Chapter Summaries

After A-Train’s death, Edgar ordered Vought to recruit new members for the Seven and pursue a powerful figure he wanted to find. Vought’s scouts recruited Josen as the newest member, securing his agreement to protect Edgar in exchange for broad freedom and benefits.

• The head of security told Edgar that A-Train’s body had been found in an abandoned warehouse after the surveillance system was sabotaged, and Edgar ordered an obituary and new recruits.
• Edgar learned that Vought had sent a representative to recruit Starlight and had leads on the person he wanted found.
• Steve and Douglas visited Josen’s hotel room and invited him to join the Seven.
• Josen demanded freedom from publicity and control over when he acted, and the scouts agreed to add his terms to the contract.
• Josen signed the contract after learning Edgar wanted his personal friendship and hoped he would side with him if trouble arose.
• Josen gave the scouts a newly made driver’s license for his company records, and they welcomed him as the Seven’s newest member.

Hughie watched Homelander turn A-Train’s death into a public spectacle, then saw Vought shift its publicity toward rebuilding the Seven. The chapter ended with Translucent offering Homelander inside information about the newcomers.

• Hughie watched Homelander claim A-Train had died heroically and angrily celebrated his death, recalling that A-Train had killed Robin.
• Hughie asked Gary for time off to attend Robin’s funeral, and Gary agreed but told him to return that night to close the store.
• Vought International replaced A-Train’s mourning coverage with publicity announcing two new members for the Seven, and leaked photos helped build public interest.
• Homelander asked Maeve and the Deep who the other newcomer would be, but neither had information, while Black Noir remained silent.
• Homelander threatened to replace useless members of the Seven, and Translucent offered to share inside information.

Homelander learned that a board-recruited speedster with electric pistols was expected to replace A-Train, then invited The Seven to discuss dividing the dead Heroes’ shares. Starlight arrived at Seven Tower for her debut press conference and learned she would be the only new Hero appearing that day.

• Translucent told Homelander and The Deep that a new speedster with high-tech electric pistols had been recruited by the board.
• Homelander decided to wait for the next day’s press conference to learn who would replace A-Train, then opened a discussion about dividing A-Train and Lamplighter’s shares.
• Queen Maeve gave her opinion on the profit discussion and looked out the window, having lost her old ambitions of becoming a Hero.
• Starlight arrived at Seven Tower with her mother, Donna, and was greeted by cheering fans and Ashley.
• Ashley told Starlight that she was the only new Hero attending the press conference and instructed her to prepare for her appearance.

Josen skipped Starlight’s press conference and explored Seven Tower, where Homelander encountered him. After the event, The Deep encouraged Starlight and offered to show her The Seven’s command hall.

• Ashley coached Starlight backstage while Madelyn promoted Vought International at the press conference.
• Josen toured Seven Tower in disguise, and Steve struggled to explain his absence to Ashley until the higher-ups approved it.
• Josen used his speed to startle a security guard, introduced himself as Flash, and then enthusiastically greeted Homelander.
• Homelander threatened Josen after he clasped his hand, and Josen promised not to do it again.
• After the press conference, The Deep reassured Starlight backstage and invited her to see The Seven’s command hall.

The Deep brought Starlight to The Seven's command center and tried to sexually assault her, then threatened to ruin her career when she resisted. Josen exposed him by posting a recording online, and Starlight blasted The Deep across the room.

• The Deep showed Starlight The Seven's command center and sexually assaulted her.
• Starlight shattered the screens with her light energy and tried to leave, but The Deep threatened to smear her and end her career.
• Josen revealed that he had recorded The Deep and posted the video from his verified account.
• Josen urged Starlight to act, and she struck The Deep with a blast of light energy.

Josen confronted The Deep after he tried to assault Starlight, and Starlight chose not to stop him after seeing the video of what had happened. Josen hurled The Deep through a high-rise window and shot him with Million Volts as he fell.

• The Deep recovered from Starlight's blow and threatened Josen, but his punch failed to move Josen.
• Josen grabbed The Deep by the hair and carried him toward the windows, asking whether he could fly.
• Starlight checked her social media and saw the video, then refused to intervene when The Deep begged for help.
• Josen smashed The Deep through the bulletproof window, sending him falling from the tower.
• The Deep accused Josen of killing A-Train, and Josen shot him with Million Volts.

Josen, posing as Flash, helped Starlight after The Deep’s death and met Butcher’s approval when the scandal surfaced. As Vought struggled with the fallout from widespread superhero exposés, Homelander reassured Madelyn, and Josen met Edgar in a Manhattan coffee shop.

• Josen told Starlight his name was Flash or Jonathan, and they agreed to get a drink.
• Butcher watched an unedited video scandal about The Deep and concluded that Josen had exposed it.
• The Deep’s death and the leaked scandals damaged Vought’s reputation, while evidence revealed A-Train had lied about chasing bank robbers.
• Madelyn ordered Ashley to say The Deep had died by suicide and to bring Starlight to her, while Homelander offered to handle the crisis.
• Madelyn tried to contact Edgar but learned he was away, and Edgar met Josen at a Manhattan coffee shop.

