Chapter Summaries

After Gin was taken back to Asgard, Su Ming prepared to retrieve him and learned from the Ancient One that Asgard was needed to protect Earth. In Asgard, Frigga dreamed of the realm burning while Thor struggled to extinguish a mysterious fire in a Northern European village.

• A brilliant flash took Gin from Su Ming's office, and Su Ming armed himself to go to Asgard.
• Su Ming told the Ancient One he knew Gin was an Aesir and planned to bring him back, while she warned him about Odin and the signs of Ragnarök.
• The Ancient One revealed she had used the Time Stone to make Odin believe he was Earth's Guardian of the Nine Realms, and Su Ming agreed to assess the situation before acting.
• Frigga woke from a nightmare about Asgard burning and recalled that Misty had warned her that her new master would come for the All-Mothers.
• Thor tried and failed to put out an unnatural fire consuming a snowbound village in Northern Europe.

Thor answered a village’s prayers by extinguishing a supernatural fire with his fists, but his destructive efforts left the settlement and its church in ruins. Back in Asgard, he returned injured to Loki’s palace, unaware Loki had been inventing a cruel story about him.

• Thor tried to douse the burning village with rain and snow, but the strange flames kept burning and the villagers grew cold and feared him.
• After hearing the villagers accuse him of causing the fire, Thor charged into the flames and beat them out, destroying the church and reducing the village to ash.
• The villagers thanked Thor through tears, and he returned to Asgard by the Bifrost after calling Heimdall.
• Loki entertained himself by inventing a gruesome tale about Thor and sharing it with magpies before Thor arrived.
• Thor asked Loki to tend his burned hands, explained that he had put out a fire in Midgard, and collapsed onto Loki’s bed.

Loki and Thor discovered that the World Tree was burning and flew toward it, but the heat kept them from approaching. They spotted a one-eyed stranger apparently barbecuing food beside the blazing tree.

• Loki bandaged Thor's burned hand while Thor recounted how he had been injured by the flames.
• Loki noticed the World Tree burning in the distance and woke Thor to show him.
• Thor and Loki flew toward the World Tree, but the intense heat and smoke forced them to land farther away.
• Thor tried to approach the flames and threatened to put them out by urinating on the tree, so Loki dragged him back.
• Loki saw a one-eyed stranger standing across the trunk with food threaded on a metal skewer, and the stranger smiled at them.

Odin revealed himself to Thor and Loki beside the burning World Tree, shared a feast with them, and explained that the fire would eventually burn itself out. He assigned Loki to teach Asgard the Will of Fire and ordered Thor to lead an army against Muspelheim and bring back Surtur’s crown.

• Odin revealed his identity to Thor and Loki, warned Loki not to use magic near the World Tree, and turned his skewer into Gungnir.
• Odin told his sons that the World Tree’s flames would end in time and described its burning and regrowth as the Will of Fire.
• Thor left to fetch cattle, and he, Loki, and Odin shared roasted meat and wine beside the burning tree.
• Odin tasked Loki with summoning Asgard to feast and teaching its people the Will of Fire.
• Odin ordered Thor to gather Asgard’s forces and attack Muspelheim, bringing back Surtur’s crown.
• Thor and Loki set out determined to prove themselves by completing their separate tasks better than each other.

Su Ming set fire to Yggdrasil and manipulated Thor and Loki into leading the Aesir army against the Fire Giants, leaving Asgard's dungeon unguarded. He found Gin there and broke open her cell, preparing to take her home.

• Su Ming used Napalm Bombs to set Yggdrasil ablaze, then convinced Thor and Loki that Surtur was responsible and urged the Aesir to fight the Fire Giants.
• Su Ming planned to exploit Heimdall's ties to Sif, Thor, and Loki to teach Heimdall a lesson without confronting him openly.
• Gin remembered escaping Hela's realm, finding refuge on Earth with Su Ming, and coming to regard Earth as her home.
• With the dungeon guards gone, Su Ming searched the cells, shattered Gin's energy wall with Godslayer, and told her they were going home.

Su Ming freed Gin from Asgard’s dungeon and learned she was Mist, a Valkyrie recalled from Earth. As they sought a trusted source of information, Gin suggested finding Brunnhilde, who had just returned to Asgard and was struggling with its strange response to the burning World Tree.

