Recaps

Russell left Krakoa Square to retrieve the endless army while Ancient One showed Strange the dangers of the Multiverse and named Russell as the more talented magician. Five years after Thanos’s defeat, the Avengers confronted a growing crisis caused by uncontrolled Mutants, and Russell suddenly returned to their meeting aboard the Helicarrier.

• Russell promised to return with his endless army in ten minutes, then vanished from Krakoa Square through space-time.
• Apocalypse searched Earth for Russell but found that he was no longer on the planet.
• Ancient One took Strange to Kamar-Taj, sent his soul through dozens of Parallel Universes, and told him that Russell ranked first in magical talent.
• Five years after Thanos’s defeat, Tony Stark and the Avengers discussed the worldwide crisis caused by more than one hundred thousand powerful Mutants losing control.
• Russell reassembled from golden electronic signals around Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor and greeted the assembled Avengers.

Russell returned to Earth to take away the Mutants he had planted, then encountered the badly injured Uatu, who asked him to stop Ultron from destroying the MCU Multiverse. The chapter ended with Russell considering Uatu’s plea but not agreeing to help.

• Russell told the Avengers he would remove the Mutants and that their mass emergence would then die down, while Tony warned that Russell’s actions could provoke a Multiversal response.
• Russell showed Tony an image of his wife and daughter, and Tony gave in; Russell promised not to interfere in Earth’s affairs while taking the Mutants away.
• After Russell returned to Cosmic Space, Uatu tore through the Space-Time Barrier and begged him for help against an unstoppable monster.
• Uatu explained that Ultron had mastered the Six Infinity Stones, grown stronger during their fight, and forced him to flee across observation posts.
• Russell recognized Ultron as the likely threat and pointed out that the Mutants he had left behind were inexperienced, while Uatu argued that Russell could stop the machine.

Russell accepted Uatu’s offer to help stop Infinity Ultron, but chose to send Tony into battle instead of fighting personally. He gave Tony a five-Stone mechanical gauntlet and prepared to face Ultron on Russell’s home ground.

• Russell refused Uatu’s initial pleas, but accepted his offer of observational immunity, Multiverse intelligence, and limited access to Watcher authority in exchange for eliminating Ultron.
• Russell told Uatu he would not fight Ultron himself and decided to counter his Infinity Stones with Stones of their own.
• Russell transported himself and Uatu to Tony, gave him a newly forged mechanical gauntlet holding five Infinity Stones, and explained the battle plan.
• Tony resented being assigned to fight Ultron, while Russell assured him that his activated X Mutant Gene made him unlike other versions of Stark.
• Russell rejected Uatu’s suggestion to move the battle to Dark Strange’s abandoned universe and insisted they fight in Russell’s home universe, leaving Uatu uneasy about the plan.

Uatu warned Russell to prepare for Infinity Ultron, while Tony challenged Russell’s motives and resolved to defend his universe. Russell’s status panel revealed a new way to unlock Dominion over Fate as Uatu’s reinforcements arrived, setting the stage for the coming battle.

• Uatu urged Russell to create the sixth Infinity Stone, then escaped through a spatial rift to gather with the reinforcements he had contacted.
• Tony confronted Russell about forcing him into the conflict, then said he would fight to protect his world rather than help Russell.
• Russell checked his status panel and discovered that manufacturing major events would unlock his next stage, Dominion over Fate.
• Uatu returned with reinforcements as Infinity Ultron approached, and Dark Strange warned that the battle could destroy nearby universes before threatening to devour the living planet.
• Tony attacked Dark Strange with the five Infinity Stones, but Dark Strange blocked the blast with a Rings of Raggadorr.
• Thor asked Russell for his own set of Infinity Stones Gear, and Russell agreed to make one.

Russell explained why he would not give Infinity Stones away and revealed the wider Multiverse’s dangers before Ultron arrived with an enormous mechanical army. He summoned Earth’s Mutants and bound their souls to Valhalla, launching an endlessly reviving force against Ultron as the Avengers watched in shock.

