Chapter Summaries

Su Ming secured the Deathly Hallows from Dumbledore and tested whether Death could sense a ritual offering. When Death did not respond, Su Ming ordered Larloch to use a modified Karsus' Avatar Spell to pull him into the mortal world.

• Su Ming had Ambush Bug save the compromising video of Grindelwald and Dumbledore as leverage against them.
• Su Ming paid Grindelwald and Dumbledore, and Dumbledore handed over the Elder Wand, Invisibility Cloak, and Resurrection Stone.
• Su Ming placed the Hallows in a pit and tried to summon Death with a spirit tablet and offerings.
• After Death failed to respond, Su Ming told Larloch to overload the magical network and begin the modified Karsus' Avatar Spell.

Su Ming summoned this world's Death and wagered that it could not kill him within an hour, offering the three Peverell artifacts in exchange for two women's souls and an answer. Death failed to kill him and accepted the loss, leaving Su Ming to state his demands.

• Larloch and the other Great Liches adapted Karsus' Avatar Spell and summoned Death through the Council of the Sky's P2P Weave.
• Su Ming offered to return the three artifacts Death had lost to the Peverell Brothers in exchange for two women's souls and an answer to a question.
• When Death questioned why it should trade, Su Ming proposed a one-hour wager that Death could not kill him.
• Death unleashed a string of deadly accidents and disasters in the graveyard, but Su Ming survived them all.
• After the hour passed, Death admitted defeat, and Su Ming prepared to name his demands.

Su Ming questioned Death about the limits of death before Harry awoke to find Lily alive, while the adults concealed the truth about the battle and Dumbledore's fate. Su Ming arranged the survivors' future, then invited Hermione to join the Council of the Sky and gave her a way to return to Hogwarts.

• Su Ming used a Death Eater to demonstrate how death differed from bodily dismemberment and pressed Death to explain how conceptual powers worked.
• Harry woke in the Hogwarts infirmary and reunited with Lily, who told him that Dumbledore and the two Dark Lords had died and that the skeleton wizards were hallucinations.
• Su Ming explained to Hermione that he had arranged for McGonagall to succeed Dumbledore, Snape to kill Wormtail Peter, and Lily and Snape to reunite with Harry.
• Hermione asked to investigate Hogwarts and its possible connection to Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
• Su Ming gave Hermione a Spider Totem and welcomed her as his apprentice in the Council of the Sky.

Su Ming brought Hermione to Kamar-Taj and offered her a choice between Master Mordenkainen and Mordo as her magic teacher. Later, he and Gin discussed the state of the Main World and the seven Parallel Universes before news reported that Doctor Reed Richards’s space station had been hit by a supernova.

• Su Ming showed Hermione Kamar-Taj and explained that she would study new systems of magic there.
• Su Ming summoned Master Mordenkainen and Mordo so Hermione could choose between them as her teacher, but she covered her eyes in dismay.
• Su Ming returned to Wilson Manor and asked Gin about recent events in the Main World and the seven Parallel Universes.
• Su Ming suggested using the seven Parallel Universes to grow food crops.
• A news report said Doctor Reed Richards and his three-person team might have been lost after a supernova struck their space station.

Tony Stark’s arms-deal trip to the South American rainforest ended when his convoy was ambushed and he was captured. He woke in a makeshift prison, where Cassandra revealed herself as the person who had arranged his kidnapping.

• Tony Stark rode with female soldiers in a Humvee after demonstrating his Jericho Tactical Missile to military officials.
• Guerrillas attacked the returning convoy with roadside bombs, killing the soldiers around Tony and leaving him gravely wounded.
• A woman in black high-heeled boots ordered Tony’s capture, and he later woke in a dark basement with a crude pacemaker and heart stent.
• Tony tried to use his life as leverage by pretending to pull out the wires keeping him alive.
• Cassandra entered with masked soldiers, and Tony recognized the woman from his past.

