Recaps

Zod battled Beta Ray Bill in the arena while the Grandmaster decided to seize Zod for his gladiator games. Luke destroyed the Grandmaster’s Space Fleet and appeared in the VIP room to discuss terms.

• Zod criticized Beta Ray Bill for submitting to the Grandmaster, but Beta Ray Bill attacked him with his warhammer despite admiring his courage.
• Zod met Beta Ray Bill’s blow head-on, and the impact shook the arena and injured many spectators.
• The Grandmaster resolved to capture Zod and ordered the Space Fleet to mobilize.
• Luke destroyed the Space Fleet in less than half a minute, then traveled to the arena.
• Luke entered the Grandmaster’s VIP room and said he had come to discuss terms.

Luke confronted the Grandmaster and demanded a habitable planet, workers, and a Space Fleet for rebuilding New Krypton. After Luke revealed overwhelming power, the Grandmaster agreed to provide even more, claiming he wanted to make a friend.

• Luke entered the Grandmaster's VIP room and demanded a habitable planet in the Solar System, a large workforce, and a Space Fleet.
• The Grandmaster dismissed Luke's demands and ordered his guards to remove him, believing the detectors that showed Luke was weak.
• Luke withdrew his Bio-Force Field, disintegrating the guards and demolishing the VIP room while the detectors registered power beyond their limits.
• The Grandmaster offered Luke a planet, three Space Fleets, over a million free laborers, and supporting equipment to avoid opposing him.
• Luke eased the crushing pressure, and the Grandmaster inwardly regretted not taking his demands seriously sooner.

Luke secured the Grandmaster’s promise to provide fleets and planetary equipment, then redirected him to seek star maps and resources through the Tivan Group. After Zod defeated Beta Ray Bill, Luke used the Grandmaster’s fear of Zod to secure the gladiators’ freedom and place them under Zod’s command.

• Luke demanded three Space Fleets and equipment for transforming planets, and the Grandmaster agreed while warning that habitable planets might take time to find.
• The Grandmaster suggested that his brother Taneleer Tivan and the Tivan Group on Knowhere could help Luke locate the resources and information he needed.
• Luke learned that Zod had defeated Beta Ray Bill and introduced Zod to the Grandmaster as his employee.
• Luke described Zod as a freedom fighter who hated slave owners and arena proprietors, making the Grandmaster nervous.
• The Grandmaster offered the gladiators to Zod, and Luke accepted the offer while Zod wondered what a Freedom Fighter was.

Luke secured three Space Fleets and reconstruction labor from the Grandmaster, then led Zod and the Kryptonians to Knowhere to seek resources for rebuilding Krypton. The fleet docked at the Collector’s trading hub, where its unusual crew attracted curious attention.

• Luke persuaded Zod to accept the Grandmaster’s offer of three Space Fleets, habitable-planet searches, and free labor for Krypton’s reconstruction.
• Luke told Faora, Zod, and the Kryptonian warriors they had arrived in another universe and argued that it offered Krypton a fresh start.
• The Grandmaster delivered the three Space Fleets, and Zod, Faora, and Ilton each took command of a warship.
• Luke ordered the fleet to jump to Knowhere, the Celestial head controlled by Taneleer Tivan’s Group.
• The Kryptonian Spaceship docked at Knowhere, where onlookers speculated that its pirate crew belonged to a new gang.

Luke reached Knowhere with recruited space pirates and learned about Taneleer Tivan’s auction, but chose to wait for Zod instead. When Zod arrived with the Kryptonian fleets and went to the spaceport with Faora, a Kree warship rammed his shuttle, and its blue-skinned leader ordered him to get lost.

• Luke asked about Knowhere’s auction and heard that its main attraction was a resource planet.
• Luke decided to find a hotel and wait for Zod, believing he could negotiate with the Collector for a suitable planet.
• Zod ordered Faora and Ilton to park the three fleets outside Knowhere and took a shuttle in with Faora.
• A Kree warship rammed Zod’s shuttle as it approached a dock, so Zod found another place to park and went to confront the Kree.
• The blue-skinned Kree leader ordered his warriors to drive Zod away, and Zod grew furious at the insult.