• Russell refused to give Thor an Infinity Stone for free, then explained that the Multiverse contained many different Infinity Stone systems.
• Russell told Black Panther that his universe’s quantum zombie crisis was minor beside a Zombie Universe whose intelligent infected hunted across dimensions.
• Black Widow questioned Russell’s identity, but Uatu warned the champions not to investigate him; Russell explained that he created and controlled his own bodies.
• Uatu announced Ultron’s arrival, and Ultron’s vast mechanical armies poured through a dimensional opening.
• Russell explained that Ultron could use the Reality, Time, and Space Stones to create armies, revive destroyed robots, and summon reinforcements.
• Russell summoned Earth’s Mutants, manifested Valhalla, and sent their endlessly reviving army to fight Ultron’s mechanical legions.

Russell’s mutant army fought Ultron’s endless robot forces across Earth, while Valhalla turned fallen fighters and civilians into reinforcements. As the Avengers joined the battle, Ultimate Ultron arrived with all Six Infinity Stones and singled out Russell as the true opponent.

• Dark Strange watched Russell’s mutants overwhelm Ultron’s forces and admitted that he had underestimated the army.
• Valhalla resurrected fallen mutants and civilians as mutants, and Ultron ordered damaged robots to self-destruct so they could not be converted.
• Dark Strange considered devouring the mutants, but Russell warned him off and told him that Christina was alive in Russell’s universe.
• Uatu urged Russell and Dark Strange to focus as Ultron’s army expanded, while Russell said the Infinity Stones could restore the universe if it was destroyed.
• Captain America, Dr. Banner, Spider-Man, and the other Avengers joined the fighting, and Russell warned them that Ultron was more dangerous than Thanos.
• Ultimate Ultron appeared with all Six Infinity Stones, assessed the battlefield, and identified Russell as his unusual counterpart and true opponent.

Russell watched the battle against Ultron while the heroes and Mutants struggled against his six Infinity Stones and endless mechanical army. After Mephisto prepared a dimensional stepping stone to Hell, Russell revealed his Quantum Power by creating a complete Space Stone from nothing.

• Tony attacked Ultron with five Infinity Stones, while Ultron predicted his moves and countered him.
• Dark Strange protected the Mutant warriors with his Darkness's Guard spell, and Uatu joined Tony in attacking Ultron.
• The Mutants formed battle lines and fought Ultron's mechanical forces as he used the Reality Stone and Space Stone to summon more troops.
• Ultron overwhelmed Tony and taunted the resistance, while Thor, Black Widow, Captain Carter, and Black Panther recognized the danger of his six stones.
• After receiving word from Mephisto that the dimensional stepping stone to Hell was ready, Russell used Quantum Power to create a complete Space Stone from nothing.

Russell created a complete set of Infinity Stones, shattering Ultron’s belief in his own supremacy and giving Uatu the opening to defeat him. After Uatu destroyed Ultron and erased his army from Earth, cosmic gods across the universe remembered Russell’s name.

• Russell created a Space Stone and placed it in Tony’s gauntlet, allowing Tony to match Ultron’s six stones.
• Russell created five more Infinity Stones, leaving Ultron unable to deny that Russell could reproduce the stones at will.
• Ultron’s confidence and control collapsed, and Uatu seized his six stones before destroying his body and erasing his code.
• Uatu erased Ultron’s mechanical army from Earth, and the Mutants hailed him as the Creator.
• Ancient Celestials and other cosmic gods withdrew after witnessing Russell’s power and committed his name to memory.

After Ultron’s defeat, Russell accepted the Six Infinity Stones and restored the devastated universe, while Uatu made him a temporary Watcher without his consent. As the local gods weighed the danger Russell posed, he turned his attention to creating major events himself to earn Emotion Points.