• Su Ming reassured Gin that he accepted her identity, gave her a badge to hide herself, and learned the Three Goddess Mothers had recalled the Valkyries.
• Gin warned that the World Tree connected the Nine Realms, while Su Ming explained that its staged fire could draw out Asgard’s enemies and help him bargain for Gin’s freedom.
• Su Ming led Gin through the deserted Golden Palace and discussed possible escape routes from Asgard without drawing attention.
• Gin considered whom they could trust, rejected Sif as a likely source, and proposed finding their former captain, Brunnhilde.
• Brunnhilde returned to her small house after attending Odin’s feast at the burning World Tree, feeling exhausted and uneasy about Asgard’s rule.

Su Ming and Gin met Brunnhilde in Asgard and asked why the Valkyries had been recalled. After Brunnhilde described the God Mothers’ omens and mourned the Valkyries killed by Hela, Su Ming considered whether the recent war on Midgard could signal the prophesied Winter of Swords.

• Brunnhilde returned to her room and found Gin and Su Ming waiting there.
• Su Ming pretended to be Odin, startling Brunnhilde, before Gin revealed that he was joking and introduced him as her new master, Slade, also known as Deathstroke.
• Su Ming and Gin asked Brunnhilde why the Valkyries had been recalled, and Brunnhilde said the God Mothers had acted because of vague omens.
• Brunnhilde recalled Hela's slaughter of the Valkyries and how Sigrdrifa died shielding her, so Gin comforted her while Su Ming waited.
• Brunnhilde's account led Su Ming to consider whether the recent world war on Midgard marked the beginning of the prophesied Winter of Swords.

After the fire on Yggdrasil signaled Ragnarök, Helmut Zemo secured a hundred thousand SS soldiers by showing Himmler a rune and claiming he had found a spatial access point. Across the realms, factions prepared for war while the Norns continued weaving destiny beneath the World Tree.

• Helmut Zemo showed Himmler runes from the Poetic Edda and said he had found a spatial access point, persuading Himmler to mobilize one hundred thousand SS soldiers under his command.
• The King of Hell received a contract and ordered the Handmaidens of Destruction to assemble an army.
• The Queen of the dead learned from the long-haired man that Yggdrasil was burning, but said Ragnarök would begin when Black Rain fell; she ordered him to awaken the warriors.
• Queen Gullveig accepted Surtur's alliance, armed Vanaheim, and announced that they would attack Asgard from behind.
• A fleet led by the Chief changed course for Alfheim instead of attacking Asgard, intending to visit their distant relatives while the Cursed Warriors prepared.
• At the roots of the World Tree, three women continued weaving threads of destiny beneath an unburned landscape.

Su Ming, Gin, and Brunnhilde heard an invading cavalry force attacking Asgard and prepared to investigate. Disguised as Odin, Su Ming headed to the royal stables to take Sleipnir into battle.

• Three Norns described how gods and humans shaped history while they tried to untangle and weave threads of fate.
• Gin stayed in Brunnhilde's cabin, where the two Valkyries ate her spicy snacks as Su Ming listened to approaching hoofbeats and distant fighting.
• Brunnhilde decided to investigate the attack, and Su Ming disguised himself as Odin with Strangle's help.
• Su Ming, Gin, and Brunnhilde went to the royal stables so Su Ming could borrow Sleipnir before joining the fighting.
• Sleipnir saw the Odin-like Su Ming stride through the stable doors toward it.

Su Ming, disguised as Odin, led Asgard’s defense against a Vanir invasion whose warriors wielded mysterious fire, while he suspected the attack was part of a wider plot. In Muspelheim, Loki sensed danger in Asgard, but Thor and the others dismissed his warning as cowardice and rivalry.

• Su Ming rode to Asgard’s city wall with Brunnhilde and Gin, then ordered the warriors to hold the line against the invading Vanir.
• Brunnhilde identified the attackers as Vanir, and Su Ming recognized that their fiery power and the rebellion might be signs of a broader assault against Asgard.
• Su Ming told Brunnhilde to send warriors to check the Bifrost and leave its defense to Heimdall, while he observed the battle and questioned Gin about the strange fire.
• Loki told Thor he feared something had happened in Asgard, but Thor, the Warriors Three, and Sif mocked or dismissed his concern as fear and an attempt to undermine Thor’s trial.

Thor and his companions fought through Surtur’s lava hounds and entered the passage beneath the volcano, where they were confronted by Surtur. The Fire Giant struck Thor back down the passage, leaving him scorched and stunned as the chapter ended.

