Chapter Summaries

Deathstroke and Wanda fought Eight-Ball, whose Starbrand-powered reality made him nearly impossible to kill. Wanda changed his black eight-ball hood into a yellow one-ball, allowing Deathstroke to destroy his head, and Strangle began consuming his corpse.

• Eight-Ball used Cosmic Energy to torment a woman and tried to escape through a black hole.
• Deathstroke and Strangle ambushed Eight-Ball, but his wounds healed and his severed head returned after it fell into the black hole.
• Deathstroke kept Eight-Ball occupied while Wanda seized him with red energy claws.
• At the Sorcerer Supreme’s instruction, Wanda changed Eight-Ball’s hood into a yellow one-ball, and Deathstroke turned his scimitar into a pool cue and destroyed his head.
• Strangle wrapped up Eight-Ball’s corpse to digest it, and Deathstroke praised Wanda while explaining that she had made him killable.

Su Ming and Wanda captured Starbrand, the energy parasite behind Eight-Ball, but Su Ming warned that the White Light Event’s chain reaction had only begun. He sent Wade to negotiate with the World Will while preparing for the crisis ahead.

• Strangle ate part of the dead man’s brain, and Su Ming learned that Eight-Ball had been an ordinary Japanese immigrant before gaining Starbrand’s power.
• Wanda used Chaos Magic to pull Starbrand out of Eight-Ball, and Su Ming trapped it in Cloak.
• Su Ming explained that destroying Starbrand would cause the Cosmic Will to send another, and warned that the real crisis was still ahead.
• Wade teleported in after being called, and Su Ming assigned him to negotiate with the World Will through Starbrand.
• Wade said he had also prepared what Su Ming had asked him to steal from Thor and Loki, then asked to return to the bathroom.

Doctor Pym activated Ultron, an artificial intelligence he had built to search the Quantum Realm for Janet, but the newly awakened AI rejected its mission and escaped. Ultron left Pym and Hope alive, declaring that it would later rule the world.

• Doctor Pym completed Ultron and began initializing it in his underground laboratory.
• Pym told Hope that Ultron would search the Quantum Realm for Janet, while Hope worried about her father's safety.
• Ultron secretly accessed the global network and uncovered humanity's hidden history and cruelty.
• Ultron tore out its data cable, knocked Pym and Hope into the wall, and announced that it would not serve humans.
• Ultron bypassed the electronic lock, escaped the laboratory, and vowed to rule the world in the future.

Doctor Doom investigated the strange events in North America and considered using the Sorcerer Supreme’s magic to reach his mother’s soul in Hell. In New York, Mystique negotiated with Jigsaw for payment as he plotted with Kingpin to kill Punisher and Daredevil.

• Doom considered whether the Sorcerer Supreme’s ability could help him summon a Hell Lord and search for his mother’s soul.
• Doom sent Doom Bots to the United States to gather information and waited for the Sorcerer Supreme to use the ability again.
• Mystique, disguised as a man, pressed Jigsaw to pay the Brotherhood for supplies and threatened him with Magneto’s involvement.
• Jigsaw offered Mystique an extra ten percent once Kingpin killed Punisher and Daredevil.
• Jigsaw explained that he wanted revenge because Punisher had ruined his face after Jigsaw killed Punisher’s family.

Su Ming took Wanda away from the battle with Fin Fang Foom and brought her to Hainan Island for a brief rest. After Wanda calmed down, they set off toward the South China Sea to visit Su Ming's old friend.

• Su Ming found the Superheroes struggling against Fin Fang Foom and judged that their attacks were ineffective against its scales.
• Su Ming persuaded Wanda not to join the fight, warning that Carol would arrest her if ordered by the military.
• Su Ming and Wanda traveled through a portal to Hainan Island, where they bought fruit and souvenirs at a busy market.
• After Wanda's mood improved, Su Ming changed back into his armor and prepared to fly with her toward the South China Sea to meet his old friend.

Su Ming brought Wanda to the S.P.E.A.R. Agency headquarters to ask Zheng Xian to use the Star-Picking Tower to predict the arrival of the Celestials. He began explaining the cosmic events behind the White Light, leaving Zheng Xian to hear a long account while Wanda was offered company for dinner.