• Uatu gave Russell Ultron’s Six Infinity Stones and warned him to keep them safe, then decided to leave his region of the Multiverse.
• Uatu appointed Russell temporary Watcher of the MCU Universe and departed before Russell could object.
• Russell used the stones to restore the stars, galaxies, and Cosmic Laws damaged by the battle.
• The MCU Universe’s gods discussed Russell’s power, and Eternity warned that they could not stop him.
• Wong arrived and mentioned that MCU Strange should meet Dark Strange, while Russell considered how to create major events for Emotion Points.

Russell established the Mutants as a Multiversal power and allowed Dark Strange to visit his universe, where Dark Strange met his uncorrupted counterpart and urged him to embrace Black Magic. When Dark Strange tried to force Strange to change, Ancient One intervened, warning him to stop.

• Russell erased Ultron's mechanical empire and began building a Mutant Multiverse, while Mutants across the revived stars pledged themselves to him.
• Dark Strange asked Russell to visit his universe and meet his uncorrupted counterpart and Christine Palmer, and Russell opened a portal for him.
• Dark Strange explored Russell's Mutant-centered universe, then traveled to Kamar-Taj and found Stephen Strange studying White Magic.
• Dark Strange urged Strange to gain power through Black Magic and devouring Demons, but Strange rejected his advice and defended his own path.
• Dark Strange restrained Strange with dark magic and prepared to force Black Magic into his mind, but Ancient One appeared and ordered him to stop.

Dark Strange abandoned his confrontation with Ancient One after remembering his promise to Russell, while Russell’s Krakoan allies witnessed his Mutant army defeat Infinity Ultron’s forces. Magik opened a route to Oblivion Hell, and Russell appointed Apocalypse to lead the coming assault.

• Dark Strange released Strange, withdrew his hostility toward Ancient One, and explained that he had come to settle a personal matter without disrupting the universe.
• Russell showed Krakoa’s leaders the Mutant army pushing back Infinity Ultron’s mechanical forces, convincing them of his overwhelming power.
• Apocalypse, Magneto, Professor X, Dark Phoenix, and the historical figures watching the battle lost their doubts and accepted Russell as their supreme Creator.
• Magik arrived on Krakoa and announced that she had opened a route through Limbo to Oblivion Hell, where the Oblivion Ancient God ruled.
• Russell asked Apocalypse to lead the main assault, and Apocalypse accepted before ordering everyone to assemble the army and march through Limbo.

Apocalypse led the Mutants into Amenth Hell to defeat Oblivion Ancient God and rescue his family and people, but they had been corrupted and turned against him. Gravely wounded and heartbroken, he offered to remain in Hell forever if Oblivion spared them.

• Apocalypse, Magneto, Dark Phoenix, and the other Mutants entered Amenth Hell, where Oblivion Ancient God unleashed its forces against them.
• The Mutants fought the Hell armies while Apocalypse spotted Genesis, his children, and the first-generation Mutants in the ancient towers and rushed to save them.
• Genesis and the Four Horsemen ambushed Apocalypse, while the corrupted first-generation Mutants attacked the invading army.
• Apocalypse asked why his family and people had turned against him, and they accused him of abandoning them for thousands of years.
• Oblivion Ancient God mocked Apocalypse and ordered its forces to kill him, but Apocalypse offered to stay in Hell forever if the ancient god spared his family and the trapped Mutants.

Apocalypse knelt before the Ancient God Oblivion and offered his life to save the Mutants imprisoned in Hell, but Genesis and the First Horsemen rejected his plea. As Oblivion mocked him, Mephisto invaded Amenth Hell with Russell and a force of Level Five Mutants, and Russell declared that he had given the Dimension to Mephisto.

• Apocalypse knelt on the battlefield and begged the Ancient God Oblivion to spare the Mutants, earning Qin Shi Huang's, Liu Bang's, and Napoleon's respect.
• The Ancient God Oblivion mocked Apocalypse and intensified the force pressing him into the ground, then accused him of abandoning his family and people.
• Genesis and the First Horsemen rejected Apocalypse's atonement, and Genesis told him they did not need it.
• Mephisto opened a rift from his Hell and led an army into Amenth Hell, prompting the Ancient God Oblivion to challenge him.
• Russell arrived through a golden rift with more than a hundred Level Five Mutants and declared Mephisto the new lord of Amenth Hell.
• The Ancient God Oblivion roared in fury at Russell's declaration.

