Chapter Summaries

Su Ming prepared to help Prince Jason reclaim the Spartan Empire while discussing Wolverine, Steve, and his plans to fake his own death. He took Jason and the Old Steward to Featherfall to find a powerful sword for the coming war.

• Little Wong told Su Ming that Wolverine had lost his memory, his wife had been killed, and his son had been abducted, while Steve had withdrawn from public life to draw comics.
• Su Ming learned that Steve's Western comic had failed and decided to arrange something for him later, then asked Little Wong to have Spider Web monitor Obadiah Stane.
• Su Ming told Gin he planned to fake his death in a car crash and transfer his companies to her before his funeral.
• Deathstroke warned Jason that the undead army lacked air superiority and that the campaign to retake the planet could become a prolonged war.
• Su Ming persuaded Jason and the Old Steward that a king needed a two-handed greatsword, and they boarded the Pegasus for Featherfall to seek the Blade of Fire's Joy.

Su Ming explained the Shi'ar Empire’s history, government, and laws forbidding imagination to Jason and the Old Steward during their journey to Featherfall. Their spacecraft arrived at the Shi'ar homeworld, where Su Ming prepared to unleash artistic chaos and divert the empire’s attention.

• Su Ming described the Shi'ar Empire’s expansion, its emperor and Imperial Guard, and its brutal laws against artistic expression.
• Jason proposed using Spartan art to weaken the Shi'ar, while the Old Steward explained Sparta’s lack of a space fleet and key technologies.
• Su Ming offered to connect Sparta with dwarves who could sell them technology, and Jason gratefully accepted.
• The spacecraft completed its final warp jump and arrived outside Featherfall, where Su Ming looked over the planet and its surrounding ships.

Su Ming used a fabricated online advertisement to test the Shi'ar’s susceptibility to imagination and planned to exploit their response for intelligence and strategic advantage. After thousands applied, he prepared to spread the supposed plague further across Featherfall and destabilize the Shi'ar Empire.

• Su Ming had Adjutant hack into the Shi'ar network, create a fake identity, and browse its dull news reports.
• Su Ming landed near a town on Featherfall and posted a fake offer seeking a young man to help an allegedly infertile Shi'ar woman have a child.
• Within forty-three seconds, the post received 203,000 views and 12,211 replies and applications, showing that the Shi'ar could be drawn into fantasies.
• Su Ming explained that the applicants’ messages would identify people to purge and that the military response would reveal its deployments and tactics.
• Gin identified the plan to draw military forces away, while Su Ming explained that mass purges could weaken the Shi'ar Empire by reducing its primary species’ population.
• Su Ming told Adjutant to change identities and post a second fake advertisement about a military doctor curing intimate problems.

Su Ming explained why his scheme could work against the Shi'ar, but the Empire quickly cut Featherfall's power and networks to stop it. He then studied Emperor D'Ken's appearance and left the spacecraft, while Jason and the Old Steward waited for him to secure the Shi'ar withdrawal from Spartacus.

• Shi'ar soldiers arrived at the advertised coordinates and killed the civilians who had come for the supposed interview, then burned the bodies and purified the area.
• Su Ming told Gin, Jason, and the Old Steward that the scheme depended on her illusions, the Adjutant's hacking, and his own ability to provoke the Shi'ar, and warned that the M'Kraan Crystal could expose them.
• The Shi'ar cut Featherfall's global energy supply and network access after the attack killed fewer than three hundred thousand people.
• Su Ming asked the Adjutant to display Emperor D'Ken's appearance, confirmed that Strangle had seen him, and left the spacecraft under illusions.
• Jason asked Gin whether Su Ming planned to assassinate D'Ken, and Gin said he had gone out to have fun and would make the Shi'ar withdraw from Spartacus.

Su Ming disguised himself as Emperor D'Ken and used the power outage to move through Featherfall while gathering information. He ordered a squad to take him to the imperial mausoleum, intending to disturb the Shi'ar royal graves and draw their forces away.

• Su Ming, transformed by Strangle to resemble Emperor D'Ken, walked through Featherfall as the power outage disrupted the planet's surveillance.
• A patrol squad knelt before Su Ming, and its leader reported that the planetary mainframe had detected an information intrusion while the fleet searched the planet.
• Su Ming ordered the squad to escort him to the imperial mausoleum, and the soldiers agreed without questioning him.
• The squad took Su Ming to the mausoleum in a troop carrier, where he planned to awaken Shi'ar undead and use the disturbance to help his people and divert Shi'ar forces.

