapped him with the whips and damaged his suit.
• Luke’s Ninja Soldiers wounded Whiplash after Tony held the whips in place, and Tony crushed the device from Whiplash’s chest before police arrested him.
• Tony told Luke he was in trouble after recognizing that Whiplash’s device used his technology.

Tony and Luke faced the fallout from Ivan’s attack as the military pressured Tony to surrender his armor. Luke helped Rhodey try on the Mark II, and Tony’s system made Rhodey its sole wearer, sending him off as War Machine.

• Tony taunted Ivan in the hospital, where Ivan warned that Tony’s palladium poisoning and exposed technology would draw danger; Luke secretly sent Shadow Ninjas to watch for a chance to kill Ivan.
• Ivan recovered at Hammer Industries with mechanical prosthetics, agreed to build armor for Hammer, and asked for his bird and videos of the Shadow Lord.
• As public criticism of Tony intensified, Rhodey persuaded a general not to send tanks to seize Tony’s suits and visited Tony on his birthday.
• Luke offered Rhodey the Mark II, and JARVIS assembled it around him; Tony discovered that a software update had made Rhodey the suit’s sole wearer and gave him the armor.
• Tony hurried back to Pepper while Luke left through a portal, and Rhodey flew the Mark II toward a military airfield.

Luke checked on Tony after learning that Hammer Industries would unveil weapons at the Stark Expo, and found Tony had discovered a new element that could replace palladium. With the help of Luke’s soldiers, Tony remodeled his house, while Coulson left for Mexico with Captain America’s shield; JARVIS returned and began testing the new element as Luke and Tony celebrated.

• Luke saw news that Hammer Industries would unveil new weapons at the Stark Expo and went to Tony’s house, where Tony discovered the new element his father had left for him.
• Tony asked Luke to help remodel the house, and Luke summoned Troll Soldiers and Ninja Soldiers to move furniture and install wiring.
• Coulson arrived, recognized Captain America’s shield, and received it from Tony before telling them he had been reassigned to Mexico.
• Tony and Luke used the remodeled equipment to create the new element, and JARVIS returned to analyze whether it could replace palladium.
• Luke reassured Tony, and they drank together while JARVIS ran his tests.