Chapter Summaries

After waking in a 1943 field hospital, Lynn Morris activated a system that let him summon superheroes and draw on their abilities, but his first draw was the volatile Soldier Boy. Lynn summoned him and told him he had been transported to World War II, leaving Soldier Boy furious and disbelieving.

• Lynn woke in a field hospital with memories of his life as a war correspondent and activated the Superhero Mutual Entertainment Achievement System.
• Lynn used his newbie draw and received Soldier Boy instead of the more powerful heroes he had hoped for.
• Lynn decided to summon Soldier Boy despite fearing his violent, unpredictable personality.
• Soldier Boy appeared in Lynn's hospital room and demanded to know where he was.
• Lynn pointed out a wartime poster and explained that it was 1943 and Soldier Boy was no longer in his own time.
• Soldier Boy reacted with uncontrollable fury and accused Lynn of messing with him.

Lynn used his authority over Soldier Boy to stop him from attacking and offered him a chance to become a true war hero. Soldier Boy, shaken by Lynn’s knowledge of his past and tempted by the promised fame, asked to hear the terms.

• Soldier Boy tried to strangle Lynn, but Lynn’s disciplinary link forced Soldier Boy to grab his own throat and restored some of Soldier Boy’s power to Lynn.
• Lynn warned Soldier Boy that attacking him would make Soldier Boy hurt himself, then said he had brought him here to become a real hero.
• Lynn challenged Soldier Boy’s manufactured reputation and exposed his betrayal by Payback and his imprisonment by the Russians.
• Lynn promised Soldier Boy worship and a place in history if he fought in the war, and threatened to send him back to his prison if he refused.
• Soldier Boy’s hostility subsided, and he asked Lynn for the terms of their deal.

Lynn took Soldier Boy to a stalled Allied battlefield and staged a spectacular assault to make him a hero. Soldier Boy crushed the German machine-gun position but killed a surrendering soldier, leaving Lynn to explain that strength without mercy would make him seem like a beast rather than a god.

• Lynn and Soldier Boy slipped out of the field hospital, and Lynn led him toward the German machine-gun position holding up Colonel Phillips's regiment.
• Lynn urged Soldier Boy to advance as a divine avenger, and Soldier Boy charged through withering machine-gun fire behind his shield.
• Soldier Boy stormed the German trench, killed its defenders, and broke the neck of a soldier who tried to surrender.
• Lynn took Soldier Boy to an abandoned farmhouse and told him that killing the surrendering soldier had ruined the heroic image he wanted to create.
• Soldier Boy angrily threw his food, but Lynn argued that mercy would earn him respect and keep the Allies from treating him like a caged beast.

Lynn brought Soldier Boy to the Allied command post and invented a story about him being a lost American superweapon from World War I, with Lynn as his only interpreter. Colonel Phillips listened to Lynn’s explanation and asked whether the two of them would help fight the Germans.

• An American lieutenant invited Soldier Boy and Lynn to meet Colonel Phillips, after Soldier Boy told him that Lynn called the shots.
• At the command base, soldiers reacted with awe to Soldier Boy, and Phillips welcomed him and recognized Lynn as reporter Morris.
• Lynn told Phillips that Soldier Boy was the surviving product of the abandoned Project Prometheus and that an explosion had created a connection between them.
• Lynn described himself as Soldier Boy’s interpreter and instruction manual, then emphasized that Soldier Boy was American.
• Phillips dismissed the need to verify Lynn’s story and asked whether they were willing to help defeat the Germans.

Lynn negotiated with Colonel Phillips for Soldier Boy to operate freely, then sent him to capture the German-held church in Saint-Mère Town. After rescuing a trapped medic and inspiring the American troops, Soldier Boy stormed the church and claimed its bell tower as Lynn photographed his victory.

• Lynn secured Phillips's agreement to provide Soldier Boy with comfort and freedom of action in exchange for attacking a German communications hub.
• Phillips assigned Soldier Boy to capture the fortified church in Saint-Mère Town, and Lynn requested a camera to document the mission.
• Lynn persuaded Soldier Boy to rescue a medic trapped under rubble first, earning the gratitude and cheers of nearby American soldiers.
• Soldier Boy charged through the church wall, defeated the German defenders, and tore down their flag from the bell tower.
• Lynn photographed Soldier Boy standing atop the tower as the American troops erupted in cheers.

