Recaps

Mutants who believed Russell was Om Messiah swarmed Morlun, and Russell answered their faith with a vision that strengthened their resolve. As the battle intensified, Russell unlocked the option to establish a Divine Kingdom, while a Chitauri Warship arrived to attack Morlun.

• Mutants charged Morlun, believing that fighting for Russell would earn them a place in Valhalla after death.
• Russell sent a divine vision to the Mutants, telling them he had heard them and that they had done well.
• The Mutants’ fervor surged, and they overwhelmed Morlun with coordinated attacks as Russell’s faith reserves met the system’s threshold.
• Russell received an option to spend faith and establish an exclusive Divine Kingdom domain.
• A Chitauri Warship arrived over the battlefield and announced that it had come to clear the area by order of Om Messiah.

Morlun was trapped by Chitauri forces and Mutants while Spider-Man realized Russell had sent them to save him. Magneto and Jean Grey confronted Morlun, who remained determined to claim his Spider-Man feast.

• The Chitauri commander ordered his forces to fire on Morlun and work with the Mutants to capture him alive.
• Spider-Man and Black Cat watched the forces arrive, and Peter concluded that Russell had sent them because he was the Om Messiah.
• Black Cat questioned why Peter considered Russell his enemy and suggested Peter buy him a cup of coffee for saving their lives.
• Morlun unleashed his absorbed energy and threatened to crush everyone who had interfered with his hunt.
• Magneto and Jean Grey confronted Morlun, and Magneto declared that no one could throw their weight around in front of him, especially Morlun.

Loki, Jean Grey, and Magneto defeated Morlun and captured him for Russell, while Spider-Man and Black Cat watched. Ancient One took Russell to Hell, leaving Tony baffled by an endlessly refilling beer.

• Loki, Jean Grey, and Magneto fought Morlun together and overwhelmed him with magic, Phoenix Fire, and metal.
• Magneto bound Morlun in iron cables and took him prisoner at Russell's request.
• Loki told Spider-Man that Russell was interested in him, unsettling Peter and puzzling Black Cat.
• Ancient One gave the visiting Avengers unlimited refills and took Russell through a Portal to Hell.
• Tony stared at his beer and complained that he could never finish it.

Russell entered Mephisto's Hell and tested its deadly environment while Ancient One explained Hell's structure and endless power struggles. He began tempering his body in a lava pool, leaving its ruler, the Rock Demon, stunned before Ancient One subdued it.

• Russell entered Hell and let its corrosive energies scour his body as he analyzed them at the subatomic level.
• Ancient One explained that Hell consisted of independent dimensions ruled by strength, where Lords fought for power and the title of Satan.
• Russell crossed to a lava pool and prepared to use its extreme heat to temper his body.
• The Rock Demon emerged from the lava, claimed Russell had trespassed, and eyed him as food.
• Russell pulled the Rock Demon from the lava and slammed it onto the ground, then climbed into the pool for a lava bath.
• Ancient One approached the dazed Rock Demon and put it to sleep.

Russell calmly soaked in Hell’s lava and used the experience to confirm that his subatomic body could absorb heat, while Ancient One waited for him. Back on the Helicarrier, Nick Fury faced pressure from Alexander Pierce over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s failure in New York and revealed a second, Tesseract-powered Captain America.

• Ancient One refined the defeated Rock Demon and watched Russell rest unharmed in the lava pool.
• Russell examined how his subatomic body resonated with lava and absorbed its heat, but found it too mild to trigger further evolution.
• Nick Fury watched New York’s destruction and told Coulson that Thor had left and the Tesseract was missing.
• Alexander Pierce warned Fury that the World Security Council might cut S.H.I.E.L.D.’s funding, revoke his authority, or replace the organization.
• Fury summoned a Captain America surrounded by blue energy, and Pierce realized that two Captain Americas existed.

Nick Fury revealed that the blue-lit Captain America was a Tesseract-powered clone and sent him to retrieve Tony Stark, while S.P.E.A.R. prepared to recruit willing Mutants in America. In Washington, the President heard of escalating destruction across New York and erupted before the intelligence chief could finish his report.

• Nick Fury told Pierce that the Tesseract had empowered Captain America, then ordered the clone to bring Tony Stark back from War Machine Rhodey's home.
• Nick Fury explained to Coulson and Dr. Banner that he had cloned Captain America from cells taken after finding the real captain beneath the ice.
• Zheng Xian approved Li Xiangyang's appointment to lead S.P.E.A.R.'s North American branch and rebuild its Mutant intelligence network by recruiting willing Mutants.
• Weather Witch questioned Zheng Xian's plan to approach powerful Mutants, and he insisted that S.P.E.A.R. should welcome them as friends.
• The intelligence chief reported to the President that Mutants had attacked facilities across New York, destroyed Mutant-Suppressing Serum, and caused City Hall to fall; the President angrily cut him off.

