Recaps

Luca launched the Justice League as a heavily funded superhero division and announced plans to seek broad law-enforcement authority, backed by threats and a nationwide supernatural detector. After Ulysses Klaue infiltrated the base to trade Vibranium for Life Potions, Luca seized him and decided to take Wakanda’s Vibranium.

• JARVIS reported Stark Industries’ soaring profits and Luca’s latest physical evolution, while Luca celebrated becoming the world’s richest man.
• Luca announced the Justice League’s salaries, company rules, lethal-force policy, and plan to seek law-enforcement authority from the White House.
• Luca unveiled a detector that would alert the Justice League to supernatural incidents across the United States, then ordered JARVIS to let an unidentified stealth submarine into the base.
• Luca’s Bio-Force Field pinned Ulysses Klaue and his mercenaries to the dock passageway after they emerged from the submarine.
• Klaue offered Vibranium in exchange for Life Potions, but Luca demanded both the metal and Klaue’s source, learning that it came from Wakanda.
• Luca declared that Stark Industries would take Wakanda’s Vibranium and planned to go to Africa under the pretext of alleviating poverty.

Luca learned from Ulysses Klaue that Wakanda concealed a vast Vibranium mine and decided the Justice League would take control of it. He persuaded Peter and the others that the planned invasion was a humanitarian business merger, then ordered the team to depart for Wakanda the next morning.

• Luca brought Klaue to dinner, where Klaue revealed that Wakanda hid a technologically advanced city and a massive Vibranium mine beneath a false agricultural image.
• Natasha and Jessica secretly planned to report the intelligence to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, while Luca considered using Vibranium to upgrade his armor and equip the Justice League.
• Luca ordered Happy to watch Klaue and announced that the Justice League would go to Wakanda to take control of its Vibranium resources.
• Peter and Bruce objected that taking Wakanda’s resources would be robbery and could cause a war, while Steve argued that power belonged to whoever could seize it.
• Luca reframed the plan as an effort to share resources and advance humanity, persuading Peter and Wanda to support it as the Justice League prepared to leave for Wakanda the next morning.

Natasha and Jessica separately sent intelligence about Wakanda’s Vibranium and Luca Stark’s planned expedition to their respective organizations. Fury chose to leave Luca’s mission alone and instead launched a purge of Hydra infiltrators inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Natasha secretly sent S.H.I.E.L.D. a Morse-coded report that Wakanda had a Vibranium mine and advanced technology, and that the Stark brothers planned to leave the next day.
• Jessica sent Hydra a report about Wakanda’s resources and Luca Stark’s plan, hoping Hydra would take advantage without provoking him.
• Fury read Natasha’s report and reacted with disbelief and anger when Coulson questioned how Wakanda had hidden its capabilities.
• Fury refused to interfere with Luca Stark’s planned trip to Wakanda and told Coulson to focus on rooting out Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Coulson confirmed that Melinda May’s loyal strike teams were in position, and Fury ordered them to arrest the agents on his list, using lethal force if they resisted.

Pierce diverted Hydra’s Wakanda operation after Nick Fury began purging Hydra infiltrators at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters and ordered an attack on Fury. Fury and Coulson escaped an ambush in downtown Washington through the sewer system and vowed to fight Hydra to the death.

• Pierce ordered Sitwell to gather Hydra forces in East Africa and ambush Luca Stark’s group near Wakanda to steal Vibranium.
• Sitwell reported that Fury had raided S.H.I.E.L.D. departments, arresting Hydra agents and killing two who resisted.
• Pierce put the Wakanda operation on hold and ordered Hydra strike teams in Washington to kill Fury.
• Hydra gunmen ambushed Fury and Coulson’s Chevrolet, damaging it with gunfire and grenades.
• Fury and Coulson escaped through a hidden hatch into the sewers before the Chevrolet exploded, and Fury declared they would fight Hydra to the death.

Luca led Peter, Gwen Stacy, Wanda, and Pietro toward Wakanda to seize its Vibranium, persuading Peter that the mission would help humanity. As the Justice flew to Africa, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra fought across Washington, leaving Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce unable to intervene.

• Luca ordered Peter, Gwen Stacy, Wanda, and Pietro to meet at the helipad for an operation in Wakanda, calling it a team-building exercise.
• Peter questioned whether attacking a sovereign nation was right, but Luca convinced him that Wakanda's secrecy and control of Vibranium harmed humanity.
• Peter agreed to join the mission, and the Justice took off for Africa with Natasha and Jessica aboard.
• Nick Fury, hiding in a sewer safe house with Coulson, learned Luca had left for Wakanda and decided to let him face its defenses.
• Alexander Pierce read Jessica's intelligence about Wakanda's Vibranium, but chose to focus on defeating Nick Fury and taking control of S.H.I.E.L.D. first.