Lynn used the newspaper’s portrayal of Soldier Boy as a divine hero to secure better quarters and supplies from Colonel Phillips, then pushed Soldier Boy to seek greater fame. After arranging diversions for him, Lynn claimed his reward draw and hoped for a more useful, controllable ally.

• A Stars and Stripes article portrayed Soldier Boy as the Angel of Saint-Mère Town, and Colonel Phillips confronted Lynn about turning him into a god.
• Phillips gave Lynn and Soldier Boy private quarters, steak, and vintage Scotch, while warning Lynn that Soldier Boy could become dangerous.
• Lynn challenged Soldier Boy to pursue feats greater than the victory at Saint-Mère Town and promised him a legend built around the entire Third Reich.
• Soldier Boy drank and entertained two washerwomen while Lynn slipped away from the quarters.
• Lynn checked his achievement reward for recruiting Soldier Boy and asked the system to start a draw, hoping for a stable, useful ally.

Lynn summoned Professor Pyg and decided to use the deranged surgeon as a weapon against Hydra. After restraining him and directing his obsession toward Red Skull’s plans for a supposedly pure world, Lynn left Professor Pyg eager to find his new target.

• Lynn drew Professor Pyg from the roulette wheel, summoned him, and gained 10% of his abilities.
• Professor Pyg attacked Lynn with a scalpel, but Lynn stopped him and used pain to establish control.
• Lynn told Professor Pyg about Hydra, Red Skull, the Tesseract, and Red Skull’s vision of a pure new world.
• Lynn persuaded Professor Pyg that Red Skull’s work was imperfect and offered him a chance to reshape it using Hydra’s resources.
• Professor Pyg asked where he could find Red Skull, and Lynn promised to arrange everything.

Lynn sent Professor Pyg behind German lines and began planning to use him as a villain opposite Soldier Boy, turning the war into a spectacle he could control. The next morning, Lynn overheard Colonel Phillips arguing with Abraham Erskine about Soldier Boy and recognized the inventor of the Super Soldier Serum.

• Lynn gave Professor Pyg a route to a German outpost and told him to pose as Professor Lazlo Valentin, a defector with surgical skills and intelligence.
• Lynn imagined using Professor Pyg to create monsters for Hydra and Soldier Boy to defeat them, boosting his own influence and rewards.
• The morning after Soldier Boy's drunken celebration, Lynn saw that the soldiers were still excited by Soldier Boy's performance and considered how to strengthen his position.
• Lynn overheard Colonel Phillips arguing with Abraham about Soldier Boy's violence and the purpose of the serum.
• Lynn recognized Abraham as Abraham Erskine, the inventor of the Super Soldier Serum, and saw an opportunity to reach the Allies' leadership.

Lynn persuaded Dr. Erskine that the serum should create a heroic example rather than merely a stronger soldier, and offered to help him find the right candidate. He sent Erskine to meet Steve Rogers, while privately continuing to view the search as a way to keep Soldier Boy in check.

• Dr. Erskine stormed out after arguing with Phillips, who insisted on using Soldier Boy as a weapon.
• Lynn told Erskine that Phillips saw Soldier Boy as a tool and argued that the serum should amplify a good man's character.
• Erskine vented his frustration that the military dismissed his project and judged candidates by their records and physiques.
• Lynn offered to search for someone uncorrupted by war, explaining that he needed a real hero to help keep Soldier Boy in check.
• Lynn gave Erskine the Brooklyn recruiting office address and urged him to meet Steve Rogers, describing his courage despite his frailty.
• Erskine hurried away with renewed hope, and Lynn's sincere expression vanished.

Lynn learned that Erskine had recruited Steve Rogers and was about to begin the super-soldier project, so he decided to leave the front and help. He reassured Phillips that Soldier Boy could be managed with fights, praise, alcohol, and women, then promised Soldier Boy a stage where the whole world could see him.

• Erskine told Lynn that he had found Steve Rogers, brought him to Camp Lehigh, and formally established the Strategic Scientific Reserve for the super-soldier project.
• Lynn considered how Soldier Boy’s presence had kept Phillips on the European front and decided to return home to assist Erskine.
• Lynn told Phillips he was leaving to help create a safeguard against Soldier Boy and advised him to keep Soldier Boy occupied with enemies and attention.
• Lynn found Soldier Boy relaxing with two women and told him he was leaving to handle business back home.
• Soldier Boy guessed Lynn was going to find him a bigger stage, and Lynn promised him one where the whole world could see him.