The Collector learned that Ronan the Accuser had arrived at Knowhere and heard that someone was fighting him. Earlier, Zod killed Ronan’s soldiers after they insulted Kryptonians, then demanded an apology from the Supreme Accuser.

• A red-skinned maid told the Collector that an Earthling introduced by the Grandmaster wanted to buy a habitable planet, and the Collector agreed to meet him later.
• The maid reported that Ronan the Accuser had arrived at Knowhere, so the Collector set aside the meeting and prepared to prevent trouble at the auction.
• Ronan’s soldiers threatened Zod and called Kryptonians an inferior species, prompting Zod to crush one soldier’s weapon and kill the squad.
• Ronan identified himself as the Supreme Accuser, and Zod said he could leave if he apologized for the insult.

Zod and Ronan the Accuser nearly fought on Knowhere before Taneleer Tivan redirected their dispute to the arena. Ronan challenged Zod to fight in two days and proposed buying the auction’s resource planet as stakes for a later duel with Gladiator, leaving Zod to face him in the tournament.

• Zod recognized Ronan the Accuser as a powerful Kree leader and offered to let him leave after apologizing, but Ronan rejected the demand and threatened the Kryptonians.
• Zod and Ronan prepared to fight until Taneleer Tivan intervened and urged them to settle their dispute in Knowhere’s arena.
• Neither Zod nor Ronan backed down, so Tivan proposed the warrior tournament scheduled to begin in two days.
• Ronan announced he would use Zod as a warm-up before challenging Gladiator, the Shi'ar Empire's Captain of the Guards Kallark.
• Ronan offered to buy the auction’s grand-finale resource planet as stakes for the battle and warned Zod not to leave Knowhere before departing with his Kree warriors.

Luke learned that Ronan the Accuser would challenge Gladiator at Knowhere’s arena and arranged for Zod to fight Ronan first. As the arena’s first challenger was called, Zod entered before Gladiator could accept Ronan’s provocation.

• Luke asked Zod and Faora why they had nearly fought Ronan, and Faora explained that Ronan had insulted them first.
• Faora told Luke that Ronan planned to wager a resource planet and challenge Gladiator, prompting Luke to see a chance to complete his quest.
• Luke assigned Ronan to Zod, who confidently promised to defeat him.
• Two days later, Ronan entered Knowhere’s packed gladiatorial arena and challenged Gladiator from the stands.
• Before Gladiator could respond, Zod landed in the arena and looked toward Luke and Faora.

Luke and Faora watched as Zod fought Ronan the Accuser in the arena, while Faora placed a bet to help fund Krypton’s future. After Ronan used the Universal Weapon to nearly crush Zod, the Kryptonian General caught the warhammer and prepared to counterattack.

• Luke asked Faora about arena betting and urged her to place a wager for Krypton’s future.
• Ronan the Accuser warned Zod that he should not have come, but Zod refused to back down from the challenge.
• Zod charged Ronan and traded hundreds of blows with him, relying on his speed and combat instincts against the Universal Weapon.
• Ronan manipulated gravity to pin Zod down, then struck him through his armor and sent him crashing into the arena wall.
• Zod seized Ronan’s next warhammer strike despite severe wounds, forced the weapon aside, and declared it was his turn.

Zod defeated Ronan the Accuser in the arena and claimed the Universal Weapon, but Gladiator arrived seeking a fight. Luke stepped in to take Zod’s place and faced Gladiator, who dismissed him as an unworthy opponent.

• Zod broke Ronan’s arm, battered him, and defeated him with the Universal Weapon.
• The Collector stopped Zod from killing Ronan and announced Zod as the winner.
• Gladiator entered the arena and challenged Zod to fight.
• Zod left the arena, and Luke took his place, saying Gladiator needed his approval to fight his subordinate.
• Gladiator judged Luke to be an ordinary passerby and said he had no interest in fighting him.

Luke accepted Gladiator’s challenge and overwhelmed the confident Shi'ar warrior with effortless control and strength. Gladiator was left blasted away and questioning his own power.

