Chapter Summaries

Deathstroke outmaneuvered Knull and summoned the Vishanti, who overwhelmed the invader. He then discussed his plans to enter the Transcendence Dimension and confront the Beyonders, admitting that he lacked enough information to be certain of success.

• Deathstroke kicked Knull away, and Knull summoned a spear to continue the fight.
• Deathstroke used funeral paper to summon Hoggoth, Oshtur, and Agamotto inside the Mirror Dimension.
• Hoggoth attacked Knull while Deathstroke told him to leave the enemy alive for later plans.
• Oshtur asked Deathstroke whether he was ready to fight the Beyonders, and he said he planned to inspect the Transcendence Dimension but had little information.
• Deathstroke told Oshtur he would counter the Beyonders' abstract power with his own and make them die concretely.

Su Ming watched Hoggoth overpower Knull while discussing Knull’s limits with Agamotto and considering how to draw out the hidden Shadow King. The chapter ended with Oshtur explaining that Shadow King survived by hiding and fleeing, while Su Ming’s ambush plan remained stalled.

• Hoggoth fought Knull with bizarre wrestling attacks and repeatedly regenerated after losing body parts.
• Agamotto praised Knull’s fearlessness, and Su Ming argued that Knull’s control over darkness could not overcome the Celestials’ power over time and space.
• Franklin studied the battle while Squirrel Girl touched Oshtur’s gown, prompting Oshtur to conjure outfits for her.
• Hoggoth continued dismantling Knull as Su Ming ignored Knull and focused on luring Shadow King into attacking.
• Su Ming complained that Shadow King had not struck Kamar-Taj or abducted Charles, and Oshtur said Shadow King had survived by hiding and fleeing.

Oshtur freed Deathstroke from the Mirror Dimension, helped Hoggoth defeat Knull, and sealed the God of the Symbiotes inside a sphere. As Deathstroke and his companions prepared to pursue Shadow King, Nick Fury appeared in an invisible Quinjet.

• Oshtur ended Hoggoth's prolonged beating of Knull by striking him with a beam of starlight.
• Oshtur sealed the weakened Knull inside a small sphere and handed it to Deathstroke.
• Deathstroke returned to New York with Franklin and Squirrel Girl, where he confirmed they would deal with Shadow King next.
• Deathstroke and his companions rose above the chaotic, burning city, and Nick Fury emerged from an invisible Quinjet to signal them.

Su Ming and Fury agreed to cooperate against the Department Z shell agency, while Su Ming prepared to return to Kamar-Taj with Franklin and Squirrel Girl. The chapter ended as they entered an elevator leading to the underground temple to find Ancient One.

• Su Ming tested Fury’s identity with a brain teaser, then learned Fury wanted to discuss cooperation.
• Fury explained that the United States military planned to replace S.H.I.E.L.D. with a new department, and Su Ming agreed to help destroy its shell agency in exchange for Fury protecting allies at the construction company.
• Su Ming gave Coulson a Captain America and Bucky figurine, then left the Quinjet with Franklin and Squirrel Girl.
• Su Ming saw the Avengers mobilizing and returned with his companions to Kamar-Taj aboard Cloak.
• Su Ming led Franklin and Squirrel Girl toward Ancient One’s underground temple, where Squirrel Girl discovered that the mysterious little building housed an elevator.

Su Ming brought Squirrel Girl and Franklin to the underground temple in the Himalayan Mountains, where the Nameless Ones eagerly sought to die while sharing a Sorcerer Supreme’s casting costs. He left them to their cultivation and entered the temple with his companions.

• Su Ming explained that the Nameless Ones refused modern comforts despite the supplies and utilities he provided.
• Su Ming, Squirrel Girl, and Franklin rode the elevator into the mountain and walked through the underground complex toward the temple.
• The Nameless Ones rushed out and begged Su Ming to let them share the costs of a ritual so they could ascend to the Vishanti’s kingdom.
• Su Ming lifted the monks to their feet and told them he had no casting costs for them to share, then promised Monark might visit later.
• Squirrel Girl asked what ritual the monks meant and urged Su Ming to help them, but he said their karma had to be repaid and entered the temple.