Josen met with Edgar, who paid him for eliminating the Deep and offered Vought’s support if he took over the superhero business. Josen saw through Edgar’s concealed motives and left the meeting wary of Vought’s plans to control him.

• Edgar met Josen and thanked him for resolving the Deep problem, confirming that Vought had deposited an eight-figure payment in his account.
• Josen told Edgar that he was dissatisfied with the Seven and the superhero system because its members sullied the title of hero.
• Edgar admitted that Homelander had secretly used Compound V to create terrorists and said Vought’s board was considering spinning off its hero business.
• Edgar offered to have Vought cooperate with Josen if he took over the superhero business.
• Josen recognized that Edgar was trying to use him as a weapon while withholding important information about Vought’s ambitions.

Josen helped Starlight avoid being kicked out of The Seven, then joined her at a meeting where the new members met the team. Homelander arrived in a good mood after his successful world tour, and the meeting was about to begin.

• Josen told Edgar's Black CEO not to give Starlight a hard time before leaving Vought International.
• Josen explained to Starlight that a friend at Vought had helped her keep her place in The Seven.
• Josen and Starlight entered the command hall, where they met Black Noir and discovered Translucent hiding invisibly nearby.
• Queen Maeve arrived and dismissed Starlight's attempt to introduce herself, while Translucent took a seat across from Josen.
• Josen mocked Translucent for smelling like toilet cleaner and called him an exhibitionist.
• Homelander arrived after his world tour and invited the others to continue their lively conversation.

Homelander warned The Seven to clean up their secrets after The Deep’s death, then led a meeting about business and publicity. Afterward, Josen challenged Starlight’s ideals and explained that he had joined The Seven to identify and destroy its corrupt members, before reviewing three SR Fantasy Cards.

• Homelander teased Translucent and Maeve, then warned The Seven to resolve their dirty business after The Deep’s death.
• Starlight complained to Josen that The Seven’s meeting focused on money, appearances, casting, and publicity rather than hero work.
• Josen told Starlight that superheroes were mortals and Vought treated them as entertainment, not as the heroes she had imagined.
• Josen said he had joined The Seven to observe its members and destroy those unworthy of being called heroes, leaving Starlight stunned.
• Josen went to a café and examined SR Fantasy Cards for Homelander, Queen Maeve, and Starlight, including two cards that granted super strength.

Josen learned how his strength abilities complemented one another, absorbed Homelander's and Maeve's Super Strength cards, and gained Starlight's light-energy control. After adapting to his immense strength, he discovered he could create light directly.

• F-kid explained that strength cards used the highest limit while complementary abilities could improve control and offset weaknesses, helping Josen understand why Homelander had struggled against him.
• Josen absorbed both Super Strength cards and reinforced the Manhattan buildings with his biomagnetic field while adjusting to his new power.
• Josen examined Starlight's Light Energy Control card and recognized the potential of controlling photons.
• Josen absorbed Starlight's ability, converted electricity into light energy, and realized he could use it to create illumination.

Josen visited Butcher and reviewed the information Butcher had gathered on Vought’s active Heroes. Josen offered to give Butcher A-Train’s strength and speed, but Butcher feared the Compound V treatment would kill him.

• Butcher cautiously answered the door with a pistol, then recognized Josen and let him inside.
• Butcher asked to help take down Homelander and described crude ways to exploit the supe’s vulnerabilities.
• Josen found Butcher’s profiles on Vought’s Heroes and heard that Butcher had not found information on Liberty.
• Josen asked whether Butcher could kill the supes if he had A-Train’s powers, and Butcher agreed before questioning whether Compound V would kill him.

Josen gave Butcher A-Train’s speed and superhuman strength, then sent him off with a million dollars to build his operation against Homelander. That night, Josen entered Vought’s Crime Analytics Department to review Hero records and erased the surveillance footage of his visit.

• Josen offered Butcher power and the chance to kill Homelander, and Butcher agreed to work for him.
• F-kid punched Butcher with the SR card, giving him A-Train’s speed and leaving him ravenously hungry.
• Josen gave Butcher a bank card loaded with a million dollars, and Butcher promised to get results.
• Josen arrived at Seven Tower and learned from Chris that the Crime Analytics Department kept historical Hero records on the fortieth floor.
• Josen used his power to enter the department, hypnotize an employee, and destroy the surveillance footage and storage sectors.

Josen intervened when Liberty, a former Vought superhero secretly known as Storm, attacked a young woman during a storm in Brooklyn. He exposed her violent racist past and fought her, but Storm was still recovering from his final blow when the chapter ended.

• Storm used purple lightning to attack a young woman in the Brooklyn rain, but Josen arrived and carried the frightened girl to shelter with his psychic power.
• Josen absorbed Storm’s lightning, knocked her out of the air, and exposed her identity as the retired Hero Liberty.
• Storm tried to attack Josen physically, but F-kid struck her twice and sent her crashing into a brick wall.
• Josen revealed that Storm had continued killing ethnic minorities and said he had vetoed Vought’s plan to bring her back as Stormfront.
• Storm forced her injured jaw back into place as Josen regarded her as a dead woman.

