Recaps

The Joker failed to cut through Luke Cage’s skin and went looking for the ninjas’ blades, while Daredevil learned that Luke was supposedly sold to them at warehouse 13. The Joker revealed he had fabricated the story to lure Daredevil toward the docks and rallied Hell’s Kitchen’s gangs for a fight.

• The Joker tried saws, a scalpel, and a revolver on Luke Cage, then decided to seek out the ninjas’ sharp blades at warehouse 13.
• Daredevil tortured a clown-masked thug, who claimed the Joker had sold Luke Cage to the ninjas for experiments.
• Daredevil knocked the thug unconscious and raced toward the dock district.
• The Joker watched Daredevil on a monitor and revealed that the sale story was a lie meant to fool him.
• The Joker rallied the remaining gangs by claiming the ninjas had stolen their Christmas presents and called for a bonfire party at the docks.

Daredevil attacked the Hand’s warehouse to find the person he was seeking, but a mob of gangsters stormed in and turned the fight into a blood-soaked riot. As the Hand’s shipment burned and the violence escalated, Daredevil found himself unable to stop the chaos.

• Madame Gao ordered the Hand to load its Stark Industries weapons shipment and dismiss rumors that it had taken Luke Cage.
• Daredevil crashed into the warehouse and demanded that Madame Gao hand over the person he was looking for.
• Madame Gao ordered the ninjas to kill Daredevil, and he fought them with lethal force.
• A one-eyed gang leader drove a spiked dump truck through the doors, bringing hundreds of gangsters into the warehouse.
• The gangsters attacked the ninjas and set the weapons shipment on fire, while Daredevil shouted for everyone to stop.

Joker watched his planned gang battle collapse into a massacre when the Punisher arrived and attacked everyone in the warehouse. As Daredevil fought Frank Castle, Joker triggered four tons of explosives beneath the warehouse.

• Joker watched the mobsters and Hand ninjas fight through cameras while Daredevil tried to stop the violence.
• The Punisher entered the warehouse and opened fire on mobsters and ninjas alike, scattering the survivors.
• Daredevil confronted Frank and tried to stop him, but Frank attacked him and insisted the warehouse held only criminals and corpses.
• Joker realized he had forgotten to invite the Punisher and watched his gang members and cameras get wiped out.
• Joker decided to bring the finale forward and pressed the button detonating the explosives beneath the warehouse.

Daredevil and Frank survived the dock explosion, and Frank revealed he had come to find Luke Cage, who had saved his daughter’s friend. After Daredevil told him Luke had been taken west to a chemical plant, Frank headed there to rescue him and warned Daredevil not to interfere.

• Daredevil pulled Frank through the warehouse wall into the sea just before the explosives destroyed the dock and everyone inside.
• Daredevil confronted Frank about killing people, and Frank condemned Daredevil’s approach to stopping criminals.
• Frank asked about Luke Cage and showed Daredevil a photograph of Luke with a little girl, explaining that he owed Luke a life.
• Daredevil told Frank that a man dressed in purple had taken Luke west in a modified garbage truck full of chemical waste.
• Frank headed toward Kingpin’s former territory to find Luke, and Daredevil followed despite Frank’s warning that he would kill him if he got in the way.

Tifa reflected on Kara’s growing compassion and unusual ability to hear people’s hearts as she accompanied her to an interview with Lynn. Kara’s answers earned her a future public identity and job, but her question about whether Lynn was afraid went unanswered.

• Tifa recalled Kara heating an old woman’s coffee, wanting to help someone whose heart had stopped, and recognizing Homelander’s anger and fear beneath his smile.
• Lynn told Tifa to join Kara during the interview so she could serve as a familiar anchor.
• Kara told Lynn that the city needed quiet and that she wanted to see where Tifa grew up because it made Tifa’s heartbeat slow down.
• Kara said Homelander was unhappy and very afraid, and Lynn praised her answers and promised her a public identity and well-paid job.
• Kara asked Lynn whether he was afraid too, but Lynn left without answering.

Daredevil and the Punisher argued over their opposing ideas of justice before fighting off Joker Gang members and learning the location of the Happy Factory. Joker then taunted Daredevil over the radio, revealing that a friend was trapped in a pool and running out of time.

