Chapter Summaries

Su Ming took Charles and his companions to 40K-2 after Shadow King killed Beast and was stopped. He brought Charles to Little Rich for an examination, and Little Rich recognized him as a Shadow King host.

• Shadow King killed Beast while trying to escape with Charles, but Deathstroke killed the body he controlled before he could flee.
• Su Ming restored the damaged hall and prepared to leave with the group for 40K-2.
• Su Ming explained that 40K-2 was a supernatural world where dead souls remained as spirits because Hell had no access to it.
• Su Ming found Little Rich working at a lunar observation station and asked him to check Charles for aftereffects.
• Little Rich conjured an electric wheelchair and identified Charles as a Shadow King host.

Little Rich removed Shadow King's influence from Professor X, and Su Ming brought the group back to Earth-40K to wait for Knull and prepare to confront Shadow King. The professor rested at Kamar-Taj while Su Ming and the others waited for the next opportunity.

• Little Rich pulled Shadow King's shadow out of Professor X and sent the professor into a peaceful sleep.
• Su Ming explained that Shadow King could exploit psychological shadows, then said he would take Little Rich to the Main World to deal with him.
• Su Ming and the others teleported from the Cancerverse to Kamar-Taj on Earth-40K, where Mordo arranged rooms for Professor X and Magneto.
• Su Ming said they would wait for Knull before confronting Shadow King, while Tony explored Kamar-Taj and joked about its four-season courtyard.

Su Ming planned to use Franklin Von Doom to find Shadow King through Knull, then discussed who would accompany him. Tony discovered someone had hacked Peter’s phone to send him explicit videos, and Su Ming concluded that Black Cat was trying to get Peter’s attention; the chapter ended with Tony and Su Ming exasperated by Peter’s oblivious response.

• Su Ming explained that Franklin Von Doom was a powerful Multiversal being and said they would wait to see whether Shadow King and Knull made contact.
• Su Ming asked Tony whether he would come along or go to Hawaii, and Tony chose to stay with Peter and keep him safe.
• Tony checked Peter’s phone and found that someone had hacked it to push explicit videos featuring a cat-eared girl.
• Su Ming connected the videos to Black Cat, suggesting she was targeting Peter because he had interfered with her plan to sell something to Hydra.
• Peter worried that Black Cat would keep harassing him, prompting Tony and Su Ming to look at him with exasperation.

Su Ming contacted Hoggoth to discuss the threat posed by Knull and Shadow King and whether their conflict could be turned to his advantage. Their conversation ended in secrecy, leaving Su Ming alone in the Kamar-Taj backyard with an unknown plan.

• Su Ming went to the backyard and asked Hamill to summon Hoggoth while Ancient One continued her research.
• Hoggoth arrived in a cartoonish caterpillar form and dismissed Knull as a lesser threat.
• Su Ming told Hoggoth about Knull and Shadow King acting at the same time, and Hoggoth agreed that Shadow King was more troublesome.
• Hoggoth hinted that Su Ming had ascended through Hypertime and was plotting against the Beyonders, while Su Ming avoided confirming it.
• Su Ming asked whether the Beyonders had shadows or hearts and proposed turning Knull and Shadow King's trouble to his advantage.
• Darkness covered the backyard during Su Ming and Hoggoth's private discussion, and Hoggoth disappeared after about five minutes.

After dinner and performances at Kamar-Taj, Su Ming learned that Klyntar was still half an hour from Earth and decided to use the delay to confront Shadow King. The group prepared to go after Amahl Farouk, with Little Rich joining Su Ming to learn how to kill.

• Su Ming rewarded a three-year-old performer after her absurd crosstalk delighted the guests.
• Adjutant showed that Klyntar was moving slowly as it stopped to devour other planets, leaving it about half an hour from Earth.
• Tony, Peter, and Ororo speculated about what Klyntar might become, while Su Ming proposed using the delay to deal with Shadow King.
• White Queen agreed to avenge Charles, and Tony argued that killing an enemy could be justified as self-defense.
• Storm suggested going to Egypt to kill Amahl Farouk but admitted she did not kill people; Su Ming ordered the group not to spare their enemies.
• Little Rich manifested his bodysuit and agreed to accompany Su Ming so he could learn to kill.

