Recaps

Ryan saved a Congressman from Homelander and warned Madelyn that he might resume opposing Vought International. After Homelander’s defeat activated Ryan’s Cheat and revealed a mission involving Black Noir, Ryan searched for a way to grow stronger and returned home to find Kimiko bored and eager for action.

• Ryan met the Congressman and his child at the airport, explained that he had saved them to protect innocent passengers, and heard the Congressman warn him about getting involved in Vought International’s political struggle.
• Ryan told Madelyn that the Congressman had agreed to stop obstructing Vought International, and she proposed watching him before resorting to killing him if he turned against them again.
• Madelyn urged Ryan to consider having a child with Starlight and suggested he practice with her, prompting Ryan to leave her office.
• Ryan’s Cheat appeared after Homelander’s defeat, listing his powers and a mission warning that Black Noir would capture and force him to breed in one month.
• Ryan learned that villainy and bad deeds could upgrade his powers, then returned home and found Kimiko complaining that she was bored and missing the chance to fight enemies.

Ryan went to Seven Tower to seek more Compound V and discussed the investigation into Translucent’s death with Homelander. Homelander then revealed that he planned to speak freely at an upcoming event, leaving Ryan unsure what he intended to say.

• Ryan caught a Joro Spider, tied its legs with its own silk, and returned to bed.
• Ryan flew to Seven Tower the next morning, hoping to ask Homelander for more Compound V.
• Homelander ordered The Deep to find Translucent’s killer after examining the remains in a Zinc Box.
• The Deep showed Ryan the box, but Ryan stopped him from opening it further and told him to dispose of it.
• Ryan suggested that Vought International’s Security Department investigate Translucent’s death, and Homelander agreed.
• Homelander told Ryan that he would speak at an upcoming New York event and reveal who the real heroes were.

Ryan strengthened his Steel Body and defeated Homelander in a spar, then went to meet A-Train and The Female. A-Train asked Ryan to persuade Homelander to forgive The Female for leaking information, while threatening to kill her if Ryan refused.

• Ryan requested Compound V from Homelander, spent his ability points to raise Steel Body to level two, and then sparred with him in the sky.
• Ryan's tougher body withstood Homelander's punch, and Ryan knocked Homelander through Madelyn's office window; he earned only ten ability points for the defeat.
• Madelyn wondered about Ryan's strength, while Homelander warned her not to target him.
• Ryan flew to The Female's home after A-Train called for help and accused her of leaking information about the noodle shop's basement.
• A-Train asked Ryan to get Homelander to forgive The Female and threatened to kill her if Ryan refused.

Ryan reassured A-Train, agreed to consider helping him with The Female in exchange for something useful, and collected a large supply of Compound V from an ordinary-looking hospital. Back at the Villa, he stored the vials and planned to keep fighting Homelander to gain strength, while Kimiko declined his offer to fly her out to lunch.

• Ryan listened as A-Train explained that The Female wanted to marry him and that he feared losing his public image, then asked what A-Train would offer for his help.
• A-Train told Ryan about a hospital on the outskirts that had Compound V, and Ryan flew there to collect a shipping container full of vials.
• Ryan carried the container to the Villa and asked Kimiko to move it, but she could not lift it.
• Ryan stored the Compound V and considered sparring with Homelander and the other Supes to gain ability points.
• Ryan invited Kimiko to lunch, but she refused to go with him because she was afraid of heights.

Ryan and Kimiko drove into the city, where Black Noir confronted Ryan and revealed that Vought was moving up its breeding program. After Black Noir badly wounded him, Ryan consumed the hospital’s supply of Compound V, greatly enhancing his powers, and faced Black Noir again.

