Chapter Summaries

Leon woke aboard a spacecraft after spending six months absorbing sunlight and discovered he had gained Kryptonian power. He recalled how he had used his knowledge of Marvel’s future to guide Tony and protect their family, but his efforts had achieved little; the chapter left him newly empowered and aware that Tony might be in danger.

• Leon woke from a call that sounded like Tony’s farewell and feared Tony had gone to Afghanistan despite his warnings.
• Leon released his restraints and realized six months of exposure to the sun had filled his body with Kryptonian strength.
• Leon remembered being reborn as an abandoned infant and being raised by Tony after the Stark couple died in a car crash.
• Leon recalled using his knowledge of the future to guide Tony’s technology projects and expand Stark Industries.
• Leon failed to expose Obadiah or investigate Bucky, and he warned Tony repeatedly not to enter a war zone alone.

On his eighteenth birthday, Leon awakened a Kryptonian Bloodline and Space-Time Travel, then spent six months absorbing sunlight in orbit until he gained Superman’s abilities. He decided to seek additional sources of power and flew toward Earth to rescue Tony and confront Obadiah, Bucky, and Hydra.

• Leon awakened his Kryptonian Bloodline and Space-Time Travel on his eighteenth birthday, but accidentally broke Tony’s ribs and shoulder when he hugged him.
• Leon deferred university for three years and spent six months in a spacecraft orbiting between Earth and the sun to absorb sunlight.
• Leon awakened Superman’s abilities, including heat vision, freeze breath, a bioelectric field, and Super-Brain, and resolved to seek more ways to grow stronger.
• Leon used his enhanced senses to find Tony sleeping in a cave in the Afghan desert and decided to settle matters with Obadiah, Bucky, and Hydra.
• Leon opened the spacecraft hatch, flew out into space, and shot toward Earth to rescue Tony.

Leon returned from space to rescue Tony, arriving at the cave in Afghanistan where Tony was being held. Tony woke to find Leon beside him, relieved that help had come.

• Leon descended through the cave roof and landed beside Tony's bed, waking Tony with the noise.
• Tony mistook the crash for a terrorist attack and called out to Yinsen before recognizing Leon.
• Leon joked that he had come because Tony missed him, and Tony realized Leon was truly there.
• Leon told Tony he had flown from orbit after hearing him, while Tony relaxed, confident Leon could handle the terrorists.

Leon reunited with Tony in the cave where Tony was being held and revealed his newly awakened abilities. Before leading Tony and Yinsen out, Leon swiftly removed the shrapnel from Tony’s chest and healed the wounds.

• Leon explained that he had heard Tony calling his name through his new ability and saw that shrapnel threatened Tony’s heart.
• Tony introduced Leon to Yinsen, who had helped him survive in captivity, and Leon welcomed Yinsen as a friend.
• Tony showed Leon the armor he and Yinsen had built, but Leon said he would lead them out himself.
• Leon removed the shrapnel from Tony’s chest and healed him before setting off toward the cave’s sealed gate.

Leon protected Tony and Yinsen from the Ten Rings’ gunfire, then wiped out the terrorists inside and outside the cave. He left the cave entrance clear and called for Tony and Yinsen to come out.

• Leon shielded Tony and Yinsen as the terrorists opened fire, but the bullets could not hurt him.
• Leon used heat vision to cut down the terrorists in the tunnel and confronted their leader, who mistook his powers for Tony’s laser weapon.
• Leon walked through the terrorists’ gunfire, killed the remaining tunnel fighters, and told them none of the Ten Rings would escape.
• Leon emerged from the cave, stopped three rockets, and swiftly killed the terrorists outside.
• Leon called to Tony and Yinsen, telling them the terrorists had been dealt with.

Leon rescued Tony and Yinsen from the terrorist base, destroyed its Stark weapons, and took them toward a U.S. military base. Tony apologized for ignoring Leon’s earlier warning about Stark Industries’ weapons business and agreed to confront Obadiah with Leon after they returned to Los Angeles.