Su Ming brought the group to Africa to lure the Shadow King into using his powerful Kwaku Anansi account, while arranging to strike his other accounts at the same time. After Strangle scared a pride of lions from their den, Su Ming gave Peter Heart-Shaped Herb so he could ask the Leopard God where Kwaku Anansi’s ancestral grave was.

• Su Ming chose Kwaku Anansi as the main target and planned to eliminate the Shadow King's other accounts simultaneously.
• The group teleported into a lion's den, where Peter startled a lion and caught its paws.
• Strangle roared at the lions and drove the pride from the den.
• Su Ming took Black Panther's form and told Peter to ask the Leopard God for Kwaku Anansi's ancestral grave.
• Su Ming poured Heart-Shaped Herb down Peter's throat, and Peter fell into Dream.

Su Ming gave Peter the Heart-Shaped Herb to prepare him for a future on the Mystic Side, then tasked Little Rich with finding the Shadow King’s hosts through online activity. Little Rich began analyzing data with the Adjutant while Su Ming refused to summon an Old One.

• Su Ming explained the Heart-Shaped Herb ritual and gave the unconscious Peter a dose to strengthen his future prospects.
• Su Ming placed Peter in a tree hollow and asked Little Rich to find the Shadow King’s other hosts on Earth.
• Little Rich proposed using online activity and surveillance data to identify possible hosts, and suggested intercepting people drawn to Cthulhu through their dreams.
• Su Ming rejected summoning an Old One and told Little Rich to begin the data search with help from the Adjutant.
• Tony asked whether Little Rich was a Mutant, and Little Rich explained that his intelligence let him imagine and use powerful abilities.

Su Ming ordered a global operation to capture people suspected of being Shadow King hosts and send them to another universe, while Peter returned from the Animal Gods’ dimension with the Leopard God’s information about Kwaku Anansi. The group learned where Anansi slept and prepared to pursue him.

• Little Rich identified more than three million suspected Shadow King hosts, and Su Ming ordered confirmed threats killed while the rest were captured and sent away.
• The Sorcerer Supreme instructed the Adjutant to launch the Disinfection Plan, using Synthezoids and the Spider Web Russian Girls to seize the suspects and turn them into zombies as test subjects.
• Peter woke up and described his encounter with Deadpool in the Animal Gods’ dimension, then was cleaned by Franklin after Strangle sprayed him with air freshener.
• Peter shared the Leopard God’s information about Kwaku Anansi, and the Leopard God revealed Anansi’s sleeping place, habits, and diet.

Deathstroke and his team tracked the Voodoo god Kuqua to a marsh near Mount Kalene in Zambia. Storm unleashed a massive lightning storm to wake him, and Emma sensed his presence as the team prepared for battle.

• The Animal Gods agreed to help Deathstroke find Kuqua in exchange for a favor to Vishanti.
• Deathstroke, Tony, Peter, Storm, Emma, and their allies arrived in the marshlands near Mount Kalene, where Deathstroke explained Kuqua was hiding.
• Deathstroke ordered Storm to electrify the marsh and draw Kuqua out.
• Storm summoned charged clouds and struck the marsh with a barrage of lightning as torrential rain fell.
• Emma sensed Kuqua waking and turned to diamond while Deathstroke warned the team to maintain mental protection.

Su Ming and his allies confronted Kuqua in the swamp while waiting for Shadow King to respond to the threat against one of his hosts. Meanwhile, the worldwide cleanup of Shadow King's alternate accounts exposed and eliminated numerous hidden threats across Earth.

• Kuqua emerged from the swamp in his grotesque true form and angrily accused Black Panther of betraying him.
• Tony and Ororo attacked Kuqua, and Ororo's lightning blasted him back into the water.
• Su Ming warned the group that Kuqua had hidden abilities and was likely waiting in the mud for a chance to strike.
• Su Ming held back Franklin and Deathstroke, hoping Shadow King would arrive before they killed Kuqua and reveal clues to his true body.
• The Adjutant reported Shadow King's hosts appearing across the world as Synthezoids eliminated them and other concealed threats.
• Su Ming's cleanup operation dealt with Skrull spies, Aliens, Living Dead, Deviants, and demons possessing humans.

