Recaps

Silver Surfer questioned whether Spider-Man could defeat Galactus, while Russell said Galactus’s outcome had already been decided. Madame Web summoned Spider-Man and told him Galactus would reach Earth in two days, then sent him to Russell for instructions.

• Silver Surfer gathered information about Spider-Man and asked Russell if he could defeat Galactus, and Russell told him to wait and see.
• Spider-Man rescued a cat in Queens and reflected on how mutants had made the city peaceful and left him with little to do.
• Spider-Man wondered about S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony Stark in the Spatial Cage before his Spider-Sense warned him and green smoke carried him to an unknown space.
• Madame Web told Spider-Man that Galactus would arrive in two days and devour Earth.
• Spider-Man suggested Madame Web should ask Russell for help, but she told him to go to Russell and sent him back to reality.

After Madame Web warned Spider-Man that Galactus would devour Earth, Spider-Man set out to find Russell for guidance. Madame Web then revealed that the Beyonder had arranged the meeting to repay a favor and ordered her to mark the universe for his reserve list before he departed.

• Spider-Man remembered Madame Web's warning about Galactus and decided to find Russell, then heard Russell call to him and swung toward him.
• Madame Web questioned why the Beyonder had sent her to find an ordinary Spider-Man and direct him to Russell.
• The Beyonder explained that he was repaying a favor and confirmed that he had arranged for Spider-Man to seek Russell's help.
• The Beyonder observed Russell, Thanos, and Silver Surfer, then ordered Madame Web to place the universe on his reserve list.
• Madame Web formed a miniature model of the universe, tucked it into her cloak, and confirmed that she had marked it as the Beyonder began to depart.

Spider-Man met Russell and his cosmic allies after Madame Web warned that Galactus would destroy Earth in two days. Silver Surfer tested Spider-Man and judged him too weak, but Russell said it was time for something.

• Madame Web told Spider-Man to grow stronger before leaving Earth to follow the Beyonder.
• Spider-Man told Russell that Madame Web had warned him Galactus would destroy Earth in two days, and Russell confirmed it.
• Russell introduced Spider-Man to Thanos, Silver Surfer, and the Black Order as allies against Galactus.
• Silver Surfer attacked Spider-Man to test his strength, then restrained him with Cosmic Energy.
• Silver Surfer called Spider-Man too weak, and Russell said, "It's time."

Russell transported Spider-Man, Thanos, Silver Surfer, and the Black Order to Kree Lal, where Galactus’s herald Tyrant was destroying the planet ahead of Galactus’s arrival. As Spider-Man learned that they would face Galactus after confronting his herald, a Shi'ar commander discovered Thanos and the others on the planet.

• Russell told Spider-Man he could not defeat Galactus, then transported him, Thanos, Silver Surfer, and the Black Order to Kree Lal.
• Russell explained that Tyrant was ravaging the planet to prepare it for Galactus, who was expected to arrive in two hours.
• Silver Surfer recognized Tyrant and described him as a brutal herald who destroyed civilizations before Galactus devoured them.
• Spider-Man questioned Russell’s plan, and Russell said they would defeat Tyrant and then face Galactus.
• Commander Korath learned that Shi'ar squads sent to Kree Lal had been destroyed and that Galactus would arrive in two hours.
• Korath’s crew detected Thanos and the others on the planet, and Korath ordered their image displayed on the main screen.

Korath identified Silver Surfer as another Herald of Galactus and reported the new threat on Kree Lal to Shi'ar Empire headquarters. Tyrant's Herald confronted Silver Surfer and his allies, then prepared to attack them.

• Korath's crew detected that the silver humanoid was a Herald of Galactus, and Korath ordered them to send their findings to Shi'ar Empire headquarters while monitoring the group.
• Ebony Maw offered to deal with the Shi'ar warship watching them, but Thanos said it posed no danger.
• Tyrant's Herald appeared before Silver Surfer and accused him of trespassing and bringing potential food for Galactus without following procedure.
• Spider-Man introduced himself and said the group had come to defeat Galactus, prompting Tyrant's Herald to mock him and call Silver Surfer a traitor.
• Tyrant's Herald gathered dark red energy and declared that he would wipe out Silver Surfer and the others himself.

Silver Surfer fought Tyrant's Herald on Kree Lal, gaining the upper hand with faster attacks while refusing to let Russell and Spider-Man intervene. As Korath ordered the battle footage sent to Shi'ar headquarters, the communications officer identified Russell in the recording.