• Daredevil and the Punisher confronted each other over the deaths caused by Joker and the Punisher’s lethal methods.
• Three Joker Gang SUVs attacked them in an alley, and the two men disabled the vehicles and subdued the gang members.
• The Punisher interrogated a thug, learned that the Happy Factory was in Zone B of Kingpin’s old abandoned chemical plant, and killed him.
• Daredevil objected to the killing, but the Punisher gave him the thug’s walkie-talkie.
• Joker broadcast a taunt saying Daredevil’s friend was trapped in a pool and urging him to hurry.

Hannibal manipulated Misty Knight into abandoning her faith in procedural justice and pushing toward an illegal raid on Rattlesnake’s warehouse. That night, she rejected a direct shootout and searched police surveillance feeds for an excuse to break in.

• Hannibal served Misty Knight meat and argued that following procedure while Rattlesnake’s crimes continued was itself a betrayal of justice.
• Misty Knight ate the meal and left Hannibal’s clinic with renewed resolve, while Hannibal replayed their recorded conversation and reported that she had taken the bait.
• Hannibal told an unidentified caller that Misty Knight would soon enter their trap, then decided to find more prey for his dwindling supply of ingredients.
• At home, Misty Knight considered taking her unregistered revolver to Rattlesnake’s warehouse and killing the criminals, but she rejected the idea of becoming a vigilante.
• Misty Knight accessed NYPD surveillance feeds around the warehouse to search for a pretext to force her way inside, then removed her badge and threw it into the wastebasket.

Daredevil and the Punisher searched an abandoned factory for Luke Cage and found evidence of Joker’s torture and drug experiments. They discovered Luke transformed into a drug-controlled giant, and the Punisher aimed his shotgun at him as Daredevil tried to stop the confrontation.

• The Punisher and Daredevil entered the factory and followed signs of repeated dragging toward a hidden prison.
• They found empty cells and a modified dental chair, then read Joker’s blackboard describing his attempts to torture and “marinate” a tough guy.
• The Punisher smashed the blackboard, and he and Daredevil watched Joker’s recording taunting them and promising a gift in the backyard.
• A heavy figure burst through a wall, and Daredevil recognized the drug-altered Luke Cage, whose heartbeat showed that he was still alive.
• Daredevil tried to stop the Punisher from shooting Luke, but the Punisher said Luke could not be left to live in that condition as Luke’s body swelled further.

Punisher and Daredevil fought the monstrously enhanced Luke Cage, discovering that the canister on his back could be damaged but only seemed to drive him into greater frenzy. As Luke seized Daredevil, the chapter left his fate uncertain.

• Punisher and Daredevil attacked Luke, but bullets, clubs, and kicks failed to hurt him, and Luke struck Punisher through a wall.
• Punisher used flashbangs and smoke to cover their movements, but Luke twisted his rifle apart and knocked him down again.
• Daredevil spotted Luke’s canister, and Punisher’s grenade severed its tubes and made Luke bleed.
• Luke’s veins swelled as the remaining fluid pumped through the canister, so Punisher dragged Daredevil toward the exit.
• Daredevil broke free and called Luke by name; Luke briefly showed pain before lunging and lifting Daredevil above his head.

Daredevil and the Punisher fought the mutated Luke Cage, but Luke overwhelmed them and snapped Daredevil’s spine. The Punisher, out of ammunition and facing Luke alone, threw his last block of plastic explosive at him.

• Daredevil tried to reach the humanity he believed remained in Luke, while the Punisher fired armor-piercing rounds that failed to injure him.
• Luke slammed Daredevil into the factory floor, pinned him, and struck the Punisher into a pile of steel drums.
• Luke seized Daredevil by the shoulder and waist and twisted until Daredevil stopped struggling and apologized for failing to save him.
• Luke snapped Daredevil’s spine and released his limp body as the Punisher searched his empty gear for a weapon.
• The Punisher pulled out his last block of plastic explosive, armed its detonator, and threw it at Luke’s feet.

The Punisher escaped the burning factory with the badly injured Daredevil, only to be surrounded by Madame Gao and the Hand. As the Hand moved to kill them, a spinning shield arrived from the rain and was caught by its owner.