Tony was captured by Cassandra, who tormented him and kept him imprisoned in her rainforest base. After pretending to submit, he built crude powered armor and blasted his way into the corridor, beginning his escape.

• Cassandra confronted Tony, claimed she was not responsible for his parents’ deaths, and beat him before leaving him imprisoned.
• Tony endured Cassandra’s abuse and realized she wanted his genes, so he began looking for a way out.
• Tony stole car-repair tools and palladium, then built an Arc Reactor and concealed it in a boiler that transformed into crude armor.
• When a guard discovered the armor, Tony climbed inside, attacked with a makeshift flamethrower, and raced down the corridor as bullets bounced off him.

Tony Stark escaped Cassandra in his damaged MK1 armor, but the thrusters failed and he crashed on a beach. Rhodey rescued him and told him he had been missing for a month, while Tony vowed to use his inventions for good.

• Tony fled Cassandra, who fired an anti-tank rocket at him, and escaped the explosions by launching into the sky in his armor.
• Tony flew north over the rainforest while thinking about improvements to the MK1, but its thrusters burned out near the coast.
• Tony crashed onto a beach, damaging his armor and injuring his shoulder, then spotted a United States military helicopter.
• Rhodey found Tony and told him that he had been missing for a month and Stark Industries stock had nearly collapsed.
• Tony told Rhodey he would prove he could use his inventions to benefit the world, and Rhodey directed the helicopter to Holloway Charity General Hospital in New York.

Tony announced that Stark Industries would shut down its weapons division and planned to launch a clean-energy business, revealing his Arc Reactor to Pepper. He evaded CIA agent Coulson’s questions about his kidnapping, leaving Pepper to handle the investigation.

• Tony announced the permanent closure of Stark Industries’ weapons division and told Pepper to buy up the company’s falling stock through secret accounts.
• Tony told Pepper he would announce a New Energy Research Department in a week and showed her the Arc Reactor powering his heart and other technology.
• Pepper pointed out that CIA agent Coulson was waiting to question Tony about his kidnapping.
• Tony pretended to suffer a heart attack and fled to catch a helicopter, leaving Pepper to speak with Coulson.
• Pepper invited Coulson to her office for tea and worried about the pressure of the investigation and other crises.

Pepper's meeting with Coulson ended without incident, but Fury suspected Tony's activities were connected to Hydra and ordered Natasha to help monitor him. On Contraxia, Su Ming showed Howard footage of Tony and Cassandra, then prepared to send Howard to another Earth to gather intelligence and advance its technology.

• Pepper saw Coulson leave Stark's office and returned to work after escorting him out.
• Coulson reported to Fury that Tony was uncooperative and that he had planted surveillance devices in the office.
• Fury suspected Hydra's remnants were involved and ordered Natasha to join Coulson in watching Tony.
• Su Ming showed Howard footage of Tony and Cassandra's recent clashes on Contraxia.
• Su Ming arranged for Lorraine to replace Howard, then planned to send Howard to another Earth to watch the Council of the Sky and help develop its technology.
• Su Ming asked Howard whether Starhawk or Yondu had visited Contraxia, and Howard had Jarvis search the planet's records.

Su Ming searched Contraxia’s surveillance records for Starhawk and Yondu before leaving Howard to resume his vacation. Tony recovered, rebuilt his life and began constructing new armor, but Obadiah knocked him out and stole his Arc Reactor.

• Su Ming and Howard searched Contraxia’s recordings but could not identify Starhawk or Yondu.
• Su Ming told Howard that Dr. Tesla wanted to discuss the black hole machine and asked him to monitor Carol before departing for Vanaheim with Gin.
• Tony recovered, replaced his Arc Reactor, and became infatuated with Dr. Maya Hansen after meeting her in New York.
• Tony’s Arc Reactor plans helped Stark Industries’ stock rebound, and he built red MK2 armor while Pepper supported him at work.
• Pepper returned Tony’s old reactor in a display case, and Tony gave her an expensive blue dress in thanks.
• Obadiah infiltrated Tony’s mansion, knocked him unconscious, and stole the new reactor from his chest.