Su Ming visited the Nameless Ones’ temple and explained Shadow King’s threat to Ancient One. He asked her to contact Eternity so he could enter Shadow Beyond Everything and confront Shadow King’s true body.

• Su Ming crossed the Nameless Ones’ hall, where monks prayed among the preserved bodies of those who had died protecting Sorcerer Supremes.
• Squirrel Girl clung to Deathstroke’s arm as she reacted to the eerie hall, and Su Ming teased her before leading the group onward.
• Su Ming met Ancient One at her home, where she recognized Franklin and Doreen and asked whether he planned to move against the Beyonders.
• Su Ming told Ancient One that he needed to deal with Shadow King before leaving the Main Dimension, then showed her Knull inside a glass sphere.
• Su Ming asked Ancient One to help him contact Eternity so he could enter Shadow Beyond Everything and drag out Shadow King’s true body.

Su Ming took Squirrel Girl and Franklin to meet Multiversal Eternity, hoping to use the cosmic entities to locate Shadow King. Eternity agreed to hear him out after Su Ming asked him to summon Infinity, but the meeting ended before he explained his plan.

• Su Ming proposed going directly to Eternity to search for clues about Shadow King, and Ancient One agreed to teleport him, Squirrel Girl, and Franklin there.
• Ancient One warned Su Ming not to harm Eternity, and she cast a cross-dimensional spell that left the travelers badly disoriented.
• Su Ming met Multiversal Eternity, who recognized him and nervously warned him not to come too close.
• Su Ming told Eternity that Shadow King was targeting Earth and asked him to call Infinity so they could discuss a small matter.

Su Ming tried to persuade Eternity to help find Infinity and merge with him, arguing that their allies could manage the risks and that Eternity’s children would gain new opportunities. Eternity remained too conflicted to decide, and Su Ming turned hostile when he asked to postpone the decision until the next orbital cycle.

• Eternity worried that merging with Infinity could destabilize the Seventh Firmament and trigger universal collapse and a multiversal reboot.
• Su Ming reassured Eternity that Franklin and the others could handle a crisis, then offered to let Eternity’s children explore other universes and rule their own.
• Eternity rejected Su Ming’s proposal, fearing that he would risk every living being and concept for selfish reasons.
• Su Ming argued that The One Above All would intervene if the plan truly threatened the universe, prompting Eternity to reconsider without reaching a decision.
• Eternity asked Su Ming to return to Earth and wait until the next orbital cycle, so Su Ming drew his Lightsaber and ordered Franklin to bring out the tools.

Su Ming forced Eternity to accept a temporary merger with Infinity by having Franklin tickle him until he gave in. Infinity arrived after Eternity summoned her, leaving the agreed merger ready to begin.

• Su Ming had Franklin use conjured feathers to tickle Eternity while Squirrel Girl watched and ate walnut kernels.
• After Eternity collapsed and still tried to resist, Su Ming ordered Franklin to intensify the tickling, and Eternity agreed to the deal.
• Su Ming restored Eternity from two-dimensional form and reassured him that he would help him become the new Living Tribunal after meeting TOAA.
• Eternity summoned Infinity’s true multiversal body, and Su Ming promised to send Eternity’s children to Another World after their business was done.
• Infinity arrived in a streak of golden light, and she and Su Ming stared at each other.

Su Ming persuaded Eternity and Infinity to briefly merge into Firmament so he could search for Shadow King in the Shadow Beyond Everything. He revealed that Squirrel Girl would track Shadow King by scent, though the reunion could risk awakening the First Firmament.

• Infinity arrived in the Far Shore, learned about Su Ming from Eternity's memories, and recognized him as Deadpool's Cousin.
• Su Ming warned Infinity that he could summon Azathoth if the gods threatened Earth, then explained the danger of recreating Firmament in the Far Shore.
• Su Ming offered Infinity human cultural works and said Franklin could become Captain Universe with the Uni-Force if the First Firmament awakened.
• Eternity and Infinity began merging, transforming the pale space into a vibrant universe and identifying it as the Shadow Beyond Everything.
• Su Ming said Squirrel Girl could find Shadow King by treating him like a buried nut.