• The Punisher rescued Daredevil from the collapsing factory and fled while the burning Luke Cage pursued them.
• The Punisher emerged into a courtyard surrounded by Hand fighters, where Madame Gao explained that Bane had been offered to settle the Hand’s weapons debt.
• The Hand restrained Luke Cage with rune-marked chains and prepared to attack the Punisher and Daredevil.
• The Punisher drew the single bullet he had saved for desperate straits and held the gun to Daredevil’s jaw as Madame Gao ordered the Hand to kill him.
• A spinning shield shattered several katanas and a lamppost before its owner caught it in the firelight.

Captain America joined Frank and the injured Daredevil in a battle against The Hand, facing a serum-enhanced Luke Cage while Dum Dum Dugan arrived with a military truck. Steve stayed behind to hold off the attackers as Madame Gao warned that he could not save everyone.

• Captain America rescued Frank from The Hand’s assault, and the two fought together while Steve explained he had tracked stolen Stark Industries weapons to the factory.
• Madame Gao ordered her fighters to capture Captain America alive, while Luke Cage attacked him with overwhelming strength.
• Steve recognized the suffering beneath Luke’s rage and threw his shield to save Frank and the unconscious Daredevil from the surrounding ninjas.
• Dum Dum Dugan drove into the yard and urged everyone to escape in his truck.
• Frank loaded Daredevil into the truck, but Steve stayed behind to hold off Luke and The Hand as Madame Gao approached.

Captain America held off Luke Cage and the Hand so Dum Dum Dugan could escape with Daredevil, then fled when the others were safe. Dugan and Punisher were ambushed on the way to a clinic, and the Hand took the dying Daredevil after their truck was wrecked.

• Captain America ordered Dum Dum Dugan to escape with Daredevil while he stayed behind to fight Luke Cage and the Hand.
• Madame Gao told Captain America that the Hand wanted Daredevil, and Luke Cage broke several of his ribs during their fight.
• Captain America used Luke Cage's punch to roll away and run, then checked his locator and saw that Dugan's truck was two kilometers away.
• Dugan drove toward Hannibal Lecter's clinic while Punisher treated Daredevil, but Hand ninjas pursued and attacked their truck.
• A pickup truck rammed Dugan's truck and flipped it, leaving Dugan and Punisher badly injured as two red-clad ninjas carried off Daredevil.

Steve Rogers assembled a team of dangerous operatives to strike at Shocker’s operations in South America, while Frank Castle reported that Hell’s Kitchen had descended into chaos. The chapter ended with Frank naming Bane as the fourth force battling for control of the district.

• News reports described Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor and Vought International’s growing roster of superheroes.
• Steve Rogers and Dum Dum Dugan reviewed files on ruthless operatives and planned to attack Shocker’s underground Wolf’s Lairs in South America.
• Frank Castle arrived and told Steve he had found no trace of Daredevil or the Hand.
• Frank reported that the Fifteenth Precinct had been massacred and that officials blamed the deaths on a chemical plant gas leak.
• Frank explained that Joker’s masked thugs, the Hand, and Kingpin’s regrouped gangs were fighting over Hell’s Kitchen, then revealed Bane was a fourth contender.

Steve and the Howling Commandos realized they needed at least twenty million dollars to mount a rescue mission for Bucky, so they decided to seek help from Vought’s Lynn Morris despite Steve’s fear of becoming beholden to the corporation. They planned to visit Vought International the next morning, with Steve intending to tell Morris the truth and offer whatever he could in return.

• Frank explained that a South American operation would cost at least twenty million dollars, leaving Steve without enough money to act against Shocker.
• Dum Dum and Frank suggested asking Lynn Morris for funding, and Steve worried that accepting Vought’s help would compromise the Howling Commandos’ independence.
• Steve agreed that Morris was their only realistic source of money and weapons, especially because Shocker was accelerating the modification of Unit Two.
• Frank decided to join Steve, saying he could not investigate The Hand alone and wanted to help after Daredevil had saved his life.
• Steve, Dum Dum, and Frank agreed to visit Vought International headquarters the next morning, while Frank mentioned Vought’s new hero, Heavy Artillery.
• Steve resolved to tell Morris that he needed money, weapons, and help, but the chapter ended before he named what he would offer in return.

Steve Rogers, Dum Dum Dugan, and Frank Castle went to Vought International to request funding, weapons, and intelligence for an operation against Shocker. Lynn Morris agreed to provide everything in exchange for Clock Tower intelligence support, while revealing that Bucky Barnes was alive but running out of time.

