Chapter Summaries

Caliban pledged himself to Apocalypse and was transformed into a more powerful Mutant who could locate others of his kind. Luke returned from his battle with Apocalypse, rescued an archaeological party in northern Iraq, and discovered that Lucian was working with the Bo Jian Department, which appeared to be searching for Princess Amunet’s tomb.

• Caliban emerged from the sand after Apocalypse and Luke’s battle, then offered himself as Apocalypse’s servant.
• Apocalypse enhanced Caliban’s abilities and ordered him to find Mutants and announce that their god had returned.
• Luke encountered armed militants attacking an archaeological party in northern Iraq and killed the attackers with energy blasts.
• Luke reunited with Lucian, who explained that he and four Werewolves were guarding members of the Bo Jian Department.
• Luke asked whether the Bo Jian Department was searching for the tomb of Egyptian Princess Amunet.

Luke uncovered Dr. Henry’s connection to Dr. Jekyll and learned that the Bo Jian Department intended to investigate Egyptian Princess Amunet and Set. He persuaded Dr. Henry to place Amunet and the Dagger of Set under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s control, then opened a passage to her buried tomb.

• Lucian introduced Luke to Dr. Henry, and Luke recognized the second personality within him as Edward Hyde and recommended that he seek treatment at Kamar-Taj.
• Dr. Henry explained the Bo Jian Department’s history and revealed its plan to investigate Egyptian Princess Amunet, whose contract with Set involved the Dagger of Set.
• Luke questioned whether the investigation was safe and insisted that Amunet and the dagger should be handed over to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Dr. Henry agreed to let the Bo Jian Department participate in the planned Magical Congress, which Luke said already included a seat for Werewolves.
• Luke opened a passage into Amunet’s tomb by splitting the ground with a stomp, then descended into the darkness.

Luke and the Bo Jian Department uncovered Egyptian Princess Amunet’s sarcophagus, hoping she would reveal the location of Set’s dagger. Amunet awakened and looked at Luke, who immediately asked whether he was suitable to become Set’s vessel.

• Luke and Dr. Henry descended into Amunet’s tomb, where Dr. Henry explained how the mercury channels and guardians suppressed her soul.
• Luke asked about Set’s ruby-inlaid dagger, and Dr. Henry said Amunet alone knew its location.
• Luke ordered the sarcophagus raised from the mercury well, and camel spiders swarmed the cave while his Bio-Force Field kept them back.
• The Bo Jian Department transported the sarcophagus by helicopter as ravens gathered and a sandstorm approached.
• At the airport, Amunet’s influence drove archaeologists to break the chains, and the mummy rose from the sarcophagus.
• Luke asked Amunet whether he was suitable to serve as Set’s body in the mortal world.

Luke forced Amunet to reveal the Dagger of Set’s location, retrieved it, and used it to summon Set into his body. The ritual succeeded, but Luke declared that he would keep control of his body and claim Set’s Death Authority.

• Amunet chose Luke as Set’s vessel, but Luke punched her, burned the flock of Ravens she summoned, and forced her to reveal where the Dagger of Set was.
• Luke led the Bo Jian Department archaeological team to a monastery near London, where Amunet retrieved the dagger.
• Luke embedded the ruby in the dagger and struggled to pierce his own skin until he lowered his defenses and drew blood.
• The dagger’s ruby glowed as Set’s dark energy entered Luke, marking his face with hieroglyphs.
• Luke resisted Set’s attempt to take over and said he would keep his body and claim Set’s Death Authority.

Luke stripped Set of his power and took his authority over death, then opened his Netherworld and appointed Amunet to manage it. Opening the realm connected him to another death realm, where he saw a slender figure in a green cloak.

• Luke suppressed Set with Stellar Energy and the Vishanti's power, then seized Set's authority over death.
• Set was pulled from Luke's body and vanished in sunlight, while Dr. Henry and the Bo Jian Department witnessed his apparent destruction.
• Luke explained that gods could return as long as their names and histories endured, and described Earth as a casino where pantheons competed for souls.
• Luke offered Amunet a role managing his Netherworld, and she agreed.
• Luke opened the Netherworld and sensed another realm of death, where he saw a slender figure wearing a green cloak.

