Recaps

John uncovered Killian and Fisk’s alliance and learned that A.I.M. was connected to the fake Ten Rings, so he contacted Wenwu about the impostor. Meanwhile, Matt and Stick investigated Black Sky at the docks and discovered that it was a person.

• A grieving man sought weapons in Hell’s Kitchen after the punks who taunted him failed to provoke him into killing them.
• Stick entered Matt’s home, rebuked him for letting his guard down, and revealed that he had come to kill Black Sky.
• John used the Silver Threads to review memories showing Killian and Fisk plotting against Watson Wick, targeting his relatives, and maintaining contact through a mysterious third party.
• John recognized that Killian and the fake Ten Rings answered to the Mandarin, then contacted Wenwu and offered a hint about the impostor.
• Matt and Stick went to the docks, where Matt sensed a man with an abnormally high body temperature, and they learned that Black Sky was a person.

Matt and Night Ghost fought two Extremis soldiers at the docks while Stick pursued Xin and the kidnapped child. The soldiers exploded, and Matt heard Night Ghost’s faint heartbeat after he was hurled into a container.

• Stick identified Xin and the Extremis soldiers, then sent Matt to handle the guards while he prepared to stop Night Ghost from interfering.
• Matt silently took down dock guards until Xin’s men opened a container and revealed a chained child.
• Stick fired an arrow at the child, but Matt knocked it aside, exposing himself and forcing Xin to flee with the boy.
• Matt battled the Extremis soldiers as Night Ghost arrived and killed the gunmen with throwing knives and a bomb.
• The soldiers injected themselves with a drug that strengthened their regeneration, and one exploded after Night Ghost cut his neck.
• Matt kicked the other soldier into the flames, then heard Night Ghost’s faint heartbeat and called his name.

After Dax was gravely injured in an explosion, John authorized the Regeneration Cradle to rebuild his spine with a special alloy and recruited Dr. Helen to support his Hero Alliance. Matt confronted Stick over killing the boy they were sent to stop, while an injured Extremis Soldier escaped the docks; Dax’s recovery remained uncertain.

• Matt told John that Stick, the Extremis Soldiers, Xin, and Fisk were connected to the Black Sky transport mission.
• Dr. Helen told John that Dax had a broken spine, burns, and internal bleeding, and John woke Dax briefly to ask whether he wanted power.
• John authorized Dr. Helen to use the Regeneration Cradle and make Dax a new spine from a special alloy.
• Matt confronted Stick about killing the boy, fought him, and threw him out of his home.
• An injured Extremis Soldier crawled out of the water near the cordoned-off docks and escaped as Ray tried to call Dax.
• Dr. Helen reported that Dax’s surgery had succeeded, and John invited her to join the Hero Alliance as its first support staff member.

Tony pushed himself to exhaustion testing the Mark 42 while the Mandarin’s latest attack and propaganda deepened his anxiety. Meanwhile, Dax’s new Super Spine transformed his abilities, and Killian approached Pepper with a plan to use a clever man’s brain to complete Extremis.

• Tony tested the Mark 42’s gesture-controlled armor, but its components knocked him down after he summoned them too quickly.
• Tony watched the Mandarin claim responsibility for an attack on a military air base, and President Ellis presented Rhodey as the red-and-blue Iron Patriot.
• Doctor Helen reported that Dax had recovered without rejection and that his physical capabilities had tripled after receiving the Super Spine.
• John assigned Dax the information gathered on Killian and prepared him with a new suit and vibranium weapons for revenge and training.
• Killian met Pepper at Stark Tower, while Happy grew suspicious of his interest in her.
• Killian, believing Daredevil or Night Ghost might have killed Savin, planned to borrow a clever man’s brain to finish his Extremis.

Happy and Ferdinand discovered an Extremis exchange at the Oriental Grand Theater, where a soldier’s exposure to the virus caused a deadly explosion. After the Extremis Soldier attacked them and escaped, the injured Ferdinand called John, who was meeting with Wenwu.

• Happy investigated Killian after seeing him flirt with Pepper Potts, then followed an Extremis exchange to the Oriental Grand Theater.
• Happy knocked the case of Extremis Virus to the ground and secretly took a vial, while Ferdinand recognized the soldier as one of the monsters they had encountered before.
• The Extremis Soldier attacked Happy and Ferdinand, and the retired soldier inhaled the virus and exploded, engulfing the theater in flames.
• Ferdinand dragged Happy behind a pillar, but the Extremis Soldier recovered and attacked them again before leaving the theater.
• Paramedics took Happy to the hospital, while Ferdinand called John and reported that the attackers had returned.
• John ended the call and told Wenwu that the show was getting tiresome.

