Chapter Summaries

Yang Ming killed three Kryptonian warriors in Metropolis with the Seventh Gate, including one with his Daytime Tiger, then collected thirty million dollars from Bruce Wayne. As Yang Ming collapsed from the backlash, General Zod’s Black Zero arrived and targeted him with its main cannon.

• Yang Ming tore out and crushed one Kryptonian warrior’s heart, then charged Bruce ten million dollars for the fight.
• Yang Ming defeated a second warrior with the Morning Peacock and killed the last one with the Daytime Tiger, which carved a vast gorge through Metropolis.
• Diana drove Faora back and declared that the Kryptonians had chosen the wrong battlefield.
• Yang Ming suffered severe injuries from the Eight Gates’ backlash, took medicine, and collected thirty million dollars from Bruce.
• General Zod ordered the Black Zero to erase Yang Ming and the ruins, and its main cannon fired at the weakened hero.

Clark stopped the Black Zero’s main cannon and revealed that he and Bruce already knew each other, while Zod learned the World Engine had been destroyed and attacked Clark in Metropolis. As the Kryptonians began fighting, Yang Ming opened the Anywhere Door and offered Bruce and Dave escape to Hell’s Kitchen for five million dollars.

• Clark arrived in time to block the Black Zero’s main cannon and destroyed its overloaded generator with Heat Vision.
• Clark reunited with Bruce, who confirmed that Clark had dealt with the World Engine in the Indian Ocean.
• Zod learned from Faora that the World Engine was gone, ordered the Black Zero to withdraw, and flew toward Metropolis to confront Clark.
• Zod vowed to kill everyone on Earth and attacked Clark, triggering a destructive fight that sent shock waves through the ruins.
• Yang Ming opened the Anywhere Door to Hell’s Kitchen and offered Bruce and Dave one-way transportation for five million dollars.

Bruce Wayne, Dave, and the badly injured Yang Ming escaped Zod and Clark’s battle through a pink door and arrived in another universe at Yang Ming’s clinic in Hell’s Kitchen. As Retsu Unohana treated Yang Ming, Bruce realized they had crossed universes, while Jessica tested Dave’s new armor by punching him into a tree.

• Bruce transferred ten million dollars, threw Dave through the pink door, and followed him as Yang Ming struggled to escape the crimson blast and plunged through after them.
• Bruce and Dave landed in the clinic’s backyard, where Yang Ming arrived gravely injured and Retsu Unohana began healing him with Kaido.
• Bruce’s terminal failed to connect or identify their location, and discrepancies in its readings convinced him they had jumped between universes.
• Dave showed Jessica his Redscale armor and declared that he would be called Nightlight.
• Jessica punched Dave into an elm tree; his armor protected him from serious injury, and Thor remarked that his footing was still unstable.

Retsu Unohana healed Yang Ming after his fight, and Yang Ming told Bruce Wayne that he was stranded in another universe and should treat it as a vacation. Bruce accepted that Dave would return to school, while Yang Ming planned to take Bruce around Hell’s Kitchen and hinted he might meet familiar faces.

• Retsu Unohana healed Yang Ming’s severe injuries while Bruce watched and analyzed her unknown power.
• Yang Ming revealed to Bruce that he traveled between universes, and Bruce demanded to be sent back to Gotham.
• Yang Ming told Bruce that Dave would soon return to school, prompting Dave to promise he would visit Bruce during breaks and continue their patrols.
• Bruce advised Dave to study hard and avoid using his training to bully people, then agreed to let him visit if he passed his finals.
• Thor demonstrated his strength to Bruce, and Yang Ming offered to help him get fake documents before learning Bruce could create an identity by hacking.
• Yang Ming invited Bruce to explore the Marvel Universe the next day and privately anticipated his meeting with Tony.

Yang Ming accepted Tony Stark’s invitation to Monaco’s historic F1 race and gathered a group to travel with him, while Tony concealed signs of illness. In Siberia, Ivan Vanko built a Micro Arc Reactor and began preparing armor to take revenge on Tony.

• Tony invited Yang Ming and his companions to Monaco, and Yang Ming agreed after noticing Tony’s abnormal breathing and tremor.
• Jessica, Thor, Loki, Retsu Unohana, and Bruce agreed to go, while Dave chose to return home and promised to earn good grades in exchange for Bruce considering new training.
• Ivan Vanko watched Tony boast at a Senate hearing that no one could reproduce his technology for years, then switched off the television in anger.
• Ivan remembered his father Anton Vanko and blamed the Stark family for his family’s misfortune.
• Ivan assembled a Micro Arc Reactor from scavenged materials and began designing exoskeleton armor with electric whips to confront Tony.

