New York Under Siege! Ebony Maw's Performance!

New York.

The city that had once symbolized human civilization and prosperity was now the stage for a play called "Despair."

A gaunt, pale figure floated gracefully above Fifth Avenue, like an ascetic monk from the Middle Ages. Beneath him, the wreckage of several city blocks and the tens of thousands of people trapped within it had been lifted a thousand meters into the air by an invisible force, forming a "city in the sky" built from steel, concrete, and fear.

Ebony Maw.

Thanos's most elegant—and most ruthless—adviser.

He did not wreak indiscriminate destruction like the Parademons. That was the behavior of beasts. He appreciated art, and his favorite art was crushing hope bit by bit as he watched his prey struggle in despair.

"Listen. What a beautiful symphony."

Ebony Maw closed his eyes and spread his arms, savoring the screams, sirens, and explosions rising from the city below.

Whoosh!

A red-and-blue figure swung toward him on a web at breakneck speed, calling out a wisecrack. "Hey, E.T.! You're holding an illegal gathering in my city. Have you gotten your ticket yet?"

It was Spider-Man, Peter Parker.

Ebony Maw did not even open his eyes. He merely flicked a finger.

The air in front of Peter instantly turned thick as glue. His web drooped, and he hung frozen in midair, unable to move. Then a streetlamp beside him twisted and stretched like a living thing before lashing into him.

Bang!

Peter flew away like a baseball and crashed into a distant building.

"A noisy little bug," Ebony Maw said softly.

"Your opponent is me!"

With an angry shout, a figure in red-and-gold armor descended from the sky, firing a searing energy beam from his palm.

Tony Stark. Iron Man.

"Another tin can." Ebony Maw remained unruffled.

He extended two fingers