The President ordered preparations for a full-scale assault on Russell, including mutant-suppressing weapons, Super Sentries, and miniature nuclear bombs, while leaving Stryker’s plan to use Professor X in motion. In Hell, Russell trained against demons with Ancient One, then faced a towering Lava Troll and prepared to meet its attack head-on.

• The President ordered General Darian to deploy the Hounds and expand production of Super Sentries, while officials prepared electromagnetic pulse devices and miniature nuclear bombs for the fight against Russell.
• General Ross reported that Stryker had captured Professor X to control Mutants and weaken them before Russell arrived, and the President allowed Stryker to proceed.
• The President authorized the electromagnetic pulse devices, ordered a full-scale assault in New York, and demanded that S.H.I.E.L.D. connect him to Nick Fury.
• Ancient One opened a Portal in Hell and summoned demons as Russell used his Psychic Power and Subatomic Vision to kill waves of them and improve his control.
• Ancient One warned Russell that a Lava Troll was approaching and explained that its core flame was its weakness.
• Russell walked toward the Lava Troll as it swung its enormous foot down at him, and he raised his fist to meet it.

Russell killed a Lava Troll and continued growing stronger while Ancient One’s invasion drew Mephisto’s attention. Mephisto arrived in person to confront Russell and Ancient One, leaving the encounter about to begin.

• Russell destroyed the Lava Troll’s foot and core flame, then escaped its crater as more Demons approached.
• Ancient One explained that she liked Mephisto, while Russell questioned her plan to lure Demons into battle.
• Mephisto observed the intruders from his Throne, considered who might be backing Russell, and heard his Demons volunteer to face them.
• When Mephisto revealed that the intruders were Ancient One and a Mutant, his followers backed down, and Blackheart privately mocked their fear.
• Ancient One sensed a Hell Dimension Lord’s arrival as Russell examined a Demon corpse, and Mephisto appeared nearby in the guise of a well-dressed man.

Russell joined Ancient One in Mephisto’s Hell, where Mephisto welcomed them as friends and served Russell fish. After eating, Russell challenged Mephisto to a fight, and Ancient One joined them in a sealed arena, leaving the Demons to wonder who would win.

• Mephisto greeted Ancient One and examined Russell’s ability to absorb Hell energy.
• Russell ignored Mephisto’s offered handshake and asked for fish, prompting Mephisto to invite him and Ancient One to his palace.
• Mephisto declared Ancient One and Russell his friends and forbade the Demons in his Hell from attacking them.
• Russell noticed Magik watching him, ate the golden fish, and then challenged Mephisto to a fight.
• Ancient One joined the fight, and Mephisto created a sealed space for the three of them.
• The Demons debated whether Mephisto could defeat Ancient One and Russell.

Russell fought Mephisto in Hell and reached Level 5 in Super Self-Healing before Mephisto introduced him to Magik. Meanwhile, Magneto learned that Russell was in Hell and decided to keep mutants united under his name until Russell returned.

• An elderly demon recalled Ancient One defeating eleven of twelve Highfather-level demons, while the other demons doubted Russell could challenge Mephisto.
• Russell adapted to Mephisto's hell energy as Ancient One accelerated his healing with the Time Stone, and the three fought inside an isolated space.
• Russell's Super Self-Healing reached Level 5, and Mephisto introduced Magik as a potential match for him after the three had agreed to oppose Dormammu.
• Magneto learned that the U.S. Government planned to use electromagnetic pulse devices, Miniature Nuclear Bombs, and Sentinels against mutants and Russell.
• Russell told Magneto he was in Mephisto's Hell and would return when it mattered, so Magneto decided to preserve Russell's name as the mutants' banner without telling them the truth.

Magneto rallied New York’s Mutants to fight the government while Russell was absent, and the Chitauri chose not to intervene. Elsewhere, Loki and Thor visited Peter Parker, and Jean felt the Phoenix Force growing more active.

• Magneto warned the gathered Mutants that the government planned to suppress and control them, then urged them to fight.
• Felicity invoked Om Messiah’s blessing, and the Mutants rallied behind Magneto and shouted their support for Russell.
• The Chitauri commander refused to aid the Mutants without orders from Russell or Loki.
• Peter returned home and found Loki waiting; Thor arrived soon afterward, and Aunt May welcomed both visitors and offered them food and beer.
• Jean watched golden plasma dance at her fingertips as the Phoenix Force grew more restless, and an unseen voice offered to help her.

