Chapter Summaries

In 1943 Brooklyn, Luke Cahill lamented being stranded in the Marvel world without his long-awaited cheat as his friend Bucky prepared to ship out for war. Bucky invited Luke to the Stark Industries Tomorrow World Expo, while Luke planned to stay behind and look after Steve Rogers.

• Luke read about Howard Stark and Rita Hayworth, which reminded him that he had transmigrated to the Marvel universe decades before the Avengers appeared.
• Luke reflected on his gangster uncle, his life in Brooklyn, and the deluxe game gift pack that had remained stuck at 99 percent for years.
• Bucky visited Luke at Old Joseph's Tavern and announced that he would leave for England with the 107th Infantry Regiment the next morning.
• Luke joked that he would stay in New York among the women, while Bucky worried about Steve Rogers wanting to enlist despite failing the physical requirements.
• Bucky invited Luke to the Stark Industries Tomorrow World Expo that night and said he had asked several girls to join them.

Luke and Bucky rescued Steve Rogers from a bully in Brooklyn, then discussed Steve’s repeated attempts to enlist despite his frail health. The chapter ended with Bucky urging his friends to enjoy his last night in New York before he shipped out to war.

• Luke and Bucky found Steve being beaten in an alley, and Luke knocked the thug down and drove him away.
• Bucky helped Steve up and scolded him for provoking fights he could not win.
• Luke found Steve’s enlistment form and pointed out that falsifying his residence was illegal.
• Steve explained that he wanted to serve, and Luke offered to accompany him to more recruitment offices while Bucky accepted Luke’s decision.
• Bucky reminded Luke and Steve that he was leaving for the battlefield the next day and urged them to join him for a night out.

Luke accompanied Bucky and Rogers to Stark Industries' Tomorrow World Expo, where Rogers remained frustrated about being rejected from the army. At the expo, Howard Stark appeared onstage, and Luke reflected on the Stark family's reputation for womanizing.

• Luke, Bucky, and Rogers left Rogers's house and headed to the Tomorrow World Expo, while Luke considered how he might obtain the Super Soldier Serum.
• Bucky took Luke and Rogers from a tavern to the expo, where they met three young women arranged to accompany them.
• Luke toured the exhibition halls with the young women while Rogers followed behind with popcorn.
• Howard Stark appeared onstage at the expo and kissed one of the women, prompting Luke to think about the Stark family's romantic reputation.

Luke followed Abraham Erskine into a recruitment station and witnessed Hydra gunmen attack him. Luke pulled Erskine to safety and charged into the corridor as the gunmen closed in.

• Howard Stark demonstrated anti-gravity technology at an exhibition while Luke slipped away from the crowd.
• Steve Rogers went to a recruitment station and was rejected because he was too frail to enlist.
• Luke recognized Abraham Erskine and followed him, spotting several suspicious men in black trailing him.
• Hydra gunmen opened fire inside the recruitment station, killing the security officer and scattering the recruits.
• Luke pulled Erskine into a curtained compartment, then left it to confront the approaching gunmen.

Luke Cahill rescued Dr. Abraham Erskine from German spies and met Peggy Carter, an agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve. Erskine left after Luke introduced him to Steve Rogers, whose hopes of serving in the war Luke confidently affirmed.

• Peggy Carter reprimanded her agents for losing track of Dr. Erskine, then rushed to the recruitment station after hearing gunfire.
• Luke killed three spies who tried to assassinate Dr. Erskine, and Peggy questioned him after inspecting the bodies.
• Luke introduced himself to Erskine and brought Steve Rogers to his attention as a patriotic young man who wanted to serve.
• Peggy and Erskine left the scene, while Luke told Steve that the agents could change his fate and assured him that he would reach the battlefield.
• Luke took Steve to find Bucky for his send-off.

Luke visited his Uncle Frank, who was angry that Luke had beaten up Hobson’s men and urged him to join the Irish Mob or become a truck driver. Luke refused both paths and kept his own plans to himself.