General Ross and J. Jonah Jameson reacted to Luca Stark’s flight to Africa, while Tony practiced magic at Kamar-Taj and learned Luca was heading to Wakanda for its Vibranium. The Ancient One showed Tony and Steve a magical view of the Justice, leaving them watching Luca’s journey.

• General Ross ordered intelligence to monitor the Justice as it flew toward Wakanda and hoped the Stark brothers would fail in Africa.
• J. Jonah Jameson blamed his reporters for missing the Stark brothers’ departure and planned a headline accusing them of staging a publicity stunt.
• Tony impressed the Ancient One with his magical skill, then joined Steve and Wong in the tea room.
• Wong told Tony that Klaue had revealed Wakanda possessed advanced technology and a huge Vibranium mine, prompting Tony to worry about Luca’s safety.
• The Ancient One used the Eye of the Vishanti to show Tony and Steve the interior of the Justice.

Luca led the Justice League to Wakanda, intending to break its shield and seize its vibranium, while Wakanda mobilized to repel the invasion. The chapter ended with Luca, Peter, Gwen, Wanda, and Pietro landing on the energy shield above the assembled Wakandan forces.

• Luca showed the Justice League Wakanda’s hidden city and described its vibranium, then declared that they would take control of the mine.
• Peter agreed with Luca’s plan, Pietro urged an attack, and captive Ulysses Klaue secretly expected the League to be defeated.
• T’Challa and Shuri identified the approaching aircraft as belonging to Stark Industries, and T’Chaka ordered Wakanda’s forces to prepare for battle.
• T’Challa, Okoye, the Royal Guard, and the Border Legion assembled beneath the shield as the Justice aircraft approached.
• Luca and the other four heroes leaped from the aircraft and landed on Wakanda’s energy shield, facing the army below.

Luca and his team tested their attacks against Wakanda’s energy shield, which absorbed or reflected their strikes. Luca overwhelmed the shield with a barrage of punches, then prepared a final blow as its energy load neared collapse.

• Luca mocked T'Challa and proposed that Stark Industries provide technology in exchange for most of Wakanda’s Vibranium profits.
• Peter, Pietro, and Gwen Stacy attacked the shield, but it absorbed their energy and reflected Pietro’s kinetic strike.
• Luca stopped Wanda from using magic, transformed into armor, and struck the shield with a powerful punch that it absorbed.
• Luca unleashed a rapid series of punches, causing the shield’s load to climb toward its critical limit as Shuri warned T'Challa.
• Luca gathered the kinetic energy he had absorbed and slammed his fist into the shield’s center, declaring that he was coming in for a visit.

At Kamar-Taj, Tony, Steve, Wong, and the Ancient One watched Luca and his companions confront Wakanda’s Vibranium shield. Luca absorbed the shield’s rebounding energy as he battered it, and he prepared a final blow while the observers feared what his power could become.

• Tony, Steve, Wong, and the Ancient One watched Luca lead Peter and the others onto Wakanda’s shield, where Luca’s force field absorbed their impact.
• Luca proposed that Wakanda exchange technology for a ninety-ten profit split, and T’Challa warned that even a nuclear bomb could not damage the shield.
• Peter and Pietro’s attacks rebounded harmlessly, but Luca began hammering the shield with powerful punches that steadily dimmed it.
• Tony realized Luca was absorbing the shield’s returned kinetic energy and using it to strengthen his next attacks.
• The Ancient One recognized Luca as a potential blessing or cosmic catastrophe, while Luca gathered light in his fist for a final blow.

Luca shattered Wakanda’s energy shield with one punch, terrifying observers and forcing S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra to abandon their plans against him. After the Justice League entered Wakanda, T’Challa ordered his forces to attack, and Luca prepared to fight them.

• Luca used a superpowered punch to break Wakanda’s shield, blasting T’Challa, the guards, and armored rhinos with the shockwave.
• Peter, Pietro, Wanda, Gwen Stacy, Natasha, and Jessica reacted to Luca’s overwhelming strength, while Natasha realized S.H.I.E.L.D. could not hope to control him.
• Nick Fury canceled S.H.I.E.L.D.’s plans involving the Stark brothers and told Natasha to stop probing Luca.
• Pierce ordered Hydra to detonate its operatives near Wakanda to hide the organization’s plans, and told Jessica to obey Luca.
• T’Chaka and Shuri saw that Wakanda’s shield and defenses had failed, while the Ancient One warned that Luca’s power could bring calamity if he lost his reason.
• Luca landed in Wakanda with Peter, Gwen Stacy, Wanda, and Pietro, then T’Challa rallied Wakanda’s forces to attack as Luca readied himself for battle.