Su Ming, posing as Emperor D'Ken, searched the Shi'ar mausoleum and ordered the tombs of past Emperors opened. After promoting a soldier who killed a subordinate on his command, he remained alone among the corpses.

• Su Ming inspected the Shi'ar mausoleum and ordered soldiers to break open the tomb doors.
• He examined the tomb of the 136th Emperor and learned that the ruler died during his 631st campaign against the Strontians.
• Su Ming had the soldiers open dozens of tombs, then examined the body of D'Ken's mother.
• He ordered the planet's energy restored and demanded a global address despite the reported communications intrusion.
• Su Ming declared the squad leader infected; the second-in-command shot him, and the Emperor promoted the shooter to squad leader.
• The new squad leader led the soldiers away, leaving Su Ming alone in the mausoleum.

Su Ming staged a bizarre public performance for the Shi'ar Empire, using the corpses of past rulers and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to shock his audience. He ended by ordering the citizens to dance along with him.

• Su Ming prepared to address the Shi'ar Empire while Little Sprout changed Deathstroke’s outfit for the performance.
• Deathstroke delivered a speech to the gathered citizens and the planetwide broadcast, proclaiming his loyalty to the empire.
• Su Ming revealed dozens of frozen, reanimated emperors and queens emerging from the mausoleum.
• Su Ming played “Thriller” as the dead rulers began dancing and he joined them in their pose.
• Su Ming announced the song and ordered the Shi'ar citizens to dance with him.

Su Ming used undead and spectacle to deter the Shi'ar into withdrawing from Featherfall, then explained his theory that absurd methods often produce serious results. As the Pegasus returned to Sparta, he predicted the Kree would withdraw too, since they wanted the region as a chaotic buffer rather than a stable Spartan kingdom.

• Su Ming explained to Gin that the universe seemed to favor humorous approaches and punish serious ones, and suspected the Beyonders had been watching them.
• The Old Steward took Jason to rest after Su Ming denied mentioning the Beyonders.
• A Shi'ar fleet arrived at Featherfall, and Su Ming concluded that D'Ken had chosen to withdraw rather than risk the empire's stability.
• Gin celebrated their victory, while Su Ming clarified that they had only won half the conflict because the Kree still had to be dealt with.
• Su Ming predicted that the Kree would withdraw from Sparta as well, since the Supreme Intelligence wanted the region to remain a chaotic buffer zone between the Kree and Shi'ar.

Su Ming and Gin arrived at Sparta Star after the Kree withdrew, and Su Ming explained why neither the Kree nor the Shi'ar was likely behind the assassination that sparked the war. As they waited for the Galactic Council to arrive, Su Ming and Gin discussed his connections to heroes in another universe.

• Su Ming and Gin surveyed Sparta Star's chaotic aftermath and noted that the Kree fleet had already left.
• Su Ming argued that the Kree and Shi'ar were unlikely to have supplied the assassination weapon because it threatened their own nobles.
• Su Ming maintained God Metal Gauss and told Gin about his past as an assassin who worked for powerful politicians.
• Gin questioned Su Ming about Diana, and he said she was a formidable warrior and a superhero who valued teamwork over personal glory.
• Gin asked whether Su Ming had reliable male friends in another universe, and Su Ming described a fast hero in a red bodysuit who served as a universe's last safeguard.

After helping Jason claim Sparta with a supposed magic sword and a plan to defeat the Galactic Council fleet, Su Ming returned to Earth and spent three months recovering in Hawaii. With Gin leaving to manage the company and trade with Vanaheim, Su Ming decided to visit Greenwich Village for a night out.

• Su Ming gave Jason the unsharpened coffin lid called Magic Sword Fire's Joy and told him to lure the Galactic Council fleet down so Sparta's undead army could destroy it.
• Jason accepted the weapon and vowed to make the Spartans believe in him as their emperor, while Su Ming promised to handle the ships remaining in space.
• Three months later, Su Ming relaxed in Hawaii with Gin, who left to inspect Wilson Enterprises and establish interstellar trade between Sparta and Vanaheim.
• After his injuries from DC had healed, Su Ming considered several nighttime activities with Strangle, but the Symbiote rejected each suggestion.
• Su Ming traced a chain of thoughts from the moon landing to Woodstock and decided to go to Greenwich Village to see an important performer.

