Chapter Summaries

Peter rode the school bus to Osborn Industries, hoping to take photos of Liz but too nervous to talk to her. After fleeing from Cindy’s teasing, he sat beside Gwen, whose reaction suggested she had misunderstood his nervousness.

• Peter brought Uncle Ben’s old camera to the school trip, hoping to secretly take pictures of Liz.
• Peter boarded the bus and found that the only available seat was beside Liz, but Cindy took it first.
• Cindy teased Peter about wanting to talk to Liz, and Peter panicked and sat in the seat beside Gwen instead.
• Peter hiccupped and accidentally let out the smell of boiled eggs while sitting beside Gwen.
• Gwen gave Peter water and said she now understood why he had always seemed to avoid her, blushing as she spoke.

Peter and Gwen bonded during the school trip, while Stark’s smart navigation system diverted the buses from Osborn Industries to Stark Tower. Tony welcomed the students with superheroes, secret gifts, and free food, persuading the teachers to join the tour as well.

• Peter chatted with Gwen and discovered that they shared nerdy interests, while Mary Jane and Marshall Jones speculated about his feelings for Gwen.
• The school bus driver argued with Stark’s intelligent navigation system, which ordered him to take a different route and guided the buses through traffic.
• Peter and the students arrived at Stark Industries instead of Osborn Industries, and Iron Man landed to welcome them.
• Tony promised the students hidden gifts, free food, and visits from Avengers including Captain America, prompting the children to rush inside.
• Tony offered the teachers and drivers shopping vouchers, and they abandoned their attempts to contact the school and joined the tour.

Tony diverted Midtown High School’s tour from Osborn Industries to Stark Industries and used the visit to promote Stark while pursuing his rivalry with Osborn. Back at the tower, he joined the Avengers’ meeting, where he welcomed Sam Wilson but continued disputing Nick Fury’s attempt to bring Vision onto the team.

• Tony used hacked bus navigation systems to redirect Midtown High School’s students to Stark Industries and planned press coverage to embarrass Osborn and its political allies.
• Tony left the students’ reception to meet the Avengers at the tower, where Fury introduced Vision.
• Steve explained how he had befriended retired soldier Sam Wilson and invited him to join the Avengers as Falcon.
• Tony welcomed Sam to the team but argued with Fury, saying he did not trust Vision’s story or fear that Ultron had planted him among the Avengers.

Tony questioned Vision about his intentions before agreeing to have Jarvis examine him, while Peter struggled to choose between Liz and Gwen. The chapter left Peter tempted by Ned’s advice to pursue both girls.

• Tony demanded that Vision accept safeguards, and Vision agreed while explaining that he wanted humans and electronic life to cooperate as equals.
• Tony softened toward Vision and asked Jarvis to examine him, then announced a meet-and-greet for the kids.
• Tony worried about Susan’s disappearance through the spatial rift and about the Synthezoid impersonating Reed.
• Peter admired Gwen and wondered whether to keep loving Liz or switch his affections to Gwen.
• Ned urged Peter to pursue both girls, and Peter considered the unconventional advice.

Deathstroke replaced Ned and manipulated Peter and his classmates into taking Stark Tower’s executive elevator, setting them up to enter the Spider Wonder House. As the elevator rose, spiders poured through a hole in its ceiling and attacked the group.

• Deathstroke revealed that he had sent the real Ned’s family on a secretive Wilson Enterprises trip and taken Ned’s place at school.
• Deathstroke learned of Tony’s plan involving Peter and arranged with Great Weaver to intervene and expose Peter to the Spider-God’s Living Totems.
• Disguised as Ned, Deathstroke persuaded Peter to bring several classmates to meet the Avengers and distracted the other students with a fake announcement.
• Deathstroke opened the executive elevator and had Peter’s group board, then stayed behind after the elevator reported that they exceeded its weight limit.
• As the elevator climbed, hundreds of spiders emerged through a hole in the ceiling and fell onto Peter and the others.

Natasha and Daisy heard a disturbance in Stark Tower’s elevator, and the Avengers prepared for an attack before discovering six unconscious teenagers inside. They carried the children to Tony’s sofa and began considering what to do with them.