• Loki warned the Warriors Three that their confidence would prove misplaced, but they mocked him as the army reached Surtur’s volcano.
• Thor led the Asgardian army against the lava hounds and broke through their ranks with lightning while Loki finished off wounded enemies.
• Thor and the Warriors Three celebrated their victory, and Thor announced that he would kill Surtur and bring back his head.
• Thor entered Surtur’s underground palace with the Warriors Three, Sif, and Loki, leaving the rest of the army outside.
• Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun braced against a fireball in the passage, which revealed a scorched Thor after Surtur had swatted him backward.

Thor survived Surtur’s attack and charged back into the volcano, while Hydra and the Frost Giants attacked the Bifrost. Zemo and Ge Zhe prepared to advance toward Asgard’s Golden Palace after Heimdall fell from the bridge.

• Loki revived the badly burned Thor with liquor, and Thor returned to fight Surtur.
• A Frost Giant force led by Ge Zhe arrived at the Bifrost alongside Hydra soldiers armed with Energy Weapons.
• Heimdall fought off several Frost Giants but was overwhelmed by Hydra’s blue energy beams and fell from the Bifrost.
• Zemo explained that Hydra had allied with Ge Zhe’s Frost Giants to reach the Golden Palace, while the Frost Giants sought to kill all Asgardians.
• Ge Zhe asked for weapons for his people, and Zemo promised Hydra would modify its weapons for them.

Disguised as Odin, Su Ming learned that Heimdall had survived an attack by Frost Giants and suspected Hydra was involved. He ordered Asgard's civilians evacuated to Himinbjorg while he prepared to deal with the Vanir forces, leaving the city threatened by enemies on several fronts.

• Su Ming examined Heimdall's wounds, recognized damage consistent with Hydra's Cosmic Cube-powered weapons, and ordered him taken to recover.
• Brunnhilde recounted how Heimdall had survived by hanging beneath the Bifrost, and Su Ming warned that Hydra might be working with the Frost Giants.
• Su Ming ordered Gin to extinguish the fire on Yggdrasil and told Brunnhilde to gather Frigga and the three Goddesses to prepare the civilians for evacuation.
• Su Ming persuaded Brunnhilde that Asgard could not be defended against the many enemies gathering, and he explained that civilians would be sent to Heimdall's hidden fortress at Himinbjorg.
• Gin left to handle the preparations while Su Ming rode along the battle line looking for Gullveig, the leader of the Vanir forces.

Gullveig recalled how Odin conquered Vanaheim and enslaved the Vanir, then prepared to destroy Yggdrasil with Surtur’s weapons. A demon army attacked the battlefield, forcing her to retreat and reconsider whether she could let Asgard fall if the demons would devour both peoples.

• Gullveig remembered Freyr refusing Odin’s ultimatum, Surtur empowering the Vanir, and Odin later defeating them after awakening the Rune King state.
• Gullveig accepted Surtur’s plan to burn Vanaheim as fuel, while Uru Metal Colossi tunneled toward the Heavenly Palace to hold Odin back.
• A million demons and the Handmaidens of Destruction attacked the rear of Vanaheim’s army, leaving Gullveig to suspect that a Hell Lord had joined the war.
• Gullveig ordered the Vanir to retreat east, and the demons turned toward Asgard instead of pursuing them.
• Gullveig hesitated as she realized the demons might devour the Vanir after destroying the Aesir.

Su Ming identified Surtur and Mephisto as the powers behind two separate forces attacking Asgard, then drew the flame behemoths into the demon army. The thirteen Handmaidens of Destruction moved to confront the behemoths.

• Su Ming ordered the Asgardian warriors to hold the line while he searched for Gullveig and considered negotiating with her.
• Flame behemoths erupted from beneath the city, scorching warriors and pursuing Su Ming as he rode away to protect Strangle from their heat.
• Su Ming recognized the behemoths’ Uru Metal shells as simplified Destroyer automatons and concluded that Surtur stood behind Gullveig.
• Su Ming led the behemoths through the demon ranks, using his spear to cut down demons while Strangle secretly helped.
• Su Ming identified the mummified leaders as the Handmaidens of Destruction and learned that the demon army served Mephisto.
• The thirteen Handmaidens of Destruction confronted the flame behemoths.