Su Ming went to a Greenwich Village bar and secretly listened as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine recruited singer Amanda Strong for S.H.I.E.L.D. Valentina revealed that Amanda’s father had been killed in a Hydra attack, and Amanda reluctantly considered the record contract she offered.

• Su Ming watched the Hippies and their bands at the bar, then slipped backstage to find out who was recruiting the lead singer.
• Valentina Allegra de Fontaine approached Amanda Strong after her band broke up and invited her to get food and discuss a record contract.
• At Wilson's Fast Food, Valentina identified herself as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and told Amanda that her father, Dave Armstrong, had died in a Hydra attack.
• Amanda tried to leave, but Valentina offered her a ten-record deal and a world tour, and Amanda sat down to examine the contract.
• Su Ming listened from a neighboring booth as Valentina and Amanda talked.

Amanda accepted Valentina’s offer to join the Logistics Directorate as a special field operative while maintaining her identity as a rock star. After they left, Nick Fury and Natasha investigated the restaurant, and Fury explained why he suspected his wife Valentina might be Hydra, though he had found no evidence.

• Valentina offered Amanda a covert role with the Logistics Directorate, and Amanda signed the contract to help pursue Hydra and avenge her father.
• Valentina gave Amanda George’s contact information and left the restaurant with The Big Mustache and his people.
• Su Ming stayed behind after Strangle detected someone familiar, while Natasha collected fingerprints and other evidence from Amanda and Valentina’s table.
• Nick Fury told Natasha he suspected Valentina because she had joined the Logistics Directorate late, had an unusually perfect record, and killed every target without capturing anyone.
• Natasha questioned Fury’s suspicions and pointed out that Valentina’s career could be explained by her past, then she and Fury returned to headquarters so Hank could examine his injured eye.

Su Ming caught Fury and Natasha investigating Valentina, then ordered his network to eliminate a Hydra double agent and protect Amanda Armstrong. While inspecting his branches in Paris, he reunited with Monark, who was investigating a time-related spell after sensing it from London.

• Su Ming overheard Fury and Natasha discussing Valentina and recognized the Countess as a high-ranking Hydra spy.
• Su Ming revealed himself to Human-Faced Spider and ordered her to have the Los Angeles branch kill George, a Hydra and Logistics Directorate double agent, while making his death look accidental.
• Su Ming told Human-Faced Spider to have the entertainment company contact Amanda Armstrong, preserve her contract, protect her, and keep her in New York.
• Su Ming toured his branches and secret shelters before meeting Monark and his apprentice Agatha in Paris.
• Monark told Su Ming that he had sensed an advanced time-and-space spell from London and pointed out a couple they were watching.

Su Ming watched the Harquinez family’s fight against the demon king Truth from a distance, then traveled around Earth as its powers gathered strength. Howard invited him to a wedding in New York, and Su Ming recognized the start of Howard’s tragic era.

• Su Ming and Monark identified Selvie Harquinez as a reckless time-and-space witch, and Monark explained that her family repeatedly sealed the demon king Truth because they considered it their duty.
• Su Ming left Selvie and Wolverine to their fate, shared dinner with Monark and Agatha, and later visited elderly comrades from the Paris resistance.
• Su Ming saw Doctor Pym grieving his murdered girlfriend in Stockholm, attended T'Chaka’s coronation after the old king’s funeral in Wakanda, and helped Zheng Xian gain intelligence that let S.P.E.A.R. destroy the Xiancong portal.
• Su Ming witnessed Aboriginal gods battle Skrull pursuers in Australia and discovered that Malik had revived Hydra under the Red Skull name in the Polar Bear territory.
• Howard invited Su Ming to his New York wedding, and Su Ming realized that Howard’s tragic era had begun.

Su Ming learned that Howard and Maria’s unborn son faced a fatal genetic disorder and that Recorder 451 had offered to save him in exchange for taking him away at age twenty. Howard secretly altered Recorder 451’s medicine after discovering it would instead cause their son to die at thirty, and Su Ming prepared to confront the robot.

• Howard called Su Ming to Maria’s family villa and asked for help with their child.
• Howard revealed that a prenatal examination had uncovered a genetic disorder that might prevent their son from being born alive.
• Howard said Recorder 451 had promised to save the child but planned to take him from Earth when he turned twenty.
• Howard discovered Recorder 451’s treatment would cause the child to die from Genetic Collapse at age thirty and secretly modified the medicine.
• Su Ming put on his armor and asked Howard how he wanted Recorder 451 to die.