• Leon carried Tony and Yinsen away from the cave and destroyed the terrorist base with his heat vision at Tony’s request.
• Leon told Tony he planned to use his powers to demonstrate his strength and handle matters he had long wanted to address.
• Tony apologized for dismissing Leon’s advice to shut down Stark Industries’ weapons division, and Leon urged him to make amends through his future work.
• Leon told Tony that Obadiah had issues and said they would confront him in Los Angeles, and Tony agreed to follow his lead.
• Leon left Tony and Yinsen near a military base with a flare gun, then flew away after Tony asked him to retrieve his armor and blueprints.
• Tony and Yinsen agreed to describe their rescue as the work of Superman so Leon’s identity would stay hidden.

Tony tried to persuade Yensen to come to the United States and help people, while Leon flew toward Los Angeles with the Mark armor and blueprints. After US forces attacked Leon with missiles, he accelerated beyond their tracking and vanished, leaving the military searching for him.

• Tony fired a flare and urged Yensen to come to the United States, but Yensen said his family were dead and he wanted to return to Iran to help people.
• Tony argued that he and Yensen could use technology to help victims of violence, and Yensen hesitated as he looked at Tony's Arc Reactor.
• A patrol plane flew past Tony and Yensen while pursuing Leon, and three helicopters later arrived to rescue them.
• Leon flew from Afghanistan to California with the Mark armor and blueprints, but US military surveillance detected him and commanders sent aircraft to intercept him.
• US forces launched missiles at Leon, but he sped up to Mach twenty and disappeared from satellite tracking, leaving the military unable to find him.

Leon returned home after six months in space, learned that Pepper already knew Tony had been rescued, and caught up on his companies’ progress. Tony arrived in Los Angeles and announced that Stark Industries would permanently close its weapons division, while Leon prepared a repaired Mark armor to surprise him.

• Leon reunited with JARVIS, told him that Tony had been rescued, and learned Pepper was waiting at the airport.
• Leon ate a large meal, reviewed his unread messages, and heard that Stark Network had doubled in value despite a recent stock drop.
• Leon asked JARVIS to praise company president Joe Bush while refusing Joe’s request to add a physical Home button to the smartphone.
• Tony returned to Los Angeles, reunited with Pepper, and refused to share his cheeseburger with Obadiah before heading to Stark Industries.
• Tony announced at a press conference that Stark Industries would permanently close its weapons division, prompting an uproar and a stock-price plunge.
• Leon watched the announcement at home and learned that the repaired Mark armor was ready for Tony to see.

Leon teased Tony by having JARVIS paint his repaired armor pink, while Tony prepared to build a new one. The family gathered to welcome Tony and Leon home, and Tony shared his desire to do more good in the world, though Rhodey did not yet understand.

• Leon revealed that Tony's repaired Mark armor had been painted pink, and JARVIS blamed the idea on Leon.
• Tony asked JARVIS to put the armor away and gather materials so he could build a new suit.
• Leon told Tony that Pepper was hosting a family dinner with Yinsen and Rhodey to celebrate his safe return.
• Pepper welcomed Leon home, and Leon reassured her that Tony's near-death experience might not be entirely bad.
• Yinsen met Pepper and Rhodey at the gathering and joined the Stark R&D Department, while Tony told them he wanted to do more good for the world.

Leon and Tony discovered that Obadiah had conspired with the Ten Rings to kill Tony and planned another attack. After Obadiah confessed and pulled a gun on them, Leon subdued him and arranged for evidence of his crimes to be sent to the police.

• Leon rushed Tony to Stark Industries after sensing that Obadiah was contacting people in Afghanistan.
• Leon and Tony overheard Obadiah negotiate with the Ten Rings to lure Tony abroad and have him killed.
• Obadiah tried to explain himself, then drew a gun and admitted he wanted to kill Tony and Leon for control of the company.
• Tony gave up on Obadiah and told Leon to act, so Leon grabbed Obadiah and threw him out the window.
• Leon asked JARVIS to collect evidence and report that Obadiah had died by suicide, then comforted the grieving Tony.

