Recaps

Ancient One confronted Kaecilius and let him kill her, fulfilling the fate she believed she could not escape. She returned to Kamar-Taj as a spirit, told Strange she was dead, and passed the title of Sorcerer Supreme to him.

• Ancient One found Kaecilius hiding between Dimensions and offered him the chance to attack her.
• Kaecilius unleashed his dark magic and fatally struck Ancient One, who made no attempt to defend herself.
• Ancient One looked toward Russell as she fell, then faded away while Kaecilius withdrew to his hideout.
• Ancient One returned to Kamar-Taj as a spirit and told Strange she had come to say goodbye.
• Ancient One explained that fate had destined Kaecilius to kill her and entrusted Kamar-Taj to Strange.

After Ancient One vanished, Strange accepted the responsibility of leading Kamar-Taj and vowed to find Kaecilius. Russell intercepted Ancient One’s departing spirit near the edge of the universe and challenged her about leaving Earth’s magical defenses to Strange.

• Ancient One told Strange that Kaecilius had escaped and that Strange would have to confront him as the next Sorcerer Supreme.
• Strange realized Ancient One had deliberately let Kaecilius go, then accepted her handover and told Kamar-Taj’s mages that she was gone.
• At S.P.E.A.R., Russell sent Zheng Xian a message to look after Odin, Thor, and Loki while he stepped away; Odin and Zheng Xian began discussing cooperation and S.P.E.A.R.’s replacement of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Russell tracked Ancient One’s spirit through the Dimensional gaps and intercepted her near the universe’s outer boundary.
• Ancient One said Earth still had Russell if Strange failed, and Russell warned that he would not clean up problems caused by her departure.

Russell urged Ancient One to abandon her plan to seek refuge with Eternity and instead accept a new body and life, arguing that he could conceal her from her enemies. She agreed to work with him so she could watch Strange grow, and Russell proposed that she govern the Dark Dimension as its new Dimension Lord.

• Ancient One explained that she planned to leave Earth because her presence drew cosmic threats and Strange still needed time to become Sorcerer Supreme.
• Russell questioned whether she had planned her death and Kaecilius's escape, then urged her to work with him rather than seek refuge with Eternity.
• Ancient One admitted she feared the dangers her creditors posed to Russell and herself, but Russell claimed he could manipulate cause and effect to conceal her.
• Ancient One agreed to Russell's offer on the condition that she could secretly watch Strange's progress.
• Russell agreed and offered to put Ancient One in charge of the Dark Dimension, making her a Dimension Lord.

Russell persuaded Ancient One to become his ally and take control of the Dark Dimension, then learned that Galactus would soon threaten Earth and promised to trap him. Meanwhile, Reed Richards prepared a time machine to bring reinforcements against Russell.

• Russell offered Ancient One a choice between joining Eternity and working with him, promising her a new body, the Dark Dimension, and copies of the Infinity Stones.
• Ancient One accepted Russell's offer and agreed to keep protecting the universe under a new identity.
• Ancient One revealed that Galactus would soon arrive and could devour Earth, but Russell said he would lure and trap him.
• In New York, Reed Richards finished calibrating a time machine to retrieve reinforcements from another timeline to fight Russell.

Reed Richards’s attempt to use a time machine to find someone who could oppose Russell opened a rift to a catastrophic battle, and a blast destroyed the machine and Earth. Russell returned to find the planet erased, while scattered survivors remained in space.

• Reed activated the time machine despite Ben Grimm’s doubts, opening a rift onto two beings whose battle exceeded the machine’s safety limits.
• One of the beings sent a destructive ray through the rift, causing the time machine to explode and unleash a shock wave across Earth.
• The blast erased New York and spread across Earth, destroying its cities, continents, Atlantis, Wakanda, and Krakoa while Jean Grey, Magneto, Professor X, Apocalypse, Odin, and Thor protected a few survivors.
• Odin and Thor shielded S.P.E.A.R.’s Ring Fortress as Earth was completely destroyed, leaving survivors in the void.
• Russell and Ancient One sensed the disaster and returned; Russell arrived where Earth had been and found only empty space.