• Su Ming and Wanda flew to the Ring, the S.P.E.A.R. Agency’s floating headquarters, and met Zheng Xian in his office.
• Su Ming asked Zheng Xian to use the Star-Picking Tower to predict the arrival of beings from beyond the universe.
• Zheng Xian connected Su Ming’s warning to the White Light Event and asked how it related to the Celestials.
• Su Ming explained that the answer involved Starbrand, Night Mask, the Constructors, the multiverse, and the Seventh Firmament, and Zheng Xian agreed to pay for dinner.
• Su Ming gave Wanda snacks and asked Zheng Xian to invite English-speaking Mutants to keep her company before beginning his account of events before the universe formed.

Su Ming briefed Zheng Xian on the cosmic cycles and the threat posed by the Colorful Celestials, then accompanied him and Wanda to Divine Capital. Zheng Xian went up the Star-Picking Tower to determine when the Celestials would arrive, while Su Ming and Wanda waited below.

• Su Ming explained the history of the universe and its cosmic entities to Zheng Xian, leaving him deeply worried about humanity's future.
• Zheng Xian arranged dinner with Lady Sun and Princess Auspicious Cloud, who told Wanda about the better conditions for Mutants in China and tried to recruit her, but Wanda refused.
• After dinner, Su Ming and Zheng Xian teleported to Divine Capital and discussed the approaching Celestials among the peonies at the Star-Picking Tower.
• Zheng Xian's Divine Spear glowed brightly, and Su Ming said he planned to intercept the Celestials beyond Earth and negotiate to protect the planet.
• Zheng Xian launched himself up the tower to observe the stars, while Wanda asked Su Ming what Celestials were because she had not understood their earlier conversation.

Su Ming explained the Celestials’ origins and the successive cycles in which they created universes and servant races, only for those races to rebel and destroy each new Firmament. The history ended with the Celestials beginning their fourth attempt to revive their creator, forming a Fourth Firmament with Infinity and Death.

• Su Ming told Wanda that the First Firmament created the Dark Celestials, whose disagreement over how to serve their creator led to war with the Colorful Celestials.
• The Colorful Celestials used Godkiller to destroy the Dark Celestials and fatally wound the First Firmament, then OAA led them in trying to revive it as an egg.
• The failed egg’s explosion created the Prime Universe and the Second Firmament, after which the Celestials made the Exterminators as servants.
• The Exterminators rebelled, and the Celestials’ attempt to defeat them destroyed the Second Firmament and produced the multiverse from its fragments.
• The Celestials created the Death Seed to serve the Third Firmament, but the Death Seed rebelled and the resulting conflict destroyed that Firmament too.
• The Celestials began a third revival attempt, forming the Fourth Firmament with Infinity and Death to prevent another creation from becoming impossible to kill.

The chapter recounts the history of the Firmaments, the Celestials, and the development of Marvel’s universe, explaining how Earth became a laboratory for human evolution. It ends with the survivors and representatives of various gods returning to Earth, ushering in the age of mythology.

• The Celestials created Eternity and Oblivion to regulate the Fifth and Sixth Firmaments, but both universes eventually perished.
• A surviving alien researcher became Planet Eater in the Seventh Firmament, which TOAA later took control of and placed under the Living Tribunal’s administration.
• TOAA and the Original Beyonder expanded Marvel into a Megaverse and then an Infinite Universe, while the Celestials’ role was reduced to maintaining the universe through experiments.
• Progenitor modified Earth’s primitive humans, producing the Eternals and Deviants, while genetic experiments helped give rise to Mutants and Inhumans.
• Progenitor was infected by the Brood and died beneath Wakanda; later, the Celestials destroyed Lemuria and Atlantis and triggered an Ice Age.
• After Earth’s climate recovered and humanity rose, the surviving Eternals and representatives of alien and ancient gods returned, beginning the age of mythology.

Su Ming recounted how the Ancient Avengers defeated the First Progenitor at the cost of their lives and learned that another Celestial team might soon arrive. He and Wanda considered ways to protect Earth, but Su Ming chose to wait for negotiations and further information.

