Chapter Summaries

Vought agents recovered a file revealing that Payback betrayed Soldier Boy to the Russians rather than killing him with a secret weapon. At the safe house, Homelander confronted the newly awakened Soldier Boy and asked if he was his biological father.

• An agent reported to Edgar that the laboratory had been cleared and Soldier Boy was missing from the experimental chamber.
• Edgar told the agent to prioritize recovering the weapon data and return immediately.
• The agents found the B.C.L. Red file, which revealed that Payback had used Russian nerve gas to capture Soldier Boy and hand him over to the Russians.
• At the safe house, Butcher confronted Homelander and Pero, while the Boys cared for Kimiko and the unstable Soldier Boy.
• Homelander pushed past Butcher and asked Soldier Boy if he was his biological father.

Soldier Boy learned that Homelander was his biological son, and the two fought until Pero stopped them. Soldier Boy then learned he had been asleep for years and received a paternity test to examine.

• Soldier Boy rejected Homelander’s claim that he was his father and insulted him, prompting Homelander to prepare for a fight.
• Pero stopped Butcher from intervening as Homelander and Soldier Boy battled, damaging the safe house’s furniture while Pero’s Bio-Electric Field protected the room.
• Homelander gained the upper hand and attacked Soldier Boy with Heat Vision, but Soldier Boy answered with an energy blast.
• Butcher blasted Homelander with his newly revealed powers, giving Soldier Boy a chance to pin him and gather energy for another attack.
• Pero separated the two and stopped their fight, then told Soldier Boy he had been asleep for years and handed him a paternity test.

Soldier Boy accepted that Homelander might be his son and left with him to find Dr. Vogelbaum and confirm the truth. Pero returned home, where Starlight arrived seeking a conversation about Homelander.

• Soldier Boy dismissed the paternity report as unreliable, while Homelander realized Dr. Vogelbaum might know the truth.
• Soldier Boy recalled a genetic experiment in 1979 or 1980 and concluded that Homelander could be his son.
• Homelander threatened the Boys, then took Soldier Boy with him to find Dr. Vogelbaum.
• Pero returned to his villa and resumed playing games after leaving the safe house.
• Starlight visited Pero, wary and nervous, after Hughie told her what had happened in Russia.

Starlight visited Pero on behalf of The Boys and warned him that Vought International would target him, but he refused to help and threatened to destroy the company if it came after him. Stan Edgar watched the meeting, while A-Train sent someone a warning that they were being watched and then followed Ashley.

• Starlight told Pero that Vought International planned to spread Compound V through the military and explained how the company manufactured fake heroics.
• Pero rejected Starlight’s appeal, warned her that his villa might be under surveillance, and said he would wipe Vought International off the earth if it attacked him.
• Stan Edgar watched footage of Starlight leaving Pero’s villa and questioned Ashley about how she found out where he lived.
• Ashley denied revealing the villa’s location and suggested Starlight might have seen Homelander visiting it.
• A-Train overheard Ashley complain about Vought International, texted a warning that someone was being watched, and followed her.

Homelander brought Soldier Boy to Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum, who revealed that he had used Soldier Boy’s genetic sample to create Homelander as a more powerful, controllable successor. Homelander joyfully embraced the idea of having two fathers, while Pero reacted in disbelief.

• Homelander and Soldier Boy crashed into the lawn outside Vogelbaum’s villa, and Soldier Boy angrily complained about the journey.
• Vogelbaum opened the door, failed to recognize Soldier Boy at first, then realized who he was when Soldier Boy shouted at him.
• Soldier Boy changed into Vogelbaum’s clothes while Homelander wondered whether Soldier Boy was his biological father.
• Soldier Boy confronted Vogelbaum with a file, and Vogelbaum admitted he had used Soldier Boy’s genetic sample to create Homelander.
• Homelander celebrated having two fathers, and Pero spat out his tea in shock.

The Boys escaped Russia after Kimiko was seriously injured, while Stan Edgar ordered Vought scientists to develop a stronger version of the B.C.L. Red weapon to control or kill supes. Edgar imagined using it to dominate Homelander, Pero, and Soldier Boy, while Pero remained at his villa playing a fighting game.