After Obadiah Stane’s crimes and death sent Stark Industries into another crisis, Pepper demanded that Leon and Tony return to work. Leon tried to avoid taking charge by finding a replacement CEO, leaving Pepper still burdened with the companies’ work.

• Leon watched the news report that Obadiah Stane had died by suicide after committing numerous crimes, including orchestrating an attack on Tony Stark.
• Leon posted a sarcastic message urging people to support Stark Industries stock, and angry retail investors flooded his comments.
• Pepper complained that she was handling Stark Industries, Stark Network, and Stark Electronics Technology alone and threatened to resign unless Leon and Tony returned to work.
• Leon learned from JARVIS that Joe Bush had already returned to work but was responsible for only some of the companies’ duties.
• Leon rejected JARVIS’s suggestion that he return to work and decided to call Tony and find a CEO instead.

Leon told Tony that his newly awakened Super-Brain let him understand and surpass Tony’s armor research, so the brothers agreed to a three-day engineering challenge. Leon left Pepper’s request aside and asked JARVIS to send him Tony’s exoskeleton knowledge so he could start studying.

• Leon found Tony testing propulsion shoes in the basement, where Tony crashed into the ceiling and landed in fire-suppression foam.
• Leon checked Tony’s injuries and teased him about the shoes, while Tony explained that he was testing propulsion for the Mark II armor.
• Leon claimed that his Superman abilities included a Super-Brain and said he could understand and surpass Tony’s engineering.
• Tony accepted Leon’s challenge to build better armor within three days and sent the workshop robots to prepare materials.
• Leon asked JARVIS to send him exoskeleton knowledge, then ignored JARVIS’s reminder about Pepper’s request.

Leon rapidly mastered mechanical and armor knowledge while helping Tony build his armor, which reached eighty percent completion overnight. Leon left to build his own armor, and Tony realized his brother had learned his skills at an astonishing speed.

• Tony finished the propulsion system while assuming Leon had given up on studying armor knowledge.
• Leon mastered textbooks and technical papers in hours, then joined Tony's armor project and helped assemble parts with exceptional precision.
• Tony and Leon worked through a day and night, bringing Tony's armor to eighty percent completion.
• Leon refused Tony's request to build another circuit and left to make his own armor, saying he would return in three days.
• Tony recalled Leon's increasingly insightful questions and skilled work, then realized Leon had become a mechanical expert overnight.

Leon reassured Tony about his learning abilities, then knocked him unconscious so he could work on armor modifications and beat him in their three-day challenge. When Pepper arrived, Leon gave her Tony’s old Arc Reactor and told her it was a gift from Tony, leaving her deeply moved.

• Leon explained that his Super-Brain let him learn Tony’s armor knowledge quickly but did not make him more innovative, and promised to beat Tony in three days.
• Leon knocked Tony unconscious, carried him to bed, and went to work on armor modifications with Dum-E and U.
• JARVIS told Leon that Pepper had arrived, and Pepper confronted Leon for skipping work at the company.
• Leon claimed Tony had kept him up working on armor and told Pepper that Tony had prepared a gift for her.
• Leon gave Pepper Tony’s old Arc Reactor and explained its significance, and Pepper accepted it, overwhelmed by the gesture.

Leon gave Pepper Tony’s Arc Reactor and kept Tony asleep while he began building armor in the laboratory. Two days later, Leon and Tony met in the garage for their armor competition, but the chapter ended before either showed their suit.

• Leon told Pepper that Tony had given her the Arc Reactor, and she went to check on him while he slept.
• Leon explained to JARVIS that he had made the handoff sound better and then started building armor.
• After waking, Tony found Pepper unusually gentle, Leon keeping him out of the laboratory, and his robotic arms missing, so he reclaimed them to assemble his own armor.
• Two days later, Tony and Leon met in the underground garage for their competition, and JARVIS played tense music at Leon’s request.
• Tony and Leon exchanged taunts about who would lose and argued over Leon’s claim that Tony should show his armor first because ladies go first.