Su Ming captured Gullveig and discovered that Surtur’s power was turning the Vanir into fire creatures while using them to weaken Asgard. After removing the influence of the flames, he proposed an alliance that could make the Vanir and Aesir equals.

• Su Ming rode Sleipnir past the Vanir cavalry and used the Cloak of Levitation to find and capture the invisible Gullveig.
• Su Ming questioned Gullveig and learned that the Vanir had invaded Asgard to overthrow Odin, but had delayed their assault to let Asgard face the demon army first.
• Gullveig explained that the demons were targeting the Golden Palace Treasury, and Su Ming suspected they wanted the Wizard's Eye.
• Su Ming examined a Vanir guard and showed Gullveig that Surtur's power was transforming her people into flames and making them part of his power.
• The Cloak drained Surtur's influence from Gullveig, who calmed down and asked to speak with Su Ming in his true form.
• Su Ming revealed his original appearance and offered Gullveig an alliance and a way to make the Vanir and Aesir equals.

Su Ming persuaded Gullveig to ally Vanaheim with Asgard, then returned to the Golden Palace as new fleets arrived above the burning battlefield. The chapter left him facing a chaotic clash between the Dark Elves and the Kree, whose leader Ronan had come to obtain Asgardian craftsmen and forges.

• The Cloak of Levitation absorbed fire energy from the guards while Su Ming negotiated with Gullveig and offered to help Vanaheim gain freedom.
• Su Ming brought Gullveig a laptop and a drama series, then told her to fight alongside Asgard and took her to the Golden Palace to meet Frigga.
• Gullveig assembled her troops, and Su Ming left Frigga in the Golden Palace while the other refugees went to Heimdall's fief.
• Su Ming discovered refugee sailboats and Dark Elf warships arriving above Asgard, followed by a Kree fleet led by Ronan the Accuser.
• Su Ming learned that the Supreme Intelligence had sent Ronan to borrow, seize, or steal dwarven craftsmen and forges to build a magical warship.

Ronan tried to secure the dwarves’ help by arranging a peaceful deal with Asgard, while secretly using a rescue of Light Elf residents to gain favor. Surtur overwhelmed Thor and the Warriors Three, and Loki ended the chapter hiding from the giant while searching for a way out.

• Ronan decided to follow the Dark Elves and help Asgard deal with them in exchange for easier negotiations over shipbuilding.
• Ronan secretly rescued Light Elf residents and sent them toward Asgard, but Malekith followed them into Asgardian airspace.
• The Kree Dark Aster arrived and attacked the Dark Elves as both sides saw Odin watching from before the Golden Palace.
• Surtur drew Laevateinn and sent Thor and the Warriors Three fleeing with a devastating blow.
• Surtur struck Loki, but the Loki he hit was an illusion while the real Loki hid behind a boulder and claimed he had an idea.

Thor and the Warriors Three fought Surtur until Loki used an illusion of Odin to distract the Fire Giant and help them escape. Loki concealed what he had done, teased Thor and the others on the way back, and began plotting to embarrass Thor across Asgard.

• Surtur overwhelmed Thor and the Warriors Three with Laevateinn, leaving Hogun and Sif severely injured.
• Odin appeared through the Bifrost and ordered Thor to take his friends back to Asgard while he faced Surtur.
• Surtur discovered that Odin was an illusion and realized Loki had tricked him.
• Loki and Thor led the wounded Warriors Three away as the volcano erupted, and Loki denied that Surtur had called his name.
• Loki mocked the Warriors Three for failing to defeat Surtur, then began planning to make Thor a target of ridicule throughout Asgard.

Thor and Loki faced Tyr’s invasion of Asgard with an army of the dead, while Su Ming let the battle overhead continue and prepared to negotiate after the damage was done. Frigga and Gullveig met Su Ming in the Golden Palace, where he revealed his codename as Deathstroke.

• Thor called for Heimdall to open the Bifrost, but Loki suspected Asgard had been invaded when no answer came.
• Tyr emerged from a dark green portal with an army of the dead and attacked Thor, while the undead horde clashed with the Asgardian army.
• Loki abandoned the battle and left an illusion behind as Thor fought Tyr and the Asgardian forces were overwhelmed.
• Odin ignored the battle between Ronan’s and Malekith’s fleets, while Su Ming dozed on Odin’s throne and planned to negotiate with Ronan after Asgard suffered more damage.
• Frigga and Gullveig approached Su Ming in the Throne Room, and he revealed his codename as Deathstroke.