Chapter Summaries

Gamora and Nebula fought captured Aliens in Thanos’s brutal contest, while Nebula secretly tried to make Gamora lose. Thanos stopped the slaughter, spared Nebula from punishment, and gave both sisters a new task: find someone for him.

• Nebula planned to cripple Gamora during their fight, while Gamora wondered why the captured Aliens kept resisting.
• Nebula swept her blade toward Gamora’s ankle, but Thanos ordered the fight to stop.
• Thanos crushed the remaining Aliens after they continued attacking, leaving Gamora and Nebula as the only survivors.
• Gamora won the contest again, and Nebula admitted defeat and offered Thanos her right eye or hand.
• Thanos spared Nebula and told both sisters to find someone for him.

Thanos sent Gamora and Nebula to find Starbrand, using a past white-light radiation burst as their clue and turning the search into a competition. After they rushed off, Su Ming revealed that Wanda had been sickened by his gruesome act, then took her to search the captain’s quarters for useful technology.

• Nebula asked Thanos for more details about the target, and he described Starbrand as a creature with an arched semicircle and an eight-pointed star on its chest.
• Thanos told Gamora and Nebula that a white-light radiation burst in the Milky Way about one-sixth of a Solar System stellar cycle earlier could help them locate Starbrand.
• Thanos announced a competition to find Starbrand first, and Gamora and Nebula raced away while firing energy guns at each other.
• After Gamora and Nebula left, Wanda vomited over Su Ming’s graphic imitation of Thanos killing an Alien creature.
• Wanda used her powers to turn the remains in the pit into mosaic-like squares, and Su Ming praised her developing control.
• Su Ming gave Wanda antacids and carried her toward the captain’s quarters to search for information storage devices and technology.

Su Ming searched Thanos’s quarters and uncovered evidence of his disturbing fixation on death, while Gamora returned with the coordinates of Starbrand’s location. Thanos ordered his forces to pursue Starbrand, planning to use them to test the target before sending Wanda after him.

• Wanda recoiled from the corpse and saw the ruined Arcturus Galaxy, where the Arcturian Hawk God’s phantom still lingered.
• Su Ming found children’s bones in Thanos’s desk and examined other ominous objects in the quarters, wondering what they revealed about Thanos.
• Gamora delivered coordinates showing that the signal’s source was at the edge of the universe, and Thanos ordered her to bring Starbrand before him.
• Thanos directed Gamora to notify Corvus Glaive and set the Dark Quadrant on course, intending to use the forces as cannon fodder to probe Starbrand’s strength.
• Su Ming planned to send Wanda against Starbrand after the battle exposed his weaknesses, then see how the Cosmic Consciousness responded.

Su Ming traveled to the edge of the universe aboard Thanos's ship, using the journey to teach Wanda and strengthen her trust in him. The team found the dead previous host of the Starbrand, but the Starbrand had escaped and was searching for a new host.

• Su Ming explained how beings could reach the universe's boundary and spent the long voyage teaching Wanda cosmic knowledge and encouraging her to experiment with Chaos Magic.
• Gamora's calculations led Thanos's forces to a hollow asteroid concealing the source of the energy sphere that had struck the Solar System.
• Su Ming sent the Black Order, Gamora, and Nebula to board the asteroid and ordered Wanda to act immediately when he asked.
• Gamora, Nebula, and the Black Order returned with pieces of the dead creature, which they reassembled aboard Sanctuary II.
• Su Ming found a dim Starbrand scorch mark on the corpse and used Strangle to learn that the creature had died after launching the energy wave.
• Su Ming realized the Starbrand had left to seek another host and planned to keep pursuing it, knowing its goal required it to begin with Earth.

Thor and Loki worked as nightclub doormen in New York, where Thor decided he was content to live as an ordinary human rather than return to Asgard. Loki discovered that Thor’s new outlook had been encouraged by a book Wade had given him.