Su Ming used Fairy blood to drive Kuqua into a frenzy, forcing Shadow King to take control of the evil god. As Franklin prepared to trap Shadow King in the account, Su Ming ordered Adjutant to eliminate Amahl Farouk in Cairo.

• Su Ming poured Fairy blood into the muddy pool, and the liquid spread through the water.
• Su Ming explained that the substance was Fairy blood and that it caused creatures who drank it to go insane.
• Kuqua emerged from the water in a frenzy and chased Ororo through the storm.
• Franklin waited for Shadow King to log into Kuqua’s account so he could try to trap him there.
• Shadow King took control of Kuqua, and Su Ming ordered Franklin to act and Adjutant to kill Amahl Farouk in Cairo.
• Adjutant said Yelena and the other sisters would destroy Amahl Farouk’s forces with support from one hundred thousand Synthezoids.

Franklin brutally dismembered Kuqua to cut off Shadow King's escape routes, but Shadow King escaped by making Kuqua explode. Su Ming comforted Franklin, restored the swamp, and led the group toward New York to await Klyntar and Knull.

• Franklin immobilized Kuqua and tore away his limbs and other body parts to reduce the shadows Shadow King could use to escape.
• Tony joked with Su Ming and learned that Howard's greatest invention was synthezoid prostitutes.
• Shadow King escaped by blowing up Kuqua, leaving only a cloud of blood mist.
• Su Ming reassured Franklin, who restored the swamp and healed the infected animals.
• Su Ming and the others set off for New York, expecting Klyntar and Knull to target the city.

As New York descended into chaos, Tony learned that his construction company had profited from rebuilding the city while exploiting workers, and he shut it down in anger. Deathstroke then proposed taking over the work through Wilson Real Estate Company, using a scheme that would make S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United Nations pay while allowing small contractors to earn a living.

• Su Ming and the others surveyed the fighting in New York from the Statue of Liberty as Tony worried about repairing the city.
• Emma, Su Ming, Peter, and Ororo explained how Tony's construction company and its subcontractors had exploited workers and profited from cleanup orders.
• Tony learned that Liz's father had become Vulture after being driven to desperation and realized that Fury had likely known about the corruption.
• Tony ordered Jarvis to shut down his construction company and pursue the traitors involved.
• Deathstroke told Adjutant to have Wilson Real Estate Company take over the repair work, and they outlined a billing scheme that would shift the cost to the United Nations.

Wanda destroyed Klyntar and sealed Earth off from space, while Symbiote fragments fell toward New York. Su Ming prepared to enter the city and wait for Knull and the Shadow King to meet.

• Peter abandoned his plan to enter the city because Deathstroke's men were already rounding up hidden enemies, and stayed with the others atop the Statue of Liberty.
• The Adjutant showed Su Ming and the others Klyntar approaching Earth as Wanda formed her Chaos Dimension around the planet and A-Net activated.
• Wanda caught Klyntar in a giant red hand and shattered it, sending surviving Symbiotes down toward Earth as a meteor shower.
• Wanda sealed Earth's space and stayed behind to watch for Knull, while Carol and her team cleared Symbiotes from space and prepared to check on the Inhumans.
• Su Ming said he had already ruined most of Knull and the Shadow King's plan, then took everyone toward the city to go shopping.

Su Ming explained Shadow King and Knull’s plan to use Legion’s powers, then offered Peter and Ororo a chance to choose Symbiotes as the city descended into chaos. Peter chose a dark red Symbiote, and Su Ming ordered Strangle to buy it from its current host.

• Su Ming reasoned that Shadow King wanted Legion’s location so he could copy Legion’s mutant powers into his avatars, while Knull accelerated his arrival to help.
• Symbiotes invaded the city, possessing people and driving new hosts to attack civilians as they fought Synthezoids carrying out the Disinfection Plan.
• Cloak carried Su Ming’s group through the bloody streets, and Su Ming invited Peter and Ororo to choose Symbiotes for themselves.
• After Su Ming assured Peter that a host could control a Symbiote’s hunger, Deathstroke persuaded Peter by reminding him he wanted to protect Gwen, Mary, and the other spider girls.
• Peter chose a dark red Symbiote that was eating a dog, and Su Ming had Strangle write its former host a check for five hundred thousand US dollars before turning to Ororo with a wedding-gift offer.