• Kimiko drove Ryan to the city, where they stopped to find food and listened to music outside a video store.
• Ryan spotted Black Noir and sent Kimiko away as Black Noir told him Madelyn wanted to move up Vought International’s breeding program.
• Black Noir tore open Ryan’s chest, and Ryan discovered his Steel Body could not protect him from Black Noir’s strength.
• Ryan flew to the hospital and drank every vial of Compound V, raising his powers to level 3 and triggering an abnormal-status warning.
• Black Noir entered the hospital room, and Ryan walked toward him with his wounds healed and newly enhanced powers.

Ryan used Compound V to overpower Black Noir, chased him across the wilderness, and burned him with his Laser Eyes. As Ryan prepared to kill the badly injured Black Noir, Black Noir began revealing why Compound V had made Ryan so powerful.

• Ryan battered Black Noir, then let him flee so he could test his Compound V-enhanced abilities in the wilderness.
• Ryan flew ahead and intercepted Black Noir, then carried him into the sky and dropped him.
• Ryan used his Laser Eyes to burn Black Noir and carve a fissure into the ground.
• Ryan found Black Noir still alive and flew down to finish him off.
• Black Noir asked Ryan whether he knew why Compound V had boosted his strength and why he had beaten Homelander so easily.

Ryan survived Vought International’s attack after Homelander rescued him, but his powers were severely weakened by the overdose of Compound V. After returning to Seven Tower, Ryan learned that Black Noir’s death had triggered a reward calculation.

• Black Noir revealed that Ryan was his and Becca’s child, and Vought helicopters opened fire as Homelander arrived to rescue Ryan and kill Black Noir.
• Homelander said he would deal with Madelyn, while Ryan chose to visit Becca another day and called Kimiko to pick him up.
• Ryan traveled with Kimiko to New Jersey, where she protected him from two armed men because his powers had faded.
• At Seven Tower, Ryan found Homelander gone, relied on A-Train to stop The Deep, and let Starlight join in dragging The Deep outside.
• Ryan’s panel detected Black Noir’s death and began calculating rewards.

Ryan learned the FBI was moving against Vought International, but remained confident Homelander would protect it. After A-Train called him to Madelyn’s burning estate, Ryan found Homelander had set fire to the mansion and took responsibility for Madelyn’s sleeping child, ordering A-Train to place her somewhere safe.

• Ryan bought Becca a dishwasher and later saw that his Supe powers were recovering quickly.
• A-Train called Ryan with Homelander’s location, and Ryan flew to an estate engulfed in flames.
• A-Train explained that Homelander had found Madelyn at her home, and Ryan saw Homelander standing atop the burning mansion.
• Homelander said Madelyn would rest in peace in the flames, then handed Ryan her sleeping child.
• Ryan ordered A-Train to hire a wet nurse and keep the child behind high walls, then called 911 about the fire.

After Madelyn’s security footage exposed Homelander burning down her mansion, Vought contained the backlash, and Homelander prepared to leave the Seven and visit Becca. Ryan received a suit modeled on Homelander’s, while Starlight decided to speak publicly in her own words and ran up to the podium.

• Ryan watched the viral security footage of Homelander burning Madelyn’s mansion and saw Homelander nearly lose control in the conference room.
• Homelander told Ryan he planned to visit Becca, encouraged Ryan to protect the country, and suggested he take the name Homelander.
• Vought’s public relations team subdued the uproar, and Ashley arranged a Homelander-like suit for Ryan.
• Starlight and Ryan talked in a park, where Hughie approached them and tried to spend time with Starlight, but she followed Ryan instead.
• At Ezekiel’s Vought-organized speaking event, Starlight rejected the scripted speech and ran onto the podium to speak in her own words.

Starlight discarded Vought’s prepared remarks and denounced the faith expo’s worship of Supes, earning Ryan’s support and eventually a growing round of applause. After the event, she stopped Ryan as he prepared to leave, but had yet to tell him what she wanted.

