Chapter Summaries

After returning safely from space, Sean discussed Victor Doom’s collapsing company with Harry and suggested that Doom fight back rather than accept defeat. Doom faced pressure from Wall Street and his board, and his anger began to manifest as flickering lights and crackling electricity.

• Harry visited Sean and confirmed he was relieved that Sean had returned safely from space.
• Sean told Harry he would have Red Queen examine him and discussed how Victor Doom’s failed experiment had damaged Doom Group.
• Sean suggested that Victor Doom still had a chance to turn his situation around by fighting back.
• Mr. Ned gave Victor Doom one week to save Doom Group, while the board members left him behind.
• Victor Doom learned that Doom Group’s stock had continued to fall and blamed Reed for the failed experiment.
• Victor Doom grew furious at Ned’s insult, and the conference room lights flickered as electricity crackled around him.

Reed visited Sean after the Fantastic Four developed powers from the space storm, worried about their changed bodies and possible danger. Sean offered to help Reed investigate, then turned his attention to confiscating Mindy’s games and snacks.

• Reed asked Sean whether the space storm had affected him, and Sean said his medical tests were normal.
• Reed explained that he, Susan, Johnny, and Ben had gained extraordinary abilities, and Sean learned that the Fantastic Four had saved people in a Brooklyn Bridge crash.
• Reed described his plan to recreate the energy storm and reverse their changes, and Sean warned of the risks while offering to help study their mutations.
• Sean urged Reed to accept the changes and focus on helping Ben, and Reed left feeling more hopeful.
• Sean considered whether he could reproduce the energy storm with Skynet, but Mindy interrupted him and accused him of plotting to fool Reed.
• Sean confiscated Mindy’s games and snacks, insisting she needed more self-control and exercise.

Sean helped Reed and the Fantastic Four study their mutations and prepare a machine to reverse them. Meanwhile, Victor Doom’s body transformed into metal, and he discovered he could absorb electricity as he resolved to use his new abilities.

• Sean visited Reed’s laboratory, met the Fantastic Four, and joined Reed’s research into their mutations.
• Sean organized the team’s test data and offered Umbrella’s supercomputer to speed up construction of a device that would expose them to controlled Cosmic Rays.
• Doom’s private doctor discovered that his body was rapidly changing into an organic-metal composite and threatened to report it to the Centers for Disease Control.
• Doom attacked the doctor to keep his condition secret, then absorbed electrical current through his transforming arm and realized he could make use of his new powers.

At a Waldorf Hotel reception celebrating Umbrella and Osborn Industries’ success, Sean learned that Victor Doom had begun to act. Sean explained to Skynet that he wanted to change humanity’s future and make people no longer depend on superheroes.

• Harry arrived at the reception with a fashion model and enjoyed the attention he received as Osborn Industries’ leader.
• Sean told Harry that Gwen had stayed away because Dr. Connors’ experiment had reached live testing, then left Harry to entertain the guests.
• Sean went to the observation deck, where Skynet reported that Victor Doom had begun to act.
• Sean explained that Doom’s precarious rise and fear of losing everything could drive him to desperate actions.
• Sean told Skynet that he wanted to lead humanity toward interstellar colonization and a future in which people did not need superheroes.

Doom manipulated Ben into using Reed’s energy-storm machine, then exposed himself to the Cosmic Rays and gained a metallic body and electrical powers. He defeated Reed and headed for the Doom Group as Doctor Doom, intent on claiming power.

• Doom stabilized the Doom Group and decided to target Reed by exploiting Ben’s distress over his changed appearance.
• Doom provoked Ben into arguing with Reed, and the longtime friends parted on bad terms.
• Doom brought Ben to the Baxter Building, where Ben entered Reed’s energy-storm conversion device and emerged restored to normal.
• Doom revealed that he had exposed himself to the Cosmic Rays and gained a metal body and the power to control electricity.
• Doom blasted Reed through a window, then dragged the weakened Reed toward the Doom Group building and declared himself Doctor Doom.

Doctor Doom battled Ben and the reunited Fantastic Four in the streets of New York, rejecting Susan’s plea to turn back as he embraced his new identity. Tony Stark arrived in his Iron Armor to confront Doom.