Russell restored Earth after Reed’s time machine experiment destroyed it, then confronted the Fantastic Four and claimed their machine as his own. He alerted Kingpin to the experiment, and police surrounded the base as Susan restrained Johnny from escalating the confrontation.

• Russell reversed time and restored Earth to the moment before its destruction.
• Russell appeared in the Fantastic Four’s underground base and declared that the time machine belonged to him.
• Russell accused Reed of destroying Earth with the machine, and Reed could not deny that the experiment might have caused the disaster.
• Russell explained that he had reversed the destruction and warned the Fantastic Four about the danger of opening a rift to an unknown universe.
• Russell alerted Kingpin, who sent police and SWAT officers to surround the base.
• Johnny prepared to resist the arriving officers, but Susan stopped him and urged him not to act rashly.

Chief Stacy led Kingpin’s forces into the Fantastic Four’s base and struggled with the order to arrest heroes he admired. Kingpin arrested the team and Russell took their powers and Time Machine, leaving George watching them being taken away and wondering what his daughter Gwen would think.

• George Stacy entered the secret base with twelve SWAT officers and saw Russell, the Fantastic Four, and the Time Machine.
• As Kingpin urged him to proceed, George hesitated over arresting the heroes and thought of his daughter Gwen.
• Kingpin declared the Fantastic Four under arrest, citing the multiverse security act and Russell’s evidence.
• Kingpin used Russell’s power to suppress the team’s abilities, and George’s officers handcuffed and shackled them.
• Russell took the Time Machine and told Reed that the team would remain imprisoned until they understood Earth’s real threats.
• George watched the Fantastic Four being escorted away while wondering whether Gwen would think he had done the wrong thing.

Russell ordered Kingpin to keep the Fantastic Four imprisoned and told Spider-Man that George Stacy would become New York’s mayor as a trusted public face for Russell’s power. Spider-Man watched the convoy depart, uncertain how to help, and decided to speak with Stark again.

• Russell instructed Kingpin to use the Multiverse Security Act to detain the Fantastic Four indefinitely in a high-security facility.
• Spider-Man watched the Fantastic Four being taken away and struggled with whether to intervene.
• Russell warned Spider-Man not to act against him and learned that Stark and the Avengers would not submit to him.
• Russell told Spider-Man that George Stacy would become mayor and serve as a spokesman while real power remained elsewhere.
• After Russell vanished, Spider-Man watched George leave with the police convoy and decided to talk things over with Stark again.

Hill and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s remaining leaders confronted their isolation and inability to fight Russell as former allies backed him and the Fantastic Four were imprisoned. Tony retreated to an observation pod, where Russell's voice announced that S.H.I.E.L.D. would cease to exist.

• Hill told S.H.I.E.L.D.'s leaders that Asgard, Wakanda, Atlantis, and other nations had aligned with Russell while S.H.I.E.L.D. lost its funding and personnel.
• Natasha reported that the Fantastic Four had been sentenced to indefinite detention, and Bruce said Hulk would not fight Russell.
• Tony rejected Natasha's proposal to fight with public opinion and argued that S.H.I.E.L.D. had no realistic way to defeat Russell.
• Hill adjourned the meeting, and Tony told Coulson he feared the Celestial Armor would be useless against Russell.
• Tony went alone to an observation pod, where Russell's voice declared that S.H.I.E.L.D. would cease to exist.

Russell declared that S.H.I.E.L.D. would cease to exist and faced the Helicarrier as its weapons locked onto him. Spider-Man won time to speak with Tony, but Tony refused to surrender and prepared to challenge Russell with the Celestial Armor.

• Hill put the Helicarrier on Condition One and ordered its weapons aimed at Russell.
• Spider-Man arrived and asked Russell to delay his attack while he tried to persuade Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Russell granted Spider-Man more time and sent him inside the Helicarrier to speak with Tony.
• Spider-Man told Tony what Russell had said about Tony’s resolve and the futility of studying Russell’s weaknesses.
• Tony admitted the Celestial Armor might not defeat Russell, but vowed to fight back so Russell would know he was not a pawn.