Josen defeated Storm by suppressing her powers, overwhelming her regeneration, and destroying her body and spirit. F-kid captured her spirit in a Fantasy Card, leaving Josen with the SSR Stormfront character card.

• Josen pinned Storm to a wall and absorbed her electrical attack while his magnetic field disabled her powers.
• Josen used Serious Golden Barrage and golden laser beams to reduce Storm to ashes.
• F-kid pulled Storm's spirit from the remains, and Josen shattered it with a punch that prevented regeneration.
• F-kid collected Storm's spirit particles in a Fantasy Card and received the SSR Stormfront character card.

Josen killed Storm with his Golden Barrage, then rescued a girl and used Mantra to find her home. At Vought, Madelyn investigated attacks on community heroes and managed Starlight’s public image before receiving a call that prompted her to ask whether Homelander was at headquarters.

• Josen burned Storm and the Nazi remnant to ashes, then carried a sleeping girl home after drying her clothes and reading her memories.
• Madelyn learned that thirty-two community heroes had gone missing and that Blue Hawk had been killed in a manner resembling A-Train’s execution-style attacks.
• Madelyn ordered Ashley to replace the missing heroes and conceal their disappearances by saying they had retired with honors.
• Ashley reported that Starlight’s approval rating had recovered after the assault victim refuted online rumors, but Starlight had rejected a revealing new suit.
• Madelyn recalled Edgar’s request to look after the two newcomers and decided to give Starlight time to reconsider the suit.
• Madelyn received an alarming phone call, then asked how many members of The Seven were at headquarters and whether Homelander was there.

Madelyn summoned Queen Maeve and Homelander after learning that Transoceanic Flight 37 had been hijacked, and ordered them to rescue its 123 passengers. Josen offered to join the mission, arguing that a larger Seven presence would show Vought valued the public's lives.

• Madelyn sent Ashley to bring Queen Maeve to the command center and contacted Homelander.
• Queen Maeve left the family-themed signing, where Starlight continued greeting fans, and joined Madelyn and Josen at headquarters.
• Madelyn revealed that three hijackers had seized Transoceanic Flight 37 and ordered Homelander and Maeve to save all 123 passengers before the military arrived.
• Madelyn warned Homelander to intercept the plane over international waters, and he agreed to take Maeve with him.
• Josen asked to join the rescue, saying that sending half of The Seven would better demonstrate Vought's concern for the public.

Josen accompanied Homelander and Queen Maeve on a hijacked-plane rescue, using Instant Transmission to reach the Atlantic ahead of them. After Homelander and Maeve defeated the hijackers in the cabin, they discovered another hijacker holding the captain at gunpoint in the cockpit.

• Josen proposed traveling separately to the rescue site and helping if the passengers needed to evacuate, and Homelander agreed.
• Homelander flew toward the plane with Queen Maeve while Josen used Instant Transmission to reach the Atlantic and conceal himself.
• Homelander opened the plane door, and Queen Maeve entered and killed one hijacker while Homelander killed another with his heat vision.
• Homelander entered the cabin and shut the door, and the passengers cheered as the plane stabilized.
• Queen Maeve noticed that the cockpit was silent, broke down its door, and found a fourth hijacker holding the captain at gunpoint beside the dead copilot.

After the captain was killed and the plane lost control, Homelander chose to abandon the passengers, and Queen Maeve reluctantly left with him. As they watched the plane head toward the coast, Maeve asked whether Homelander had seen Flash.

• The last hijacker shot and killed the captain, then damaged the cockpit windshield before Homelander killed him with his laser vision.
• Queen Maeve could not contact air traffic control, and Homelander told her the plane and its passengers could not be saved.
• Homelander refused to rescue the passengers, threatened them when they crowded him, and persuaded Queen Maeve to leave with him.
• Homelander and Queen Maeve flew away as the plane continued toward the coast, while Homelander imagined blaming the disaster on the military.
• Queen Maeve asked Homelander whether he had seen Flash, and Homelander dismissed Flash as an arrogant fool who had probably not reached them.

Josen rescued the passengers from the out-of-control plane and helped them broadcast footage exposing Homelander’s actions. After Josen landed the plane, Homelander charged him, and the chapter ended with their fists colliding.

• Josen appeared aboard the plane, sealed its damaged cockpit with his Force Field, and reassured the passengers that he would save them.
• Josen urged the passengers to share footage of Homelander threatening civilians, and they agreed to livestream what happened.
• Madelyn saw trending footage of Homelander’s behavior and learned that the plane had made an emergency landing on a beach.
• Josen supported the plane with his Biomagnetic Field, leveled it, and set it down safely on the sand.
• Homelander recognized Josen as Flash and charged toward him with Queen Maeve in his arms.
• Josen met Homelander’s punch head-on, stopping his charge without appearing injured.