Su Ming directed the response to the Symbiote invasion while Tony prepared to leave with Peter and Emma departed for another universe. Ororo chose a Symbiote as her wedding gift, and Su Ming sent her new host’s former partner flying toward a police station.

• Su Ming ordered Adjutant to equip Synthezoids with sonic weapons and stasis containers to capture Symbiotes rather than kill them.
• Tony asked where Shadow King’s accomplice was, and Su Ming said the two were likely hiding together in a place without light.
• Su Ming let Tony leave with Peter and told him to contact the Avengers, while warning that the enemy would soon come after Strangle.
• Su Ming sent Emma to The Boys Universe, and Emma gave Ororo a diamond made from her synthetic tear as a wedding gift.
• Ororo chose a diamond-eyed Symbiote she spotted with a thief, and Strangle transferred it to her before throwing the thief toward the nearest police station.

Su Ming waited for Knull’s forces with Little Franklin, but Cloak brought them to a battle in Hell’s Kitchen, where Jessica Jones and Squirrel Girl were defending civilians from armed Men in Black Agents. Su Ming stepped in to help, and Franklin moved behind the attackers as Squirrel Girl realized the fighting could keep her from reaching the supermarkets.

• Su Ming sent Ororo back to Wakanda with her symbiote and waited with Little Franklin for Knull’s forces to track Strangle.
• Cloak carried Su Ming and Franklin to Hell’s Kitchen, where civilians and several factions fought in the streets.
• Jessica Jones and Squirrel Girl protected civilians from Men in Black Agents who were firing on them.
• Su Ming joined Jessica and Squirrel Girl in the line of fire, while Squirrel Girl blamed a rival bargain hunter for the attack.
• Franklin appeared behind the Men in Black Agents, and Su Ming pointed out that the battle might have closed every supermarket.
• Squirrel Girl screamed and collapsed at the thought of missing the supermarket bargains.

Su Ming defeated Department Z agents who mistook the group for Mutants, then sent the tourists underground and helped Jessica head home with food, liquor, and cigarettes. He reunited with Squirrel Girl and asked her to help with an upcoming mission as the threat from Knull and Shadow King still loomed.

• Su Ming learned from Jessica that the agents belonged to Department Z's new cover and killed them with Cosmic Energy, while Franklin destroyed their remains.
• Su Ming ordered the frightened tourists into the subway and pulled Jessica out of the crowd.
• Su Ming gave Jessica liquor, a self-heating hotpot, and cigarettes, then sent her home.
• Jessica kissed Squirrel Girl on the cheek before leaving with Su Ming's gifts.
• Su Ming invited Squirrel Girl to join his mission, and she agreed to help him settle the score with the aliens.

Su Ming waited in Hell’s Kitchen for Knull to arrive, then had Squirrel Girl bring down the massive Symbiote ball carrying him. Knull crashed to the ground, leaving Su Ming and his companions ready to face him.

• Su Ming discussed Franklin’s hope of creating a world filled with plants, while Franklin argued that selfishness made a human utopia impossible.
• Squirrel Girl spotted a huge Symbiote ball approaching, and Su Ming identified Knull as its hidden rider.
• Su Ming ordered Squirrel Girl to bring down the ball, and she hurled a chestnut through it.
• Knull’s Symbiote mount screamed, tilted, and crashed into the ground amid dust and rubble.
• Su Ming praised Squirrel Girl’s destructive power and compared her appearance to comedians he remembered.

Su Ming, Franklin, and Squirrel Girl confronted Knull after Doreen knocked him from the sky, and Su Ming provoked him into emerging for a fight. Their clash left the world darkened, but Franklin contained the destruction, and Su Ming ended the chapter fighting Knull while Strangle resisted his control.

• Su Ming told Franklin that Squirrel Girl's seemingly impossible attack worked through the rules of the world, then flew with him and Doreen to Knull's crash site.
• Su Ming taunted the apparently defeated Knull, prompting the ground to explode as Knull burst from the crater.
• Su Ming and Knull traded punches, darkening the Northern Hemisphere, while Franklin stopped the shockwave and restored the surrounding streets as a garden.
• Knull demanded that Su Ming hand over his weapon and tried to control Strangle, but Su Ming kicked him low as Strangle threw lime powder into his face.