• Gladiator accepted Luke’s challenge after Luke said he was Zod’s boss.
• Luke silently shattered the arena floor with a stomp, revealing power and control beyond Gladiator’s expectations.
• Gladiator charged through Luke’s Bio-Force Field and struck him with all his strength, but Luke caught the punch in his palm.
• Luke blasted Gladiator away, leaving him charred and consumed by self-doubt.

Luke defeated Gladiator, and he and Zod secured the resource planet after Zod beat the Kree governor. Later, Luke drew the Mechanical Superman template and discovered he could assemble devices by believing they would work.

• Luke approached the defeated Kallark, but Gladiator collapsed again when he met Luke's gaze.
• The Collector announced that Ronan's wager belonged to Luke and oversaw the transfer of the planet.
• Luke and Zod's victories secured the resource planet, and the Collector helped them find habitable worlds and supplied Zod with slaves.
• Luke drew the Mechanical Superman template and gained Hank Henshaw's technological and electronic abilities.
• Luke used his new power to combine a smart-device remote with a communication device, creating a strange vibrating object.

On Hala, Yon-Rogg trained Vers and prepared her to join a mission tracking Skrull refugees on Knowhere, while warning her about Superman. On Knowhere, Luke continued experimenting with machinery and electronic surveillance before agreeing to meet a Skrull who had come to see him.

• The Skrulls had inflamed tensions between the Kree and Cotati, leading to the Cotati’s near extermination and a war that lasted millions of years.
• During sparring, Vers asked Yon-Rogg about Ronan’s defeat and his past insult; Yon-Rogg dismissed the insult and asked whether her nightmares had returned.
• Yon-Rogg told Vers he would seek the Supreme Intelligence’s approval for her to join an operation tracking Skrull refugees who had escaped to Knowhere, and warned her not to underestimate Superman.
• Luke expanded his mechanical and electronic infiltration skills on Knowhere, where his power had displaced the Collector as the station’s ruler.
• A worker told Luke that a Skrull wanted to meet him, and Luke agreed to receive the green-skinned visitor.

Talos told Luke that Skrull refugees were being hunted by the Kree and asked for protection, while Earth faced infiltration over the Light-Speed Engine. On Knowhere, Luke exposed Yon-Rogg’s deception to Vers and freed her from the Supreme Intelligence’s mental control, leaving Yon-Rogg and Starforce imprisoned.

• Talos told Luke that the Skrull Empire planned to infiltrate Earth and that Skrull advance forces were already searching for Light-Speed Engine clues.
• Talos explained that Dr. Mar-Vell had protected his people and that Yon-Rogg had killed her before taking the Earth woman who became Vers.
• Luke agreed to let Talos and the Skrull refugees reside temporarily on Earth in exchange for protection.
• Yon-Rogg led Vers and Starforce into Knowhere, where the Collector’s maid brought them to meet Luke.
• Luke revealed the truth about Vers’s past and erased the Supreme Intelligence’s control over her.
• Carol beat Yon-Rogg, and Starforce was thrown into cells.

Luke helped Carol process the truth about her past on Knowhere, while Peggy confronted Howard Stark over stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. funds and secret human experiments. The chapter left Carol uncertain about her future and revealed that Howard’s actions may have been influenced by a hidden presence.

• Luke reassured Carol that her difficulty accepting her restored memories was a normal response to the Supreme Intelligence’s brainwashing.
• Carol worried about confronting Yon-Rogg because of the Kree Empire, but Luke dismissed the threat and accepted her decision to let them go.
• Carol admitted she did not know what to do with her life and asked Luke to share a drink with her.
• Peggy confronted Howard over S.H.I.E.L.D. funds diverted through shell accounts to support political influence, military expansion, and human experiments.
• Howard said he had made a deal with the President and the Pentagon to preserve S.H.I.E.L.D., then mocked Peggy as she left; a faint green hue showed beneath his features.

A Skrull officer disguised as Howard Stark discussed the infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the search for Mar-Vell’s Light-Speed Engine while Peggy Carter prepared for an approaching threat. On Knowhere, Luke offered to take Carol back to Earth and opened a portal.