Eternity and Infinity fused into Firmament, who warned Deathstroke that a crisis was brewing. Su Ming and his companions followed Firmament and prepared to use Doreen’s squirrel instincts to find Shadow King.

• Eternity and Infinity merged, briefly bringing Zero Matter into existence before becoming the cosmic being Firmament.
• Firmament urged Su Ming to hurry because a crisis was already brewing, and Su Ming brought the two children after him.
• Deathstroke asked Doreen to sniff out Shadow King, but she objected that she needed something with his scent to track him.
• Su Ming showed Doreen Shadow King’s preferred form and explained that she needed to perceive him as a nut to use her ability to find nuts.
• Deathstroke asked Franklin to use Psionic Power to make Doreen see Shadow King as a nut, and Franklin activated his power.

Su Ming used Doreen’s ability to locate the Shadow King inside Firmament’s shadow, then led the group into the dark region to hunt him. After they found themselves surrounded by strange watching presences, a blazing light appeared on the distant horizon.

• Su Ming used mustard paste and a projection to make Doreen identify the Shadow King as a nut and locate him inside Firmament’s shadow.
• Doreen plunged into the shadow, and Su Ming carried Franklin after her.
• Doreen lost her sense of direction in the darkness until Su Ming illuminated the space with his Power Rings.
• Franklin described the countless watching presences and recalled the Old Ones who had once ruled over them.
• Su Ming proposed shrinking the shadow and searching it, then spotted a sudden blaze of light rising in the distance.

Su Ming, Franklin, and the Adjutant witnessed the First Firmament’s birth and watched him create OAA and the Celestials. The First Firmament addressed Su Ming as he reflected that the universe had once been singular.

• Su Ming identified the revived First Firmament as the three arrived in the Firmament’s shadow.
• Franklin and Su Ming considered whether the scene showed the First Firmament’s rebirth or a record of his past.
• The First Firmament looked toward the trio but continued moving through the void without interacting with them directly.
• The First Firmament formed OAA from silver light, modeled his appearance on humanity, and taught him language and abilities.
• The First Firmament created more Celestials, with OAA becoming their leader as their numbers filled the universe.
• The First Firmament turned toward Su Ming, exhaled starlight, and said that at the beginning there had been only one universe.

Su Ming negotiated with the First Firmament for the creature hiding in its shadow, offering a story in exchange. The Firmament gave him the creature without hearing the story, then vanished and left behind a vast universe containing it.

• Su Ming tested the First Firmament with a Vulcan greeting and a cryptic reference, then learned it did not recognize either.
• Su Ming told the First Firmament he had come to negotiate and asked for the Little Bug hiding in its shadow.
• Su Ming offered a story about a true god and promised to teach the Firmament how to use its Celestials for enjoyment.
• The First Firmament created a tiny Single Universe around the black Michelin Tire Man and tossed it to Su Ming without asking for the story.
• The First Firmament warned that it would someday reclaim its universe and erase humanity, then vanished as the universe containing the screaming creature expanded toward Su Ming and his companions.

Su Ming explained how First Firmament, Seventh Firmament, and the Shadow King were connected, then warned Eternity and Infinity that First Firmament’s awakening threatened them. He returned to Earth with Knull and the Shadow King imprisoned, while leaving open the possibility of confronting First Firmament later.

• Franklin asked Su Ming how First Firmament had interacted with them across time, and Su Ming explained that there was only one Firmament and one Shadow King.
• Franklin compared Firmament’s existence to existentialism, and Su Ming contrasted it with the nihilism of the Cancerverse.
• Su Ming told Eternity and Infinity that First Firmament had begun to awaken, then said the Dark Celestials might be able to defeat him again.
• Su Ming collected Eternity’s children as payment for their deal and returned to Earth with Franklin and Squirrel Girl.
• At Kamar-Taj, Su Ming handled the spheres imprisoning Knull and the Shadow King and mocked them for trying to threaten Earth.

