Chapter Summaries

Su Ming laid out plans to turn his factories and farms into suppliers of weapons, ships, aircraft, synthetic fibers, and military food, then began a major hiring drive in Depression-stricken New York. The chapter ended as a laid-off dockworker told his hungry friend that Midnight Express had brought him good news.

• Su Ming planned to standardize rifle ammunition, develop nylon, build large cargo ships, convert aircraft production to passenger and cargo planes, research tanks, and produce compressed biscuits and other military rations.
• Su Ming expected to profit from future British and American military procurement by introducing weapons that would prove themselves in World War II.
• A month later, Su Ming launched a major recruitment drive in New York while businesses were laying off workers and closing.
• Two unemployed dockworkers met at Hudson's docks to drink Skywalker liquor as they struggled to feed their families.
• The black-haired dockworker told his troubled blond friend that Midnight Express had delivered good news.

During the Great Depression, Tom Barnes and Walter heard that the Distillery was hiring and decided to attend its midnight recruitment. Su Ming organized New York’s largest job drive, assigning Gin to manage it while he watched from a car.

• Tom Barnes told Walter that a liquor deliveryman had offered him work with the Distillery and gave him a recruitment card.
• Walter examined the card and agreed to join Tom at the dockside warehouse when interviews began at midnight.
• Su Ming planned to sort applicants into industrial jobs, factory work, cargo handling, farm work, or street informant roles based on their skills.
• Su Ming delegated the recruitment drive to Gin and observed from a luxury car.
• Hopeful applicants streamed toward the former New York Harbor, while would-be muggers avoided them for fear of the Distillery.

Su Ming expanded his wartime preparations by recruiting thousands of workers and positioning his businesses for future military contracts. Gin identified Joseph Rogers and his friend Barnes among the applicants and arranged their placement at the shipyard, leaving their connection to Su Ming’s plans unexplained.

• Su Ming estimated that the recruitment drive could hire twenty thousand people and continued preparing his businesses for war.
• The Old Man had acquired factories, including an automobile manufacturer, while Su Ming cultivated connections with future military leaders.
• Gin and The Old Man expanded the recruitment operation and arranged food for applicants and their families.
• A lawyer told Gin that Joseph Rogers, his wife Sarah, their son Steven, and Joseph’s friend Barnes matched the people Su Ming had ordered him to watch.
• Gin ordered that Joseph and Barnes receive the best employment contracts, be assigned to the shipyard offices, and have their registration forms copied for him.

Su Ming learned that Rogers and Barnes had appeared and ordered Gin to record their addresses, while Joseph brought home food from his new shipyard job to his hungry son Steve. The chapter ended with Steve discovering the Wilson Enterprises name on a food wrapper.

• Gin told Su Ming that Rogers and Barnes had appeared, and Su Ming ordered him to note their addresses for a visit.
• Gin reported that his search had found no trace of Wakanda, and Su Ming told him to keep looking patiently.
• Steve woke hungry and found his father, Joseph, returning with food provided by his new employer.
• Joseph told Steve that he and Tom had found work at a shipbuilding factory and promised that Steve and Bucky could return to school.
• Steve examined a food wrapper and read the words “Wilson Enterprises” beneath its symbol.

Steve and Bucky decided to visit Wilson Enterprises and look for small jobs in exchange for food. They left to investigate after Steve wrote a note for his mother.

• Steve's family ate hamburgers and felt hopeful as his parents found work and their circumstances improved.
• Bucky slipped into Steve's room and urged him to go out and play, but Steve refused at first so he could study.
• Bucky showed Steve a Wilson Enterprises wrapper and told him the company had hired thousands of people and distributed food.
• Bucky suggested they offer their reading and arithmetic skills for temporary work in exchange for food, and Steve agreed.
• Steve wrote a note for his mother, changed clothes, and prepared to leave with Bucky.

Steve and Bucky traveled through a desolate, frightening city to find work and earn money during the Depression. They rode the nearly empty subway, shared a piece of candy, and reassured each other as they continued their journey.

• Steve left a note saying where he was going, then he and Bucky headed out to look for work.
• Bucky paid Steve's subway fare after Steve explained that he had given his allowance to his father for food.
• Steve and Bucky crossed streets filled with silent, seemingly lifeless people and boarded the subway despite their fear.
• Bucky suggested talking to the driver, but Steve told him not to disturb the driver and stayed in their carriage.
• Steve gave Bucky a hard candy from his mother, and Bucky broke it in half so they could share it.

Steve and Bucky reached the docks to look for work at Wilson Enterprises, where they learned the company refused to employ children and instead supported employees’ families. They decided to ask the warehouse managers whether they could help with short-term tasks.