• Tyrant's Herald attacked Silver Surfer with dark red energy and summoned cosmic creatures, but Silver Surfer dodged and cut down the creatures with a blade of cosmic energy.
• Silver Surfer shattered his mirror into blades that sliced Tyrant's Herald apart, and Tyrant's Herald reassembled and admitted Silver Surfer had grown stronger.
• Silver Surfer and Tyrant's Herald clashed their energy attacks, unleashing an explosion that drove Spider-Man back; Russell told Spider-Man to let Silver Surfer handle the fight.
• Korath ordered his crew to monitor the Heralds' battle and send the footage to Shi'ar headquarters.
• Tyrant's Herald claimed Galactus would reward him for defeating Silver Surfer, while Silver Surfer said he only wanted to stop being Galactus's tool.
• A communications officer told Korath that the man standing with his hands in his pockets in the footage was Russell.

Korath recognized Russell and ordered the Shi'ar warship to retreat while keeping watch. After Galactus arrived to consume Kree Lal, Russell gathered Thanos, the Black Order, Silver Surfer, and Spider-Man to confront him, then told Spider-Man that a few words could defeat Galactus.

• Korath recognized Russell from the Shi'ar Empire's top-secret order and ordered his warship to retreat another light-year while monitoring the group.
• Silver Surfer and Tyrant's Herald continued their battle above Kree Lal as Russell explained to Spider-Man that Heralds could fight as long as their cosmic energy lasted.
• Galactus arrived, and Tyrant's Herald told him that Kree Lal's three hundred million lives were ready as food and that Silver Surfer had betrayed him.
• Russell opened a rift and led Thanos, the Black Order, Spider-Man, and Silver Surfer into space to face Galactus.
• Galactus asked if they could stop him, and Russell said he was certain before telling Spider-Man that he only needed to say a few words.

Russell told Spider-Man to shout “Come into my body!” and the command caused Galactus’s power to flow into him. Spider-Man became Cosmic Spider-Man, still himself but wielding Galactus’s power.

• Galactus reclaimed Silver Surfer’s Cosmic Power and threatened to devour Zenn-La for his betrayal.
• Spider-Man told Russell that he wanted to fight Galactus, and Russell instructed him to shout, “Come into my body!”
• Spider-Man shouted the words, and Galactus’s energy began pouring into him, leaving Galactus stunned.
• Spider-Man felt the galaxy through his new power, and Russell called him Cosmic Spider-Man.

Spider-Man gained Galactus's cosmic power and learned it came with an endless hunger to devour planets. He refused to let the curse change him, shared some power with Silver Surfer, and left Kree Lal safe as Korath reported the outcome to headquarters.

• Galan revealed that the cosmic will had chosen Spider-Man as its new host and that Galactus's hunger had passed to him.
• Spider-Man rejected Galan's warning that the hunger would make him devour planets and vowed to use his powers to help people.
• Spider-Man sensed suffering across the universe and decided to use his new power for good.
• Spider-Man restored Silver Surfer's powers by sharing some of his cosmic energy with him.
• Korath ordered the footage sent to headquarters and reported that Russell and Spider-Man had saved Kree Lal.

Spider-Man absorbed the Cosmic Power of three of Galactus's Heralds after Russell prompted him to invoke the Cosmic Will, leaving him transformed into one of the universe's most powerful beings. The Shi'ar Empire congratulated Russell and Spider-Man, while Spider-Man wondered whether his new power could let him defeat Russell and quickly decided not to test it.

• Spider-Man absorbed the Cosmic Power of Tyrant's Herald and the other two Heralds, leaving them powerless.
• Korath learned that Spider-Man had absorbed the Heralds' power and received word that the Shi'ar Empire had saved Kree Lal and wanted to honor Russell and Spider-Man.
• Ebony Maw and Thanos watched Spider-Man's transformation, and Thanos asked Russell how he had made it happen.
• Russell said Spider-Man had gained the Cosmic Will's recognition after speaking a line Russell suggested.
• Spider-Man asked Russell whether he could now defeat him, then backed down and joked about being unable to afford rent.

Russell and his companions accepted an invitation from the Shi'ar Empire after Korath arrived to thank them for saving Kree Lal. They traveled aboard a Shi'ar warship through a stargate and reached the empire’s capital.

• Russell explained that Spider-Man had gained only this universe’s share of Galactus’s power, and Spider-Man accepted that limit.
• Korath arrived on behalf of Empress Lilandra and invited Russell and his companions to the Shi'ar Empire’s capital.
• Silver Surfer refused the invitation and left to protect his home planet, Zenn-La.
• Russell accepted the invitation, and Spider-Man, Thanos, the Black Order, Galan, and the powerless Heralds followed Korath aboard the warship.
• Korath guided the group through faster-than-light travel and a stargate to the heart of the Shi'ar Empire.

