Chapter Summaries

Deathstroke and Deadpool watched the Kent family endure a bizarre, violent journey, which left them shaken and questioning humanity. The family came to understand Clark’s anger and support him, while Deathstroke continued his plan to make the world acknowledge him.

• Deadpool discussed the future of work and his Odd Jobs Agency with Deathstroke and the Sorcerer Supreme.
• Deathstroke and Deadpool watched the Kent family’s road trip, and Deadpool’s scripts drove the family through a string of bizarre and dangerous encounters.
• The Kent family stopped at a mountain cabin, exhausted and disturbed by the violence and chaos they had witnessed.
• Jerry and his wife told Clark they understood why he had been angered by the darkness he had seen, while Laurie condemned the people who had threatened them.
• Clark felt that his family’s understanding fulfilled much of his wish, but Deathstroke resolved to continue the Holy Grail War plan until the world acknowledged him.

After the Kent family settled into their cabin, they watched a broadcast of Paris suffering a catastrophic attack. Clark flew to France, rescued victims, and became a public hero while Laurie watched with growing jealousy.

• Jerry told the family that Dung Beetle had contaminated much of their food, and Naomi and Laurie reassured him that they could manage.
• Clark said he could fly to the city for supplies even if he had to loot, and the family accepted that survival came first.
• Jerry turned on the television and the family saw the Eiffel Tower melting and people fleeing the disaster.
• Clark flew to Paris, froze the collapsing tower, rescued a woman, treated the injured, and urged survivors to leave the city center.
• Clark spoke fluent French to reporters and told them he had come to save people, winning the admiration of the French public.
• Laurie watched a reporter flirt with Clark and decided their relationship needed to advance before another woman could take him away.

Little Superman traveled through France rescuing people and building a public image while Su Ming and Deadpool discussed where to send him next. After Deadpool discovered the bizarre situation in India, Su Ming pointed him toward Tokyo, promising more of Adjutant’s schemes.

• Little Superman rescued threatened vineyards in Porto and boats in Marseille, then flew toward Berlin while giving interviews that portrayed the yachts as fishermen’s boats.
• Su Ming’s plan kept Little Superman out of the Holy Grail War battles for now, directing him to save civilians and build goodwill before demonstrating his strength.
• Deadpool asked Deathstroke where Little Superman should go, and Deathstroke advised choosing densely populated cities for maximum publicity.
• Deadpool considered sending Little Superman to New Delhi, but the Split Program revealed Masters and Lizardfolk openly displaying affection throughout the city.
• Su Ming explained that the Lizardfolk’s carnivorous appetites could provoke a war between them and ordinary people, so Little Superman did not need to go to India.
• Deadpool chose to keep watching Adjutant’s plans, and Su Ming suggested he look at Tokyo next.

Wade watched footage of Tokyo and learned that Adjutant was using female Masters and Servants to kill Japanese men and turn their bodies into Synthezoids. Su Ming then sent two of the beautiful Synthezoids to Shakara, leaving Wade to face an unexpected welcome when he returned home.

• Wade asked Su Ming where the bodies had gone after seeing Tokyo engulfed in flames without any corpses.
• Su Ming showed Wade women collecting male corpses and placing them in a Magic Circle that made the bodies disappear and produced beautiful girls.
• Su Ming explained that Adjutant was teleporting recovered materials to Contraxia to manufacture servant-model Synthezoids, while returning one Synthezoid for every hundred made.
• Su Ming described Adjutant's plan to leave only women in Japan and eventually pit their factions against each other.
• Wade asked Su Ming for two Synthezoids, and Su Ming sent them to Shakara with a note claiming they were inflatable dolls for everyone to enjoy.

Su Ming managed Little Superman’s ongoing rescue campaign and promotion while humanity’s rush into space disrupted the Guardians of the Galaxy’s work. Star-Lord decided to take the crew to the Arcturus Galaxy in search of new jobs.

• Su Ming sent Wade away after confirming his cousin was still joking around, then checked on Little Superman’s next stops and the promotional articles.
• Split Program told Su Ming that the articles had been released and billions of bot accounts were reposting them.
• Star-Lord failed to win a smuggling job because the Pig-Headed Humanoid hired cheaper human crews instead.
• Rocket, Gamora, and Mantis discussed the Guardians’ shrinking work and blamed the flood of human competitors for undercutting their jobs.
• Yondu advised Star-Lord to keep working for Deathstroke, citing his influence across the universe.
• Star-Lord chose to take the Guardians to the rebuilding Arcturus Galaxy to look for work.