Jean met Walker, who claimed to be a guardian of the Phoenix Force and invited her to an estate near Manhattan. Meanwhile, the government attacked the Mutants gathered beneath the Four Seasons Hotel, and Magneto defended them as Super Sentinels descended.

• Walker told Jean that she was a Phoenix Force host and offered to help her control her power, but Jean said another host was stronger and agreed to visit Walker's estate.
• The President ordered General Darian to activate the pulse devices, spray Mutant-Suppressing Serum over Manhattan, and prepare the Sentry units for a ground sweep.
• Magneto warned the gathered Mutants to seek shelter when the pulse devices activated, then shielded the Four Seasons Hotel with an electromagnetic barrier.
• Magneto immobilized and destroyed the helicopters carrying the serum before fighting the attacking Super Sentinels.
• Magneto destroyed one Sentry by disrupting its electromagnetic field as four more adjusted their attack, with one aiming an energy cannon at him.

Magneto fought off five Sentries while protecting the Mutants at the hotel, and Jean confronted Walker, who sought to steal the Phoenix Force. The chapter ended with Jean unleashing the Phoenix against Walker after she insulted Russell.

• Magneto destroyed or disabled four Sentries, then narrowed the Faraday Shield around the hotel as the last one tried to wear him down.
• Magneto seized and disabled the final Sentry, then told Mystique he would keep fighting until Russell returned.
• Jean questioned Walker about her knowledge of the Phoenix Force and refused to let her touch her.
• Walker revealed her plan to absorb the Phoenix Force, but Jean's power burned away Walker's disguise and left her badly scorched.
• Jean let the D'Bari's energy beams pass harmlessly through her body while her damaged coat and body restored themselves.
• Walker shouted that she was sick of hearing about Russell, and Jean summoned a giant flaming Phoenix and declared that Walker would die.

Jean Grey destroyed the D’Bari manor with the Phoenix Force, and Li Xiangyang introduced himself as S.P.E.A.R.’s Americas division head before joining Magneto’s fight against the Sentries. As Hound No. 1 entered the battle, its fusion-powered attack blasted the ground and raised a mushroom cloud.

• Jean Grey’s Phoenix Force erased Walker, the D’Bari attackers, and the manor, after which she flew away from Li Xiangyang’s attempt to befriend her.
• Li Xiangyang destroyed a Sentry carrying an unconscious green-scaled Mutant and headed toward the battle near the Four Seasons Hotel.
• Li Xiangyang identified himself to Magneto as S.P.E.A.R.’s Americas division head, and Magneto let him through the Faraday Cage to fight alongside him.
• Li Xiangyang and Magneto destroyed multiple Sentries attacking Mutants near the hotel.
• The president ordered the Hounds into battle, and Hound No. 1 unleashed a fusion-powered blast that shook the ground and formed a small mushroom cloud.

Russell returned from the Hell Dimension and effortlessly destroyed the three Hounds who had nearly overwhelmed Magneto and Li Xiangyang. Li Xiangyang then urged Russell to join S.P.E.A.R.'s South Heaven Gate Project, which aimed to raise the entire planet to the heavens.

• Hound One, Hound Two, and Hound Three cornered Magneto and Li Xiangyang, while their attacks overwhelmed the defenders.
• Russell stepped out of the Hell Dimension with Magik and stopped Hound One's plasma beams before destroying him.
• Russell consumed Hound Two's ability field and shattered his body, then dismantled Hound Three's graviton shield and made him vanish.
• The Mutants in the Four Seasons Hotel celebrated Russell's return, while Magneto and Li Xiangyang reacted to his overwhelming power.
• Li Xiangyang identified himself as the head of S.P.E.A.R.'s Americas branch and urged Russell to join the South Heaven Gate Project to raise the planet to the heavens.

Russell heard Li Xiangyang explain S.P.E.A.R.’s South Heaven Gate Project and considered joining to help resettle the Mutants. After the President ordered a nuclear attack on the Four Seasons Hotel, Russell stopped twenty-three nuclear blasts and swallowed their combined energy.

• Li Xiangyang explained that the South Heaven Gate Project aimed to raise Earth’s civilization, preserve consciousness, and protect it from the Milky Way’s empires, while Russell warned that time and human limitations threatened the plan.
• Li Xiangyang offered Russell benefits for joining S.P.E.A.R. and said Zheng Xian had prepared a plan to resettle the Mutants; Russell said he might consider it if they were all settled.
• The President ordered General Darian to withdraw conventional forces and send twenty-three people carrying human nuclear bombs to the Four Seasons Hotel to kill Russell.
• Russell sensed the suicide attackers approaching, but let them reach the hotel; Magneto detected the nuclear bombs in their chests just before they detonated.
• Russell halted the twenty-three nuclear blasts, compressed their energy into a single sphere, and swallowed it.