Luke considered a possible connection with Hela, then arranged for the Bo Jian Department to become a subordinate institution of S.H.I.E.L.D. After a secret White House meeting about the brainwashed President and Hydra, he turned his attention to Mutant Academy, where a gifted new student had arrived: Charles Francis Xavier.

• Luke concluded that the figure he had glimpsed in the Netherworld might have been Hela and considered cooperating with her in the future.
• Luke sent Ahmunet into the Netherworld and proposed that the Bo Jian Department join S.H.I.E.L.D.; Dr. Henry agreed to make it a subordinate institution.
• Luke clarified that S.H.I.E.L.D. served humanity’s common interests rather than any single country, and Dr. Henry praised him.
• Half a month later, Luke attended a classified White House meeting about the brainwashed President and the people Luke identified as Hydra members.
• Luke learned that Mutant Academy had welcomed a remarkably gifted student named Charles Francis Xavier.

Luke and White Queen traveled to the newly completed Mutant Academy, discussing its first students and the contrasting backgrounds that would shape Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr. They arrived at the school with Charles and Raven among the thirty-one accepted students.

• Luke reviewed the academy files and asked White Queen about Charles Xavier and his family.
• White Queen explained that Charles's parents accepted his Mutant identity and that Charles had persuaded them to adopt Raven.
• Luke reflected on how Charles's privileged childhood and Erik Lehnsherr's persecution would eventually lead them toward opposing beliefs.
• White Queen reported that the academy had recruited thirty-one students, while many other Mutants could not meet its admission requirements.
• Luke and White Queen arrived at Cahill's Academy for Gifted Youngsters.

Luke visited the School for Gifted Youngsters, where the White Queen showed him the academy and its students. Charles brought Raven to meet Luke, and the chapter ended with Charles wondering why Ms. Frost, the school's principal, was absent.

• Luke saw the bronze Superman statue at the academy and accepted it as the school's symbol.
• The White Queen explained that Luke's influence had helped Mutants gain public acceptance and led him toward the academy buildings.
• Charles warned Raven to behave when meeting Ms. Frost, then frightened her by explaining that the telepath might have heard her thoughts.
• Charles led Raven into the principal's office, where Luke greeted them and Charles called him Mr. Principal.
• Charles wondered where the White Queen had gone when Luke referred to Ms. Frost as the school's principal.

Charles told Principal Luke how his telepathy awakened and why he wanted to join the academy, while Luke encouraged him to accept his Mutant identity and consider humanity’s future beyond Earth. After Charles and Raven left, the White Queen teased Luke with a role-playing scenario in his office.

• Charles explained that his telepathy awakened when he overheard his parents’ spoken and unspoken thoughts after watching Zorro, and that he had kept his ability secret.
• Charles said meeting Raven showed him that other Mutants existed, and that Luke’s speech on freedom and equality inspired him to join the academy.
• Luke praised Charles’s abilities and urged him to accept himself, then argued that humanity’s eventual expansion into space could put human and Mutant conflicts into perspective.
• Charles left with Raven and wondered whether Luke had looked pained, while Raven said she was hungry.
• The White Queen revealed herself in Luke’s office and teased him about their encounter before proposing a student-and-principal role-playing scenario.

Luke and Emma discussed improving the Mutant Academy’s staff while considering its future as a refuge for Mutants. In Berlin, Apocalypse found Erik Lehnsherr, awakened his hatred, and identified him as the first of his Four Horsemen.

• Emma criticized Sabretooth Victor and Wolverine Logan as unsuitable teachers, and Luke agreed they would eventually recruit better faculty.
• Luke and Emma saw Charles, Raven, and the other students as the academy’s future and discussed its potential as a North American stronghold for Mutants.
• Apocalypse and Caliban searched Berlin for Erik Lehnsherr, whom Sebastian Shaw had listed as a gifted young Mutant.
• Erik attacked Apocalypse with metal when he feared they meant to rob him, but Apocalypse disintegrated the debris and praised Erik’s potential.
• Apocalypse entered Erik’s mind, stirred his buried hatred, and declared him the first of the Four Horsemen.