• Steve and Bucky emerged from the subway, saw the crowd at the docks, and relaxed when they found people who seemed normal.
• Bucky led Steve through the busy warehouse, where Wilson Enterprises distributed food and supplies to employees and their families.
• A bearded worker told Steve and Bucky that the company did not hire child laborers and explained that it gave employees with children extra settlement money.
• Bucky suggested that he and Steve might do light work such as writing signs, and the worker directed them to the warehouse reception staff.
• Bucky spotted a young man with glasses and a plump old man who appeared to be in charge, then led Steve over to ask them for work.

Steve and Bucky sought work at Wilson Enterprises in exchange for food, and Gin offered them a temporary job after hearing their names. He brought them to meet Su Ming, who decided to let the boys follow their original paths while speaking with them in the car.

• Gin and the lawyer refused Steve and Bucky’s request for work at first because the boss opposed child labor.
• Gin agreed to give Steve and Bucky simple, temporary work in exchange for food and learned their names.
• Gin recognized Steve and Bucky as children Su Ming had mentioned and led them to the car.
• Su Ming met Steve and Bucky, told them he knew their fathers, and decided not to interfere with their lives.
• Gin put Steve and Bucky in the car, which drove off as Bucky feared they had been kidnapped.

Su Ming took Steve and Bucky to inspect his planned headquarters site on Long Island and used the trip to teach them about hope and faith. He left them seeing him as a generous mentor and recognizing the difference between despairing people and workers with purpose.

• Steve questioned why Su Ming had money when their former boss did not, and Su Ming reflected on inequality and mortal life.
• Su Ming introduced himself as Slade Wilson and said he would take Steve and Bucky to run errands at the future company headquarters site.
• Passing an alley, Su Ming showed Steve and Bucky the people they called the “Walking Dead” and told Gin to develop the concept into a Hollywood film.
• Su Ming offered to advance Joseph’s wages to help Steve’s ill mother, earning the boys’ gratitude.
• At the Long Island construction site, Su Ming asked the boys to compare the energetic workers with the despairing people they had seen, and Steve concluded that work gave people hope and faith.

Su Ming treated Steve and Bucky to a lavish dinner, encouraged their studies, and watched them grow into young men while making preparations for the future. Steve remained frail and sickly as Bucky grew strong, but their friendship stayed firm.

• Su Ming showed Steve and Bucky the construction site, then took them to dinner at the Gramercy Park Hotel and sent them home with food for their families.
• Steve and Bucky thanked Su Ming and promised to study hard, while Bucky was punished by his father after arriving home.
• Su Ming traveled the world to buy future Safehouses and stock them with supplies through shell companies.
• Over the years, Su Ming met with Steve and Bucky every year or two and confirmed their lives followed the expected course.
• Bucky grew tall and strong while Steve remained small and suffered from numerous illnesses, but the two stayed best friends.

Su Ming returned to China, met Zheng Xian and reached an understanding with S.P.E.A.R., then went back to New York and reviewed his company’s plans and intelligence. He realized the world’s history differed greatly from what he knew and that Marvel’s story was about to begin.

• Su Ming traveled to China to help the common people but found the country safe and encountered Zheng Xian, leader of S.P.E.A.R.
• Zheng Xian welcomed Su Ming, showed him around the Imperial Capital, and reached an understanding with him over their half-month visit.
• Su Ming returned to New York and called Gin to discuss adjusting his plans.
• Su Ming considered how to obtain advanced technology from other worlds because his company’s research had produced little progress.
• Gin reported that their military connections were growing useful and that Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, and Osborn Corporation had risen as major companies.
• Su Ming told Gin to continue monitoring product distribution and ended the call, reflecting that Marvel’s story was about to begin.

Su Ming expanded Wilson Enterprises while World War II erupted and the United States stayed neutral, profiting from supplying Britain. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the war, and Su Ming realized the story had begun.

• Gin delivered Su Ming intelligence about Hydra, the Hellfire Club, hidden Superhumans, and the still-undiscovered Wakanda.
• Su Ming’s businesses spread into daily necessities, while his researchers failed to develop useful rockets or engines.
• Germany annexed the Sudetenland, invaded Poland, and conquered several European countries, including France, as World War II began.
• Su Ming supplied Britain with goods and established Safehouses while the United States profited from wartime trade.
• Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and President Roosevelt announced that the United States would enter the war.
• Su Ming turned off the radio and watched New York, realizing that the story had begun.

Steve Rogers tried to enlist for the fourth time in Paramus, driven by his parents’ deaths and his desire to fight the war. The doctor rejected him again because of his many illnesses, leaving Steve unable to join the military.

• Steve and Bucky learned that their fathers had died while serving with the 107th Infantry Division, and their mothers also died soon afterward.
• Steve went to a recruitment station in Paramus for his fourth attempt to enlist.
• The doctor asked Steve about his parents and reviewed his extensive list of medical conditions.
• Steve asked the doctor to help him pass the examination, but the doctor stamped his file 4F and rejected him.

Steve watched Wilson Enterprises’ zombie film in a New York theater and longed to enlist, while recruitment footage and a display of the company’s wartime weapons played. After Steve confronted a heckler who mocked the advertisements, the man grabbed him and carried him toward the rear exit.