Russell absorbed a nuclear blast, destroyed a Chitauri Leviathan, and effortlessly neutralized a satellite attack before wiping out military satellites in orbit. In Washington, the President and Vice President concluded that their weapons could not stop him and discussed surrendering.

• Russell absorbed the nuclear energy, healed from it, and fired a beam into space that destroyed a Chitauri Leviathan.
• The Mutants, Magneto, Li Xiangyang, and Magik watched Russell’s display, while his Emotion Points surged and his system showed his growing abilities.
• A military satellite launched a tungsten rod at Russell, but he stopped it, reshaped it into a dense sphere, and hurled it back to destroy the satellite.
• Russell teleported into low Earth orbit and destroyed military satellites as the President watched the final transmission from the White House.
• The Vice President told the President that none of their weapons could kill Russell and urged him to surrender, saying that Kingpin believed Russell would spare those who submitted.

Russell brought the White House from Washington to Manhattan and forced the president and vice president to surrender, then made Kingpin the new president. He ordered Kingpin to announce a crackdown on the resisting superheroes, leaving their confrontation still to come.

• The president refused to surrender at first, while Magneto and Li Xiangyang discussed Russell and S.P.E.A.R.'s offer to the mutants.
• Russell returned to Manhattan and used his gravitational powers to transport the White House, its foundations, and its occupants to the Four Seasons Hotel.
• Martin Maxwell offered Russell his allegiance, and the president surrendered after Russell threatened him and forced him to kneel before smashing his face into the ground.
• Russell transformed General Darian into a crippled lapdog and appointed Kingpin president of America.
• Russell ordered Kingpin to announce his seizure of the White House and warned that he would confront superheroes who refused to surrender.
• Kingpin declared the rebel-associated superheroes anti-government elements and ordered their assets frozen and confiscated.

Russell created a Manhattan version of the Plasma Spark Tower above the Empire State Building, whose golden light healed people and repaired the city while empowering Mutants. He linked the orb to the sun to sustain it, leaving Manhattan and Earth beginning a lasting transformation as S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared to use the Celestial Armor against the new regime.

• Kingpin ordered the vice president to declare him president and label resisting superheroes anti-government dissidents, while Kingpin asked Russell whether the tournament would move to New York.
• Nick Fury saw the new warrants against superheroes and ordered the captain to accelerate preparations for the Celestial Armor.
• Russell flew to the Empire State Building and used his powers to create a miniature fusion-powered Plasma Spark Tower above its spire.
• The orb's golden light healed a Mutant, a stray cat, and the city's damaged environment, while strengthening Magneto and restoring injuries in Kingpin and Bullseye.
• Russell sent a beam from the orb into the sun to keep it powered, and astronauts and Chitauri Warships witnessed the connection.

Russell learned that Colonel Stryker had captured Professor X and was developing the Hundred-Thousand-Fold Serum, then led the others to Stryker’s hidden base in Canada. Russell infiltrated the base as Stryker received the serum, leaving its intended use and the prisoners’ fate unresolved.

• The Vice President revealed that Stryker had captured Professor X and several students, and that his Canadian base held a serum based on Captain America's Super-Soldier Factor.
• Magneto grew furious over Professor X's capture, while Jean and Magik prepared to confront the threat.
• Russell recognized the Hundred-Thousand-Fold Serum from his memories of Robert Reynolds and announced that they were going to Canada.
• Russell reached Stryker's hidden Rocky Mountains base and used his Psychic Power to scan its underground layout.
• Stryker received a silver-white case from his soldiers and declared that the Hundred-Thousand-Fold Serum had finally arrived.

Magneto and Jean raided Stryker’s Rocky Mountains base, killed Stryker, and freed Professor X and the captive Mutants. After returning to New York with the base’s assets, Russell tasked Kingpin with finding Robert Reynolds, the likely source of the Hundred-Thousand-Fold Serum’s powers.