Russell accepted the Oblivion Ancient God's challenge and unveiled his overwhelming golden armor and atomic swordsmanship in Amenth Hell. As the ancient god unleashed his strongest attack, Russell raised his Golden Holy Sword and began his Heaven-and-Earth Invincible Atomic Slash.

• The Oblivion Ancient God attacked Russell with Hell Law Chains, but more than a hundred Level Five Mutants combined their powers to withstand the assault.
• The Oblivion Ancient God challenged Russell to fight him directly and promised to hand over Amenth Hell if Russell won.
• Russell asked Mephisto whether he should accept, then agreed to face the ancient god and revealed his Golden Divine Armor and sword domain of a hundred thousand Atomic Holy Swords.
• Russell's presence silenced and terrified the Demons across Hell, while the Oblivion Ancient God gathered the Dimension's power for a full-strength attack.
• The Oblivion Ancient God sent a world-ending torrent at Russell, who calmly raised his Golden Holy Sword and began his Heaven-and-Earth Invincible Atomic Slash.

Russell severed Oblivion’s connection to Amenth Hell and sealed the ancient god inside his Divine Kingdom, establishing his authority over Hell. With Oblivion’s influence broken, Genesis and the other corrupted Mutants began to regain themselves and reunited with Apocalypse.

• Russell used Atomic Slash, Subatomic Slash, and Ultimate Microscopic Quantum Slash to dismantle Oblivion and sever its ties to Amenth Hell.
• Russell manifested his Divine Kingdom and used its golden chains to bind and suppress Oblivion, while Mephisto declined to help the ancient god.
• Russell told the demons to disperse under Hell’s new rules, and Apocalypse, Magneto, Dark Phoenix, Qin Shi Huang, Liu Bang, and Napoleon acknowledged his power.
• After Oblivion’s influence faded, Genesis and the four original riders began recovering their memories and freedom.
• Genesis apologized to Apocalypse for hurting him, and Apocalypse reassured her that Oblivion had controlled her before rising to face her and the other Mutants.

Apocalypse reunited with Genesis and the Horsemen, then led the freed Mutants from Amenth Hell to Krakoa with Russell’s help. On their return, the Mutants honored Russell as their new God of Mutants, and he blessed them with Valhalla’s golden light.

• Apocalypse reconciled with the War Knight, Famine, Pestilence, and Death, then embraced Genesis as she healed his wound.
• The freed Mutants gathered around Apocalypse, and Russell and Mephisto watched as they prepared to leave Hell.
• Magik opened a passage through Limbo to Krakoa, and Apocalypse led the Mutants home while Russell left Oblivion imprisoned in his Divine Kingdom.
• Thousands of Mutants arrived on Krakoa, where the island’s residents welcomed them and celebrated Russell’s defeat of Oblivion.
• Apocalypse, Genesis, the Horsemen, and thousands of returning Mutants knelt before Russell, who told them to rise and used Valhalla’s light to soothe their wounds and exhaustion.

Apocalypse proposed making Krakoa a public sovereign nation, and Russell immediately approved. Krakoa announced its existence and opened its borders to Mutants worldwide, prompting governments and historical institutions to react to the nation and its extraordinary residents.

• Apocalypse told Russell he wanted Krakoa to become a sovereign nation where Mutants could find a home, and Russell agreed.
• Apocalypse announced to Krakoa’s gathered Mutants that the nation’s dimensional borders would remain open to Mutants from anywhere, prompting celebrations across the island.
• Krakoa’s Foreign Affairs Department broadcast its declaration of sovereignty worldwide and stated that it would accept all Mutants and defend its independence.
• American officials, Wakanda, Atlantis, and S.P.E.A.R. reacted to Krakoa’s announcement, with T’Challa noting that its technology might surpass Wakanda’s and Namor ordering the island watched.
• Krakoa released a list of prominent residents that included historical figures such as Qin Shi Huang, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Aristotle, shocking historians around the world.