• Natasha listened toward the elevator while reflecting on her friendship with Daisy and Deathstroke’s instructions to protect and monitor certain people.
• Daisy used her hammer to listen for the sound, and Tony asked Jarvis to show the elevator’s surveillance feed.
• Jarvis reported that the elevator network had been breached, so the Avengers armed themselves and gathered at the doors.
• The elevator opened to reveal five girls clinging to an unconscious boy, and Steve checked that they were safe.
• Falcon and Hawkeye carried the sleeping teenagers to Tony’s sofa, and Falcon explained social media validation before asking what to do with them.

Peter dreamed that he and the girls were trapped beneath spiders after being bitten, while Deathstroke watched the dream through the Web and arranged for a spider to wake him. The Avengers found no sign of poisoning, but Tony kept Peter at Stark Tower for observation and asked how he had breached the firewall.

• Deathstroke and the Great Weaver watched Peter’s nightmare, and Deathstroke ordered a spider to crawl into Peter’s nostril and wake him.
• The spider made Peter sneeze awake, and he told Steve that he and the girls had been bitten by enormous black spiders with red eyes.
• Natasha judged the bites harmless, and the girls woke with only small red marks despite none of them seeing spiders in the elevator afterward.
• Steve said Tony was responsible for the children’s safety, and Falcon kept them at Stark Tower for observation.
• Tony told the group they would go home later and asked Peter how he had broken through Stark’s firewall.

Peter and his classmates met the Avengers after entering Stark Industries Tower, and Tony let them take photos and get autographs after warning them not to put their friends in danger. That night, the students all dreamed of becoming spiders, while Su Ming and Magik discussed the gathering of spiders and a person Magik had found for him.

• Peter claimed the elevator door had opened by itself, and Tony concluded that the students had stumbled upon Ultron's attack on Jarvis.
• Peter took responsibility for the students' actions, and Steve and Tony let the incident slide and arranged photos and autographs for them.
• Vision told the students they needed their guardians' consent, and the students spent the day with the Avengers before leaving Stark Industries Tower.
• Tony spoke with Peter about Jessica, and the students were sent home after being checked for signs of poisoning.
• The students dreamed that they had become spiders, while Su Ming and Magik discussed the danger of attracting the Morlun Family.
• Magik told Su Ming she had found someone he might be interested in and opened a golden ring of light.

Deathstroke rescued Polaris from a laboratory and sent Magik to take her to Xavier’s School, while warning her about Magneto’s new ally, Mesmero. The next morning, Peter woke with spider-like powers and raced to find out how the girls were doing.

• Deathstroke recognized the feverish woman in the Safehouse as Polaris and identified her suppression collar and likely escape from a military laboratory in Mexico.
• Deathstroke had Strangle destroy Polaris’s collar, then told Magik to take her to Xavier’s School and warned that her emotions could swing between rage and depression.
• Deathstroke told Magik that he wanted Polaris to unite X-Factor in the future and warned her that Magneto had recruited Mesmero to hypnotize the X-Men.
• Peter woke late, discovered he could stick to the ceiling, and found that his eyesight, physique, strength, and instincts had changed.
• Peter grabbed bread, rode his bicycle out, and hurried to check on the girls.

Peter and the girls discussed their new spider powers and agreed to keep them secret, while Peter collected Cynthia Moon’s Spider-Silk to study. At Stark Tower, Tony and Vision prepared to address the spatial rift, and Deathstroke arrived to claim payment after rescuing Susan, who had returned pregnant.

• Peter joined MJ, Mary, Gwen, Liz, and Cynthia Moon on the school roof to discuss the powers they had gained from the spiders.
• Gwen proposed keeping their powers secret and forming a team called the Spider-Woman Alliance, and the girls agreed not to tell the Avengers yet.
• Cynthia demonstrated that she could spray strong Spider-Silk from her wrists, and Peter took a sample to study for making web-shooters.
• Tony and Vision reviewed calculations for closing the spatial rift, but Tony delayed the attempt until he knew the person inside had returned.
• Deathstroke arrived at Stark Tower and demanded payment from Tony for rescuing Susan and hiring Deadpool and him.
• Susan returned to the Baxter Building after discussing matters with Doom, and she was pregnant.