• Magneto and Jean entered Stryker’s base, where Jean took control of its personnel and Magneto helped suppress the facility.
• Lady Deathstrike killed Stryker, and the Vice President announced that Stryker had been an insurgent whose death was justified.
• Magneto and Jean freed the captive Mutants and recovered Cerebro, Adamantium, Stryker’s records, and the Hundred-Thousand-Fold Serum.
• The rescued Mutants returned to New York, where the Plasma Spark Tower’s light healed their injuries; Professor X reunited with Magneto and Russell.
• Magneto told Russell that Stryker had stolen the serum from a S.H.I.E.L.D. Genes project and had operated at other secret sites.
• Russell asked Kingpin, now President of America, to use his resources to find Robert Reynolds.

Kingpin launched a nationwide search for Robert Reynolds while the new government branded former heroes as threats and began targeting their allies and assets. The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Pepper Potts, and Clint Barton each faced the consequences as resistance and uncertainty grew.

• Kingpin ordered Bullseye and his agents to find Robert Reynolds within three days, while Russell took the silver briefcase back to the hotel to study the Hundred-Thousand-Fold Serum.
• Villains at an abandoned dock hideout reacted to Kingpin's rule and Otto Octavius became fascinated by the golden orb above Manhattan.
• Mayor Brook signed Kingpin's order to search shelters, rehabilitation centers, and prisons for Reynolds, and George Stacy accepted the search while insisting he still believed in justice.
• The Fantastic Four discussed their new wanted status, while Pepper Potts rejected officials' attempt to place Stark Industries under state supervision.
• Spider-Man saw a newspaper label him a wanted rebel, and Clint Barton calmly faced officials seeking to review his property and accounts.

Clint Barton agreed to cooperate with an asset inspection after officials threatened his farm, while Nick Fury promised to evacuate his family and arrange treatment for Clint’s eyes. As Russell’s beam transformed New York and the United States recognized Kingpin as president and Mutants’ rights, governments worldwide debated how to respond, leaving Wakanda divided and Namor unwilling to intervene.

• Clint Barton asked the officials inspecting his farm for three days to contact old connections, and they agreed to return then.
• Clint called Nick Fury, who said he could no longer stop the purge but would send a covert team to evacuate Clint, Laura, and their children and was arranging treatment in Wakanda.
• Russell’s golden beam healed the sick and injured and increased the physical abilities of humans and Mutants, prompting people in New York to worship Om Messiah.
• The White House announced Kingpin’s presidency, the relocation of the capital to Manhattan, and the recognition of Mutants’ legal status, triggering urgent deliberations among governments worldwide.
• Zheng Xian directed S.P.E.A.R. to maintain goodwill toward Russell, while European, Russian, Japanese, and United Nations officials considered easing Mutant restrictions and avoiding provocation.
• T’Challa convened Wakanda’s leaders to debate Russell’s rise, while Namor decided Atlantis would neither intervene nor make contact.

Russell created a personal magic system powered by the Phoenix Force and tested a spell that turned anyone who maliciously insulted him into a toad. Within minutes, the spell struck people around the globe, including officials, Nick Fury, cultists, and even an ancient god.

• Russell used the Phoenix Force and Vishanti runes to devise magic that relied on no outside god, then created a spell to turn malicious detractors into toads.
• Magneto told Russell he had captured Morlun, and Russell ordered him to put Morlun in The Fridge.
• At a Japanese shrine, the prime minister insulted Russell and transformed into a toad, frightening the officials and Alexandra who witnessed it.
• A human extremist who mocked Russell beside a Mutant pilgrimage route became a toad, and an elder warned the pilgrims that Russell punished those who disparaged him.
• Nick Fury cursed Russell aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and turned into a toad before Hill and Coulson.
• The spell struck European officials, a Middle Eastern commander, and an Antarctic cult; the ancient evil god beneath the ice also became a toad before restoring himself and abandoning his hostility.

Russell’s worldwide transformation of anyone who blasphemed him forced Earth’s powers to abandon plans against him, while Magneto welcomed a safer future for mutants. Russell then mastered and replicated the Superman Serum and Pym Particles, before appearing at the Sanctum Sanctorum and returning refined Pym Particles to Tony, Banner, Steve, and Scott.

• Russell’s magic turned people across the world and beyond into toads for speaking disrespectfully of him, leaving intelligence agencies unable to detect any energy trace.
• World leaders, including Zheng Xian, the German leader, the Russian leader, T'Challa, and Namor, recognized Russell’s overwhelming power and stopped openly considering schemes against him.
• Magneto concluded that Russell had secured a future for mutants and said he could finally retire from fighting for their safety.
• Russell analyzed the Superman Serum and Pym Particles, then created improved, flawless copies of both.
• Russell entered the Sanctum Sanctorum and placed a refined batch of Pym Particles before Tony, Banner, Steve, and Scott, startling them with the implication that he had replicated the technology.