The Guardians of the Galaxy traveled to Arcturus, where Yondu explained the galaxy’s destruction and Nebula recalled Thanos’s warning about the Eagle God. The ship arrived at its destination while Star-Lord distracted everyone with an awkward dance.

• Yondu told the Guardians that an infectious disease may have destroyed the Arcturus Galaxy, leaving Starhawk and his sister-wife as the only survivors.
• Nebula recalled Thanos warning them to avoid the Eagle God, who had slapped Eternity and survived.
• Star-Lord realized the Eagle God was a living god in the Material World, then danced to cover his embarrassment.
• Star-Lord announced their destination as Arcturus, and Rocket pointed out that they had already arrived.
• Yondu and Groot rejected Star-Lord’s offer to dance with his clothes off.

The Guardians of the Galaxy approached Arcturus and were ordered to stop for inspection because their ship bore the Marauders’ emblem. As the Raptor Guard prepared to board, Yondu warned the crew about its power and loyalty, while Star-Lord’s attempts to find a way to gain favor left him stunned by Arcturus’s old customs.

• Rocket piloted the ship toward Arcturus while Star-Lord tried and failed to spot the Eagle God in the star.
• An Arcturian Raptor Guard inspector ordered the ship to stop and submit to an inspection because it carried the Marauders’ emblem.
• Star-Lord asked the inspector if he wanted to see him dance, and the inspector warned the crew not to make unnecessary moves before ending the transmission.
• Yondu warned Star-Lord that the Raptor Guard were powerful, fanatically loyal clones, while Rocket reminded everyone that the ship was low on fuel.
• Star-Lord speculated that his connection to Deathstroke might earn the crew special treatment, but Gamora told him the guards probably would not know such secrets.
• Yondu told Star-Lord about Arcturus’s former customs of sacred incestuous marriages and eating human flesh, leaving him shocked.

The Guardians of the Galaxy arrived at Arcturus and learned about the Eagle God’s nature and the Raptor Guards’ inspections. After passing inspection and landing, Star-Lord and Gamora headed into the city to gather information, trading teasing remarks as they went.

• Yondu told Star-Lord that the Eagle God enjoyed plundering and devouring advanced civilizations, though it remained confined to its planetary system and was no match for Oshtur.
• A Raptor Guard inspected the Guardians’ ship and checked their identities, then cleared them to proceed.
• Rocket landed the ship on Arcturus, and the Guardians split up to pursue their usual activities.
• Star-Lord invited Gamora for a drink, and she accepted while warning him not to cause trouble.
• Gamora tested Arcturus’s air after Star-Lord misjudged its composition, then the two walked toward the city past Golden Eagle statues and unfinished buildings.

Star-Lord and Gamora walked through Arcturus, where the orderly streets and pragmatic Arcturian culture stood in stark contrast to the usual chaos of Mercenary life. Star-Lord joked about the Space Marauders’ leadership, while Gamora reminded him that their small crew had little chance of claiming it.

• Star-Lord and Gamora observed Arcturus’s standardized buildings and orderly streets as they walked through the city.
• Star-Lord called Arcturus more like a military camp than a city and asked whether all Arcturians were so stiff.
• Gamora recalled that she had rarely seen Starhawk smile and noted that she had little experience with other Arcturians.
• Star-Lord joked that Starhawk had named the Space Marauders because he was an Arcturian who liked plundering, then suggested the Guardians might lead them someday.
• Gamora dismissed the idea, pointing out that their crew had only one ship and that Yondu lacked one of his own.
• Star-Lord said he did not want the Marauders’ thankless leadership role, which involved coordinating external wars and mediating conflicts between fleets.

Star-Lord and Gamora discussed the dangers facing humanity’s expansion into space while searching Arcturus for a bar. They encountered a sinister skeleton who stopped Star-Lord from leaving and demanded answers.