• Loki earned tips by letting wealthy men into the nightclub early, while Thor threw a disruptive drunk into a trash can.
• Thor suggested buying cupcakes, and Loki warned him not to pursue human women because the Sorcerer Supreme might take offense.
• Thor said he had overcome his addictions, accepted life without divine power, and planned to remain an ordinary New York citizen.
• Loki questioned Thor’s sudden change in outlook and found a book called “Hand-in-Hand Guide to Experiencing Quietude and Non-Action” in his jacket.
• Thor explained that Wade had given him the book while dressed as a superhero, then recalled seeing Wade enter through the door after climbing out the window.

Loki encouraged Thor to pursue Jane Foster while privately hoping to get Thor back to Asgard and reclaim the throne. As Thor approached the cake shop, its struggling owners spotted a fight on a nearby rooftop and prepared to close, while Jen criticized their business habits.

• Thor told Loki he had fallen in love with Jane, and Loki offered to help him win her over.
• Loki promised to support Thor's relationship with a mortal, and Thor went toward the cake shop.
• Caroline discovered the shop had only 89 dollars left, and Jen offered to invest more money.
• Daisy, Caroline, and Jen noticed Thor approaching and discussed Jen's growing interest in him.
• Daisy and Caroline spotted masked people fighting on a rooftop and suggested closing the shop to hide.
• Jen pointed out that repeatedly shutting down during disturbances in New York was hurting the shop's business.

Daredevil, Punisher, Wade, Bullseye, and Hawkeye faced off on a rooftop while arguing over arrests, revenge, and a stolen backpack. Across the street, Thor tried to buy cakes from Daisy and ended up diving through the shop window.

• Daredevil urged Punisher to stop killing, while Punisher refused and accused Wade of being a drug dealer.
• Wade demanded that Punisher return his Hello Kitty backpack, and Bullseye threatened to take both Wade and Punisher to his boss, Kingpin.
• Daredevil confronted Bullseye, and Punisher turned his weapon on him as the rooftop standoff grew more chaotic.
• Hawkeye announced that he would arrest all four men and prepared a Taser Net Arrow, while Daredevil objected and argued about his authority.
• People in nearby buildings watched and livestreamed the confrontation as Daisy, Jen, and Caroline watched footage in the cake shop.
• Thor offered Daisy ten large coins for two cakes, but when she told him to serve himself, he dove through the shop window.

Thor, Daisy, Caroline, and Jen watched a little girl’s livestream of five masked fighters gathering on a rooftop. When the fight began, Bullseye attacked Hawkeye, Daredevil blocked him, and the Punisher knocked Hawkeye’s capture arrow off course.

• Thor joined Daisy, Caroline, and Jen as they watched Little Detective Jessica livestream the rooftop standoff from her balcony.
• Jessica guessed that the Punisher would lose and predicted the blond man in floral shorts and pink slippers would win.
• Bullseye used the helicopter’s noise as cover to throw a toothpick at Hawkeye, but Daredevil intercepted it with his baton.
• Hawkeye fired an electrified net arrow at the Punisher, following Fury’s order to bring Frank back alive.
• Frank anticipated Hawkeye’s attack and shot the arrow shaft, sending the electrified arrow spinning toward the street.

Wade tried to shoot the strap of the pink bag on Frank's back so he could reclaim the drug money, but his shot hit Bullseye instead. As the rooftop fight continued, Wade's accidental gunfire wounded Daredevil, who fled while Frank and Hawkeye were still fighting.

• Wade aimed at the bag on Frank's back but accidentally shot Bullseye in the thigh.
• Bullseye cursed Wade, rappelled off the rooftop, and left the fight.
• Hawkeye offered Wade ten thousand dollars to shoot Frank in the leg, and Wade agreed.
• Daredevil knocked both of Wade's pistols from his hands, but one fired after hitting the ground and ricocheted into Daredevil's liver.
• Daredevil swung away to seek medical help, leaving Frank and Hawkeye still fighting.

Wade and the Punisher fought on the rooftop after Hawkeye was knocked out, with Frank suspecting Wade was an assassin. Just as Frank prepared to shoot Wade, a red, flame-trailing figure struck him and sent him over the rooftop edge.