• After Pero, Homelander, and Soldier Boy left the safe house, Butcher angrily accepted that The Boys could not pursue them, and Frenchie discovered Kimiko was badly hurt and no longer healing.
• Butcher led the group to a Russian hospital, where Kimiko underwent surgery and woke relieved to find her powers gone; Frenchie comforted her as the others waited for her recovery.
• Butcher repeatedly sought intelligence on Soldier Boy and Homelander while The Boys waited for Kimiko to be discharged and planned to resume their fight against Vought International.
• Stan Edgar brought the B.C.L. Red file to Vought’s research department and demanded that scientists create an optimized weapon capable of killing supes within seven days.
• Edgar vowed to use the weapon against Homelander, Pero, Soldier Boy, and other disobedient supes, then left the lab convinced his empire was nearing reality.
• At his villa, Pero won a fighting-game match as Mai Shiranui and mocked an unseen rival as being out of his league.

Edgar gave Butcher B.C.L. Red and a map of Pero’s villa, ordering him to eliminate Pero and Homelander. Butcher recruited Soldier Boy into the plot, and the deadly trap for Pero and Homelander began.

• Edgar handed Butcher B.C.L. Red and a tablet showing security vulnerabilities at Pero’s villa in exchange for targeting Pero and Homelander.
• Edgar activated the Cleanup Plan and ordered his team to follow Butcher and kill everyone involved.
• Homelander learned Soldier Boy was his biological father and flew off to tell him about Pero.
• Butcher offered Soldier Boy B.C.L. Red and persuaded him to help kill Pero and Homelander in exchange for restoring his status as the world’s strongest man.
• Soldier Boy agreed and demanded the deaths of those who had betrayed him, while Vogelbaum watched without revealing that he had told Edgar where Soldier Boy was.

Homelander faced a choice between joining his biological father, Soldier Boy, and staying loyal to Pero, and he refused Soldier Boy. After Pero killed Butcher and restrained Soldier Boy, Homelander began his final confrontation with his father.

• Homelander told Pero that Soldier Boy had confirmed their family connection and said he hoped to bring him and Ryan together.
• Soldier Boy and Butcher burst into Pero's villa, and Soldier Boy ordered Homelander to help him kill Pero.
• Homelander refused Soldier Boy, choosing Pero over the father he had long wanted to find.
• Butcher released nerve gas that weakened Homelander and Soldier Boy, but Pero destroyed the canister and killed Butcher with a blast of energy.
• Pero restrained Soldier Boy, then released him and told Homelander to deal with his biological father.
• Homelander broke all four of Soldier Boy's limbs, leaving him crippled on the floor.

Pero left Homelander unconscious and destroyed Vought Tower after Edgar tried to arrange a negotiation, then melted the wreckage with Heat Vision. As sunrise broke over New York, Edgar remained buried beneath the ruins.

• Pero killed the hidden Vought agents and flew toward downtown New York, while Homelander collapsed unconscious from exhaustion and the neurotoxin’s effects.
• Edgar watched the battle through surveillance and realized Vought had no way to oppose Pero, then saw Pero vanish from the footage.
• Edgar prepared to negotiate and offered to give Pero money or Vought shares, but Pero stayed outside the office window.
• Pero clapped his hands, causing Vought Tower to buckle and collapse vertically with Edgar inside.
• Pero used Heat Vision to melt the tower’s wreckage as New Yorkers watched and reacted to Vought’s destruction.

Pero left his villa to evolve into Silver Superman in a remote region of space, using a golden duplicate as an anchor for his return. After two and a half days, the evolution finished and he opened his eyes with a radiant golden light.

• Pero told Homelander he would leave soon, and the system reported that three days remained on the teleportation cooldown and his evolution energy was full.
• Pero created a golden energy duplicate to anchor his return, then flew into deep space to evolve safely.
• Pero released his stored energy, forming a vast golden nebula, and began his bloodline evolution, which the system estimated would take 2.5 days.
• Homelander admitted he had never seen Pero use his full strength, while Ryan touched the energy duplicate.
• After two and a half days, the nebula collapsed into Pero, and he opened his eyes as golden light burst from them.