Luke learned that Apocalypse had appeared in Berlin and planned to let him emerge as a public threat, then agreed to accompany Captain America to Moscow to find Bucky and pursue Hydra. Meanwhile, Baron Strucker prepared to seize control of the Soviet Union and replace its flag with Hydra’s.

• Luke considered Apocalypse’s arrival in Berlin and suspected that the former Pharaoh would target the young Erik Lehnsherr as a potential Horseman.
• Captain America told Luke that Bucky was being held by Leviathan in Moscow, which was secretly controlled by Leviathan and the Red Room.
• Luke warned Rogers that Bucky might have been turned into a brainwashed killer, and Rogers vowed to bring his friend back if possible.
• Luke invited Rogers to travel with him to Moscow, claiming he also wanted to rescue Bucky, and Rogers saluted when Luke ordered him to follow.
• Baron Strucker declared that Hydra would soon take control of the Soviet Union and replace its red flag.

Baron Strucker and First Baron Zemo planned to use a Red Room agent to get close to Superman. Taras chose the young Natasha Romanoff for the assignment, leaving her selection as the chapter’s final development.

• Baron Strucker and First Baron Zemo discussed Superman’s independence and concluded that Hydra could not recruit him directly.
• First Baron Zemo proposed using a Red Room Black Widow to exploit Superman’s feelings, and Baron Strucker agreed to ask Taras for a candidate.
• Taras dismissed Hydra’s simplistic plan and searched the Red Room’s files for a suitable agent.
• Taras rejected Claire and Yegorova, then chose Romanoff for the mission.

Luke arrived in Moscow disguised as Clark Kent, where two Red Room spies, Dominika Yegorova and Claire Vayan, began Taras’s honey trap. The women entered Luke’s hotel suite to ply him with vodka, while he played the role of a nervous newcomer and pursued his own search for Bucky.

• Luke arrived in Moscow ahead of Captain America and met Dominika Yegorova, who greeted him at the airport.
• Claire Vayan drove Luke and Yegorova to his hotel, and Luke recognized their polished backgrounds as signs of a Red Room setup.
• Claire and Yegorova escorted Luke to his suite, where he invited them in under the pretext of sharing coffee or vodka.
• The two spies planned to get Luke drunk and turn him into an informant, while Luke poured their drinks and concealed his suspicions.

After Claire Vayan and Yegorova failed to extract intelligence from Clark Kent, Taras assigned Natasha to approach Superman when he arrived in Moscow. Luke told Captain America he had learned Bucky’s whereabouts, and Captain America was about to meet his friend.

• Taras berated Claire Vayan and Yegorova for sleeping with Clark Kent, a recorder, instead of gaining intelligence from him.
• Yegorova proposed continuing to develop Clark as an informant, but Taras rejected the idea and sent for Natasha.
• Taras gave Natasha Superman’s file and ordered her to get close to him when he arrived in Moscow in three days.
• Captain America questioned Luke about the rumpled hotel room, and Luke said he had learned Bucky’s whereabouts from the Red Room agents.
• Luke told Captain America they would meet Bucky soon, while privately reflecting that the Winter Soldier’s situation surprised him.

Luke told Captain America that Hydra had turned Bucky into an Aryan Superman and was using him in a breeding program, then urged Steve to stay calm while they planned to destroy Hydra and Leviathan. Luke left Steve with a role as bait for the coming operation in Moscow.

• Luke explained that Bucky had been transferred to Baron Strucker, endured twenty-four layers of mutation, and become Hydra's top enforcer.
• Captain America became furious at Bucky's fate, while Luke revealed Hydra was making him father children as part of a plan to create more super-soldiers.
• Luke persuaded Steve to hold back from acting rashly and said they would eradicate Hydra and Leviathan together.
• Luke told Steve that his appearance at Superman's welcoming ceremony in Moscow would serve as bait to draw out Hydra and Leviathan.