• Wade chose to help the government agent defeat the Punisher rather than settle for retrieving the backpack, while Frank grew convinced Wade was a hired assassin.
• Frank used Hawkeye to block Wade's gun and then kicked Hawkeye off the rooftop into a dumpster, leaving him unconscious.
• Frank tossed the backpack to Wade and opened fire, but Wade dodged briefly before pretending to be dead.
• Frank threatened Wade and prepared to shoot his thigh when a red, flame-trailing figure slammed into him and sent him flying off the rooftop.

Tony rescued Wade from Punisher and prepared to leave, but a sudden white flash and a distant roar drew his attention to a giant monster near New York’s coast. Meanwhile, Thor accidentally triggered an electrified net inside a cake shop, and Jane prepared to help him as the others misread his convulsions as laughter.

• Tony drove Punisher away, told Wade they were even, and sent him home with his backpack.
• Tony posed for the news cameras while Wade left, but a white flash and thunderous roar interrupted them.
• Tony spotted a gigantic monster near the distant New York coast and flew upward for a better view.
• Daisy tossed an arrow to Thor after its archer was knocked off the rooftop, and Thor pressed the button on its arrowhead.
• The arrow released an electrified net that trapped Thor, while Daisy and Caroline joked about his apparent laughter.
• Jane put on rubber gloves and oven mitts and explained that the current was making Thor’s muscles contract.

Loki helped free Thor from an electric net while avoiding attention from authorities, and Thor stayed with Jen for medical observation. A sudden white flash appeared in the sky, and news footage revealed a giant monster trying to reach New York.

• Thor warned Jen not to approach the electrified net and asked her to get Loki.
• Loki borrowed Daisy's phone to photograph Thor, then realized the arrowhead was powering the net and smashed it with a hammer Daisy had found.
• Jen and the others freed Thor from the net, and Jen persuaded him to stay with her for observation instead of going home with Loki.
• A brief white flash crossed the sky, and Loki sensed that something extraordinary had appeared on Earth.
• Daisy switched to a news livestream and saw a giant monster in the ocean trying to make landfall in New York.

Steve had stayed retired to care for Bucky and avoid serving what he saw as a corrupt United States, but Fury asked him to protect New York from a giant sea monster. Steve agreed to fight on his own terms and joined Fury aboard a Quinjet.

• Steve continued visiting Bucky in the hospital, caring for him while drawing comics and avoiding Fury's requests to return to service.
• Steve walked home from the hospital with a young nurse, and they ate dinner together before parting at their apartment building.
• Fury waited in Steve's dark apartment and showed him footage of a giant lizard-like creature fighting Tony in the sea.
• Fury told Steve the creature was heading for New York, and Steve retrieved his uniform and shield.
• Steve agreed to protect New York and civilians but insisted he would take no orders from Fury or the military and would need a more professional team.
• Fury named Steve the team commander and pulled him aboard the Quinjet.

Su Ming trapped Starbrand inside a barrier covering North America and waited for it to reveal itself among the population. While Tony battled Fin Fang Foom near New York, Su Ming explained why the monster posed little threat and focused on finding Starbrand.

• Su Ming and Wanda watched from the Statue of Liberty as Tony fought Fin Fang Foom, while Su Ming kept Wanda from intervening.
• Su Ming explained that he had used the Spectre Universe and a network of magical forces to project an improved Space Mythal over North America and trap Starbrand on Earth.
• Wanda worried about Mystique and Toad in New York, and Su Ming identified Fin Fang Foom and described its weakness and Tony's possible way to defeat it.
• Su Ming predicted that Fury, the Avengers, Hulk, and Carol could eventually help defeat Fin Fang Foom, so he chose to leave the battle to them while he searched for Starbrand.

Su Ming brought Wanda to Xavier’s School and asked Jean Grey to use the Brainwave Amplifier to search North America for Starbrand. Jean agreed to help, while Wanda remained wary among the X-Men.