John gave Wenwu three days to deal with the Fake Ten Rings, while Tony faced the fallout from revealing his address and an unexpected visit from Maya Hansen. The chapter ended as a missile struck Tony's Coastal Villa.

• John warned Wenwu to deal with the Fake Ten Rings within three days, and Wenwu promised to make the Mandarin pay.
• Wenwu passed Xu Xialing without acknowledging her, leaving her disappointed.
• Tony watched the Mandarin take responsibility for the bombing and threaten the president, then sent Dax a list of people he was allowed to kill.
• Fisk met with his lawyer, learned Vanessa was safe overseas, and considered how to turn Dax into his lackey.
• Maya Hansen visited Tony, and Pepper Potts confronted Tony about his past with her.
• A missile struck the Coastal Villa, and Tony used the Mark 42 to shield Pepper Potts from the blast.

Wenwu turned against the Mandarin’s operation while John challenged Killian to a deadly game, and Dax began hunting Extremis soldiers. Tony Stark survived the attack on his mansion and landed in Tennessee, where he met a boy as John watched the three tracks unfold.

• Wenwu brought down a Mandarin helicopter and ordered his masked subordinate to interrogate its surviving passenger for the base’s location.
• John called Killian and announced a game in which Killian would be hunted for the original Extremis virus and the Evolution Serum.
• Giles Alex reflected on his life as an Extremis Soldier before Dax killed him and crossed his name off a list as the first target.
• Tony Stark’s damaged Mark 42 flew him to Tennessee, where he dragged the armor through the snow and broke into a house, meeting a little boy.
• John watched from New York and examined the evolutionary path behind Extremis.

John created a safe Ultimate Serum from the Extremis Virus, then exposed Maya Hansen’s plan to use Pepper Potts to get Tony Stark to improve the virus. Maya admitted she still worked for Killian but claimed she opposed his terrorist attacks.

• John used modern technology and his potion-making expertise to improve the Extremis Virus and produce the Ultimate Serum.
• Hattie told John that Pepper Potts wanted his help finding Tony Stark, who was missing while pursuing The Mandarin.
• Pepper arrived at John’s home with Maya Hansen, who identified herself as an A.I.M. scientist behind the Extremis Virus project.
• John used Legilimency to expose Maya’s plan to exploit Pepper and force Tony to help perfect the Extremis Virus.
• John revealed to Pepper that he was a Wizard, and Pepper became angry that Tony had kept this from her.
• Maya admitted she still worked for Killian and wanted to finish her research, while John sensed that she opposed Killian’s attacks but was not innocent of their consequences.

Maya Hansen explained how Killian turned her Extremis research into a weapon, and John told her she had saved her own life by cooperating. Dax finished hunting Killian’s remaining forces in New York, while Wenwu learned the Mandarin was hiding in Miami and set out to confront him.

• Maya Hansen told John that Killian had used her Extremis research in experiments on disabled veterans and had worked with Fisk to eliminate Watson Wick.
• John said Maya was smart and had managed to save her own life.
• Dax tracked down and killed the last of Killian’s forces in New York, learned the base was in Miami, and prepared to continue the hunt there.
• Wenwu tortured the man impersonating the Mandarin until he revealed that the real Mandarin was hiding in a Miami manor.
• Xu Xialing wondered about John’s importance to Wenwu and resolved to seek freedom and her father’s acknowledgment.
• Wenwu ordered the plane to Miami and threw the captured man out, declaring that he would win the game.

Tony uncovered that A.I.M. was behind the terrorist attacks and learned the Mandarin was in Miami, while Killian prepared to capture President Ellis and considered confronting John. John confirmed Matt had questioned an Extremis driver and asked Matt whether he wanted to become stronger.

• Tony investigated the explosion, escaped an Extremis Soldier, and used Rhodey's access to discover that the Mandarin was in Miami.
• Killian planned to use the Iron Patriot to capture President Ellis, but Maya Hansen's departure with Pepper Potts forced him to consider confronting John.
• Tony, John, and another party headed for Miami to pursue the Mandarin.
• John learned that Matt had moved the female driver and obtained information from her without using Veritaserum.
• Matt explained his approach to the Second Alliance, and John asked him if he wanted to become stronger.