Russell trapped the Helicarrier in a Spatial Cage, cutting it off from the universe. Tony exhausted the Celestial Armor trying to break free, while Spider-Man called to Russell as the cage began crushing the carrier.

• Tony awakened the Celestial Armor, and Spider-Man left the hangar as Russell watched from outside the Helicarrier.
• Russell created a Spatial Cage that pulled the Helicarrier into a void where its sensors detected nothing.
• Hill, Natasha, Coulson, and Bruce assessed their situation, while Bruce said Hulk felt uncomfortable in the cage.
• Tony fired the Celestial Armor's Antimatter Cannon, Graviton Beam, and full arsenal at the barrier, but each breach quickly healed and the armor ran low on energy.
• Tony admitted the cage exceeded the armor's limits, and Spider-Man called out to Russell for help.
• The Spatial Cage began contracting against the Helicarrier's hull as Spider-Man feared being crushed.

Spider-Man escaped the Spatial Cage after Tony let him go, while the Helicarrier and its crew remained trapped. Hill and Natasha urged S.H.I.E.L.D. to accept that its old era was over, and Tony decided to surrender rather than keep fighting Russell.

• Spider-Man asked Russell to release everyone, but Russell opened a rift only for him and told him to leave or stay with his friends.
• Tony told Spider-Man to go and send Pepper word that he had gone on a long trip, and Spider-Man escaped through the rift.
• Tony admitted to Hill that the Helicarrier was still trapped and that he had no plan, while Hill and Natasha discussed Russell's message to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Natasha proposed that S.H.I.E.L.D. swear never to oppose Russell, while Coulson argued that its ideals could survive even if the organization ended.
• Tony accepted that he could not win and told Hill to have everyone put down their weapons and prepare to leave the Spatial Cage.

Tony explained that Russell had trapped S.H.I.E.L.D. to make them accept that they could not defeat him and that the organization was already dead. When Coulson rallied the agents around S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founding ideals, Russell revealed that nearly all of them were Hydra, and agents began admitting their allegiance.

• Tony told Hill and Natasha that Russell had spared them because he considered them no threat and wanted them to accept S.H.I.E.L.D.’s end.
• Coulson showed the agents S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founding charter and urged them to preserve its mission even if the organization was dissolved.
• Russell told Coulson that S.H.I.E.L.D. was rotten and that at least ninety-nine percent of its agents worked for Hydra.
• A young agent admitted he had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Hydra operative, and other agents followed by declaring their allegiance.
• Russell explained that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. since its founding, leaving Coulson to realize the organization had become a shell for Hydra.

After learning that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony rejected the organization and asked Russell to release him from the Spatial Cage. Russell went to Titan, where Thanos had obtained the Soul Stone by sacrificing Gamora, and told him he had come to liberate him.

• Natasha and Hill struggled with the revelation that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., and Natasha questioned whether her past actions had served Hydra.
• Tony challenged Hill's doubts about Russell's claims and left the command center.
• Tony called to Russell and agreed that S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers were lies, asking to be let out of the Spatial Cage.
• Russell left the Helicarrier and traveled to Titan, where he found Thanos holding the Soul Stone.
• Thanos told Russell that he had sacrificed Gamora on Vormir to obtain the stone and planned to collect the remaining Infinity Stones.
• Russell told Thanos he had come neither to stop nor help him, but to liberate him.

Russell confronted Thanos about his plan to erase half the universe, arguing that it only delayed resource scarcity and left him a lonely ruler. He proposed creating a new universe by expanding the existing universe's capacity, leaving Thanos to consider how that differed from destroying all life.

• The Black Order surrounded Russell, but Thanos ordered them to stand down and called Russell his guest.
• Russell described Thanos as a lonely overlord whose power and conquests had left him isolated and challenged him to consider what he would do after the Snap.
• Thanos explained that he wanted to restore balance and prevent civilizations from collapsing over scarce resources.
• Russell argued that killing half the universe would only postpone resource shortages, and Thanos proposed killing everyone so life could begin again.
• Russell rejected total destruction and suggested creating a new universe by expanding the capacity of the existing one.