• Gamora warned Star-Lord that other Marauder fleets might attack humanity’s explorers for disrupting business, but Star-Lord said Deathstroke would let natural selection run its course.
• Star-Lord explained his understanding of Deathstroke’s plans, and Gamora accepted that humans could leave space exploration if they chose, though many would die.
• Star-Lord and Gamora resumed their search for a bar, then stopped to ask someone for directions when they found no signs of alcohol.
• A burning-skeleton Alien approached them with a book and asked about Ghost Rider, while Gamora sensed danger and urged Star-Lord to leave.
• The skeleton pinned Star-Lord by the shoulder, and Star-Lord responded to the threat by striking a peacock-dance pose.

Deathstroke learned that the Record Keeper had appeared in the Arcturus Galaxy and ordered Little Franklin to contain him while keeping the encounter under observation. Little Franklin arrived beside Star-Lord and freed the Dancer, leaving the Record Keeper’s intentions unresolved.

• Deathstroke sent Little Superman to San Francisco to arrange for him to save a famous Hollywood star’s pet.
• The Adjutant reported that the Record Keeper had been spotted in the Arcturus Galaxy, where he was recording events while holding Star-Lord.
• Deathstroke and the Adjutant concluded that the Record Keeper seemed neutral, though his presence in the 40K Universe remained unexplained.
• Deathstroke ordered Little Franklin to restrain the Record Keeper and named Doom and Strange as backup, but declined to notify the Vishanti.
• Little Franklin arrived beside Star-Lord and freed the Dancer with a raised hand.

Little Rich and Doom confronted the Record Keeper on Arcturus after he released Star-Lord, but the strange outsider escaped when Little Rich tried to detain him. Little Rich was left puzzling over the Record Keeper’s contradictory nature and his interest in Deathstroke.

• Little Rich freed Star-Lord, froze the surrounding time and space, and demanded to know why the Record Keeper had come to Earth-40K.
• The Record Keeper introduced himself and said he wanted to understand why Little Rich’s destiny as a savior had changed, so Little Rich summoned Robotman and withheld answers until the outsider explained his purpose.
• Star-Lord tried to leave with Gamora, but she held him back and led him into a nearby building to watch.
• The Record Keeper said he had come to study the source of Deathstroke’s power to alter Destiny and Future, and Little Rich tried to hold him with the Cosmic Cube.
• The Record Keeper vanished before Little Rich could restrain him, and Doom and Little Rich discussed the escape while Little Rich struggled to understand the outsider.

Deathstroke, Franklin, and Doom discussed the Record Keeper’s powers and possible ties to the Source after he escaped on Arcturus. Franklin continued investigating him, while Doom and Franklin left to pursue their separate responsibilities.

• Franklin lifted Arcturus’s spacetime lockdown after the Record Keeper escaped, and Doom suggested the stranger had used power resembling that of the Old Ones.
• Deathstroke told Franklin and Doom about the Record Keeper, the Source, and the threats posed by the Origin Court and the Hand of Creation.
• Deathstroke reported that the Record Keeper could displace time and had apparently contacted Red Tornado and a Joker.
• Franklin asked whether Deathstroke could prevent the Record Keeper from escaping, and Deathstroke admitted he did not know.
• Deathstroke told Franklin to seek Wanda if he encountered an unsolvable problem, then said he had business to handle before returning.
• Franklin speculated that the Record Keeper’s appearance on Arcturus was connected to the galaxy’s erasure, then left with Doom, who returned to Latveria’s space colony.

Su Ming ordered the Holy Grail War to intensify so Superboy-Prime would be drawn into the fighting, then discussed the looming threat of the Hands of Creation and the Origin Court with Strangle. He concluded that Multiverse 1 would need to resist any attempt to destroy or reboot it, while The Source remained a concern and the Speed Force Plane needed repair.

• Su Ming told the Adjutant to make the Masters fight and eliminate one another so Superboy-Prime would face superpowered opponents.
• Su Ming asked Strangle how to locate the Origin Court and the Hands of Creation, and Strangle explained that finding them would be difficult.
• Su Ming and Strangle agreed that the Hands of Creation and Origin Court might attack Multiverse 1 because it violated their rules, and that they would fight to protect it.
• Su Ming considered the positions of God, The Void, and the Over-Monitor, and identified The Source and external forces as remaining concerns.
• Su Ming concluded that his side needed to repair the Speed Force Plane, even if doing so required sacrificing The Flash.