John explained that Matt’s convictions made him the moral anchor of the Second Alliance, and Matt refused the Ultimate Serum despite its promise of strength and restored sight. In Miami, Tony fought through the suspected Mandarin’s Manor without his armor, only to be saved from a blade by an unknown ally.

• John told Matt that his convictions made him essential to the alliance and offered him the Ultimate Serum, which might restore his sight.
• Matt refused the serum, saying that greater power could erode the convictions John valued, and John respected his choice.
• Tony realized that he could still be Iron Man without his armor and infiltrated the Manor using homemade weapons and equipment.
• Tony fought through the Manor’s guards and entered the bedroom where he expected to find The Mandarin.
• A blade sliced Tony’s pistol apart, but purple energy pulled the weapon from his attacker’s hand before it could strike him.

Tony, Dax, and Wenwu converged on Trevor Slattery, the actor impersonating The Mandarin, and discovered they were all connected to John Wick. After Wenwu took Trevor and Dax left to report to John, Tony and Rhodey set out to stop Killian from kidnapping the president.

• Wenwu arrived at the Manor with Opera Mask Man and Razor Fist, announced that Trevor Slattery had impersonated him, and stopped Dax from killing the actor.
• Tony and Dax learned that Wenwu was friends with John Wick, so Dax stood down and Tony persuaded Wenwu to give him time to question Trevor.
• Killian heated the Iron Patriot armor until Rhodey escaped, knocked Rhodey unconscious, and took the armor before setting out to kidnap the president.
• Dax and Wenwu searched for Killian, found Rhodey, and Wenwu invited Dax to work for him, but Dax said he worked only for someone else.
• Tony questioned Trevor and learned that Killian had orchestrated the attacks; Tony's Mark 42 armor arrived, and Rhodey joined him as they prepared to pursue Killian.
• Wenwu departed with Trevor and Dax left to report to John, leaving Tony and Rhodey to face the president's kidnapping threat alone.

Tony and Rhodey headed to the dock to stop Killian’s plan to kill the president, while John agreed to help after the Secretary of State offered concessions. Killian prepared to capture Tony and force him to perfect the Extremis Virus as Tony and Rhodey approached.

• Tony and Rhodey borrowed Trevor’s boat and called the Vice President before Tony asked John for help, offering to reveal his feud with John’s father.
• John agreed to consider helping Tony, while Pepper Potts and Maya Hansen stayed at his house and Hattie brought the Secretary of State’s offer of a larger Iron Soldier order and fewer trade restrictions.
• An Extremis Soldier disguised as Iron Patriot kidnapped the president from his plane, but Tony remotely controlled the Iron Man Armor to kill the attacker and rescue all thirteen crew members.
• Tony and Rhodey reached the dock after dark, where Killian planned to kill the president and frame The Mandarin while exploiting the Vice President’s support.
• Killian decided to capture Tony and make him perfect the Extremis Virus, while Tony sensed that someone was watching him.

Killian’s plot to execute President Ellis brought Tony Stark and Rhodey to the docks, where Tony unleashed his Iron Man suits against the Extremis Soldiers. John rescued Ellis and Rhodey, then watched Tony destroy Mark 42 in an explosion that engulfed both Tony and Killian.

• Killian sent his Extremis Soldiers against Tony and Rhodey as they tried to rescue President Ellis at the docks.
• Tony called in his fleet of Iron Man suits, and JARVIS’s armors attacked the Extremis Soldiers while Rhodey fought his way toward the president.
• John arrived, deflected an Extremis Soldier’s attack, and used magic to save Ellis and Rhodey from falling into the flames; he warned Rhodey to tell the Secretary of State not to break promises.
• John watched as Killian chased Tony and tore through several suits of armor, while Rhodey carried Ellis away from the battlefield.
• Mark 42 arrived but fell apart, so Tony ordered JARVIS to destroy it around Killian; the resulting explosion swallowed Killian and caught Tony in the blast.

John killed Killian with Avada Kedavra, then dragged Tony and their friends into an all-night board game. Afterward, Tony asked John to help him find Dr. Wu so he could remove the reactor from his chest, while Maya stayed at John's house.

• John saved Tony from falling debris, then killed Killian with the Killing Curse after Killian threatened John's family.
• Pepper reunited with Tony, and Tony destroyed his suits in a Christmas fireworks display.
• John made Tony, Pepper, Shang-Chi, Peter, Ned, and May play Earthshatter through the night, winning after defeating May.
• Tony visited John to ask for Dr. Wu's help removing the reactor from his chest and left with Dr. Wu's business card.
• Tony saw Maya at John's house and fled, while John said he would send Maya off to work.