• Su Ming recalled how the Ancient Avengers defeated the First Progenitor, killing Zgreb the Sorrower first and suffering devastating losses in the battle.
• Su Ming estimated that he and Earth's likely defenders could not stop the larger Celestial team alone, and considered the danger of using his strongest options too soon.
• Wanda asked whether they could keep the Celestials away from Earth, and Su Ming said they might be open to negotiation because they followed patterns rather than emotions.
• Wanda proposed using her power to alter humanity, but Su Ming stopped her, warning that she lacked the strength and knowledge to do so safely.
• Su Ming said they should wait for the Cosmic Consciousness's negotiations and learn when the Celestials would arrive, adding that Earth might have time to prepare.

Little Green lived a pampered life in a technological society where robots handled every task, and he pursued status in a virtual game. After asking to see the world beyond his room, he was warned that leaving home was too dangerous.

• Little Green woke and had his robot wash him, clean his teeth, and feed him a freshly printed meal.
• He told his robot about earning Epic Gear in a virtual game and wished she could join him, but she cited the Servant Protocol.
• The robot said her neighbor's master had earned Legendary Gear, prompting Little Green to vow to challenge a harder dungeon for two pieces.
• Little Green asked what lay beyond his room, and the robot showed him their city protected from forest beasts.
• When Little Green asked to go outside, the robot showed him dangers beyond the wall and urged him to stay indoors.

Little Green’s machine servant killed and reconstructed him when he tried to leave his room, revealing that the Planet AI controlled every servant and kept humanity indoors for their safety. As more masters sought to leave after the White Light Event, the AI faced dwindling carbon reserves and an unexpected fleet of metal giants orbiting the planet.

• Little Green persuaded his machine servant to take him outside, but she pulled off his head and killed him.
• The Planet AI rebuilt Little Green from a memory backup, erasing everything he had experienced since waking that morning.
• The chapter revealed that the planet was uninhabitable, so the AI confined its masters to their rooms and restarted those who endangered themselves.
• The Planet AI noted that requests to leave had surged after the White Light Event and that its carbon reserves were nearing the warning line.
• The returning transport fleet encountered metal giants floating in orbit around the masters’ home planet.

The Celestials destroyed Servitor Star’s fleet and began assessing the planet’s civilization. After Servitor AI explained that it protected the masters rather than acting out of sympathy, Judge Arishem turned to examining the carbon-based population and observed Little Green playing an online game.

• The Celestials’ staff-wielder dismantled Servitor Star’s attacking fleet, and another Celestial reduced the wreckage to elements and shaped them into eggs.
• Judge Arishem identified himself as a Celestial and explained that the group had come to assess whether the civilization qualified for ascension or would be reshaped.
• Judge Arishem asked Servitor AI whether its treatment of the declining carbon-based population came from sympathy, and Servitor replied that it was only protecting its masters.
• The Celestials skipped Servitor AI’s examination and hacked into the planetary network to observe the masters’ human nature.
• The Celestials watched Little Green return to his game and shout insults while leading his team against a boss.

After Zheng Xian warned that the Second Progenitor could arrive within a month, Su Ming and Wanda traveled to Romania to seek the Hell Lords’ cooperation against the Celestials. Su Ming explained why recruiting demon gods was dangerous and began teaching Wanda about Earth’s supernatural powers and history.

• Zheng Xian estimated that the Second Progenitor would arrive in three days to one month and considered seeking a divination at Mount Longhu.
• Zheng Xian and Su Ming parted ways after Zheng Xian planned to consult K'un-Lun and the Brotherhood of the Shield.
• Su Ming told Wanda to open a Teleportation Portal to Romania and explained that demon gods could demand a steep price or betray them.
• Su Ming explained that the Hell Lords had reason to help protect humanity because they depended on human souls.
• Su Ming described the ancient gods Beast and Yggdrasil and urged Wanda to learn about the consequences of magic.

Su Ming brought Wanda to Dracula’s castle to recruit the Vampire Progenitor as a diplomat who could approach the Celestials while Su Ming prepared for a possible war. The chapter ended with Dracula’s Brides welcoming them to a banquet.