• Starlight threw away Ashley’s speech and condemned the crowd’s faith in Supes during her address.
• Ashley unplugged the speakers to stop Starlight after her speech had humiliated Vought.
• Ryan applauded Starlight, and A-Train, Ezekiel, and then much of the crowd joined in.
• Ezekiel prepared to conduct the expo’s rebirth ritual while Ryan planned to leave and visit Becca the next day.
• Starlight grabbed Ryan’s hand as he was about to take flight, then closed her eyes and tried to speak.

Ryan visited Becca at her villa and told her she was safe to leave, but she chose to remain there. After Becca and Homelander argued over Ryan’s upbringing, Homelander offered to connect Ryan with Vought International president Edgar to learn about the doctor who researched Compound V.

• Ryan walked through Times Square with A-Train, then asked him to run to the Bowery and collect a dishwasher.
• Ryan brought the dishwasher to Becca’s home and told her Madelyn, Black Noir, and other dangers were no longer a threat, but Becca said she preferred staying in the villa.
• Becca cooked for Ryan, and Homelander watched television with him before joining them for lunch.
• Ryan asked Homelander about the doctor who researched Compound V, while Homelander and Becca argued over Becca’s parenting and Ryan’s childhood.
• Homelander told Ryan he could introduce him to Edgar, Vought International’s current president.

Ryan accompanied Homelander to Vought Tower, where Edgar announced that Stormfront would join The Seven despite Homelander’s objections. Homelander later obtained Dr. Baum’s address, while Ryan’s reason for wanting to see the doctor remained unstated.

• Homelander explained that Edgar treated supe justice as a business, and Ryan stayed overnight at Becca’s home before leaving the next day.
• Ryan and Homelander flew to the Seven Tower, where Edgar introduced Stormfront as the newest member of The Seven.
• Homelander challenged Edgar’s authority to choose team members, but Edgar insisted Stormfront would join.
• Stormfront examined Ryan, praised him as a future standard-bearer for supes, and then returned to insulting people online.
• Homelander asked Edgar for Dr. Baum’s home address and said that he missed him.

Homelander took Ryan to meet Dr. Baum, revealing painful memories of his childhood and trying to connect with Ryan through a gift. Ryan persuaded Baum to leave retirement and develop Compound V, and Baum agreed to help with the research.

• Homelander told Ryan how frightened he had been when Dr. Baum first brought him among crowds, then bought Ryan a model train as a gift.
• Homelander flew Ryan to Dr. Baum’s manor, forced his way inside, and argued with Baum about his childhood in the Laboratory.
• Ryan stayed behind after Homelander left and asked Baum to resume Compound V research so more people could have the chance to gain powers.
• Ryan revealed he also wanted a database of Supes’ blood and genetic information to help create stronger Compound V for himself.
• Baum agreed to help if Ryan provided a Laboratory and staff, then watched Ryan and Homelander fly away before closing the curtains.

Stormfront revealed her age and proposed creating a world with more Supes, while Ryan secured a laboratory for Dr. Baum and rejected her advances. After Edgar confronted Ryan about mass-producing Supes and exposing Compound V, he decided to protect Vought International’s continued prosperity.

• Stormfront told Ryan she was born in 1919 and was Homelander’s grandmother, then showed him an old newspaper as evidence.
• Stormfront proposed making Compound V available to the public, and Ryan said Dr. Baum needed a laboratory, which Stormfront agreed to arrange.
• Stormfront made advances on Ryan, and he burned her face with his Laser Eyes before leaving; she healed and remained fascinated by him.
• Stormfront arranged a laboratory for Dr. Baum, who began preparing to research and produce a new version of Compound V.
• Edgar questioned Ryan about mass-producing Supes and revealing Compound V, then accepted the situation and resolved to keep Vought International prospering.

Ryan protected Starlight from Stormfront, then helped Billy and his allies after Vought International exposed their hideout. After Mallory refused to help Billy fight Vought, Ryan drove away and the Time-Space Instrument transported him to Fromville.