Russell persuaded Thanos to abandon his plan to eliminate half the universe and join him in exploring and building beyond it. Thanos agreed to go with Russell, while still hoping that greater power might one day let him resurrect Gamora.

• Russell explained that the universe’s resource limits could be overcome by finding new realms and expanding its capacity instead of eliminating people.
• Russell urged Thanos to share the burden of protecting the universe and join a cosmic civilization as a builder.
• Russell told Thanos that Ancient One had chosen to trust others and leave Earth’s protection to him.
• Thanos remembered pushing Gamora off a cliff, and Russell said she was truly dead but that her death could help inspire a new beginning.
• Thanos asked whether Gamora could return, and Russell said it might be possible with power beyond the universe.
• Thanos agreed to go with Russell and help build beyond the universe.

Thanos chose to join Russell and abandon his plan to wipe out half the universe, then explained his decision to the Black Order. The chapter ended with Thanos insisting that he was not being controlled and declaring, “I am still destiny.”

• Thanos agreed to go with Russell but paused to explain his decision to the Black Order.
• Thanos told his followers that he had been wrong to believe destroying half the universe would bring balance.
• Thanos introduced Russell as Earth's guardian and announced that he was joining Russell's team to build civilizations.
• The Black Order doubted Thanos's choice, and Ebony Maw accused Russell of controlling him.
• Thanos recalled the sacrifices and devastation his old mission had caused, then insisted he was not controlled.

Thanos rejected his old mission and agreed to follow Russell, while the Black Order chose to accompany him or, in Ebony Maw’s case, reserve judgment. They arrived above New York, where Magneto approached Thanos as the former conqueror looked down at the people he had once planned to destroy.

• Thanos told Ebony Maw that building a universe was better than destroying half its population, and asked whether he should reject Russell’s offer.
• Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight abandoned their weapons and pledged to follow Thanos; Cull Obsidian and Supergiant joined them, while Ebony Maw chose to go but said he would keep watching Thanos.
• Thanos led the Black Order through Russell’s spatial rift, and Russell followed as the rift closed behind them over Titan.
• Russell and Thanos appeared above New York, where Thanos saw the people he had once intended to conquer and destroy.
• Magneto flew up from the crowd and called out to Thanos.

Russell, Magneto, Jean Grey, and Thanos confronted the consequences of Thanos’s past choices as a massive whirlpool opened in the Hudson River. Ancient One revealed that a Herald of Galactus had caused the disaster, and Russell considered what the herald intended to do.

• Ebony Maw insulted Magneto, but Thanos stopped him and said the group had not come to fight.
• Jean Grey accused Thanos of killing his daughter for an Infinity Stone, and Magneto warned Thanos not to waste Russell’s chance to choose creation over destruction.
• Jean sensed a disturbance near the Hudson River as a vast whirlpool formed and began swallowing the river and the structures along its banks.
• Ancient One told Russell that a Herald of Galactus had created the whirlpool, and Russell acknowledged the threat as Thanos warned that Earth might be swallowed.

Silver Surfer arrived in the Hudson River to warn Earth that Galactus would consume it in two days. Russell challenged Norrin Radd to abandon his role as herald, but Silver Surfer doubted that doing so could stop Galactus.

• Silver Surfer emerged from the Hudson River and told Earth's guardians that Galactus had chosen the planet as food and would arrive shortly.
• Russell stopped Silver Surfer and learned his name, then reminded him that Norrin Radd had once made a deal with Galactus to save Zenn-La.
• Russell confronted Silver Surfer about the worlds he had helped Galactus devour and urged him to choose not to serve his master.
• Silver Surfer resisted Russell's argument, saying Galactus could not be defied and that his hunger maintained the universe's balance.
• Russell told Silver Surfer he could stop being Galactus's herald, but Silver Surfer replied that Galactus would still not be stopped.