Yang Ming brought Bruce Wayne and his companions to Monaco, where he revealed that Tony Stark was gravely ill from palladium poisoning. Bruce and Tony clashed over their identities and abilities, but Yang Ming intervened before their standoff turned into a fight.

• At the clinic, Yang Ming ordered Loki and Thor to dress as bodyguards, while Bruce Wayne changed into a bespoke suit before joining the group.
• Yang Ming, Bruce, Jessica, Loki, Thor, and Retsu Unohana arrived in Monaco aboard Tony Stark’s private jet and entered his lavish hotel suite.
• Jessica encountered Natasha Romanoff, who said she was working as Tony’s personal assistant under the alias Angelina Lashman.
• Yang Ming examined Tony and told him his palladium poisoning was advanced, but promised to treat him after the race.
• Tony and Bruce traded insults after JARVIS failed to find Bruce’s identity and Bruce criticized Tony’s Arc Reactor and worsening health.
• Yang Ming introduced Bruce as a distant relative, defused their confrontation, and then warned Tony that Pepper might cut off his credit cards if she heard his flirtatious remarks.

Yang Ming and his companions spent the Monaco casino night gambling before Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne wagered on an F1 race. As Tony and Bruce battled on the track, Ivan Vanko appeared with an electric whip and attacked the cars, leaving the race in chaos.

• Yang Ming won big at roulette, while Jessica Jones lost heavily, Thor damaged a slot machine, Loki tricked a poker player, and Bruce Wayne beat the blackjack dealers by counting cards.
• Tony Stark challenged Bruce Wayne to race at the Monaco F1 circuit, with the winner earning one reasonable demand from the loser.
• At the race, Bruce and Tony traded the lead as they drove at high speed and left the other competitors behind.
• Ivan Vanko revealed an Arc Reactor and attacked the race, slicing a car in half with his electrified whip and triggering an explosion.

Ivan attacked Tony at the race track, but Natasha delivered the briefcase that let Tony deploy the Mark V armor and fight back. Bruce was impressed by Tony’s engineering, while Yang Ming sent Retsu Unohana to intervene and then prepared to go down himself.

• Ivan sliced Tony’s race car apart with his electric whips, then crashed Bruce’s car, but Bruce evaded the attack by launching over the whip with a curb.
• Yang Ming told Retsu Unohana to leave Ivan alive, then paused after sensing someone agile approaching the track.
• Natasha broke through the crowd and threw Tony a briefcase, which unfolded into the Mark V armor as Ivan’s whip came down.
• Tony blasted Ivan into the barrier, while Bruce recognized Tony’s genius and reconsidered his earlier judgment of him.
• Yang Ming identified Natasha as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and decided to go down and end the fight.

Retsu Unohana stopped Ivan Vanko from killing Tony Stark and took Ivan’s reactor for Yang Ming, who demanded it as payment for treating Tony. After Ivan accused Tony’s father of stealing his family’s work, Tony was left reeling while Bruce Wayne questioned whether Ivan had told the truth.

• Tony struggled against Ivan’s electric whips as his damaged Mark V began to fail.
• Yang Ming ordered Retsu Unohana to subdue Ivan and retrieve the reactor, and she leaped from the VIP Box onto the track.
• Retsu Unohana stopped Ivan’s whip with one finger, shattered his arm, and knocked him unconscious with a precise strike.
• Retsu Unohana took Ivan’s reactor despite Natasha Romanoff’s warning, while Yang Ming told Natasha to warn Nick Fury not to overreach.
• After police arrested Ivan, he accused Howard Stark of stealing Anton Vanko’s work, leaving Tony stunned.
• Bruce Wayne watched Tony’s reaction and wondered whether Ivan’s accusation was true.

Yang Ming and Retsu Unohana cured Tony Stark’s palladium poisoning, while Bruce Wayne pushed him to investigate his father’s legacy. Tony renewed his resolve to prove Howard was no thief, as Ivan Vanko escaped detention with Justin Hammer’s help and planned to use Hammer’s Iron Army to attack Tony at the Stark Expo.

• Jessica Jones and Yang Ming found Tony Stark drinking and grieving over accusations that his father was a thief.
• Retsu Unohana extracted the palladium toxins from Tony, and Yang Ming charged him ten million dollars for the treatment.
• Yang Ming urged Tony to investigate Howard’s work, and Bruce Wayne challenged him to prove himself; Tony ordered JARVIS to collect his father’s files and models.
• Ivan Vanko escaped Monaco’s detention center by switching places with a lookalike prisoner, whose cell was destroyed in a staged explosion.
• Justin Hammer offered Ivan resources to build an Iron Army, and Ivan accepted while secretly planning revenge on Tony at the Stark Expo.