• Su Ming and Wanda ruled out the ocean monster as Starbrand and decided to seek help finding him.
• Su Ming took Wanda to Xavier’s School, where Beast welcomed them and said Professor X was abroad.
• Su Ming and Beast discussed the Brainwave Amplifier, and Beast went to fetch Jean Grey.
• Beast found Wolverine outside Jean’s room, while Cyclops grew suspicious of their late-night experiments.
• Jean joined Su Ming and Wanda, and Su Ming asked her to use the Brainwave Amplifier to locate a man obsessed with cosmic ascension.

Jean Grey refused to use the Brainwave Amplifier to search for Starbrand, fearing her worsening lapses of control and the danger they posed to her friends. Su Ming left the X-Men school with Wanda for Boston, asking Beast to tell Charles that Phoenix could not continue like this.

• Jean struggled with the voice urging her to enter people's minds and recalled losing time while harming Logan, then altering his memories to hide what had happened.
• Su Ming asked Jean to read the minds of lunatics and fools, but she refused and asked him to wait for Charles.
• Jean became distressed, and Cyclops and Beast moved to protect her as Deathstroke pinned Cyclops to the sofa.
• Su Ming told Beast to pass Charles the message, "Phoenix can't go on like this," and left with Wanda for Boston.

Su Ming and Wanda traveled to Massachusetts Academy, a secret Mutant school backed by the Hellfire Club, and found it under attack by Sentinel Robots. Su Ming and Wanda fought back as more Sentinels appeared over the grounds.

• Su Ming and Wanda arrived at Massachusetts Academy after leaving Xavier's School.
• Wanda sensed a presence watching them and pulled a cloaked Sentinel Robot out of the sky with Chaos Magic.
• Su Ming split the damaged Sentinel Robot in two with Nightfall Greatsword.
• Hundreds of Sentinel Robots emerged from stealth and targeted Wanda and the people inside the academy.
• Su Ming rose into the air and began destroying the Sentinels with his greatsword.

Su Ming destroyed the Sentinel Robots attacking the Massachusetts Academy and asked Emma Frost to locate someone for him. Emma tracked down the target and warned that he would be difficult to handle because he was a Humor-type character who was both stupid and crazy.

• Emma Frost joined Wanda beside the academy as Su Ming fought the Sentinel Robots in the sky.
• Emma introduced herself as the academy’s principal, and Wanda explained that she was a witch from the Brotherhood who had come with Su Ming.
• Wanda and Emma bonded over stories about their families while Su Ming destroyed the remaining robots.
• Su Ming landed, then went inside the academy with Wanda, spoke with Emma and the Hellfire Club, and asked Emma for help locating his target.
• Emma used an imitation Brainwave Amplifier to find the target, and Su Ming explained that the Starbrand host was a particularly troublesome Humor-type.

Eight-Ball used his new Starbrand powers to break into a woman's apartment while New York descended into chaos. The chapter ended with him tormenting her as she cried for help.

• Eight-Ball spotted a lit apartment and leaped onto the building's rooftop, overshooting the fifth floor and struggling to climb back down.
• He reached the woman's balcony, stole clothes from her drying rack, and put them on over his uniform.
• The woman heard him laughing, approached the balcony, and screamed when she saw him.
• Eight-Ball used his speed to block her escape and began tormenting her while she called for help.

Wanda and Deathstroke tracked down Starbrand, who had taken the name Eight-Ball and was harassing a woman. Their attempt to lure him out exposed the danger of his power, and he ended the chapter raging after destroying half the balcony and part of the building.

• Wanda and Deathstroke watched Eight-Ball flip up a woman's skirt, while Deathstroke warned Wanda not to underestimate him.
• Deathstroke asked Wanda to place a tracking spell on Eight-Ball's underwear and proposed using the woman to lure him away from the building.
• Eight-Ball ignored the flashing Starbrand symbol on his chest and kept tormenting the woman.
• The woman lay down and invited Eight-Ball to spend the night with her, provoking him into a furious reaction.
• Eight-Ball punched through the air with Cosmic Energy, disintegrating half the balcony and part of the building, then roared at the woman to keep resisting him.