Peter, Pietro, Gwen Stacy, and Wanda overwhelmed Wakanda’s forces, while King T'Chaka watched the battle from the command room. Enraged by the destruction, T'Challa charged toward Luca Stark, trusting his Vibranium Suit to absorb and store the force of Luca’s attacks.

• Peter stunned a charging war rhino with electric webs and dragged it off balance.
• Pietro raced through Wakanda’s ranks, knocking soldiers down by striking them at high speed.
• Gwen Stacy fought Okoye and the Royal Guard, using her suit’s Bio-Force Field to withstand a spear pulse before webbing Okoye and knocking her down.
• King T'Chaka and Princess Shuri watched the battle as Wanda’s Chaos Magic neutralized Wakanda’s weapons and hurled vehicles and fallen rhinos into the army.
• T'Challa charged across the battlefield toward Luca Stark, believing his Vibranium Suit would absorb Luca’s strength and turn it into power for a counterattack.

Luca defeated T'Challa and the Wakandan forces, forcing T'Chaka to surrender. He demanded absolute control of Wakanda's Vibranium mines and Stark Industries oversight of its research, leaving T'Chaka with no choice but to accept.

• T'Challa's claws failed to pierce Luca's suit, and Luca crushed his wrist and overloaded his Vibranium Suit with repeated punches.
• The suit's stored energy burst when Luca slammed T'Challa into the ground, leaving him gravely injured, and Luca knocked Okoye unconscious when she attacked him.
• T'Chaka arrived and surrendered Wakanda, prompting the surviving soldiers to lay down their weapons.
• Luca ordered Peter, Gwen Stacy, Wanda, and Pietro to stop fighting, then demanded full control of Wakanda's Vibranium mines and Stark Industries oversight of its technological research.

Luca forced Wakanda to sign an agreement giving Stark Industries control of its Vibranium and access to its technology, threatening to destroy the capital if T'Chaka refused. As the Justice League and Kamar-Taj reacted to the conquest, the Ancient One recognized Luca as a potential cosmic-level threat, while Tony prepared to build a magic battle suit with the Vibranium.

• Luca presented T'Chaka with an agreement granting Stark Industries control of Wakanda's Vibranium mines, research, and border defenses, and T'Challa tried to stop him.
• Luca pinned T'Challa down and threatened to erase Wakanda's capital, so T'Chaka signed the agreement.
• Peter, Pietro, Wanda, and Gwen Stacy reacted to Wakanda's defeat, with each responding differently to Luca and the outcome.
• At Kamar-Taj, Tony celebrated the Vibranium and planned to combine it with technology and magic, while Steve accepted that Luca had imposed new rules through force.
• The Ancient One judged Luca a possible cosmic catastrophe and warned Tony that he would need to forge a magic battle suit to protect the opportunity Luca had secured.

Luca Stark publicized Stark Industries’ exclusive cooperation agreement with Wakanda, revealing its vibranium monopoly to the world. The announcement left the Pentagon and Hydra fearful of Stark Industries’ growing power, and Pierce ordered Hydra to withdraw from Africa and avoid provoking Luca.

• Luca told JARVIS to edit and distribute footage of Wakanda’s shield, T’Chaka welcoming the Stark brothers, and the signed agreement.
• General Ross and Pentagon officials saw the video and agreement, then realized Stark Industries had secured exclusive vibranium rights and access to Wakanda’s technology.
• Pierce watched the announcement and recognized that Stark Industries’ vibranium monopoly could make it the most powerful force on Earth.
• Pierce rejected Agent Sitwell’s suggestion to steal vibranium and ordered Hydra to withdraw completely from Africa and leave Stark Industries alone.

After Luca Stark secured Wakanda’s Vibranium, the Justice League’s power and public standing surged while S.H.I.E.L.D. felt helpless. On the flight home, JARVIS detected a mysterious lightning-charged hammer in New Mexico, and Luca decided they could investigate it later.