Pero completed his Silver Superman evolution and discovered that his new powers let him perceive across the multiverse and travel through time. After glimpsing scenes from the past, he returned to his villa, where Homelander and the others were unsettled by the changed presence of Pero’s original body.

• Pero’s evolved vision revealed Knowhere and Kang in the Quantum Realm, and the system explained that the Rōran Dragon Vein’s residual spacetime energy had enhanced his Silver Superman abilities.
• Pero entered a rainbow-colored passage through time and saw events including Payback’s betrayal of Soldier Boy, Homelander’s birth, Soldier Boy’s torture, and Starlight’s childhood.
• Pero passed through the white light at the end of the passage and returned to Earth.
• At Pero’s villa, Homelander, Soldier Boy, Ryan, and Pero’s duplicate watched Pero’s original body descend from the sky, sensing that his presence had changed completely.
• Pero looked toward the sky and saw the temporal afterimage left by his other self as it receded into the distance.

Pero left the world through a golden portal after urging Ryan and Homelander to build a better future, leaving behind a golden anchor in the Sun. Months later, Homelander and Starlight had founded the Justice League, and Homelander answered a call for help as a statue of Pero rose in New York.

• Pero said goodbye to the former Boys, Starlight, Queen Maeve, Homelander, Soldier Boy, and Ryan, telling Ryan to grow up well and promising to return.
• Pero opened a golden rift and stepped through to another world, while a speck of golden light broke away and became an anchor in the Sun.
• Months later, Homelander watched metahumans build a statue of Pero on the former site of Vought Tower and reflected on the direction he had chosen.
• Homelander responded to a police call about a hijacked armored truck after Starlight asked him to help.
• A news report said the Justice League had stopped a hijacked plane from crashing into the Twin Towers, with all passengers escaping unharmed.

Sengoku revealed that Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger just as Whitebeard and his forces arrived at Marineford to rescue him. The war began with Whitebeard’s attack and clashes between the pirates and the Admirals, ending with Marco knocking Kizaru into a building.

• Sengoku announced to the world that Ace was Gol D. Roger’s son, while Ace insisted that Whitebeard was his father.
• Forty-three New World pirate ships approached Marineford, and Whitebeard’s four ships surfaced inside the harbor, catching the Marines by surprise.
• Whitebeard struck the air and sent two enormous tsunamis toward Marineford, but Kuzan froze them into icebergs and then froze the harbor.
• Mihawk launched a massive slash at Whitebeard, but Jozu blocked it with his diamond body.
• Kizaru attacked Whitebeard with a rain of lasers, but Marco shielded him, regenerated with his Phoenix Fruit, and kicked Kizaru through a building.

During the Paramount War, Pero emerged from a golden rift and effortlessly stopped Akainu’s attack, revealing overwhelming power to both sides of the battle. After recognizing Marineford and remembering Ace’s fate, Pero returned Akainu’s frozen lava rock toward him, leaving Sengoku alarmed.

• Jozu tore a massive chunk of ice from the frozen battlefield and hurled it toward the Execution Platform.
• Akainu rose to intercept the iceberg with Great Eruption, but a golden rift swallowed the ice before the attacks could meet.
• Pero stepped through the rift and froze Akainu’s lava fist with Freeze Breath, stunning the Marines and pirates.
• Pero recognized Marineford during the Paramount War and recalled that Ace had died in the story he watched in his previous life.
• Akainu attacked Pero again, and Pero sent the frozen rock hurtling back, smashing Akainu’s lava fist as Sengoku realized how powerful Pero was.

Sengoku and the other Marines stopped Pero’s falling boulder, but the effort devastated Marineford. After Pero demanded that Sengoku hand over Ace, Akainu attacked him and vanished in Pero’s blinding beam.

• Kuzan and Kizaru failed to stop Pero’s falling boulder, so Sengoku transformed into his Buddha Form and struck it with shockwaves.
• Sengoku called on Bartholomew Kuma, whose Pressure Cannon helped slow the boulder, then shattered it with a Haki-coated punch; its fragments injured Marines and damaged Marineford.
• Pero told Sengoku that the Navy had attacked him first and demanded that he hand over Ace.
• Sengoku realized the live broadcast was still running and feared the damage to the Navy’s reputation, while Akainu charged at Pero in a rage.
• Pero fired a brilliant beam from his eyes, and Akainu vanished as Sengoku cried out for him.