Su Ming killed Recorder 451, who had come to Earth to prepare Howard Stark’s child as a pilot for a weapon targeting Cosmic Entities. Uatu pleaded for Recorder 451’s life, but Su Ming distracted the Watcher with human pleasures and left him experiencing life rather than merely observing it.

• Recorder 451 arrived at Howard Stark’s villa and was ambushed by Su Ming, who bound him with Strangle and stopped his attempt to rewind time.
• Uatu appeared and asked Su Ming to spare Recorder 451, but Su Ming severed the Recorder’s limbs, destroyed his body, and had Strangle consume the remains.
• Su Ming explained to Howard that Recorder 451 had targeted the Stark family’s child to cultivate a pilot for a weapon designed to destroy Cosmic Entities.
• Uatu warned Su Ming that Eternity might seek him out for destroying Earth’s records, but Su Ming dismissed the threat and called the Recorder’s destruction scrapping.
• Su Ming offered Uatu cigarettes, liquor, and other treats until the Watcher embraced firsthand experience and tried Spicy Strips-flavored jelly.

After defeating the Recorder, Su Ming discussed the Watchers and payment with Howard, then gathered friends for Christmas dinner in 1975. Howard arrived drenched and desperate, calling for Su Ming’s help.

• The Watcher left with the samples Deathstroke had given him after Su Ming sent him away with women’s clothing and cosmetics.
• Su Ming and Howard ate breakfast while discussing Uatu, the Recorder, and the danger of provoking the Recorder’s hidden master.
• On Christmas Eve 1975, Su Ming hosted a dinner attended by Gin, Magik, Steve, and Little Wong.
• Steve brooded over his estrangement from Peggy, the military’s Captain America program, and Bucky’s continued absence.
• Howard arrived soaked through, grabbed a steamed bun, and begged Su Ming for help.

Howard sought Su Ming's help after learning that his newborn son, Arno Stark, was dangerously weak because of unstable genes. Su Ming brought Howard to Dr. Erskine in Hawaii, where Howard asked him to examine Arno's medical records.

• Howard told Su Ming that Arno Stark had unstable genes and might spend his life bedridden, then begged to see Dr. Erskine.
• Su Ming brought Howard through a Teleportation Portal to Hawaii, where Howard reunited with Erskine.
• Erskine told Howard he had no desire to return to developing Super Soldier Serum and was content living as a farmer.
• Howard asked Su Ming for anti-aging Serum so he could live long enough to watch Arno grow up, and Su Ming agreed to provide it.
• Howard showed Erskine Arno's examination reports and asked him to assess his son's genetic condition.

Howard learned that Arno’s condition could not be safely improved, so Su Ming suggested that he take in a healthy baby to help Maria cope. Howard chose Jude and Amanda’s orphaned son and went to retrieve him from a Budapest safehouse.

• Erskine told Howard that Arno could not survive the Super Soldier Serum or other risky treatments, and Su Ming dismissed Mutant experimentation as another dangerous option.
• Su Ming suggested that Howard and Maria raise another child, and Howard agreed that stabilizing Maria’s emotions was his priority.
• Su Ming gave Howard a Logistics Directorate file about Amanda Armstrong’s infant son, whose father Jude had been a Hydra spy killed by Amanda.
• Howard chose the baby and flew with Su Ming to Budapest, where Su Ming advised him to erase the adoption records and claim the child as experimental material.
• Howard headed to the orphanage safehouse while Su Ming prepared to contact a wizard for a portal.

Steve celebrated Christmas with Su Ming and learned that Howard had named his newborn son Tony, while Su Ming steered him away from Nick Fury’s Avengers. Months later, Howard told Steve that his godfather Slade had died, and Steve arrived at the crowded funeral at Trinity Church.

• Su Ming told Steve that Maria had loved Howard’s Christmas gift and that Howard had named his newborn son Tony.
• Steve told Su Ming that Nick Fury had asked him to lead the Avengers, and Su Ming encouraged him to refuse.
• In early spring, Steve worried about Peggy and struggled to focus on his new comic in his attic studio.
• Howard called Steve and told him that Slade had died and that his funeral was being held that day.
• Steve arrived at Trinity Church, where a large crowd had gathered to mourn Slade, and Howard told him Gin was waiting inside.