Deathstroke told Tony Stark that the rescue had gone smoothly and that the spatial rift could be closed, then spent a leisurely day with Gin hunting in Asgard’s Eternal Hunting Grounds, eating in Vanaheim, and watching Thor fight on Sakaar. Loki explained that he had accepted Hela’s rule because Thor preferred arena combat to becoming All-Father, leaving the siblings content with their chosen lives.

• Deathstroke told Tony Stark to pay Deadpool $100,000 and said the plan to close the spatial rift could begin, then left Stark Tower.
• Tony sent Vision to transport equipment to Mars, while Deathstroke disguised himself and met Gin in a limousine.
• Deathstroke and Gin visited Odin’s Eternal Hunting Grounds, where Gin explained that the creatures there had become Einherjar, before they headed to Vanaheim for a meal.
• The pair went to Sakaar and watched Thor fight an Alien gorilla, where Loki told Deathstroke that Odin had revealed Hela’s existence to him and Thor.
• Loki said he was content to let Hela become All-Father because Thor wanted to be Sakaar’s champion and Loki enjoyed watching his brother fight.

Su Ming returned to Earth and found the Annihilation Swarm pouring through a spatial breach above New York, where the Avengers and mages were fighting its forces. He landed at the New York Sanctum, where Master Daniel told him the battle was too much for him.

• Gin and Su Ming discussed the Old Ones, Illyana, and plans for the Forge World and fleet production before separating.
• Su Ming flew into the Solar System and discovered that the spatial rift had moved from Mars to above New York City.
• Su Ming saw the rift releasing Bio-ships and a vast swarm of armed hive creatures into the city.
• Su Ming spotted Tony, Daisy, and Vision fighting in the air and considered whether Carol or Blue Marvel might intervene.
• Su Ming landed at the New York Sanctum and found Master Daniel leading apprentices against the swarm.
• Master Daniel told Su Ming that the battle was too hard for him.

Su Ming dealt with the Annihilation Swarm’s invasion of New York by asking Daniel to gather Kamar-Taj’s apprentices for combat practice, then went to wake Deadpool. He left with Deadpool to fight the bugs while Vanessa and the others stayed behind.

• Su Ming reassured Daniel that the technological invasion was not his fault and asked him to gather Kamar-Taj’s apprentices at the New York Sanctum Sanctorum.
• Daniel began capturing a giant locust and preparing the apprentices for combat training, including special practice for Strange.
• Su Ming entered Wade’s home and found Wade, Vanessa, and several women asleep after a drunken night.
• Su Ming stabbed Wade awake and told him the Annihilation Swarm had invaded New York.
• Wade dressed, said goodbye to Vanessa, and left with Su Ming to fight the bugs.

Su Ming brought Deadpool into Manhattan during an insect invasion and directed him to help S.H.I.E.L.D. while seeking a lead on Francis. As Carol cut through the swarm, Su Ming noticed several masked teenagers clinging to a distant building.

• Su Ming flew Deadpool toward Manhattan and teased him about spending money on Vanessa’s old girlfriends.
• Su Ming gave Deadpool guns and explained he wanted to teach him to make money during the crisis.
• Deadpool said he wanted to find Francis and punish him and the people in lab coats, so Su Ming suggested seeking help from Nick Fury’s intelligence network.
• Deadpool agreed to assist S.H.I.E.L.D., and Su Ming sent him toward agents in danger while Carol attacked the insect swarm.
• Su Ming spotted several masked people in cheap uniforms clinging to a distant building and judged them to be teenagers.

After the Spatial Rift moved above New York, officials warned residents to stay indoors while Peter and five girls used their unexpected day off to get superhero uniforms made. When the insect swarm poured from the rift, the newly formed Spider-Woman Alliance swung toward Manhattan to help, unaware that Deathstroke was watching them.

• Tony reported that the Spatial Rift had moved above New York and that he needed to recalculate the closure method, prompting officials to issue a request for residents to stay home.
• Peter and the five girls went to Big Loni's, where they commissioned or improvised superhero uniforms despite the cost.
• The Spider-Woman Alliance left the tailor shop in costume and decided to become neighborhood heroes.
• A swarm of insect-like aliens emerged from the Great Maelstrom and spread across Manhattan, devouring people, pets, and vegetation.
• The group swung toward the disaster zone using Silk's shared webline, while Deathstroke watched them and a team struggled to rescue civilians below.