• Steve Rogers, Dum Dum Dugan, and Frank Castle entered Vought International headquarters and followed Tifa to Lynn Morris's office.
• Steve asked Lynn for twenty million dollars, special-operations weapons and equipment, and intelligence on Shocker's South American bases.
• Lynn showed the men intelligence on Shocker, Elektra, and Bucky Barnes, then offered the requested resources in exchange for Clock Tower real-time intelligence support during the operation.
• Steve accepted Lynn's terms and received an agreement and Shocker's underground blueprints from Chloe O'Brien.
• Lynn warned Steve that Bucky was alive but could not wait much longer, and Frank left the office suspecting he might eventually use his revolver on someone in the building.

Madame Gao and the Hand tortured Daredevil for seven days, then sealed his broken body inside a black coffin infused with dragon bone to prepare him as the vessel for the Beast. The coffin began to crack as Daredevil transformed, and Madame Gao gave him three days before Black Sky would emerge.

• Madame Gao and a white-haired monk subjected Daredevil to seven days of sensory torture with needles and copper conductors, breaking down his senses and resolve.
• Madame Gao persuaded Daredevil that his efforts to protect Hell's Kitchen had brought him only suffering and ordered the deathsworn to prepare the black coffin.
• The deathsworn placed Daredevil in the coffin's black sludge, while the monk and deathsworn completed a blood sacrifice to summon the Beast.
• Madame Gao dismissed concerns that Lynn Morris would discover the Hand's plan, saying Joker's chaos and Bane's role as a distraction would protect Black Sky's emergence.
• The coffin began to crack under the pounding from within, and Madame Gao ordered the Hand to wait three days for Daredevil to absorb the dragon bone.

Homelander fought a rampaging green monster in Brooklyn while cameras broadcast the battle across the city, and Lynn Morris forced him to protect Vought’s image instead of unleashing his rage. As the monster lifted an oil tanker, Tony Stark arrived in powered armor and claimed the fight for Stark Industries.

• The green monster wrecked military vehicles and a helicopter, prompting Motoko Kusanagi to redirect surveillance and Lynn Morris to order Homelander to behave for the cameras.
• Homelander rescued children from an overturned school bus, then confronted the monster as it charged through Brooklyn.
• The monster battered Homelander and resisted his Heat Vision, grew larger, and smashed him through the doors of Chase Bank.
• Homelander restrained his desire to kill the monster because drones and millions of viewers were watching, while the monster lifted an oil tanker over its head.
• Tony Stark struck the tanker with a missile, flew through the resulting flames in his powered armor, and told Homelander to stand back.

Iron Man, Homelander, and the military joined the fight against Hulk, but their attacks only escalated the destruction. As the battlefield descended into chaos, Abomination appeared on camera.

• Iron Man arrived and mocked Homelander before firing missiles at Hulk, which only made Hulk stronger.
• Homelander attacked Hulk, who grabbed him by the cape and repeatedly slammed him into the ground.
• Iron Man blasted Hulk into a building, but Homelander recovered and tried to choke him before Hulk forced his hands apart and threw him through a wall.
• General Ross ordered the military to use sonic weapons, which hurt Hulk, Homelander, and Iron Man but failed to stop Hulk from smashing the vehicles.
• Hulk destroyed military vehicles and resisted a barrage of weapons as the fight spread through the block.
• Abomination appeared at the scene, and Ross recognized him on the live broadcast.

Vi arrived in New York and joined the fight against Abomination, while Tony distracted Hulk. The chapter ended with Hulk escaping into the East River as Vi and Homelander attacked Abomination together.

• Ross recognized Abomination as Blonsky and ordered his remaining troops to retreat.
• Abomination struck Iron Man into a department store, then fought Hulk and grabbed Homelander.
• Vi dropped from a Vought transport and knocked Abomination through walls with a charged punch.
• Vi challenged Homelander and began attacking Abomination while Tony drew Hulk's attention with repulsor fire.
• Vi struck Abomination's knee, ribs, and jaw as Homelander held him down for her charged finishing blow.
• Hulk leaped into the East River to escape Tony, while Vi's gauntlets blazed with energy.

Vi knocked Abomination unconscious, and Vought seized him while Homelander and Tony clashed with General Ross in front of the press. The military’s secret experiment records were leaked worldwide, leaving Tony to wonder how much of the outcome Vought had planned.