• Ben returned to the fight and hurled a police car at Doctor Doom, interrupting Doom’s attempt to kill Reed.
• Doctor Doom fought Ben, striking him with electricity and a streetlamp while declaring that his new power heralded a new age.
• Susan stopped Doom from striking the fallen Ben with a force field, and Johnny joined her, bringing the Fantastic Four together against Doom.
• Doctor Doom blamed Reed, his business partners, and the Fantastic Four for his losses, then abandoned the name Victor Doom.
• Tony Stark arrived in his Iron Armor and challenged Doctor Doom on New York’s streets.

Doctor Doom battled Iron Man and the Fantastic Four in New York before Ben cooled his nearly molten body into a metal statue. S.H.I.E.L.D. took custody of Doom, while General Ross arrived at the scene.

• Doctor Doom struck Iron Man with electricity, then blasted Reed and Ben as they tried to stop his destruction.
• Tony Stark attacked with micro-rockets, but Doctor Doom absorbed more power and knocked Iron Man from the sky.
• Reed, Johnny, and Susan trapped Doctor Doom in intense heat, but Johnny's flames only left him nearly molten.
• Ben sprayed Doctor Doom with water, cooling him into a solid metal statue as police and citizens cheered.
• Coulson questioned Reed and had S.H.I.E.L.D. agents load Doom's statue into a truck.
• General Ross stepped out of a sedan and approached Coulson.

Coulson reported to Nick Fury that General Ross had taken Victor Doom as military property after the Fantastic Four incident. Fury set Doom aside, revealed that the Avengers Initiative had been approved, and ordered light surveillance of Sean Sipes, who had taken part in the space experiment.

• Coulson told Fury that General Ross had seized Victor Doom before S.H.I.E.L.D. could bring him to headquarters.
• Coulson reported that Victor Doom showed no signs of life, and Fury decided not to pursue him for now.
• Fury told Coulson that the World Security Council had approved the Avengers Initiative and warned that war was coming in an age of superpowered beings.
• Fury ended deep surveillance of the Fantastic Four and instructed Coulson to keep a slight watch on Sean Sipes.
• Coulson dismissed a report about a tenth grade student caught in a gang vendetta as routine and left, hoping to have dinner with his cellist girlfriend.

Sean traded Umbrella’s limb-regeneration technology and treatment slots to General Ross for Victor Doom’s steel statue, which was delivered to Umbrella. He also discussed the struggling Super Soldier Serum research and left the statue’s purpose unexplained.

• Sean met General Ross at the Grizzly Club and offered the military three thousand treatment slots using Dr. Connors’s Crees Formula, with the Thunderbolts given priority.
• General Ross agreed to have Victor Doom removed from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s custody and asked Sean why he wanted the steel statue.
• Sean and General Ross discussed the stalled Super Soldier Serum research and William Stryker’s plans to form a force against Mutants.
• Sean returned to Umbrella, where a crate containing Victor Doom had arrived, and told Gwen it was experimental material.

Sean Sipes tortured Doctor Doom with electrical currents and repeated suggestions to erase Victor Doom’s identity and reshape him into the “true” Doctor Doom. The chapter ended with Doctor Doom declaring himself the uncrowned king of Latveria and founder of the Doomsday Cult.

• Doctor Doom woke restrained on an operating table and recognized Sean Sipes, who told him Reed and Miss Storm were celebrating their victory.
• Sean attached wires and coils to Doctor Doom and used Skynet to send powerful currents through his body.
• Doctor Doom tried to attack Sean with electricity, but Sean caught and absorbed the energy with his Energy Field.
• Sean explained that he intended to use electroshock and repeated humiliation to make Doctor Doom forget Victor Doom.
• After hours of pain and suggestion, Doctor Doom stopped resisting and declared himself the uncrowned king of Latveria and founder of the Doomsday Cult.

Sean celebrated Dr. Connors’s successful limb-regeneration formula before returning to his experiments on Doctor Doom, whose memories and identity he manipulated. Doctor Doom remained imprisoned and consumed by hatred for Reed, while Sean kept control of his future.