• Nick Fury and Coulson watched the Wakanda footage and concluded that the Vibranium deal had made the Stark brothers too powerful to contain.
• The video sparked worldwide praise for Luca and sent Stark Industries’ stock soaring, forcing Jameson to rewrite the Daily Bugle’s planned attack on him.
• Aboard the Justice, JARVIS alerted the Justice League to an extraterrestrial hammer surrounded by residual lightning energy in New Mexico.
• Peter urged Luca to investigate immediately, but Luca chose to return to New York first and celebrate the Vibranium haul.
• Luca said they could visit the hammer later and vowed to show Thor who the real god on Earth was if the hammer’s owner came to Earth.

After the Justice League celebrated its victory in Wakanda, Luca reviewed the operation’s profits and Stark Industries’ rising power. Pepper arrived with two candidates for the League: Daredevil, Matt Murdock, and the Punisher, Frank Castle, leaving Luca to interview them.

• Luca asked JARVIS for the returns from the Wakanda operation and learned that Stark Industries had acquired over four hundred tons of Vibranium and access to Wakanda’s royal technology laboratory.
• JARVIS reported that Stark Industries’ market capitalization had surpassed three trillion dollars and that S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Pentagon had not publicly challenged the operation.
• Luca reflected on his increased strength and toasted the League’s victory and humanity’s technological progress.
• Pepper arrived with two candidates and told Luca she had checked their backgrounds and assessed their abilities.
• Luca recognized Pepper’s candidates as Daredevil, Matt Murdock, and the Punisher, Frank Castle.

Luca Stark recruited Matt Murdock and Frank Castle into the Justice League, offering them resources to fight crime by his lethal methods. Matt joined partly to keep Frank in check, and the team prepared to begin operations in Hell’s Kitchen the next morning.

• Matt Murdock questioned whether Luca’s Justice League protected the weak or operated as a private armed group, and Luca argued that the team’s willingness to kill irredeemable criminals was more effective than Matt’s restraint.
• Frank Castle said he would join in exchange for weapons, intelligence, and permission to kill gangsters, and Luca granted him top-level access to Stark Industries’ arsenal.
• Luca told Matt that Frank could take his weapons into Hell’s Kitchen if Matt refused to join, and Matt decided to stay with the team partly to control him.
• Matt asked whether the promised starting salary of two hundred million dollars was real, and Luca confirmed it before welcoming him and Frank to the Justice League.
• Luca told Matt and Frank to collect their combat suits the next morning before the team began a major cleanup in Hell’s Kitchen.

After the dinner, Luca took Gwen Stacy and Wanda to his room as they competed for his attention. In Hell’s Kitchen, Matt Murdock wrestled with Luca’s ruthless view of justice and chose to stay in the Justice League, hoping to restrain Luca and help those who could still be saved.

• Peter returned to Queens on a Stark Industries jet after promising to study his new suit, while Pietro went back to his room.
• Luca sent Natasha and Jessica away, then teased Gwen Stacy and Wanda as they competed to be first to tend to him.
• Luca carried Gwen Stacy and Wanda to his suite, where they prepared to spend the night with him.
• Matt Murdock returned to his law office and questioned his no-killing rule after Luca challenged his beliefs and warned of Frank’s coming assault on Hell’s Kitchen.
• Matt decided to remain in the Justice League, use Stark Industries’ sonar helmet, and try to send redeemable criminals to prison while keeping Luca in check.

Luca equipped Matt Murdock and Frank with Stark technology and ordered them to seize Hell's Kitchen from Kingpin. Kingpin learned that Daredevil and Punisher had joined the Justice League and put his forces on alert, unaware that Luca intended to take control of his territory.

• Luca gave Frank a Gauss rifle and missile backpack, and Matt a cane equipped with ultrasonic radar and a nonlethal electrical weapon.
• Luca told Frank and Matt to take control of Hell's Kitchen and said Frank should kill anyone who refused to surrender their territory.
• Frank agreed to carry out Luca's orders, while Matt reluctantly accepted the plan.
• At Fisk Tower, Kingpin learned that Daredevil and Punisher had been seen with Luca carrying Stark Industries equipment.
• Kingpin dismissed his subordinate's fears, ordered his men to arm themselves and stay alert, and hoped to keep control of Hell's Kitchen.

Frank and Matt used Stark technology to destroy Kingpin’s bases in Hell’s Kitchen, while Luca confronted Kingpin at Fisk Tower and overpowered him. Luca left Kingpin alive but warned that no force outside Stark Industries’ control would be allowed to exist in New York.