Russell told Silver Surfer that an ordinary person on Earth could defeat Galactus, though he would not be the one to do it. He revealed that he had found the person he meant: Stan Lee, an old man eating a hamburger and writing about superheroes in Queens.

• Russell challenged Silver Surfer’s belief that no one could stop Galactus, and Magneto said Russell could do it.
• Ebony Maw and Thanos doubted Russell’s claim that anyone chosen at random could defeat Galactus, while the others reacted with varying degrees of trust and skepticism.
• Russell argued that even an ordinary old man could possess power the cosmic gods overlooked.
• Russell identified Stan Lee as the old man, locating him in a Queens fast-food restaurant.

Russell brought Silver Surfer, Thanos, and the Black Order to meet Stan Lee, claiming the writer could stop Galactus from destroying Earth. Stan recognized Russell and Thanos, and suggested Russell had already found a way to confront the coming threat.

• Ebony Maw, Silver Surfer, and Thanos doubted Russell’s claim that Stan Lee could defeat Galactus, while Magneto continued to trust Russell.
• Russell opened a Portal and led Silver Surfer, Thanos, and the Black Order to a fast-food restaurant in Queens, leaving Magneto and Jean behind.
• The group found Stan Lee writing superhero stories, while the restaurant’s customers froze in shock at their arrival.
• Stan recognized Russell and identified Thanos, then listened as Russell warned him that Galactus would arrive in two days to consume Earth.
• Russell called Stan the God of Stories, and Stan replied that Russell’s visit meant he had already found a way.

Russell told Stan Lee that he was expected to stop Galactus by writing a story that would make the cosmic being abandon devouring. Stan Lee admitted he was no ordinary old man and unleashed a higher-dimensional power, bringing everything in the fast-food restaurant to a standstill.

• Russell told Stan Lee that the group’s plan was for Stan Lee to deal with Galactus, who would reach Earth in two days.
• Stan Lee insisted he was an ordinary old man, while Silver Surfer and Thanos sensed a fleeting, immense power within him.
• Russell explained that Stan Lee’s stories inspired hope and suggested he write one to make Galactus believe he no longer needed to devour.
• Stan Lee acknowledged that Russell was right and revealed his higher-dimensional power, freezing everything in the restaurant.

Russell confronted Stan Lee, who admitted he had sent Loki to the Time Variance Authority so he could grow beyond Thor’s shadow and choose his own path. Loki was seized by TVA agents in another universe, leaving Thor unable to find him.

• Russell told Stan Lee he viewed him as a creator who surpassed the God of Stories, and Stan Lee acknowledged that he could correct timelines when necessary.
• Stan Lee tapped his notebook, and Loki vanished through an orange-yellow Time Portal while standing beside Thor aboard the S.P.E.A.R. Helicarrier.
• Thor searched for Loki with Rune Power, found no trace, and struck the Helicarrier wall in anguish.
• Loki awoke in a desert in another universe and was surrounded by TVA agents carrying Time Sticks.
• Stan Lee explained that Loki did not need to become the God of Stories in this universe and said the TVA would help him see possibilities beyond Thor’s side and Russell’s shadow.
• Stan Lee admitted he had given Loki an opportunity to grow and declared that he possessed the authority of the God of Stories.

Stan Lee explained that he would transfer Galactus’s Cosmic Power to Spider-Man, making Peter Parker the new host and leaving Galactus powerless in this universe. After Stan Lee vanished to find Spider-Man, Russell put away his notebook and pen, and Silver Surfer and Thanos learned that Spider-Man was meant to defeat Galactus.

• Russell pressed Stan Lee about dealing with Galactus, and Stan Lee agreed to arrange it without confronting Galactus himself.
• Stan Lee said Spider-Man would gain Galactus’s Cosmic Power by calling out prescribed words, while Galactus would revert to his previous-universe form in this universe.
• Stan Lee left money on the table and vanished to tell Spider-Man about the plan.
• Russell stored Stan Lee’s notebook and pen, ending the frozen moment in the restaurant.
• Silver Surfer asked where Stan Lee had gone, and Russell told him Spider-Man would defeat Galactus, leaving Thanos and his allies stunned.