• Umbrella’s researchers celebrated Dr. Connors after he completed the Crees Formula, and Sean praised the doctor for helping people who had lost limbs.
• Gwen confronted Sean for revealing that she had planned the surprise, then asked about his research into pain, memory, and implanted ideas.
• Sean questioned the metal-clad Doctor Doom in his private laboratory and reinforced a fabricated account of Victor Doom’s past and betrayal by Reed Richards.
• Sean ordered Doctor Doom to return to Latveria and rule its people, but Doom erupted in anger and vowed revenge on Reed and anyone who opposed him.
• Sean subdued Doctor Doom with an energy blast, wounded him, then healed him and warned him to obey if he wanted to return to Latveria.
• Alone in his cell, Doctor Doom repeated both versions of his name and clung to his growing hatred of Reed.

Sean took Mindy and Gwen to Manhattan Children's Amusement Park, where he noticed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents surveilling him and used his powers to disrupt one agent’s memory. After dropping Gwen off, Sean drove home with Mindy, content with a peaceful day while S.H.I.E.L.D.’s surveillance was expected to end soon.

• Sean brought Mindy to the amusement park and invited Gwen, who acted unusually shy and reserved around him.
• Sean noticed several visitors were secretly following him and complimented Gwen as she tried to draw closer to him.
• Sean left Gwen on the bench to get drinks, then encountered agents Matthew and Wells; he invaded Matthew’s mind and left him unable to remember their encounter.
• Sean drove Gwen home after Mindy finished playing, and Gwen left with complicated feelings.
• Mindy pointed out a car following them, and Sean said he had learned from Matthew’s memories that S.H.I.E.L.D. would probably end its surveillance in about a week.

Sean followed developments in the energy and superhero worlds before deciding to attend Stark Industries' firefighter-family charity gala and meet Tony Stark. At the gala, Tony's palladium poisoning continued to worsen, but he refused to give up being Iron Man.

• Sean tracked Stark Industries' move into energy, the Fantastic Four's rising popularity, and William Stryker's efforts to form Weapon X.
• Sean considered intervening in the Mutant conflict and reflected on Jean Grey's immense potential before accepting an invitation to Stark Industries' fundraising gala.
• Pepper revived the postponed firefighter-family charity gala to help restore Stark Industries' reputation.
• Tony replaced the palladium power cell in his chest reactor and discovered that the toxin concentration in his blood had risen to fourteen percent.
• Tony recognized that surgery and abandoning the Iron Armor could save him, but insisted that he was Iron Man and would continue using it.

Tony Stark avoided Pepper’s demands to help Stark Industries and attend a charity fundraiser, hiding his failing health and his fear of life without Iron Man. After Pepper left, he chose to go to the event, determined to live as a hero even if it cost him his life.

• Pepper confronted Tony in his laboratory about Stark Industries’ crisis and demanded that he attend a charity fundraiser.
• Tony refused to involve himself in company matters, dismissing Pepper’s concerns and replacing a painting with an Iron Man poster.
• Pepper left in frustration, and Tony was overcome by loneliness and fear as he thought about his approaching death.
• Tony decided that he would rather die as a superhero than live an ordinary life, changed into a suit, and drove off toward the fundraiser.

At a charity gala, Tony found Pepper dancing with Sean Sipes and interrupted them, trading barbs with the young genius. Tony then took Pepper to the terrace, while Sean reflected that Tony's palladium poisoning and an Iron Armor hearing still lay ahead.

• Tony arrived at the gala and spotted Pepper dancing with Sean Sipes, whom he recognized from Las Vegas.
• Tony cut in, claimed Pepper's attention, and challenged Sean's intelligence and reputation.
• Sean explained that he and Pepper had discussed new energy and possible cooperation between Stark Industries and Umbrella.
• Pepper defused the argument, and Tony took her to the terrace, saying he wanted private time with her.
• Sean watched them leave and noted that Tony remained on course to face palladium poisoning and an Iron Armor hearing.