Luke arrived in Moscow as Superman and attended a welcome ceremony at the Kremlin while Captain America posed as his recorder. At the ball, Luke met a nervous young trainee who introduced herself as Natasha.

• Luke greeted Joseph Vissarionovich at the Kremlin and toured Red Square before the welcome ceremony.
• Yegorova received Luke and struggled to hide her resentment over her past encounter with him as Clark Kent.
• At the Kremlin ball, Rogers told Luke that he had sent word of his infiltration and asked whether Hydra might send Bucky.
• Luke encouraged Rogers to relax and dance, then approached a nervous girl at the bar.
• The girl told Luke her name was Natasha.

At the Kremlin, Taras explained that Natasha’s approach to Superman was meant to create a channel for cooperation, while Hydra leaders debated how to counter Superman and unite their divided factions. Baron Strucker briefly considered asking Superman to lead Hydra, then dismissed the idea as absurd.

• Taras told Yegorova that Natasha was chosen because her limited training might make her genuine feelings more likely to influence Superman.
• Yegorova volunteered to join Natasha, but Taras rejected her offer and left the music hall.
• First Baron Zemo informed Baron Strucker that Captain America had returned to Moscow and was openly challenging Hydra.
• Baron Strucker ordered Zemo to tell Leviathan to accelerate its plans because Superman threatened Hydra.
• Zemo reported that Whitehall and Viper had refused contact, and Strucker realized he lacked the leverage to unite Hydra’s factions.
• Strucker considered making Superman Hydra’s patron and leader, then rejected the thought as impossible.

Luke saw through Natasha’s attempt to seduce and deceive him, then tested her with a fabricated life story and recognized her potential as an agent. He asked her to take him to the Red Room, revealing that he had detected her lies by listening to her heartbeat and pulse.

• Luke considered bringing Hydra under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s control, deciding that eliminating the organization completely was impossible.
• Luke asked Natasha whether she believed in luck, then invented a tragic past to draw her into their exchange of deception.
• Luke exposed Natasha’s cover and she admitted that she had approached him to get close to him.
• Natasha improvised a story about poverty and clinging to powerful men, impressing Luke with her adaptability.
• Luke asked Natasha to take him to the Red Room and revealed that he could hear her heartbeat and detect her lies.

After Natasha reported that Superman had uncovered her identity and wanted to meet Taras, Taras ordered her to keep close to him and arranged for other Red Room trainees to pursue him. At the Kremlin, Luke waited for Hydra’s response and noticed that Captain America had disappeared, possibly to meet the Winter Soldier.

• Natasha told Taras that Superman had recognized her identity and seemed interested in her, so Taras questioned her approach.
• Taras decided against meeting Superman for now and ordered Natasha to follow him throughout the Red Square conference.
• Over the next few days, Luke endured political attention and the Red Room’s efforts to pair him with Natasha and other female trainees.
• Luke wondered what Hydra had decided while sitting in the Kremlin’s great hall.
• Luke realized Captain America was missing and suspected he had gone to meet the Winter Soldier.

Rogers grew restless waiting for Luke to act, so he sought help from the Brotherhood to find Bucky. He learned that Bucky was operating as the Winter Soldier and reporting to an abandoned collective farm near Minsk, leaving Rogers unsure whether to tell Luke before pursuing him.

• Rogers decided to leave Luke's team and search for Bucky on his own.
• Rogers drove to a factory and used his Brotherhood token to meet Banks.
• Banks identified the Winter Soldier as James Buchanan Barnes and showed Rogers a photograph.
• Banks said the Winter Soldier reported to an abandoned collective farm near Minsk after his missions, in exchange for Rogers opposing Hydra's presence in the Soviet Union.
• Rogers left with Bucky's whereabouts and wondered whether to tell Luke.