• Starlight told Ryan that she had learned she was given Compound V as a child, and Ryan blocked Stormfront's electricity when she attacked Starlight.
• Stormfront showed The Seven evidence linking Hughie and Billy to Translucent's death, and Ryan later left a meeting with Homelander and Stormfront after Billy called for help.
• Ryan found Billy, Mother's Milk, and Hughie hiding from Vought International, then brought Billy a car so he could seek Mallory's support.
• Mallory refused Billy's request for funding and protection, urging him and Mother's Milk to stop fighting Vought and return to their families.
• Ryan drove away from the golf course, and the Time-Space Instrument transported him through a tunnel to Fromville.

Ryan drove through a forest into a strange town whose residents watched him with hostility, then found himself back there after the road inexplicably looped around. Sheriff Boyd warned him that dangerous things came out after dark and that outsiders were not welcome, but let him shelter inside.

• Ryan confirmed that his superpowers had remained intact after crossing into the unfamiliar world.
• Ryan spotted a town beyond a fallen tree, took a different fork, and drove through the town into the forest.
• Ryan found himself back in the town after driving straight without taking any turns.
• Ryan asked the bell-ringing man where they were, and the man told him no one could leave once they arrived.
• The man introduced himself as Sheriff Boyd, warned Ryan about the things that came out after dark, and let him into his house.
• Ryan introduced himself as Ryan, or Homelander, while Boyd offered him bread.

Ryan spent his first night in a town where humanlike monsters tried to lure residents outside, then learned from Sheriff Boyd that protective talismans kept them out. The next morning, Ryan settled in with breakfast and prepared to meet the townspeople while Boyd showed him around.

• Boyd warned Ryan that monsters appeared at night and explained that a stone talisman kept them from entering the house.
• A creature disguised as a pretty girl tried to persuade Ryan to open the bathroom window, then battered the glass after Boyd pulled the curtain shut.
• Ryan and Boyd spent the night inside without incident, and Ryan cooked egg pancakes for breakfast the next morning.
• Ryan discovered that the town's old computer had no internet connection and began looking through its files.
• Boyd invited Ryan to tour the town and meet its residents, who feared unfamiliar faces because the monsters imitated people.

Ryan explored the quiet town with Boyd, who explained that he ran the town by day while dangerous creatures ruled the nights. After learning Ryan had worked in security, Boyd offered to make him his deputy.

• Boyd welcomed Ryan and showed him the town, where he argued with Frank about boarding up the windows.
• Boyd told Ryan that the townspeople respected him because he ran the town, and mentioned a communal house beyond his control.
• Boyd took Ryan to the town’s restaurant and asked what useful skills he could contribute.
• Ryan said he had worked in security, and Boyd offered him the position of deputy.

Ryan became Boyd’s deputy, chose to live in town, and learned how its residents survived the nightly threat. After a monster killed Frank’s wife and daughter through an open window, Boyd and Ryan confronted the grieving Frank as the town’s fragile peace began to break.

• Boyd explained the deputy’s duties to Ryan and told him to urge residents indoors after dark.
• Ryan chose to live in town, took a talisman, and spent the night at Boyd’s house.
• A monster lured Girl into opening her bedroom window and killed her and her mother.
• Ryan and Boyd found the two victims the next morning, and Boyd beat Frank for ignoring his warnings to board up the windows.
• Ryan stopped Boyd from killing Frank, who returned to his house in grief, while Boyd brought a cart to move the bodies.

After burying Frank and the other remains, Ryan settled into an empty house in the isolated town and discovered its electrical fixtures were inexplicable. The chapter left Ryan examining a lamp cord that contained no copper wire.

• Boyd and Ryan transported the remains by handcart and buried them in two graves near the town cemetery.
• Boyd watched a blond newcomer drive a motorhome into town and told Ryan that newcomers could never escape.
• Boyd gave Ryan the key to an empty house whose former owner had opened the door at night and ended up underground.
• Ryan inspected his new home and found a lamp flickering and crackling despite no one else being inside.
• Ryan unplugged the lamp and discovered its plug had only one metal prong and its cord contained no copper wire.