John recruited Maya Hansen to develop a safer Extremis-based healing treatment for Taran Industries, then honored Wenwu’s invitation to watch Trevor Slattery perform. Meanwhile, Xu Xialing decided to leave Wenwu, Shang-Chi began learning magic from John, and Hattie summoned John back to work after Maya arrived at the company.

• John gave Maya a modified Extremis formula and ordered her to restructure Pioneer Technologies with Helen, developing a healing capsule for Taran Industries.
• Wenwu arranged for Trevor Slattery to perform for John and threatened to kill him if he failed to make John laugh.
• Xu Xialing saw Wenwu ignore her and decided to leave, following Shang-Chi’s example.
• John trained Shang-Chi to channel magic through emotion, and Shang-Chi broke his arm against John’s magical shield before John treated him with Skele-Gro.
• Peter and Ned visited the injured Shang-Chi, then fled when John offered to make them boneless too.
• Hattie called John back to work and told him that Maya had come to Taran Industries claiming John sent her.

John dealt with the fallout from Killian’s Extremis plot and watched his company help restore Manhattan while he tried to enjoy Christmas without work. Meanwhile, Tony survived a perilous operation, and John confronted him over an old promise, ending with Tony revealing that he had hit on John’s mother.

• John refused government and military demands for Extremis research, while Maya Hansen accelerated work on the Healing Capsule.
• John arranged for damaged Hell’s Kitchen homes to be bought and redeveloped, as Silverhand Fashion Architecture helped rebuild Manhattan and Wizards’ public image improved.
• Dr. Wu operated on Tony with Shaun Murphy assisting, and Tony’s sudden hemorrhaging and falling heart rate repeatedly interrupted the surgery before Dr. Wu saved him.
• John visited Tony with strawberries, then destroyed Tony’s television when Tony failed to remember his promise.
• Tony put on Armor and called Banner as backup before recounting his old feud with John’s father, until John learned Tony had hit on his mother in an elevator.

Tony told Pepper that John had beaten him after Tony boasted he had almost become John’s stepfather, while John later reviewed Maya Hansen’s progress on the Treatment Capsule and saw Ivan unveil his Third-Generation Fighter. John agreed not to stop Ivan from seeking revenge on Tony, then returned home to find Natasha Romanoff waiting for him.

• Pepper found Tony bruised, learned John had beaten him, and discovered Tony had provoked John by saying he had almost become his stepfather.
• John recalled beating Tony after the insult and learned that Maya Hansen and Doctor Helen had completed a Treatment Capsule that regenerated lost limbs in animal trials.
• John visited Ivan’s damaged laboratory, where Ivan revealed his Third-Generation Fighter and explained its upgraded armor, weapons, and remote-control system.
• Ivan told John he intended to go after Tony, and John agreed not to stop him.
• Natasha Romanoff picked the lock to John’s home and greeted him as he arrived.

Natasha questioned John about Silverhand Fashion Architecture and the exposure of wizard repairs. John argued that superheroes would eventually face public blame for collateral damage, and explained that wizards could repair the damage for a fee; Natasha left with a clearer sense of why Fury distrusted him.

• John told Natasha she would have to pay for the damaged lock out of her salary, and she dropped her seductive pose to ask about Silverhand Fashion Architecture.
• John said friendly wizards were repairing New York, while Natasha recalled S.H.I.E.L.D.'s suspicion of his motives and its investigation into his identity.
• Natasha asked whether filmed wizard repairs violated the International Statute of Secrecy, and John warned that the public would eventually turn against its heroes.
• John explained that Silverhand Fashion Architecture could repair damage caused while superheroes fought villains, provided residents and the city paid for the service.
• John criticized S.H.I.E.L.D. for relying on Stark's goodwill and intelligence while claiming to protect the world.
• Natasha asked whether John had read her mind, and he said he did not use Legilimency on friends.

Natasha brought John to her quiet house to ask for help with a pink teddy bear that had come alive through Ariana’s magic. John discovered Ariana’s package contained a powerful spellbook he had made for her, and he grew uneasy about why she had sent it to Natasha.