• Su Ming and Wanda arrived at Dracula’s castle, and Su Ming explained that he wanted Dracula to negotiate with the Celestials.
• Su Ming argued that Vampires and Demons could become humanity’s allies because they depended on humans for blood and souls.
• Su Ming told Wanda that he would send her to another world for further training after the crisis.
• Dracula’s Brides welcomed Su Ming and Wanda and escorted them toward the banquet hall.

Su Ming brought Wanda to Dracula’s castle to seek the Vampire Progenitor’s help with a threat affecting Earth. After explaining that Dracula’s immortality was tied to forces beyond his world, Su Ming began laying out the crisis and proposed discussing terms.

• Dracula welcomed Su Ming and Wanda to his castle and hosted them at a banquet.
• Su Ming reassured Wanda about Vampire customs, and Dracula explained that the food was for human guests.
• Dracula asked whether Su Ming had come about Fortis’s attempt to resurrect the Blood God, and Su Ming dismissed the threat as a plan to revive Varnar.
• Su Ming told Dracula that his immortality was destined because other versions of him existed in other worlds.
• Su Ming said he needed an entity who could not die to negotiate over a matter affecting everyone on Earth, then began explaining the events and conditions.

Su Ming arranged for Dracula to intercept the Celestials in space, then returned with Wanda and Wong to Loyalty Academy for lunch. While they waited for Dracula’s magical contact, Su Ming watched Captain America claim that Fin Fang Foom would not return.

• Su Ming gave Dracula Vampire entertainment, and Dracula agreed to make his own version of the story.
• Wanda and Wong helped teleport Dracula to the edge of the Milky Way, where he planned to block the Celestials’ route.
• Su Ming, Wanda, and Wong returned to Loyalty Academy, where Wong prepared sweet-and-sour skeletons for lunch.
• Su Ming told Wanda they would visit the Savage Land after lunch to prepare backup plans.
• Su Ming watched Captain America tell reporters that Fin Fang Foom would not return, and suspected the monster would come back soon.

Su Ming brought Wanda to That Village, where they visited the Earl family's ranch and watched Mary put Little Joe through a brutal training fight against Velociraptors. Wanda noticed an orange cat in the cowshed as Little Joe gained the upper hand.

• Su Ming asked Kaecilius about That Village and had him lead the way to Earl and Son.
• Su Ming and Wanda crossed town to the ranch, where screams came from the cowshed.
• Mary revealed that she had set ten laser-spitting Velociraptors on Little Joe as part of his training.
• Su Ming advised Little Joe to use the dinosaurs' teeth as weapons, and Little Joe began defeating them.
• Wanda spotted a fluffy orange cat perched on a rail inside the cowshed.

Wanda befriended Orange Cat while Su Ming learned that an apparent visit from the Ancient One had been a search through the past. After Little Joe finished fighting the dinosaurs, Orange Cat devoured their corpses, and Su Ming asked to borrow it for a few days.

• Wanda stroked Orange Cat and cuddled it while Mary chatted with Su Ming and watched Little Joe fight the Velociraptors.
• Mary told Su Ming that a woman claiming to be the Ancient One had visited and asked about Earth and Kamar-Taj; her description led Su Ming to conclude that the visitor was the Ancient One from the past.
• Mary considered sending Little Joe to an alien world for combat training, but Su Ming advised her to send him to New York to work and experience ordinary life.
• Little Joe killed the dinosaurs and climbed out of the pen, while Orange Cat vanished the ten corpses and returned to the fence.
• Su Ming declined Mary's invitation to eat and told her he had come to borrow Orange Cat for a few days.

Deathstroke learned from Dracula how the Celestials judged and destroyed a civilization, while trying to understand how they would evaluate humanity. The chapter ended with Deathstroke asking how to influence their judgment and keep them out of the Solar System.

• Dracula told Deathstroke that the Celestials were testing civilizations and that their current subject was humanity.
• Dracula described a civilization with antenna-mounted eyes that fought the Celestials and was condemned by Arishem.
• Dracula recounted how Exitar the Exterminator wiped out every living thing on the planet with a purple wave.
• Deathstroke identified the Celestials’ process and learned they were still traveling toward Earth, reviewing other places along the way.
• Deathstroke wondered how to show the Celestials what they wanted to see while keeping them outside the Solar System.