Lynn arrived at Camp Lehigh and argued that Erskine’s super-soldier project needed to guide power with morality as well as create strength. After Steve Rogers was humiliated during training, he proved his ingenuity and character by bringing down the flagpole to retrieve its flag.

• Lynn arrived at Camp Lehigh, where Dr. Abraham Erskine welcomed him and introduced him to Agent Peggy Carter.
• Lynn warned Erskine and Carter that Soldier Boy was an unstable weapon and argued that the project should pair power with moral guidance.
• Lynn met the candidates and watched Colonel Miller Davis belittle Steve Rogers during a twenty-kilometer training run.
• After Steve fell in the mud, Lynn proposed that the candidates compete to climb the flagpole and take its flag, but the muscular soldiers failed.
• Steve examined the flagpole’s base, removed its pins, lowered the pole, and carried the flag back to Lynn, Erskine, and Carter.

Lynn proposed a grenade simulation that revealed Steve Rogers’s instinct to protect others, winning Peggy Carter’s admiration. Meanwhile, Hydra’s Professor Pyg unleashed stitched-together monsters on an Allied outpost, leaving Colonel Phillips to consider whether Soldier Boy was needed to fight them.

• Lynn persuaded Colonel Davis and Peggy Carter to test the candidates with a simulated grenade to reveal their true instincts.
• When Davis threw a fake grenade into the formation, Steve Rogers covered it with his body while the other candidates fled.
• Peggy Carter recognized Steve as a true giant, while Dr. Erskine was moved by his bravery.
• In Bavaria, Professor Pyg showed a Hydra scientist his monstrous, pain-insensitive creations and described them as unfinished art.
• Professor Pyg’s creatures silently massacred an Allied outpost and mutilated the soldiers’ bodies.
• After hearing the survivors’ report, Colonel Phillips concluded that fighting one monster might require an even fiercer one.

Lynn used a horrifying report from the European front to convince the Strategic Scientific Reserve that the Super Soldier Program needed to create a symbol of hope, not just another weapon. He inspired Steve Rogers to hold on to his compassion, while Peggy Carter recognized Lynn’s value as an adviser to the program.

• A top-secret report described the slaughter of thirty-seven soldiers by Hydra’s human-shaped attackers, leaving the officers at Camp Lehigh shaken.
• Lynn argued that Soldier Boy’s strength could destroy monsters but could not comfort soldiers, persuading the assembled officers to support the Super Soldier Program and Steve Rogers.
• In the rain, Lynn found Steve repeatedly failing to climb an obstacle wall and told him a story about Soldier Boy choosing to pursue a German officer instead of saving civilians.
• Lynn urged Steve to remember why he wanted to serve and to protect his compassion, strengthening Steve’s resolve.
• Peggy Carter watched Lynn speak with Steve and concluded that bringing him into the program might be as important as finding Steve himself.

Lynn joined Howard Stark, Dr. Erskine, and Peggy Carter in preparing Steve Rogers’s Super Soldier experiment, and he asked about whether the serum could be replicated and how its backups would be handled. The experiment was scheduled for two days later, while Lynn eyed the secure room where the backup serum was stored.

• Howard Stark arrived late at the Strategic Scientific Reserve laboratory and presented his calibrated Vita-Rays Amplifier and Dr. Erskine’s completed serum.
• Peggy Carter asked about emergency plans, but Dr. Erskine insisted the experiment had to succeed and that Steve Rogers’s heart would determine the outcome.
• Lynn asked whether Steve’s blood would retain the serum’s potency and whether backup doses were secured, prompting Dr. Erskine to say they should be sealed or destroyed after the experiment.
• Howard Stark praised Lynn’s scientific insights and invited him to join Stark Industries, while Peggy Carter remained wary of how easily Lynn earned people’s trust.
• The group scheduled Steve’s experiment for two days later, and Lynn focused on the red-lit secure room containing the backup serum.

Lynn reassured Dr. Erskine before the experiment while secretly planning to steal his formula, then planted an idea with Howard Stark about reading chemical formulas from blood. Howard became inspired, and Lynn prepared to use the next day's experiment to obtain the formula.

• Lynn visited Dr. Erskine and eased his fears about giving Steve power, while noting where Erskine kept his encrypted notebook.
• Lynn realized he needed Howard Stark to decipher the formula and went to Stark Industries with whiskey.
• Lynn asked Howard about analyzing special blood and suggested that a liquid might store chemical formulas as information.
• Lynn pretended to pass out drunk, and Howard excitedly began developing a way to read molecular information.
• Howard recognized Lynn as a kindred genius, while Lynn planned to steal Erskine's formula during the experiment the next day.