• Luke changed course after the florist told him that Frank was looking for him.
• Luke brought Frank breakfast, and Frank stopped complaining about Hobson after enjoying the food.
• Frank praised Luke’s help in getting the Irish Mob retired firearms and tried to recruit him, but Luke refused.
• Frank urged Luke to join the gang or take over his truck-driving position, while Luke quietly considered a different future.
• Luke draped a blanket over Frank’s legs and kept his plans to himself.

Carter questioned whether Luke Cahill was a German spy, but Colonel Phillips dismissed her suspicions and assigned her to bring Luke and Steve Rogers to Caspian Training Camp. Luke accepted the military’s summons, taking his first step toward obtaining the Super Soldier Serum.

• Carter reported that Luke’s precise shooting made her suspect he was involved in the attack on Dr. Erskine.
• Colonel Phillips explained Luke’s background and his uncle Frank’s military and criminal connections, then told Carter that Luke was not a German spy.
• Colonel Phillips said Dr. Erskine wanted Luke and Steve Rogers recruited into Caspian Training Camp and ordered Carter to send them to New Jersey.
• Steve Rogers arrived at Luke’s residence with Carter and excitedly told Luke they could enlist and would leave the next day.
• Carter asked Luke to serve his country, and Luke accepted the military’s summons.

Luke and Rogers arrived at the Strategic Scientific Reserve’s training camp, where Luke excelled while Rogers struggled through recruit training. As the selection continued, Dr. Erskine weighed Luke’s performance against Rogers’ character as he searched for the right Super Soldier candidate.

• Luke and Rogers traveled to Lehigh Training Camp and met Colonel Phillips, Dr. Erskine, Howard Stark, and Agent Carter.
• Luke explained to Rogers that Howard Stark was a scientific consultant and official, while the two of them were ordinary recruits facing basic training.
• After a week of training, Luke encouraged the exhausted Rogers, who kept completing every task despite finishing last and enduring bullying.
• Carter reported that Luke had led the recruits in marksmanship and physical tests, prompting Phillips to praise him as the best candidate.
• Phillips questioned whether the committee would accept the frail Rogers, but Erskine insisted the selection was not over and looked toward Luke.

After recruit training, Luke emerged as the camp’s top performer, but he encouraged the discouraged Steve Rogers and told Dr. Erskine that Steve was the better choice for the Super Soldier program. Erskine trusted Luke’s answer and decided that both Luke and Steve would become Super Soldiers.

• Colonel Phillips announced that the Super Soldier would be chosen after a week, and he regarded Luke as the clear top recruit while doubting Rogers’s physical fitness.
• Hodge praised Luke and became his lackey, while Luke reassured a discouraged Rogers and helped restore his confidence.
• Luke reflected that he wanted the serum but did not want to become a political mascot, so he aimed to make the military consider both himself and Rogers.
• Erskine tested Luke by asking what qualities a Super Soldier needed and whom Luke believed possessed them.
• Luke named Steve Rogers as the trustworthy candidate, dispelling Erskine’s doubts about Luke’s character, and Erskine declared that both men would become Super Soldiers.

Luke and Rogers arrived at the Strategic Scientific Reserve’s secret base to receive the Super Soldier Serum. Luke’s injection completed his template progress, and he unlocked a level-one Superman template as both men’s transformation began.

• Luke and Rogers traveled to New York with Carter, and Rogers thanked Luke for helping him become a serum candidate.
• Carter brought Luke and Rogers through a hidden entrance in an antique shop to the Strategic Scientific Reserve base.
• Dr. Erskine and Howard Stark prepared Luke and Rogers for simultaneous serum injections, while researchers watched.
• The serum’s current caused Luke intense pain, and his progress bar reached 100 percent as the system distributed a gift pack.
• Luke chose and loaded the level-one Superman template, gaining Stellar Energy and Bio-Force Field abilities.