• The Skrull officer disguised as Howard Stark ordered his people to infiltrate the military and said he would investigate Project Pegasus, Mar-Vell, and the Light-Speed Engine.
• Peggy questioned Nick Fury about Howard’s behavior, then ordered him to bring Steve Rogers to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Peggy planned to warn Emma Frost and the magicians of the Three Sanctuaries about the danger gathering in the world.
• Luke asked the drunken Carol if she wanted to return to Earth, then snapped open a portal.

Luke opened a portal to return to Earth, but Carol’s drunken rush sent them plunging into the Ethiopian Highlands and onto a Wakandan ritual platform. He produced a black panther before T’Chaka and the Wakandans, who recognized it as Bast, the Panther God.

• Luke opened a portal and changed its destination to MIT, but Carol grabbed him and charged through before he could steady their arrival.
• Luke and Carol fell through the sky over the Ethiopian Highlands, and Luke teleported them onto a rocky platform near a waterfall.
• The pair appeared in the middle of a ritual for Bast, and Aba Aba called for the outsiders to be executed.
• T’Chaka ordered his guards to take Luke and Carol away and secretly escort them beyond Wakanda’s border.
• Luke opened a dimensional gate, produced a black panther with an Emerald Gem on its forehead, and asked whether it was the god the Wakandans worshipped.
• Aba Aba and T’Chaka recognized the panther as Bast, the Panther God.

Luke and a drunken Carol appeared during Wakanda’s ceremony, and Luke’s arrival caused Bast to manifest. King T’Chaka treated them as honored guests, and Luke secured permission to take as much vibranium as he could carry.

• Luke pulled Bast from its dimensional realm, leaving the Panther God terrified of the powerful stranger.
• Wakandans knelt as Bast appeared, while T’Chaka and the High Priest presented the event as a blessing on Wakanda.
• The chiefs considered how Bast’s manifestation might affect the royal family’s authority and the balance among Wakanda’s tribes.
• T’Chaka called Luke and Carol messengers chosen by Bast, but Luke said they were travelers and asked whether Wakanda gave guests gifts.
• Luke asked for vibranium, and T’Chaka promised to give them as much as they could carry.

Luke took advantage of T'Chaka's generosity to collect Wakandan vibranium, then used his power to lift an entire underground vein. The chapter ended with T'Chaka seeing the enormous vein rising through the sky.

• T'Chaka offered Luke a truckload of vibranium, but Luke declined and accepted permission to take what he wanted.
• Luke arrived at the royal palace, settled the drunken Carol, and persuaded T'Chaka to let him visit the mine.
• Elder Azudā initially objected to Luke visiting the mine, but Bast's glare pressured him into agreeing.
• Luke expanded his Bio-Force Field around the underground mountain range and lifted the vibranium vein.
• A royal guard told T'Chaka that Luke had moved the entire vein, and T'Chaka rushed outside to see it suspended in the sky.

Luke took a vibranium mineral vein from Wakanda and returned to the royal palace with Bast, the Panther God, while T'Chaka recognized the danger of opposing Superman. Luke declined a banquet and hinted that Wakanda could one day enter the world stage before leaving with Carol, and Bast settled onto the throne.

• T'Chaka watched Luke carry away a vast vibranium mineral vein and suspected he was Superman, whose past victories made resistance seem futile.
• Luke returned to the palace with Bast, the Panther God, acting affectionately toward him, while T'Chaka tried to hide his distress over the lost vibranium.
• Luke credited Elder Azudā with allowing him to take the vibranium, and T'Chaka sharply urged the stunned elder to accept the loss.
• Luke declined T'Chaka's banquet invitation and suggested Wakanda would eventually step onto the world stage, prompting T'Chaka to consider reform and outside support.
• Luke rubbed Bast and left to find Carol; after they departed, Bast revealed displeasure, took T'Chaka's throne, and curled up to sleep.

Luke returned to Earth after years away, learned from Mage Hamir how the world and S.H.I.E.L.D. had changed, and left Captain Marvel at Kamar-Taj before heading to surprise Peggy Carter. Peggy mistook him for a Skrull and shot him, leaving Luke to figure out how to prove his identity.