Tony and Leon unveiled their competing suits of armor and argued over which one was superior. They agreed to test their performance in a flight contest, but Leon flew outside first, leaving Tony questioning whether the competition was fair.

• Tony revealed his steel Mark 2 armor, flew with it, and claimed it was decades ahead of the world.
• Leon inspected Tony's suit, criticized its design, and activated his wristbands to summon his own armor.
• A red-and-blue flight pod assembled into Leon's suit, which he demonstrated and described as having more features than Tony's armor.
• Tony argued that armor should be judged by combat performance, and he and Leon agreed to race on speed and distance.
• Leon flew outside to begin the contest, and Tony questioned whether they were competing while both wore their armor.

Leon won a high-altitude flight competition with Tony after Tony's armor froze and failed, then encouraged Tony by crediting him as the creator of the Iron Man suit. The two returned to the garage on better terms, with Tony acknowledging how remarkable Leon had become.

• Leon and Tony raced their armors skyward, while Leon's armor, piloted by JARVIS, quickly pulled ahead of Tony's Mark 2.
• Tony pushed Mark 2 beyond its limits to catch up, but frost disabled its circuits and sent him plummeting.
• Leon caught Tony and stopped his fall, then explained that gold could help armor function in extreme environments.
• Back in the garage, Tony admitted defeat, and Leon told him that Tony's creation of the Small Arc Reactor and Iron Man suit was the greater achievement.
• Leon and Tony teased each other before Leon left, and Tony smiled as he called Leon remarkable.

Leon and Tony tested Leon’s strength, but his first punch destroyed the underground garage and the supposedly indestructible tester. They moved outdoors and rebuilt the tester, leaving Tony ready to measure Leon’s strength again.

• Tony brought Leon to the underground garage to test his strength with a machine made from tungsten alloy.
• Tony put on his Mark III armor at Leon’s insistence before Leon threw a punch at the tester.
• Leon’s punch wrecked the garage, destroyed Tony’s cars, and blasted a hole through the tester and the wall toward the sea.
• Leon and Tony moved to a grassy area outside Los Angeles, where Leon complained that the tester had failed after less than half his strength.
• Tony explained that Leon’s strength had far exceeded their predictions, and Leon repaired the tester and asked how to test it.

Leon and Tony tested Leon’s strength and abilities, revealing power far beyond Tony’s expectations. After an hour of tests, Tony was left exhausted and asked what ability they would measure next.

• Leon pushed down on the testing pedestal, and Tony’s equipment estimated his single-arm strength at between 140,000 and 190,000 tons.
• Leon threw a punch at nearly Mach 32, and JARVIS calculated that it could unleash over 1.5 trillion newtons of force.
• Leon told Tony he still wanted to become stronger, while Tony wondered if he had failed to protect Leon when they were young.
• Leon underwent tests of his Heat Vision, Freeze Breath, X-Ray Vision, Super Hearing, and flight, repeatedly dismissing the results as insufficient.
• Tony slumped in his chair after the tests and asked Leon which ability they would test next.

Leon and Tony finished testing Leon’s abilities, repaired the damaged basement, and talked by the pool about how Leon’s growing power might shape his future. Tony asked whether Leon had any plans, worried that such strength could change him.

• Leon concluded that he had Kryptonian abilities rather than every power Superman possessed, and he and Tony agreed to model his future growth with further tests.
• Tony agreed to handle Pepper while Leon repaired the basement, and Leon rebuilt its damaged walls with his powers.
• After finishing the repairs, Leon swam in the pool and joked with Tony about becoming the Stark household’s renovation boy and Tony returning to work.
• Tony joined Leon in the pool and admitted that Leon’s test results had startled him because Leon’s power could exceed anything ordinary people could comprehend.
• Tony reassured Leon that he trusted his character and asked what plans he had for the future.