After Pero killed Sakazuki, Sengoku abandoned the execution of Ace and ordered the Marines to let him go. Ace returned to the Moby Dick as the Marines’ morale collapsed, while Sengoku accepted responsibility for the defeat.

• Sengoku tried to execute Ace, but Garp stood between them and blocked his way.
• Sengoku ordered the Marines to let Ace go, then lost his strength and fell back into his chair.
• Mr. 3 unlocked Ace’s Seastone Handcuffs and helped him leave the Execution Platform.
• Ace crossed the battlefield and reunited with Whitebeard aboard the Moby Dick.
• The Marines dropped their weapons and discarded their uniforms as Kizaru warned Sengoku that the World Government would blame him.
• Sengoku told Kizaru he would resign, then silently acknowledged that Whitebeard had won.

Pero saved Ace and ended the war, prompting the World Government to put an enormous bounty on him. As the Whitebeard Pirates prepared to leave Marineford, Luffy arrived with escaped prisoners, and Sengoku saw a chance to redirect attention from the Marines’ defeat.

• Whitebeard thanked Pero for saving Ace, and the commanders welcomed Ace back aboard the Moby Dick.
• Pero told Whitebeard he had intervened because he disliked the story’s ending and accepted an invitation to the crew’s banquet.
• The Five Elders condemned the Marines’ defeat and ordered an eight-billion-Beli, kill-on-sight bounty for Pero.
• Luffy arrived at Marineford aboard a falling warship with escaped prisoners from Impel Down.
• Sengoku recognized Luffy’s many powerful connections and began planning to use him to shift attention away from the Marines’ defeat and Pero.

After the world learned of Pero’s role in ending the Paramount War, his unprecedented eight-billion-Beli bounty spread across the seas. As the Whitebeard Pirates celebrated aboard the Moby Dick, Ace saw a newspaper photograph that made him panic and rush to Whitebeard.

• Newspapers reported Pero’s defeat of Akainu and his role in forcing Sengoku to end the war, while the World Government issued him an eight-billion-Beli wanted poster.
• In a Loguetown tavern, pirates and bounty hunters reacted to Pero’s bounty and discussed how high bounties could not be cashed in.
• The Whitebeard Pirates continued their banquet in the Calm Belt, and Whitebeard thanked Pero for saving Ace as the crew raised a toast.
• Ace caught a fresh newspaper from a News Coo and saw a photograph of a smiling boy wearing a straw hat.
• Ace’s drunkenness vanished, and he ran toward Whitebeard shouting that something was wrong.

Sengoku decided to execute Luffy despite Garp's furious objections, while Whitebeard first refused to let Ace return to Marineford. After seeing Ace's anguish, Whitebeard changed his mind and ordered his fleet to turn back for Luffy.

• Garp confronted Sengoku and demanded to know what would happen to Luffy.
• Sengoku told Garp he had no choice but to execute Luffy, and Garp left after warning that Sengoku would regret it.
• Ace told Whitebeard that the Marines had captured Luffy while he tried to save Ace.
• Whitebeard refused Ace's plea to return, while Marco and Vista warned that the Marines were setting a trap.
• Whitebeard comforted Ace and ordered Marco to bring the affiliated pirate crews back to Marineford.

After leaving the Moby Dick, Pero killed the pirates attacking a village, discovered its residents were pirates themselves, and sank the island. He arrived at a town where his eight-billion-Beli wanted poster had stirred excitement, then entered a tavern as terrified patrons recognized him.

• Pero declined Whitebeard’s offer to stay, thanked Ace briefly, and flew away from the Moby Dick.
• Pero killed the pirates attacking a burning village, then used Super-Vision to discover the villagers were armed pirates who had been preying on other pirates.
• Pero sank the island and unleashed enormous tsunamis that erased it and everyone on it.
• Pero reached a town and saw his new eight-billion-Beli wanted poster marked “ONLY DEAD”; passersby discussed how his killing of Akainu had emboldened pirates.
• A scar-faced Bounty Hunter tried to grab Pero, but an invisible force threw him and his companions aside and immobilized them.
• Pero entered the tavern, where the patrons recognized him and reacted in terror.