Coulson and Sitwell led agents and civilians toward a subway shelter while coordinated Annihilation Swarm attacks trapped them in a building. Masked Superhumans and Deadpool arrived to turn the fight around.

• Coulson and Sitwell escorted about a hundred civilians through the streets while joking to keep them calm and discussing the Avengers' response.
• The swarm launched a coordinated assault, forcing Coulson's team to shelter the civilians inside a pharmaceutical company's lobby.
• Sitwell signaled Crossbones to call in Hydra air support, but masked fighters suddenly attacked the locusts outside.
• Coulson and Sitwell prepared a countercharge as the masked fighters pushed back the swarm.
• Deadpool strode out with a Gatling gun and tore into the insects while taunting them.

Deadpool and the Spider-Men helped S.H.I.E.L.D. agents escort civilians into a subway station after the bugs retreated. Deadpool’s bizarre antics confused Peter, who learned about his healing ability, before Deadpool called out to Coulson to negotiate payment.

• The bugs temporarily retreated, allowing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, aided by the Spider-Men and Deadpool, to lead the civilians into a subway station.
• Deadpool struck up an obnoxious conversation with Peter, who threw back insults while the Spider-Girls watched from a distance.
• Deadpool showed Peter his badly damaged hand and peeled away its rotten skin, and Peter examined it with fascinated curiosity.
• Deadpool claimed he had incurable cancer, prompting Peter to apologize and hug him in sympathy.
• Deadpool pushed Peter away and called out to Agent Coulson to discuss payment for helping save the civilians.

At a subway station sheltering civilians, Deadpool made a deal with Nick Fury: he would help protect S.H.I.E.L.D.’s people in exchange for help finding Francis. Coulson led Deadpool and Spider-Man out to continue rescuing civilians.

• Coulson handed the rescued civilians over to the National Guard and replenished his weapons and ammunition.
• Deadpool asked Sitwell to help him find Francis, but insisted that only Nick Fury’s intelligence network could do it.
• Coulson let Deadpool speak with Fury, who agreed to help in exchange for Deadpool protecting his people during the operation.
• Fury ordered the Helicarrier’s nuclear missiles sealed away and its pilots reviewed after suspecting something was wrong.
• Deadpool joined Coulson’s team to find Captain America and escort more civilians to the station, and Spider-Man volunteered to help.

Deathstroke and Doctor Doom watched the Annihilation Swarm attack New York while the heroes struggled to protect civilians and hold the line. As Coulson’s team arrived to evacuate more survivors, Deadpool spotted Wolverine and drew his swords.

• Deathstroke described his preferred way of killing as he watched the invasion with Doctor Doom, who had already moved pregnant Susan to safety.
• Deathstroke said he would wait to join the fight unless the Annihilation Swarm King appeared, while Doom offered to help close the Spatial Rift if Iron Man failed.
• The Bio-ships devastated buildings across New York as the heroes and local gangs fought to defend the city.
• Steve’s group sheltered survivors in a bank vault and held the entrance until Wolverine, Colossus, and other X-Men arrived to help.
• Coulson’s team came to evacuate another group of survivors, and Deadpool drew his swords after spotting Wolverine.

During the alien attack, Deadpool stabbed Wolverine over the Weapon X experiments that had used Wolverine’s genes, but Magik stopped their fight. Deadpool then spotted a faster escape route through the sewers, and Steve approved the plan to evacuate the Survivors underground.

• Wade stabbed Logan from behind, blaming him for the experiments that had ruined his face.
• Magik separated Wade and Logan with magic, and Wade exposed his mangled face, making most of the group vomit.
• Wade learned from Magik that the Weapon Program researchers, rather than Mutants, were responsible for his suffering and sheathed his sword.
• After Coulson reminded Wade that their mission was to rescue people, Wade enlarged a sewer entrance with a rocket launcher.
• Steve agreed that the Survivors should escape through the sewers and thanked Wade for helping the civilians.