Bruce Wayne decided to return to Gotham, and Yang Ming gave him Ivan Vanko’s miniature Arc Reactor to help him prepare for future threats. Bruce left determined to use its technology to protect Gotham and change his world.

• Bruce told Yang Ming he was returning to Gotham to work on Wayne Enterprises’ Applied Sciences Division, and Yang Ming opened an Anywhere Door to the Batcave.
• Yang Ming tossed Bruce Ivan Vanko’s miniature Arc Reactor and explained that it was too dangerous for him to keep or sell.
• Yang Ming urged Bruce to use the reactor’s technology to strengthen Gotham and prevent a tragedy like the destruction in Metropolis.
• Bruce placed the reactor over his heart, promised to act, and stepped through the door to Gotham.
• After the door vanished, Yang Ming told Jessica that some things mattered more than money, then invited her to the casino to win back Stark’s losses.

Nick Fury brought Tony Stark Howard Stark’s research files and tried to use treatment for Tony’s palladium poisoning to gain leverage, but learned Yang Ming had already cured him. Fury then pressed Tony to join the Avengers Initiative, and Tony refused.

• Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff entered Tony Stark’s laboratory after Fury disabled JARVIS and presented Howard Stark’s research files.
• Fury explained that Howard had hidden the key to a new element in the Stark Expo model, while Tony struggled with his feelings about his father.
• Natasha prepared to inject Tony with lithium dioxide, but discovered that the signs of palladium poisoning had disappeared.
• Tony revealed that Yang Ming had cured him at the Black Clinic, leaving Fury’s planned medical leverage useless.
• Fury raised the Avengers Initiative, and Tony refused to join as Fury warned that Ivan Vanko was only the beginning.

Fury offered Tony Stark a consultant role in the Avengers Initiative, prompting Tony to discover a new element hidden in Howard Stark’s World’s Fair model. Back in Gotham, Bruce Wayne learned Superman had killed General Zod and resolved to upgrade the Batsuit using the reactor Yang Ming gave him.

• Fury showed Tony footage of Abomination and Retsu Unohana, then used Natasha’s assessment to argue that Tony was unsuitable for frontline Avengers duty.
• Fury offered Tony intelligence and support as a consultant, including answers about Doctor Yang and the Black Clinic, and left him to consider the offer.
• Tony asked JARVIS to analyze Howard’s World’s Fair model and discovered an element that could replace palladium without toxic by-products.
• Bruce returned to the Batcave with the blue reactor and asked Alfred to activate the physics lab and cut its network connections.
• Alfred showed Bruce footage of Superman killing General Zod, and Bruce ordered Wayne Enterprises’ armor and energy-weapon schematics and global energy research pulled up for a Batsuit upgrade.

Bruce Wayne tested the miniature reactor Yang Ming had provided and learned from Lucius Fox that it could deliver enormous, sustained power but relied on toxic palladium. Bruce tasked Lucius with finding a safe replacement element so Wayne Enterprises could develop armor capable of countering the alien threat.

• Bruce tested the reactor at five percent power, then shut it down when its cables overheated during a higher-output test.
• Lucius examined the readings and realized the crude device produced an unprecedented, self-sustaining energy output.
• Lucius said the reactor could potentially be mass-produced but warned that palladium leakage would poison anyone wearing a miniaturized version.
• Bruce ordered Lucius to find or create a non-toxic element to replace palladium.
• Bruce revealed he wanted the reactor to power heavy-duty armor capable of standing against the alien who devastated Metropolis, and Lucius agreed to start the New Element Deduction Project.

Nick Fury invited Yang Ming, Jessica Jones, and the spider-boy to join the Avengers Initiative, but Yang Ming rejected the pitch on practical grounds. After Fury showed him footage of civilians shielding him from soldiers, Yang Ming stopped Fury as he was leaving, leaving his decision unresolved.

• Jessica Jones returned from Monaco with lockboxes full of cash and bearer bonds, then found Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, and Natasha Romanoff waiting in Yang Ming's temporary clinic.
• Yang Ming demanded payment for their trespassing, and Fury invited him, Jessica Jones, and the spider-boy to join the Avengers Initiative.
• Jessica mocked the idea, and Yang Ming refused, citing his criminal clientele, fear of death, and lack of practical benefits.
• Fury showed footage of Harlem civilians forming a human wall to protect the unconscious Yang Ming from General Ross's soldiers.
• Fury gave Yang Ming a card with his private line and left with Coulson and Romanoff, but Yang Ming called out, "Wait."