Russell and his companions arrived on Chandilar, where Empress Lilandra thanked them for defeating Galactus and saving Kree Lal. She sought an alliance with Russell, Earth, and Cosmic Spider-Man to face future cosmic threats, and Spider-Man agreed to try to fulfill his new responsibility.

• Korath brought Russell and his companions to Chandilar, the Shi'ar Empire's vast capital, and escorted them to the royal audience hall.
• Lilandra welcomed Russell and thanked him and Spider-Man for stopping Galactus, who had destroyed seventeen Shi'ar colony planets.
• Lilandra confirmed that Galactus's Cosmic Energy and his three Heralds' Cosmic Energy had fallen to zero, leaving Spider-Man as the new host of the Cosmic Energy.
• Russell deduced that Lilandra wanted an ally against other cosmic dangers, and she agreed that the Shi'ar Empire needed someone able to confront them.
• Lilandra offered an alliance with Russell, Earth, and Cosmic Spider-Man, and Spider-Man agreed to give it a try.

Russell secured a major technology transfer and a fleet of starships from Lilandra in exchange for an alliance between Earth and the Shi'ar Empire. He then met the Shi'ar gods, who warned him that Earth's returning Elder Gods could pose a serious threat.

• Russell demanded that the Shi'ar share advanced technologies, including stargates and star-destroying technology, with Earth as a true ally.
• Lilandra agreed to provide the requested technologies and ten faster-than-light starships, and told Russell that her empire's gods wanted to meet him.
• Russell followed Lilandra to a sealed chamber and met K'ythri and Sharra, the guardian deities of the Shi'ar Empire.
• Sharra warned Russell that Earth's gods would descend after the Ancient One died, and that returning Elder Gods could endanger him.
• K'ythri and Sharra explained that Set began the Elder Gods' downfall by devouring Hyppus, after which Set and many others became Demon Gods and preyed on their companions.

Sharra and K'ythri told Russell how the Elder Gods became monsters, how Atum and Agamotto shaped Earth's defenses, and why the fallen Elder Gods might return. Russell agreed to face the coming crises, then left to find Lilandra without confirming whether he meant the Ancient One when he spoke of the Sorcerer Supreme.

• Sharra and K'ythri explained that Set began the Elder Gods' killings, and that Atum later destroyed or banished many of the fallen gods.
• Sharra described how Chthon left the Darkhold and the origins of Earth's vampires, while K'ythri recounted Agamotto's birth and the creation of the Vishanti and Earth's magical defenses.
• Russell learned that the fallen Elder Gods might return to seek Atum's descendants and the Creator, whose awakening could erase all life on Earth.
• Sharra and K'ythri asked Russell to handle the potential crises, and K'ythri warned that the fallen gods would target the Sorcerer Supreme to collapse Earth's magical defenses.
• Russell left the guardian gods and met Lilandra in the corridor, then told her that the Shi'ar gods had come from Earth too.

Russell told Lilandra that K'ythri and Sharra came from Earth and warned that fallen Elder Gods might return after the Ancient One died. After returning to Earth, he was intercepted by Uatu, who told him to record a universe on the brink of chaos as a Quantum Watcher.

• Russell explained to Lilandra that K'ythri and Sharra were Elder Gods from Earth and warned her that fallen Elder Gods might target Earth after the Ancient One died.
• Lilandra ordered Commander Korath to prepare a stargate and starship to Earth, and she pledged the Shi'ar Empire's support for Earth.
• Russell traveled through the stargate, and Korath wondered whether he should visit Earth himself.
• Uatu pulled Russell into a void after he arrived on Earth and told him to record major events in his jurisdiction, including a universe where chaos was imminent.

Uatu sent Russell to Universe Number 019 to witness a devastating battle, hinting that it could teach him something about the quantum level. Russell arrived and discovered that the combatants were a dark, altered Professor X and Legion, Charles Xavier’s son.

• Uatu showed Russell a universe being devastated by a battle and asked him to record what happened.
• Russell agreed to travel to Universe Number 019 after Uatu suggested the conflict might reveal something about the quantum level.
• Russell entered the collapsing region of space and observed galaxies and stars being destroyed by the fighting.
• One combatant sensed Russell and mistook him for a Watcher brought as backup.
• Russell saw through the combatant’s black mist and recognized Professor X, then identified the other fighter as Legion, Charles Xavier’s son.