• Tony lost the green giant’s trail in the East River and returned to the battlefield.
• Vi knocked Abomination unconscious, and Homelander posed for cameras while arguing with her over who deserved credit.
• General Ross’s troops confronted Vi, Homelander, and Tony, but reporters swarmed Ross with questions about the military’s experiments.
• Vought’s mechs arrived, loaded Abomination into a cargo container, and Vi crushed Ross’s pistol before his soldiers could intervene.
• JARVIS reported that an anonymous source had leaked records of underground super-soldier experiments and Ross’s signed approval to hundreds of news organizations.
• Tony watched Vought’s reputation rise and wondered about the full scope of its plan.

Lynn Morris sent Ada Wong and Nina Williams to seize General Ross’s gamma research and samples while Vought exploited the scandal to pressure him. Nina secured the data, Ada became bait for S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, and Ross contacted Mr. Blue as his last resort.

• Lynn Morris gave Ada Wong and Nina Williams chips containing their targets and ordered Ada to pressure General Ross while Nina handled anyone who resisted.
• General Ross ordered Major Green to destroy Lab Three and erase the Project Zero records before Ada Wong confronted him with evidence of his embezzlement and offered him a deal.
• Nina Williams defeated the guards, disarmed Major Green, took his access card, killed him, and recovered the hard drive containing Hulk and Abomination blood data.
• Ada Wong told General Ross that Vought would collect his resignation the next morning, then left near Capitol Hill as S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra agents followed her.
• General Ross called Mr. Blue after Vought seized the research data and left him facing ruin.

Ada Wong and Nina uncovered S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Shadow Audit Project and learned that Thaddeus Ross had sent Blonsky’s remaining mutation serum to Samuel Sterns at Culver University. Lynn ordered them to retrieve Stern and the serum, but the sample caused a soldier to mutate as footsteps approached the laboratory.

• Ada Wong and Nina ambushed the S.H.I.E.L.D. team in Washington, captured Cole, and learned that Fury had approved the Shadow Audit Project to obtain Vought’s experimental data.
• Cole revealed that Thaddeus Ross had sent the last of Blonsky’s mutation serum to Samuel Sterns at Culver University, and Ada sent the recording and laboratory coordinates to Lynn.
• Lynn ordered Ada and Nina to bring Stern, the sample, and all related equipment back to New York.
• At Culver University, Stern examined the serum and added it to a prepared culture dish, which shattered and splashed onto a soldier’s neck.
• The soldier rapidly began transforming as Stern heard high heels approaching in the hallway.

Ada Wong and Nina Williams captured Stern, killed a mutated soldier, and seized General Ross’s gamma research for Vought. They then uncovered Madame Gao’s power buildup beneath Hell’s Kitchen, and the Clock Tower countdown reached zero.

• Nina Williams and Ada Wong defeated the mutated soldier, while Stern surrendered with a sealed metal box.
• Nina recovered thirty-six tubes of Bruce Banner No. 0 derivative blood, and Ada told General Ross that Vought had taken his samples.
• Vought’s cleanup team evacuated Stern and the research materials, then prepared the laboratory for destruction.
• Ada told Nina that S.H.I.E.L.D. had detected a powerful life signature beneath Hell’s Kitchen and identified Madame Gao as its source.
• Motoko Kusanagi fed the monitoring data into Vought’s main computer, and the countdown marking seventy-two hours since Madame Gao’s coffin was sealed reached zero.

Lynn Morris dismantled Nick Fury’s covert network and secured Vought’s control over U.S. superhuman defense, while Matthew Murdock emerged healed from a black stone coffin. The chapter left Matthew alive and transformed, with his next move unknown.

• Dr. Horton and Sinclair examined gamma-mutated blood while Lynn ordered Samuel Sterns to help create monsters for Vought’s supervillain production line.
• Lynn ordered Nina Williams to eliminate seven liaison stations, while Ada Wong reported that Ross was hospitalized and Congress had been persuaded to support Vought.
• Nina killed two double agents in a Washington archive, and Gin wiped out four S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in a Queens safe house.
• Fury learned that Congress had stripped the military and S.H.I.E.L.D. of superhuman authority and transferred it to Vought, then received a video implicating Cole as a Shocker infiltrator.
• Ada Wong signed a thirty-billion-dollar, three-year superhuman defense contract with Senator Thomson.
• Matthew Murdock emerged from a shattered stone coffin with his injuries healed and his blind eyes blood red.