• Frank attacked the Russian mafia’s eastern smuggling base, killing its gangsters with missiles and an armor-piercing rifle.
• Matt used Stark Industries’ white cane to incapacitate more than a hundred armed men at Kingpin’s western casino without bloodshed.
• Kingpin learned that Frank and Matt had destroyed his bases, then watched Luca descend into his office with Frank and Matt.
• Luca’s force field stopped the bodyguards’ bullets and crushed them, while Kingpin’s laser cane failed to harm him.
• Luca lifted Kingpin by the neck, declared that he would tolerate no force outside Stark Industries’ control in New York, and dropped him to the floor.

Luca forced Kingpin to sign over his criminal empire to Stark Industries, then learned that a man claiming to be Thor had appeared in New Mexico. He made New Mexico the Justice League’s next target and considered how Kingpin’s intelligence network would strengthen Stark Industries.

• Luca gave Kingpin the choice of signing over his assets or being killed, and Kingpin signed the agreement.
• Luca’s takeover ended the gangs’ control of Hell’s Kitchen, and Matt wondered whether his own beliefs had been wrong.
• JARVIS reported dangerous energy fluctuations in New Mexico and a man claiming to be Thor, prompting Luca to schedule a Justice League meeting for the next morning.
• Luca considered the value of Kingpin’s intelligence network and wondered what lay beyond Earth, remarking that Asgard sounded interesting.

Luca led the Justice League toward New Mexico to investigate Thor and the immovable hammer, while Natasha and Jessica secretly reported the discovery to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. Nick Fury and Pierce both saw the hammer as a chance to gain power, and Pierce ordered Hydra forces to seize it or capture Thor amid the coming conflict.

• Luca showed the Justice League footage of Thor in police custody and explained that no one could move Mjolnir, prompting the team to head to New Mexico and claim the hammer and its owner for study.
• Natasha sent her intelligence to Nick Fury, while Jessica secretly contacted Hydra during the flight.
• Fury learned Luca was already en route and, unable to challenge him directly, decided to leak the news to Pierce and let Hydra confront the Justice League.
• Pierce and Sitwell discussed the hammer’s potential to advance Hydra’s weapons and Project Insight.
• Pierce ordered Hydra to deploy its available heavy firepower to New Mexico, seize the hammer in the chaos, and capture Thor if necessary.

Hydra tried to seize Mjolnir in New Mexico, but Thor and then the Justice League arrived to stop them. After Thor, Pietro, Peter, and Hulk failed to lift the hammer, Luca Stark grasped its handle and prepared to use his power against Odin’s enchantment.

• Hydra soldiers tried to pull Mjolnir from the crater, but it would not move, and Thor arrived and failed to lift it.
• Luca and the Justice League defeated Hydra’s force, and Luca ordered its commander to tell Hydra that Stark Industries was taking the hammer.
• Thor attacked Luca, but Luca overpowered him and declared Mjolnir a lawful asset of Stark Industries.
• Pietro and Peter tried to lift Mjolnir and pretended they could not, and Hulk also failed despite his immense strength.
• Luca grasped Mjolnir’s handle and said he would use power beyond the rules to break Odin’s enchantment.

Luca failed to lift Mjolnir, then befriended the distraught Thor and learned about Asgard’s realms, magic, and rare Uru metal. Back at his base, Luca learned that The Hand was excavating Dragon Bone beneath Brooklyn and ordered a Justice League operation.

• Luca, Wanda, and the others failed to move Mjolnir, and Thor discovered that the hammer no longer accepted him.
• Luca comforted Thor and invited him to stay with Stark Industries, then had JARVIS cut Mjolnir free with the rock beneath it and load it onto the Justice.
• Thor told Luca about Asgard, the Nine Realms, Mjolnir’s Uru metal, and Odin’s worthiness enchantment, strengthening Luca’s interest in reaching Asgard.
• JARVIS reported that The Hand was excavating Dragon Bone beneath Brooklyn and preparing a resurrection ritual.
• Luca ordered JARVIS to notify Matt and Frank so the Justice League could launch a cleanup operation that night.

Frank and Matt attacked the Hand’s excavation site, where Madame Gao was trying to unearth the Dragon Bone and summon Black Sky. Their upgraded weapons overwhelmed the Hand’s ninjas, but Elektra forced them into a struggle until an unknown figure crashed into the altar.

• Madame Gao ordered the Hand’s ninjas to speed up their excavation of the Dragon Bone and announced that its essence would help Black Sky descend.
• Frank and Matt burst into the tunnel and used a high-tech rifle and an electric cane to defeat more than a hundred ninjas.
• Madame Gao awakened Black Sky, revealing that she was Elektra, and she quickly overpowered Frank and Matt despite their teamwork.
• A figure dropped through the ceiling, smashed through the altar’s defenses, and landed beside Madame Gao with a taunt.