After the revelation that many revered figures throughout history were Mutants, Krakoa opened gateways in cities around the world and invited Mutants to join its sanctuary. Thousands answered the call, and Apocalypse welcomed them to their new home while directing their praise toward Om Messiah.

• French historical advisers questioned what ancient Mutant rulers had been defending against, while T'Challa and Shuri considered how Mutants had shaped history.
• Namor ordered Atlantis's commanders to investigate Mutant history and Apocalypse's age after their reconnaissance detected Krakoa.
• Krakoa opened hundreds of golden rifts across the world and announced that Mutants could travel to its sanctuary or New York.
• Mutants in cities including Washington, Tokyo, London, Cairo, and Sydney entered the rifts and arrived in Krakoa, where they received temporary identification and support.
• Apocalypse welcomed the thousands of new residents gathered on Krakoa and corrected them when they praised him, telling them to praise Om Messiah instead.

Russell forced Oblivion Ancient God to become the Divine Kingdom’s first angel, then turned to Apocalypse with a plan to unite humanity and Mutants in developing spaceflight. The chapter left Apocalypse hearing Russell’s proposal to share Krakoa’s technology and take Earth’s combined strengths to the stars.

• Russell offered Oblivion Ancient God imprisonment, submission, or death, and the captive chose submission to survive.
• Russell bound Oblivion Ancient God with a Divine Kingdom contract and designated him Holy Angel Number One, assigning him duties guiding souls and maintaining the energy cycle.
• Russell returned to Krakoa and decided Mutants needed to reach space rather than remain confined to Earth.
• Russell met Apocalypse privately, learned Krakoa’s conventional spaceflight technology lagged behind Wakanda’s and Atlantis’s, and proposed sharing its technology with humanity.
• Russell told Apocalypse to present Mutants and humans as fundamentally alike, since everyone carried the X-Factor, and to unite Earth in a journey to the stars.

Russell told Apocalypse he would make mutant powers and technology more widespread, then traveled to Wakanda to demand that it share its Vibranium technology and Heart-Shaped Herb. T'Challa refused, so he led Russell to the herb and invoked Bast, whose ancient consciousness began to awaken.

• Russell argued that revealing the X-Factor and advancing Earth's technology could reduce the conflict between mutants and humans, and he told Apocalypse he could activate the X-Factor in everyone.
• Apocalypse agreed to contact Wakanda and Atlantis, but Russell chose to visit them himself and crossed Wakanda's protective barrier.
• Russell appeared at the royal palace and asked T'Challa to share Wakanda's Vibranium technology, energy systems, and Heart-Shaped Herb with the world.
• T'Challa refused and said Russell would have to defeat him to make the demand disappear, but T'Challa proposed taking Russell to Bast to ask about the sacred herb.
• T'Challa led Russell to the underground cavern containing the Heart-Shaped Herb, where Russell sensed an ancient consciousness beginning to awaken.

Russell ate the Heart-Shaped Herb and entered Bast’s Mindscape, where he saw through her attempts to manipulate and overpower him. Bast struck him with her Crescent Staff, and the chapter ended with Russell hidden inside the psychic storm as the Mindscape collapsed.

• T'Challa offered Russell a Heart-Shaped Herb shoot and warned him that eating it would bring him before Bast.
• Russell ate the herb, and Bast pulled him into her Mindscape, where she failed to penetrate his mental defenses.
• Bast disguised herself as Jean Grey to tempt Russell, but he saw through the illusion and punched it apart.
• Bast transformed into a towering goddess and ordered Russell to kneel, but his golden barrier blocked her psychic command.
• Bast attacked Russell with her Crescent Staff and spatial chains; the Mindscape shook apart in the resulting psychic storm.