Su Ming took Squirrel Girl and Little Rich through Kamar-Taj’s teleportation hall to the Savage Land, where he brought them to the Krakoan Harvest Center. They landed at the volcanic crater, and Su Ming prepared to test the armor he had never had repaired.

• Su Ming and his companions used Kamar-Taj’s portal to reach the Antarctic Sanctum Sanctorum in the Savage Land.
• Su Ming showed Squirrel Girl and Little Rich the rainforest and offered them cabins and permission to take what they wanted from it.
• Su Ming explained that the Nuwali had used the Harvest Center as a transit station for collecting flowers to sell on their homeworld.
• Su Ming landed the Cloak at the volcano’s crater and said he would test his unrepaired armor as they walked.

Su Ming led Franklin and Squirrel Girl into the Savage Land’s abandoned Harvesting Center and explained how the Nuwali had been cheated by the Beyonders and driven to wage war against them. He intended to contact the Nuwali for help, and the trio began searching the hidden drone facility.

• Su Ming explained that the Beyonders had withheld the Nuwali’s wages, prompting the Nuwali fleet to hunt them and seek repayment.
• Su Ming said he had brought Franklin and Squirrel Girl to the Harvesting Center to try contacting the Nuwali, who knew the Beyonders well.
• Su Ming tore open the abandoned facility’s jammed door and showed Franklin and Squirrel Girl the drone hangar inside the volcano.
• Su Ming asked Franklin and Squirrel Girl to locate the cargo warehouse and control center while he lit the way with a Lightsaber.
• Su Ming told Franklin to cancel the psychological suggestion affecting Squirrel Girl, and Franklin lifted it.

Franklin used Deathstroke’s Universal Translator to decode the Harvesting Center and find a route to its control room. The group reached the room, where they discovered that Pterodactyl People had made their nest among the machinery.

• Franklin hacked into a drone but could not read its alien writing until Deathstroke gave him an outdated Universal Translator.
• Su Ming examined the droppings and wall marks, identified the intruders as Pterodactyl People, and explained that they were Savage Land beasts.
• Franklin used the translator to crack the Harvesting Center’s system and obtain a structural map, though most of the system remained dormant.
• Su Ming carried Franklin and Squirrel Girl through the feces-filled corridor to a crack beside the control room door.
• The group entered the control room and found Pterodactyl People hanging from the ceiling, with nests, eggs, and young spread throughout the room.

Su Ming and his companions cleared the Pterodactyl People from the Harvesting Center and restored its systems. With the transportation system ready, they set off for the Nuwali homeworld in the Boötes Void to seek allies against the Beyonders.

• Su Ming killed the Pterodactyl People who attacked the humans and Strangle ate their heads.
• Franklin restored the room’s equipment, and Adjutant took over the Harvesting Center’s systems.
• Adjutant reported that transportation was online but communications required a password, while the drones and energy system remained functional.
• Su Ming explained that the Vanuli had left the facility intact because their contract made the Harvesting Center Beyonder property.
• Su Ming had Franklin make handbags from Pterodactyl People skin, then prepared to travel with Franklin and Doreen to the Nuwali homeworld.

Su Ming, Squirrel Girl, and Franklin arrived at an abandoned Nuwali transfer station and encountered a heavily armed Nuwali force. Su Ming calmed them by offering trade and asked to speak with their leader, promising to pay in gold.

• Su Ming and his companions used Nuwali spatial displacement technology to reach an abandoned transfer station on the Nuwali Homeworld.
• Franklin opened the warehouse doors, revealing an armed Nuwali army that had gathered after detecting activity at the Savage Continent Harvesting Center.
• Su Ming announced that he was a human seeking free trade, and the Nuwali put away their weapons and prepared a floral welcome.
• A tearful Nuwali greeted Su Ming as a potential customer, and Su Ming offered a big deal and asked to meet the Nuwali leader.