Ryan investigated a strange wire, confronted Boyd over his plan to punish Frank, and spent his first night alone in the house, where he killed a monster that came to the window. The next morning, Boyd returned with several people rescued from a crashed RV, and Ryan explained the town’s nightly dangers to them before Boyd noticed the blood on the floor.

• Ryan traced a strange coil of wire into the ground, but Boyd interrupted him to ask him to lunch.
• Boyd told Ryan he had detained Frank and planned to lock him in an unsafe iron box, and Ryan visited Frank in the town jail.
• Ryan noticed the RV was gone and Boyd had disappeared, then went home as night fell.
• A girl asked Ryan to let her inside, and Ryan attacked and killed her with his powers.
• At dawn, Boyd returned with several RV survivors after the vehicle crashed in the woods, and Ryan explained the town’s dangers to them.
• Boyd noticed the red mess on Ryan’s floor and asked what had happened.

Ryan fed the newcomers and explained that they were trapped in the town, though Christian refused to believe him. After speaking privately with Boyd, Ryan was joined on the porch by Judy, who said she was soaked from the rain.

• Ryan served bread to the newcomers, and Christian introduced himself as a wealthy man who had recently sold a software company.
• Ryan told Christian that he was trapped in the town, but Christian dismissed the explanation as an elaborate scare-themed event.
• Boyd told Ryan that Christian would have to follow his authority in town and hoped Christian might disrupt their repetitive days.
• Boyd returned inside to speak with the others, leaving Ryan alone on the porch.
• Judy came outside and told Ryan she had been caught in the rain and was soaked.

Ryan took Christian into the rain to show him the shroud in an unfilled grave, then brought him back home as the storm worsened. When Judy and Boyd fled the Communal House with monsters close behind, Ryan went out to help them, leaving Christian to watch the house.

• Ryan carried Christian outside and led him through the rain to the graveyard, where Christian saw the shroud and vomited.
• Ryan returned home with Christian and sent the other visitors, including Judy and Boyd, toward the Communal House.
• Christian proposed building a transmitter from the radio in the diner, but a violent thunderstorm kept them indoors.
• Christian spotted Judy and Boyd fleeing through the rain with human-skinned monsters pursuing them while the townspeople refused to help.
• Ryan revealed that walls and distance did not limit his sight, then left alone to help Judy and Boyd and told Christian to guard the house.

Ryan rescued Judy from the creatures that attacked the Communal House, then revealed his powers by flying and destroying them with his Laser Eyes. The next morning, after Judy, Boyd, and Christian returned to Ryan’s house, Christian wondered where Ryan had gone.

• Judy fell while fleeing the creatures, and Boyd left her behind to run for help.
• Ryan found Judy, pulled her to her feet, and told her to escape while he faced the creatures.
• Ryan flew into the air and blasted the creatures with his Laser Eyes, leaving a scorched crater.
• Judy returned to Ryan’s house, where she reunited with Boyd and Christian.
• The rain stopped the next morning, and Christian opened the door and asked where Ryan was.

Ryan returned from Nightmare Town to New York, gained a Bio-Force Field, and resumed life with The Seven. He learned Dr. Baum had developed a new Compound V drug, leaving him interested in using it to grow stronger.

• Ryan returned to New York after completing Nightmare Town and received a Bio-Force Field as his reward.
• Ryan discovered that only about two days had passed in his world and replied to Homelander and Stormfront, who had been trying to reach him.
• Ryan ignored Homelander's dinner invitation, rented a horror movie, and blocked Stormfront after she suggested he move in with her.
• Ryan attended The Seven's meeting, where Homelander woke Stormfront with his Laser Eyes and led a routine discussion.
• Stormfront told Ryan that Dr. Baum had developed a finished Compound V drug using the genes of newly created Supes, and Ryan considered taking it.