Tony survived Obadiah Stane’s attempt to kill him and learned that Obadiah planned to use Stark weapons and an armor prototype for terrorist attacks. After firing Natasha Romanoff, Tony flew to Stark Industries Science Park to stop Obadiah and seek revenge.

• Obadiah Stane stole Tony’s Arc Reactor and left him to die, but Pepper replaced it with the old reactor and saved him.
• Natasha Romanoff revealed that she worked for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division and warned Tony about Obadiah’s plans; Tony fired her.
• Tony headed to the basement to put on his MK2 armor while Natasha chatted with Pepper, and a gold-and-red suit flew away from the villa.
• Tony flew toward Stark Industries Science Park, suspecting Obadiah’s accomplices had repaired the MK1 armor there.

Tony defeated Obadiah’s Iron Monger armor and revealed his identity as Iron Man, while the Blonde Young Man decided to become a mercenary after tricking a wealthy boy into paying him. The Blonde Young Man left the alley pleased with his first quick payday and his new plan for getting rich.

• Obadiah explained that pressure from the Ten Rings and his weapons deal had driven him to fight Tony in the Iron Monger armor.
• Tony battled Iron Monger, then used its weakness to cold at high altitude and a reactor blast to defeat Obadiah with help from Coulson and the agents.
• Tony rejected Coulson’s cover story at a press conference and announced, “I am Iron Man!”
• The Blonde Young Man watched Tony’s announcement and decided he wanted fame and wealth, but did not know what work to pursue.
• Little Fatty hired the Blonde Young Man to bring him a girl, and the Blonde Young Man instead brought him an elderly Black woman and took half the cash.
• The Blonde Young Man left Little Fatty with the woman, escaped with his earnings, and decided to make his debut as a Mercenary.

After Frank's family was murdered, Fury urged him to stay calm and work quietly, but Frank's evidence failed to secure justice against Billy Russo. As Frank prepared to attack Billy outside court, a lawyer intervened.

• Frank woke in Fury's safehouse and learned that his wife and children had been killed in a shooting.
• Frank left the safehouse, gathered evidence with help from former comrades, and sued Billy Russo.
• The judge rejected Frank's evidence, and Billy and his associates were acquitted.
• Billy taunted Frank outside the courtroom and threatened him, while Frank reached for a dagger.
• A lawyer stepped between Frank and Billy and announced that Frank now had legal representation.

Frank tried to bring Billy to justice with Matt Murdock’s help, but the judge they recruited was murdered and Frank was framed. Taking the name Punisher, Frank attacked Billy’s gang, killed Billy despite Daredevil’s intervention, and fled as police arrived.

• Frank learned that Matt Murdock was blind and accepted his free legal help, agreeing to pay him with pizza.
• Matt helped Frank secure a retrial before a fair judge, but the judge was murdered and evidence made Frank the chief suspect.
• Frank gathered weapons, adopted the name Punisher, and launched a planned assault on Billy’s fortified factory.
• Frank cornered Billy, but Billy wounded and overpowered him before Daredevil burst in and captured Billy alive.
• Frank brutally killed Billy, clashed briefly with Daredevil, and escaped when police sirens approached.
• Daredevil warned Frank that Billy was only one part of New York’s gang problem, and Frank threatened to kill Daredevil if he interfered again.

Thor’s reckless raid on Jotunheim ended with Odin rescuing him and exiling him to Midgard without his divine power or inheritance. Loki was left in charge of Asgard and celebrated Thor’s departure with the Warriors Three.

• Loki lured Thor and his companions into Jotunheim, where Frost Giants surrounded them and Laufey froze Thor.
• Odin drove back the Frost Giants, rescued the group, and reaffirmed the non-aggression pact with Laufey.
• Odin rebuked Thor for provoking the conflict, stripped him of his inheritance and divine power, and exiled him to Midgard with Mjolnir.
• Odin told the Warriors Three that Loki would supervise Asgard while he recovered, then departed for the Golden Palace.
• Loki pretended to mourn Thor and invited the Warriors Three to his palace to drink, and they agreed.