Amid the staged Holy Grail War chaos in New York, two Servants confronted each other atop the World Trade Center and played to a live television audience. They introduced their guns, then opened fire as their Masters fled for cover.

• Adjutant’s Servants fought across the city with dramatic but limited powers while ordinary people watched from safety.
• Two Master-and-Servant pairs met on opposite Twin Tower rooftops and exchanged solemn declarations before a hundred-meter gap.
• A television helicopter arrived and broadcast the four figures into homes across the city.
• The fat Servant presented his AK-47, and the skinny Servant displayed his M4A1.
• The Servants began firing at each other while their Masters ran for rooftop cover.

The Split Program staged battles across Earth while Su Ming watched, with a rooftop firefight ending in the deaths of two Masters and their Synthezoids. In Trenton, Little Superman performed a scripted confrontation for the media, trying to preach Justice while his opponent denounced the world and its fear of him.

• Two Synthezoids fought across the rooftops, then each used the other's Master as a shield and shot both Masters dead, shutting down together.
• Su Ming watched millions of battle projections while Deadpool read comics and joked about Batwoman's dead parents.
• Little Superman fought a flying Synthezoid in Trenton and held back to make their clash look even for reporters.
• Little Superman urged his opponent to stop and use their strength for Justice, but the Synthezoid rejected his appeal and condemned the world for treating Superman as a threat.

Little Superman performed a carefully scripted battle against a villain to win public trust, then emerged from the destruction as a celebrated hero. After asking survivors to seek shelter, he flew away with public support growing.

• Little Superman exchanged scripted speeches with Little White as cameras broadcast their fight to the public.
• Little Superman pinned Little White and told him he would face the law, but Little White proclaimed his beliefs and blew himself up.
• Little Superman emerged unharmed from the explosion, and survivors applauded him for rescuing them.
• Little Superman told a reporter he regretted failing to save Little White and said the Court of Owls should have judged him.
• Little Superman urged survivors to return home or take shelter in basements, bought soda from a vending machine, and flew away.

Su Ming and Deadpool discussed Little Superman’s public persona and decided he should get a perm to seem more approachable. Little Superman accepted the new task and flew toward Moscow, leaving civilians still waiting for rescue.

• Su Ming explained that he wanted to balance Crisis Energy with the Force of Connection and would force the Hand of Creation to accept that view if necessary.
• Deadpool said Little Superman was too obviously copying Superman, but Su Ming decided that imitation was the safest persona for him.
• Deadpool suggested giving Little Superman a perm-loving persona, and Su Ming agreed that a perm might work.
• Little Superman received a task to get a perm and convinced himself it would make him seem more human and approachable.
• Little Superman flew toward Moscow to find a hair salon, putting Deathstroke’s instructions ahead of the civilians awaiting rescue.

Little Superman enjoyed his newfound fame while getting a perm in the Moscow suburbs, then changed his hairstyle and costume to match his promoted image as an American hero. Su Ming approved the transformation and ordered the Program to arrange a more dramatic fight to strengthen the publicity campaign.

• Little Superman found Tony Sennsei in a Moscow-suburbs cabin and read the news stories and online comments celebrating him as a hero.
• Little Superman laughed so hard during his perm that he damaged Tony Sennsei's machine, then paid for it and decided to cut and dye his hair blond.
• Little Superman got short blond hair and sewed himself a Stars and Stripes costume, replacing his Cloak with the flag.
• Deathstroke and Deadpool watched Little Superman practice poses in his new outfit, and Deadpool joked about whether he liked drinking milk.
• Su Ming ordered the Program to give Little Superman a stronger opponent and stage a fight in which he shielded civilians from a light cannon blast.

Batwoman rejected Superman’s proposal to recruit Deathstroke, then escaped his questions by spraying him with Kryptonite. Arthur later visited The Flash and found him struggling to run after losing the Speed Force.

• Superman asked Batwoman what Deathstroke had told her and proposed inviting Deathstroke to join the Justice League.
• Batwoman refused to share what she knew and said she still suspected Deathstroke, Superman, and others.
• Superman insisted he was genuine, so Batwoman sprayed him with Kryptonite and fled while he was weakened.
• Arthur found Superman on the floor, helped him recover, and invited him to eat fish, but Superman left to attend to other matters.
• Arthur went to check on The Flash and found him running slowly and looking exhausted.