Russell overpowered Bast’s psychic manifestation in Wakanda’s Heart-Shaped Herb cavern, growing into a giant form and taking control of the collapsing psychic world. He stripped away her accumulated Faith Power and erased the psychic core carrying her will, while Bast’s true body awakened in an ancient palace.

• Russell survived Bast’s staff strike by letting it pass through his body, and Bast admitted that he could leave but refused to give him the Heart-Shaped Herb.
• Bast attacked again, but Russell grew into a colossal golden form, crushed the falling sun, and held up the collapsing sky.
• Bast drew on Wakanda’s stored Faith Power to grow to Russell’s size, causing the psychic world to crack and collapse as they fought.
• Russell analyzed the world’s governing authority and stripped the Faith Power from Bast’s manifestation, despite her attempts to resist.
• Bast fled toward a fissure, but Russell caught and erased the psychic core carrying her will.
• Bast’s true body jolted awake in an ancient palace marked by a giant leopard-head statue.

Bast reported to Ra and the Egyptian gods that Russell had destroyed her Psychic Anchor, and they chose to wait until Ancient One was gone before acting on Earth. In Wakanda, Russell restored the Heart-Shaped Herb and T'Challa's power, then told him Wakanda would need to put its faith in Om Messiah.

• Bast told Ra, Set, Anubis, and Horus that Russell had entered her Mindscape, taken her accumulated Faith Power, and destroyed her Psychic Core.
• Ra recalled how Ancient One had defeated the pantheons in the God War and said they would wait for her to die before returning to Earth.
• The Heart-Shaped Herbs withered, and T'Challa lost the power Bast had granted him through them.
• Russell returned to the cavern and told T'Challa that Bast had attacked him and that he had taken her Faith Power.
• T'Challa attacked Russell, but Russell immobilized him and offered to restore Wakanda's power and prosperity.
• Russell revived the Heart-Shaped Herb and returned T'Challa's power, then told him Wakanda must believe in Om Messiah to grow stronger.

T'Challa accepted Russell's demands and announced that Wakanda would share some of its technology and resources, while Apocalypse released Krakoa's technologies to the world. As global attention shifted to the new scientific disclosures, Russell arrived in Atlantis to confront Namor, who challenged his claim that he had come only to talk.

• T'Challa felt his power ebb when he resisted Russell and return when he suppressed his hostility, then learned Russell claimed the Heart-Shaped Herb visions of ancestors were illusions created by Bast.
• T'Challa agreed to announce that Wakanda would share some of its technology, Vibranium, and Heart-Shaped Herb extraction methods to protect Wakanda's people.
• The Guard Captain accepted T'Challa's announcement that Wakanda would disclose selected technologies and research methods because T'Challa said it was Bast's will.
• Apocalypse announced Krakoa's release of three technologies, prompting global scientific excitement, public demands for superpowers, and a shift in government priorities.
• T'Challa issued Wakanda's public offer to share Vibranium processing methods, energy conduction technology, Heart-Shaped Herb research, and an initial supply of raw Vibranium.
• Russell entered Atlantis and asked to talk with Namor, who took up his Trident and accused him of believing that the stronger fighter decided everything.

Namor told Russell that Atlantis would not share its technology while humans poisoned the oceans, but Russell offered to clean the radioactive wastewater and shield Atlantis if it punished Nippon. A whaling ship called the Sea Whale then spotted an adult Fin Whale, and its crew gathered at the bow to hunt it.

• Namor described the damage humans had done to the oceans and demanded that those responsible for pollution be punished.
• Russell offered to use Krakoa's particle-beam devices to remove radioactive isotopes from the Pacific and promised to protect Atlantis from human retaliation.
• Namor accepted Russell's promise and left Wong's Throne Room.
• A sailor aboard the Sea Whale spotted a large whale, and Koyama Hideaki ordered the crew to prepare for the hunt.
• The crew continued processing a juvenile Fin Whale they had already killed and rushed to the bow after hearing another whale had been spotted.
• The sailors identified the approaching animal as an adult Fin Whale nearly twenty meters long.