• Steve returned to Brooklyn and watched Wilson Enterprises’ zombie film, feeling envious as recruitment footage showed soldiers and a boy collecting scrap metal for the war effort.
• Steve watched the Iron Wall Assault Gun on screen and recalled Wilson Enterprises’ weapons production and its role in supplying the United States and Britain.
• Steve rejected the idea of using Mr. Wilson’s connections to enlist if it meant being kept away from the battlefield.
• Steve told a theatergoer to show respect during the recruitment footage, then demanded that he stop shouting over it.
• The large man stood up, grabbed Steve, and carried him toward the theater’s rear exit.

Steve was beaten in an alley after another failed attempt to enlist, until Bucky and Gin intervened. Bucky revealed he was leaving with the 107th Division the next morning and invited Steve to the World of Tomorrow Exposition for his last night at home.

• Steve kept fighting a thug despite being repeatedly knocked down, until Bucky, Gin, and Gin's bodyguards came to his rescue.
• Bucky found Steve's 4F rejection letter and teased him for falsifying his enlistment information.
• Bucky told Steve that he had joined the 107th Division as Sergeant James Barnes and would deploy to England the next morning.
• Bucky led Steve out of the alley with VIP passes to the World of Tomorrow Exposition, hoping to spend his last night at home with him.
• Bucky promised to bring two beautiful girls, and Steve hesitated but was tempted to go.

Steve and Bucky went to the World of Tomorrow Exposition, where Steve struggled to attract the attention of the girl Bucky had paired him with. They watched Howard Stark demonstrate anti-gravity technology, which lifted a car briefly before failing.

• Gin sent the man who had knocked over the trash cans to the police station and watched Steve and Bucky leave.
• Bucky took Steve to the exposition with two girls, but Steve’s date ignored him and followed her friend.
• Bucky led the group to the Stark Industries exhibit, where Howard Stark arrived to cheers from the crowd.
• Howard demonstrated his anti-gravity device, lifting a tireless car into the air as Steve and the others watched.
• The device sparked and the car crashed back down, but Howard said the technology would work in the future and the crowd applauded.

Su Ming presented Wilson Enterprises’ instant noodles at the expo, while Bucky discovered that Steve had slipped away to talk with Su Ming. After the crowd sampled the noodles, the presentation moved on to Wilson Enterprises’ next product, Instant Stew.

• Bucky noticed Steve had vanished and found him speaking privately with Su Ming.
• Su Ming led Bucky, Steve, and Bucky’s dates to Wilson Enterprises’ booth, where Gin prepared for the presentation.
• Jos introduced instant noodles as a way to save time during meals and demonstrated how to prepare them.
• Steve, Bucky, Howard Stark, and the audience sampled the noodles and applauded the new product.
• Master John announced that Wilson Enterprises would next present Instant Stew.

At the exhibition, Su Ming used a joke and a product endorsement contract to help Steve enlist. Steve left for the recruitment office, while Bucky hoped they would eventually serve together.

• Howard abandoned thoughts of scientific research and decided to celebrate with the women at the booth.
• Su Ming teased Steve about romance novels, then offered him a way to enlist in exchange for endorsing Wilson Enterprises products.
• Steve signed a contract granting Wilson Enterprises lifelong rights to his likeness.
• Su Ming told Steve that he had arranged everything at a nearby recruitment office, and Steve went there after speaking with Bucky.
• Bucky watched Steve disappear into the crowd and hoped they would be assigned to the same unit.

Steve Rogers tried once again to enlist and was questioned by Dr. Abraham Erskine of the Strategic Scientific Reserve. He told Erskine that he wanted to end the suffering caused by war, not simply kill the enemy.

• Steve entered the recruitment medical examination area after failing to take a photo at an exhibition display because he was too short.
• A doctor left Steve waiting after a nurse whispered to him, and Steve feared he had been caught using false enlistment information.
• A Military Police officer entered the examination room, but Dr. Abraham Erskine arrived and sent him away.
• Erskine questioned Steve about his five enlistment attempts and asked whether he wanted to kill Nazis.
• Steve said he disliked killing and bullets, and cared little about where they came from.

Dr. Erskine approved Steve Rogers for military service after Su Ming secretly arranged their meeting. Steve received orders to report to the Strategic Scientific Reserve at Caspian Camp and left to prepare for the train journey.

• Dr. Erskine stamped Steve's enlistment file 1-A and selected him for service.
• Steve realized that Su Ming's fake Military Police officer had guided Dr. Erskine to him and arranged the enlistment.
• A soldier gave Steve orders to report to the Strategic Scientific Reserve at Caspian Camp.
• Jos gave Steve a train ticket to Philadelphia and explained that military personnel would meet him there.
• Steve learned Bucky was spending the night at the Waldorf Astoria, then went home to pack for his journey.