Yang Ming refused to join the Avengers but offered S.H.I.E.L.D. his team’s services as an independent contractor. The chapter ended with Fury accepting Yang Ming’s fees and battlefield autonomy in exchange for a round-the-clock emergency contact channel and a thirty-minute response time.

• Yang Ming rejected Fury’s Avengers offer, citing his distrust of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the politicians who controlled it.
• Yang Ming proposed charging S.H.I.E.L.D. for emergency combat, rescue, and medical services, with fees starting at five million dollars and rising to fifty million for threats like Abomination.
• Yang Ming demanded complete battlefield autonomy and made S.H.I.E.L.D. responsible for cleanup, compensation, and public relations.
• Yang Ming threatened Loki with construction work after adding the cost of stolen Wagyu to her service contract.
• Fury accepted Yang Ming’s terms in exchange for a twenty-four-hour emergency contact channel and a thirty-minute arrival time.

Dave Lizewski finished his homework, then put on his Redscale armor and began patrolling as Nightlight, stopping a convenience-store robbery in Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Kingpin delegated control of his New York operations to Frank D'Amico while he left for medical treatment, and D'Amico began relishing his new power.

• Dave hid his Redscale armor from his father, finished his homework, and slipped out at night as Nightlight.
• Dave ambushed three thugs who were robbing a convenience-store clerk, incapacitated them, and left a Nightlight calling card.
• Kingpin told Frank D'Amico that he was going to Switzerland for skin grafts and would be away from New York for at least six months.
• Kingpin ordered D'Amico to manage the organization's daily business and keep the underworld stable while he was gone.
• D'Amico left the hospital convinced that New York's underworld would answer to him, and told his son Chris that calling him boss now worked just as well.

Frank D'Amico learned that several vigilantes were crippling his criminal operations, including the newly arrived Nightlight, Dave Lizewski in Redscale armor. He planned to lure the vigilantes to Warehouse 13 in three days and destroy them with an explosives-filled trap.

• Chris told Frank D'Amico that Spider-Man, Punisher, Daredevil, and Big Daddy and Hit-Girl had attacked his operations and stolen goods.
• Scarface reported that a masked attacker called Nightlight had robbed a Staten Island transfer station and crippled seven gangsters.
• Dave Lizewski used his Redscale armor and combat training to defeat the smugglers without killing them, left a Nightlight calling card, and left to finish his English worksheet.
• Frank D'Amico ordered his men to spread word of a supposed $100 million trade at Warehouse 13, intending to draw in the vigilantes.
• Frank D'Amico revealed a hidden armory and prepared to blow up Warehouse 13 with the vigilantes inside.

Dave discovered the warehouse ambush from a distance and severed its detonation cable just before Damico could blow up the heroes inside. Damico then ordered his men to attack the warehouse with truck-mounted machine guns, leaving the five vigilantes trapped under fire.

• Big Daddy and Hit-Girl found counterfeit money and flour in Warehouse Thirteen and realized the shipment was a trap.
• Spider-Man, Frank, and Matt arrived, and Matt detected concealed explosives throughout the warehouse.
• Damico detonated the master remote, but Dave leapt from a crane and cut the underground control cable, stopping the explosion at the cost of taking a powerful electric shock.
• Damico learned the explosives had failed and ordered two truck-mounted rotary machine guns to attack the warehouse.
• The machine guns shredded the entrance doors, leaving Spider-Man, Frank, Matt, Big Daddy, and Hit-Girl facing a barrage.

Dave survived Damico’s electrical trap and used thermal imaging to identify the machine guns’ weakness while the vigilantes were pinned down. He destroyed one pickup’s ammunition feed with a knife, causing the gun to explode, then leapt away as the remaining gunner targeted him.

• The armored pickups burst into Warehouse Thirteen and opened fire, forcing Peter to pull Matt and Mindy behind a container while Frank and Damon took cover behind a pillar.
• Peter was wounded by a ricochet, and Frank and Damon found that their weapons could not penetrate the pickups’ armor.
• Dave recovered from the electrical shock, used thermal imaging to spot the overheated guns and exposed ammunition belts, and grappled into the warehouse.
• As the shipping container began to fail, Peter prepared to draw fire, but Dave landed on a pickup and threw a knife into the other truck’s feed belt.
• The damaged machine gun and ammunition box exploded, destroying the pickup and its crew, while Dave jumped from the remaining truck as its gunner turned on him.