During the Super Soldier experiment, Steve Rogers endured the serum while Luke silently learned about his Kryptonian template. Rogers transformed, but a Hydra assassin killed Dr. Erskine and escaped after a bombing, leaving Luke to emerge from his pod amid the chaos.

• Councilman Brand questioned Colonel Phillips about the frail Rogers and urged him not to disappoint the President, while Phillips praised Luke as his best soldier.
• As the serum experiment intensified, Rogers cried out in pain, while Luke remained silent and studied the levels and locked templates in his character panel.
• At full power, Rogers fell quiet, and Erskine opened his pod to reveal that he had become tall and muscular.
• While the control room celebrated, a Hydra assassin shot Dr. Erskine, then an explosion struck and the assassin shot guards before fleeing.
• Luke broke free of his restraints and tore open his pod, then saw the wounded Erskine, the transformed Rogers, and the escaped assassin.

Luke chased down and captured Hydra assassin Gregg after he escaped from the attack on Abraham Erskine, while Colonel Phillips discussed the future of the Super Soldier program with Luke. Phillips urged Luke to embrace war’s ruthless realities, leaving Luke surprised by the colonel’s clear-eyed view.

• Luke broke through the secret base’s metal door and found the antique shop contact wounded as Gregg fled in a sedan, firing at agents and civilians.
• Luke pursued the sedan on foot, leaped onto its roof, stopped Gregg’s shots with his palm, and captured him before he could use his hidden poison.
• Rogers and Carter arrived and took Gregg and the driver back to the antique shop, where Colonel Phillips praised Luke.
• Colonel Phillips dismissed the medical staff and told Luke that the serum could not be replicated soon and that politicians would shift the blame if the program failed.
• Phillips called Luke a born warrior, criticized Rogers’s idealism, and said that war was about plunder and violence rather than good or evil.

Colonel Phillips assigned Luke to lead the Howling Commandos, while Councilman Brand claimed Rogers for a war-bond campaign. As the Strategic Scientific Reserve prepared to move to London to fight Hydra, Rogers was left unsure of his role and learned Luke had received a separate assignment.

• Colonel Phillips told Luke that the military had lost interest in the Super Soldier program and offered him command of the Howling Commandos.
• Luke accepted the assignment and received a side mission to earn the recognition of at least three Howling Commandos.
• Colonel Phillips announced that the Strategic Scientific Reserve would relocate to London and fight Hydra.
• Rogers asked Colonel Phillips to let him join the fight, but Phillips said Councilman Brand had claimed him for another battlefield.
• Carter comforted Rogers and said she did not know where Luke was, only that he had another assignment.

Luke remained in Brooklyn after the Strategic Scientific Reserve departed for London, where Colonel Phillips appointed him to lead the Howling Commandos on a secret mission to restore the Reserve’s standing. He met the skeptical commandos at a tavern and prepared to demonstrate why he deserved their obedience.

• Colonel Phillips promoted Luke to captain and gave him command of the Howling Commandos for a highly secret mission.
• Luke reviewed his Superman-like abilities and went to Old Joseph’s Tavern to meet the commandos.
• Luke called the soldiers by name and declared that they would follow his orders until further notice.
• Dum Dum Dugan challenged Luke’s authority, so Luke said he would show the commandos why he had been promoted.
• Dugan laughed off Luke’s warning that what came next might scare him.

Luke demonstrated his superhuman strength to the Howling Commandos at Fort Drum, earning their recognition and completing a quest. He then revealed plans for a covert mission to Sicily and secured the team’s agreement to follow him.

• Luke lifted a military jeep and bent Dugan’s Winchester, stunning the Howling Commandos with his strength.
• Manelli recognized Luke as a Super Soldier, and Luke claimed he and Steve Rogers had received serum from the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
• Dugan apologized to Luke, and the Howling Commandos accepted him as their leader.
• Luke completed the Howling Commandos quest, received Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin, and unlocked a shop with fifty Reputation Points.
• Luke told the Commandos they would infiltrate Sicily disguised as smugglers, and the team agreed to follow his orders.