Steve Rogers underwent the super-soldier transformation, but a Hydra assassin killed Dr. Erskine amid the celebration. As Lynn pretended to grieve beside the doctor, he stole Erskine’s notebook and left the laboratory with the secret of creating heroes hidden in his sleeve.

• Lynn noticed suspicious military personnel watching the experiment alongside the officials gathered above the laboratory.
• Howard Stark began the vita-ray infusion, and Steve urged him to continue despite the energy overload until the machine transformed Steve into a powerful super-soldier.
• A Hydra assassin shot Dr. Erskine, triggering chaos as Peggy Carter pursued the fleeing attacker.
• Lynn rushed to Erskine, acted as though he was trying to save him, and secretly stole the notebook from the doctor’s pocket.
• Steve stood stunned beside Erskine’s body as Lynn concealed the notebook in his sleeve.

After Dr. Erskine was killed, Lynn deceived the authorities into thinking the assassin had taken the doctor’s notes and secretly kept the notebook for himself. He left with Steve’s trust and the key to deciphering Erskine’s research.

• Peggy Carter found Dr. Erskine dead and asked Lynn what he had said before dying; Lynn claimed Erskine had praised Steve Rogers.
• Colonel Davis ordered a search for the assassin and the missing notes, while Lynn persuaded the investigators that the assassin had taken them along with the serum.
• Steve returned without the assassin, and Lynn comforted him by urging him to fulfill Erskine’s hopes.
• Lynn earned the trust of Steve and Peggy while concealing the notebook inside a waterproof pocket sewn into his shirt.
• Lynn used memories of Dr. Erskine to identify a chemical formula he believed would help him decipher the notebook.

Lynn persuaded the Strategic Scientific Reserve to make Steve Rogers, now named Captain America, a national symbol and use him to raise war-bond money instead of sending him straight to battle. Steve accepted the publicity role as a mission to inspire people, while Lynn privately planned to profit from it.

• Colonel Davis urged the officers to send Steve to the battlefield, while Peggy Carter argued that his unknown abilities made that too dangerous.
• Lynn proposed naming Steve Captain America and turning him into a national idol whose tour and speeches would raise money and morale.
• The officials approved Lynn's plan, and he volunteered to organize the publicity events while privately plotting to take a cut of bond sales.
• Peggy Carter questioned Lynn's motives, while Howard Stark recognized the business opportunity in the plan.
• Lynn reassured Steve that inspiring the country was another important battlefield, and Steve accepted his new role with renewed purpose.

After Peggy Carter was transferred to London, Lynn nudged Howard Stark toward the secrets of Dr. Erskine’s Super Soldier Serum. Howard identified an orchid-derived alkaloid and then used manuscripts Lynn supplied to decipher the serum’s synthesis, believing he had solved it himself.

• Peggy Carter left for London, freeing Lynn from her scrutiny as he planned Captain America’s nationwide tour with Howard Stark.
• Lynn pretended to get drunk and hinted to Howard that Dr. Erskine had found a life-stabilizing key in a rare orchid.
• Howard obtained permission to analyze Steve Rogers’s blood and identified an alkaloid from a rare Asian orchid.
• Lynn brought Howard Dr. Erskine’s supposed early manuscripts, which revealed additional substances that reacted with the orchid alkaloid.
• Howard believed he had cracked the serum’s synthesis, unaware that Lynn had prepared the manuscripts to guide him.

Lynn transformed Steve Rogers’s Captain America performance into a patriotic spectacle that drove record war bond sales in Philadelphia. After securing approval for a nationwide tour, Lynn secretly diverted publicity funds to buy Stark Industries shares through shell companies.

• Lynn rejected a military-style Captain America uniform and insisted on a bright, skintight costume designed to inspire civilians.
• Steve balked at the humiliating stage performance until Lynn convinced him that Captain America’s mission was to give hope to the home front.
• Lynn’s publicity and staging helped Steve’s first Philadelphia performance electrify the crowd and spur record-breaking war bond sales.
• Colonel Davis and Treasury officials praised Lynn and approved a nationwide tour after hearing the sales results.
• Lynn instructed his Swiss contact to move publicity funds into a seed account and use ten percent to buy Stark Industries shares through shell companies.