President granted Stryker authority and government support to carry out a war against Mutants, while warning him not to let the operation go wrong. Stryker reported that the Brotherhood was hiding in Northern Alberta and proposed targeting Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters first, despite Nick Fury's objections.

• Stryker told the president that Weapon X would soon be completed, and the president authorized him to search, detain, and interrogate Mutants while warning against killing children.
• The president introduced Nick Fury and biologist Sean Sipes as support for Stryker's operation, and ordered Stryker to ensure its success.
• Stryker reported that Erik Lehnsherr and the Brotherhood had retreated to a secret base in Northern Alberta, Canada.
• Stryker proposed attacking Charles Xavier's school in Westchester before confronting Erik Lehnsherr.
• Nick Fury warned that attacking Charles Xavier could break the balance between the X-Men and the Brotherhood and trigger a major war.

William Stryker secured approval for a government plan to wage war against the Mutants, backed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Umbrella’s Mutant Suppression Drug. As Stryker set his plans in motion, Nick Fury turned his attention back to the Avengers Initiative, unaware of what Sean Sipes might be hiding.

• Stryker outlined plans to target Professor Charles and Magneto, including using polymer weapons against Magneto and exploiting Charles’s compassion.
• Sean revealed that Umbrella had taken over Worthington’s research and developed a Mutant Suppression Drug from Jimmy’s serum.
• The president approved Stryker’s plan, and Nick Fury and Sean pledged support from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Umbrella.
• Stryker told Fury that Mutants posed a threat to civilization and that humanity needed to strike before they united.
• Fury dismissed his suspicions of Sean after reviewing surveillance and DNA results, then left to focus on recruiting Tony Stark.

Professor Charles sent Jean, Scott, and Ororo to Los Angeles to rescue Kurt Wagner while he went to the White House with Beast Hank to discuss Magneto. Stryker’s trap left Charles captured and Hank unconscious.

• Professor Charles recalled his past with Erik and asked Jean to take Scott and Ororo to Los Angeles to find Kurt Wagner, who was fleeing the military.
• Stryker watched the X-Men’s Blackbird depart and prepared to capture Charles, relying on Umbrella’s Mutant Suppression Drug to subdue Beast Hank.
• Charles and Hank arrived at the White House, where guards and a secretary led them into a reception room to wait for the President.
• Ether gas filled the room, and piercing sound waves disrupted Charles’s Mind Power as Hank tried to break through the door.
• Soldiers injected Hank with a drug that made his blue fur disappear before he lost consciousness.
• Stryker entered, fastened a metal device onto Charles, and left him in agony as he fell unconscious.

Stryker revealed that he had lured the X-Men into a trap, captured Professor Charles, and planned to use Jason to locate and eliminate Mutants. He left the Dam Base for Westchester to capture the children at the school, while Sean remained behind under suspicion.

• Professor Charles woke in captivity and discovered that Stryker had restrained his Mind Power with a Neural Inhibitor.
• Stryker told Charles that Yuriko was Deathstrike and admitted he had used a fake Mutant distress signal to lure the younger Mutants away.
• Stryker brought in Mutant 143, whom Charles recognized as Jason, and revealed that Jason’s brain fluid could control other people’s thoughts.
• Stryker said he intended to use Charles to find Mutants and declared that Jason was dead to him because he was a Mutant.
• Stryker warned Sean Sipes to obey the rules, ordered his guards to kill anyone who approached Charles’s room without the password, and flew toward Westchester.

Sean Sipes entered Stryker’s dam base and freed Professor Charles from Jason’s illusions, then argued that peace between humans and Mutants was impossible. He removed the Neural Inhibitor and asked Charles to join him in shaping the future.

• Sean Sipes questioned Sergeant White about Stryker while Mutant children and young people were imprisoned at the base.
• Sean entered the detention room and found Jason tormenting Professor Charles with layered illusions.
• Sean broke Jason’s illusion, knocked him unconscious, and introduced himself as a scientific adviser to the Mutant Defense Program task force.
• Sean told Charles that he agreed more with Magneto’s views and predicted that conflict between humans and Mutants would eventually erupt.
• Sean removed Charles’s Neural Inhibitor and invited him to come with him into the future.