• Natasha invited John to her house and explained that she had returned to the home she planned to live in after retiring.
• A pink teddy bear struck Natasha, fled upstairs, and was revealed to have come alive through Ariana’s magic.
• John followed the bear to the attic, where he found Ariana’s package and a blank book the bear pointed out.
• John used his wand to reveal the book’s title, “Practical Magic Picture Book,” and recognized it as the magical guide he had prepared for Ariana.
• Natasha told John the package had been sent from a small town in New Jersey two weeks before Christmas, making him wonder why Ariana had sent the book there.

John found Ariana’s letter and set out to learn about her situation while Natasha investigated its delivery. After returning to school, Peter was teased by John at the shore, where John spotted Fisk meeting someone at sea and suspected the meeting was connected to the remaining person involved in the attack on his parents.

• John found Ariana’s letter, learned from Natasha that she was a reporter, and asked Natasha to investigate while he left the bear with her.
• Peter returned to school, where rumors that John was his godfather made teachers and students treat him differently.
• Peter complained about John to Ned, but John overheard them and took both boys to the shore.
• John spotted Fisk meeting someone on a boat and remembered that one person involved in the attempt on his parents’ lives was still unaccounted for.
• Fisk told the person he was meeting that Killian was dead and that they could take over everything Killian had.

Fisk worked with Kate Desmond to target John Wick’s supposed weakness, while John deliberately made Peter appear close to him. Dax gained Ray’s trust and received a USB drive listing agents suspected of taking bribes, leaving Dax with evidence against Fisk’s allies.

• Fisk told Kate Desmond he had found John Wick’s weakness: a woman and a child hidden in Queens, and Desmond agreed to celebrate.
• John overheard their conversation and began taking Peter to busy places to make his connection to the boy visible to Fisk’s men.
• Ray told Dax that his debts and family expenses threatened his promotion, then shared his investigation into Night Ghost and suspected corruption within the FBI.
• Ray gave Dax a USB drive listing agents whose spending suggested they had been bribed and asked him to watch for suspicious activity around Fisk.
• Dax accepted the drive and resolved to use the list of agents Fisk had bought off.

John investigated businessman Kate Desmond and learned that his records were hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D., leading Natasha to suspect there were traitors within the agency. Meanwhile, Fisk prepared to manipulate Dax, and John waited for Fisk’s plans to escalate.

• Hattie told John that Desmond was a German businessman who had joined the Mitte Brotherhood and funded organizations and political figures, while Natasha discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. had blocked access to his files.
• Natasha and Barton agreed to investigate the concealed information together, and Natasha later told John she needed to inform Fury and use Desmond to expose traitors.
• Fisk reviewed Dax’s files and therapy recordings while Dax encountered Polaris in a park, then received a call from Ray about an operation in Hell’s Kitchen.
• John watched reports of Fisk helping the FBI and complained that no one had tried to kidnap Peter yet.
• Natasha asked John to leave Desmond alone while S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated, and John warned her that the agency might have more traitors than she expected.

Fisk kidnapped Peter and May to force John Wick to choose between rescuing them and stopping his return to power. John found and rescued them, while Hattie recorded evidence of the kidnapping, and they prepared to expose Fisk publicly.

• Peter and Ned tried to avoid John’s constant invitations to eat, but Peter returned home and was abducted with May by Fisk’s men.
• Wesley brought the captives to an unfinished building, where Fisk planned to use them to keep John Wick occupied while Fisk regained his freedom.
• John learned Peter and May were missing and used a magical blood-tracking charm to follow them to the building.
• John collapsed the ground and rescued Peter and May from a buried metal box containing oxygen tanks.
• Hattie arrived with recordings of the kidnapping and the kidnappers’ conversations, and John planned to show the evidence on a courthouse screen.

Wilson Fisk tried to recruit Dax by appealing to their shared childhood violence, but Dax rejected him. As Fisk’s trial ended in acquittal, he began reclaiming power, while Leland fled to Sicily and Julie was murdered on Fisk’s orders.

• Fisk studied Dax’s history and tried to persuade him that they were alike, but Dax dumped the food and walked away.
• Fisk arranged for Julie to be killed, then told Leland to launch a newspaper campaign portraying him as a victim of injustice.
• Leland reported that Fisk had begun, received reassurance from an unknown contact, and fled to Sicily with his cash.
• Fisk arrived at court for his verdict and learned that Dax had taken leave.
• Fisk’s lawyer blamed John Wick for Fisk’s troubles, and the jury unanimously found Fisk not guilty.