• Luke arrived at Kamar-Taj, where Mage Hamir welcomed him and explained that Ancient One had left for an outer dimension after asking the Three Sanctuaries to watch over S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Mage Hamir showed Luke how the world had changed, including S.H.I.E.L.D.'s absorption of Hydra, the Mutant Registration Act, and the rise of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr.
• Luke reflected on how his power and influence had made Earth and the wider universe feel safe and predictable.
• Luke left Captain Marvel in Mage Hamir's care and opened a portal to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, where he found his office unchanged.
• Luke entered Peggy Carter's office to surprise her, but Peggy mistook him for a Skrull and fired repeatedly; the bullets bounced off him.

Luke returned and convinced Peggy that he was the real Superman, then uncovered Skrull infiltrators inside S.H.I.E.L.D. He proposed a press conference to force the Skrulls to surrender, while Peggy asked whether he had brought another woman back.

• Peggy attacked Luke, but he restrained her and answered questions about their past and his abilities until she believed he was really himself.
• Luke explained that he had traveled through the multiverse, and Peggy told him that a Skrull impersonating Howard had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Two of Peggy's Nightingales entered the office, and Luke killed them after identifying them as Skrulls.
• Luke warned that Skrulls had likely infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and were preparing to overthrow its leadership, and Peggy welcomed his return as Director Luke.
• Luke proposed holding a press conference to make the Skrulls surrender, and Peggy agreed before asking if he had brought another woman back.

Peggy prepared a press conference for Luke’s public return as Superman, while Luke revealed his ambition to claim three universes and build a multiversal system. Meanwhile, Skrull infiltrators planned to find and brainwash Luke, unaware that he had already returned.

• Peggy called S.H.I.E.L.D.’s press office and arranged a press conference, and Luke said his announcement would simply be, “I’m back.”
• Luke told Peggy he intended to obtain three Single Universes and build a multiversal system beyond the Cosmic Entities’ interference.
• Luke comforted Peggy for carrying S.H.I.E.L.D.’s burdens, then pulled her onto the sofa as they joked together before the press conference.
• At New York Harbor, the Skrull disguised as Nick Fury told the Skrull disguised as Howard Stark that the White House and The Pentagon were controlled and S.H.I.E.L.D. was sixty percent infiltrated.
• The Skrull posing as Howard Stark ordered the advance force to locate Luke’s cryogenic chamber, while the Skrull posing as Nick Fury planned to extract its location from Peggy and brainwash Luke for the Empire.

The Daily Bugle scrambled for a scoop as S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared a major announcement, and Superman’s return stunned both the press and the Skrull advance force. After searching for information about Superman, the Skrull leader ordered an immediate retreat from Earth.

• J. Jonah Jameson demanded fresher stories from the Daily Bugle staff and sent them to pursue news about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s press conference.
• Reporters crowded into S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, where Natasha prepared to begin the announcement in Peggy Carter’s place.
• Superman appeared at the press conference and announced that he had returned from slumber.
• The Skrulls watched the broadcast and learned that Superman had returned without their having detected it.
• The Skrull leader searched for information about Superman and ordered the advance force and its agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D. to retreat immediately.

After returning to S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke rejected political invitations and used his vast senses to locate the Skrulls who had infiltrated Earth. He captured them all and left their interrogation to Peggy before preparing for a vacation.

• Luke refused invitations from the White House, the Pentagon, and New York City's mayor, telling Natasha to turn down such requests without consulting him.
• Luke expanded his senses across Earth to find the Skrulls, and Charles sensed his power during a history lesson before collapsing and rushing to alert the headmistress.
• The Skrull leader and the Liaison Officer discussed their plan to withdraw if Superman discovered them, while keeping their human captives in a warehouse.
• Luke located the Skrulls' underground stronghold, crushed its roof, and overwhelmed the Skrulls across Earth with a psychic wave.
• Luke opened portals outside S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, dropped the unconscious Skrulls onto the lawn, and told Natasha to have them imprisoned until Peggy returned to interrogate them.