Su Ming learned that Thor had been sent to Earth without Loki and decided to let him experience mortal life. He hired Wade through the Margaret Sisters Bar to befriend Thor, leaving Wade with a signed contract and money for the mission.

• Gullveig told Su Ming and Gin that Thor had trespassed into Jotunheim and Loki had saved him, rather than being sent to Earth by Odin.
• Su Ming decided to keep out of Thor's sight and arrange a guide to show him mortal life.
• Wade hid from Kingpin at the Margaret Sisters Bar and heard Weasel explain the bar's history and its mercenary jobs.
• Su Ming approached Wade with a contract to befriend a man who believed he was Thor and introduce him to the hardships of mortal life.
• Wade negotiated for more money, accepted the one-hundred-thousand-dollar offer, signed the contract, and took the upfront payment.

Thor lost his powers and weapons after Odin cast him out, wandered through the desert, and ended up restrained in a mental hospital after claiming to be the God of Thunder. Wade arrived and bribed an orderly to help him escape, leaving Thor poised to be taken out through the hospital's back door.

• Thor fell into Midgard, discovered he could no longer fly or summon his hammer, and walked through the desert until fever and exhaustion overcame him.
• Daisy Lewis accidentally struck Thor with an RV, and she, Jane Foster, and Professor Selvig took him to a hospital.
• Thor woke up, attacked the medical staff, and was transferred to a mental hospital after announcing that he was Thor and wanted to return to Asgard.
• Thor endured a night strapped to a bed in the hospital's Dark Room, unable to call for help through the gag in his mouth.
• Wade visited Thor, claimed to be his tour guide, and bribed an orderly to let him take Thor out through the back passage.

Wade tried to earn Thor’s trust and teach him how ordinary people lived, while Thor mistook the lessons for preparation to fight. Wade decided to cure Thor’s supposed obsession with warrior honor by tricking him into dishonorable acts, and the two headed toward Hell’s Kitchen.

• Wade tried mentioning Thor’s father to gain his trust, but Thor smashed his cup and demanded another drink, so Wade smashed his own cup to imitate him.
• Wade recalled how he chose the surname Wilson as a child and escaped the orphanage after its director tried to kill him.
• Wade told Thor that Odin had sent him to teach him, and Thor agreed to learn so he could return home to Asgard.
• Wade suggested they observe life in New York and proposed visiting Hell’s Kitchen, which Thor mistook for a place to fight devils.
• Thor rejected Wade’s offer to handle any danger with a handgun, insisting it was dishonorable, and Wade decided to trick him into violating his warrior code.

Coulson investigated the missing blond man and seized Jane Foster’s research vehicle and equipment while searching for whoever had reached the target first. Meanwhile, Wade and Thor hitchhiked toward New York, and Wade spotted a pink Stark sedan and told Thor to take off his clothes.

• Coulson found that the blond man had escaped from the psychiatric hospital and noticed a set of tiny footprints at the scene.
• Coulson told Jane, Selvig, and Daisy that the government had requisitioned their RV and equipment, then ordered Hawkeye and Mockingbird to investigate the escape.
• Wade and Thor stood beside the highway trying to hitch a ride to New York in the midday heat.
• Wade spotted an approaching pink Stark sedan and told Thor to take off his clothes.

Wade taught Thor how to hitch a free ride by using his muscles to attract drivers. Two old ladies stopped for them, and Wade arranged for Thor to ride with one of them in her arms.

• Wade told Thor to strip off his shirt and pose by the roadside while he held a sign.
• Wade argued that anything that could not be traded had no value, leaving Thor unable to answer.
• Two old ladies in a pink sedan stopped after seeing Thor bounce his chest muscles.
• Wade put Thor in the passenger seat and placed the eager old lady in his arms.