Luke and the Howling Commandos reached Sicily, where he outlined a plan to enter Rome, capture Mussolini, and support the Allied landing. Dugan and the team accepted the dangerous mission, while Luke trusted that the Allies’ advance would help them succeed.

• Luke led the Howling Commandos safely to Palermo and explained his smuggler cover and planned Berlin envoy identity.
• Dugan asked whether their mission was to assassinate Mussolini, and Luke clarified that they would capture him alive and help the Allies land in Sicily.
• Luke reassured the team by arguing that Italian forces would be manageable and that the Allies would deal with the Germans.
• Dugan agreed to follow Luke’s orders, and the rest of the Howling Commandos firmly joined him.

Luke, posing as Vito Corleone, met Sicilian Mafia boss Cosa Alessandro to secure support for the Allied landing in Sicily. When Cosa’s nephew Elio challenged him, Luke violently subdued him and demanded that Cosa explain how the Mafia treated disrespect toward its friends.

• Luke bribed the commander at Palermo’s harbor and met men who escorted him to the Copper Bell Tavern.
• Luke entered the tavern with Dum Dum Dugan and met Cosa Alessandro, who agreed to prepare gunmen for the Allied forces.
• Cosa said that arranging passes to get twenty gunmen into Rome was difficult, and Luke warned he would turn to Don Carlo instead.
• Elio interrupted to defend Cosa, and Luke slammed him against a table, leaving him bleeding and terrified.
• Luke returned to his seat and asked Cosa how the Mafia treated people who disrespected their friends.

Luke forced Alessandro to punish Elio for disrespecting him, then promised Alessandro Allied support and rewards for his cooperation. After leaving the tavern, Luke explained to Dugan that he had used intimidation and promised benefits to secure the Mafia boss’s loyalty.

• Alessandro cut off one of Elio’s fingers, but Luke demanded a stronger explanation for the insult.
• Alessandro ordered Carmelo to cut off Elio’s hand, then presented it to Luke as proof of respect.
• Luke accepted Alessandro’s apology, toasted their friendship, and promised that the Allies would reward his contribution.
• Luke hinted that Alessandro could gain an opportunity like his countrymen in New York, then left the tavern with the Howling Commandos.
• In the car, Luke told Dugan that he had beaten Alessandro into submission before offering support and rewards to secure his cooperation.

Luke and the Howling Commandos settled in Taormina and agreed on his plan to infiltrate Rome and seize Mussolini. After a walk, Luke found a woman named Marlena hiding in his bed, leaving him wondering who she was and how she had entered his room.

• Alessandro arranged rooms for Luke and the Howling Commandos at the Peashooter Inn, and Luke assigned Dugan and Manelli to watch him.
• Luke outlined a plan to enter Rome in disguise, cause a diversion, storm Venice Palace, and take Mussolini hostage.
• The Howling Commandos accepted Luke as their commander after hearing his plan.
• Luke went for a walk through Taormina and returned to find someone breathing inside his room.
• Luke pulled back the blanket and discovered a woman who identified herself as Marlena.

Luke discovered that Alessandro had sent Marlena to his room to satisfy him, but he refused to take advantage of her and let her rest. The next morning, Luke reprimanded Alessandro for the scheme and said he valued capability more than flattery.

• Luke realized Alessandro had arranged for Marlena to be sent to his room and asked whether she knew who he was.
• Marlena explained that she was a schoolteacher whose husband had been conscripted, and that Constable Angelo had offered food and medicine in exchange for a night with her.
• Luke learned that Alessandro had promised to protect Marlena if she satisfied him, but he apologized for frightening her and left her alone in the room.
• Luke slept in the guest room and sent a message to the Mafia men at the inn the next morning.
• Alessandro hurried to Luke, who criticized him for sending a woman to his bed and said he valued a person's capability more than flattery.