Chapter Summaries

Sean confronted Professor Charles in the psychic realm and restored his memories of the timeline in which the Sentinel Program led to Mutant extinction. He urged Charles to fight for peace and began showing him a different future for Mutants.

• Sean used a curtain of psychic visions to reveal Charles's overwritten memories of 1973 and the Sentinel Program.
• Charles recalled how Mystique Raven killed Dr. Bolivar Trask, leading the government to capture her and use her DNA to develop weapons against Mutants.
• Sean explained that Wolverine Logan had traveled back in time with help from Shadowcat Kitty and changed the future of Mutants.
• Charles questioned why Sean, a human driven by ambition, would help Mutants, and Sean said he did not consider them a threat.
• Sean replaced Charles's restored memories with unfamiliar visions and offered to show him a new ending for Mutants.

Sean showed Professor Charles a future in which Mutants became extinct and Logan and Charles met tragic ends, then urged Charles to join him and help build a safe territory for Mutants. Charles remained uncertain and warned that Erik would never compromise.

• Sean entered Professor Charles's mental fortress and showed him visions of the future.
• Charles saw an aged, impoverished Logan living as James Howlett, with his healing fading and his body failing.
• Charles witnessed his own future Alzheimer's disease, the deaths of Logan and himself, and the disappearance of Mutants.
• Sean told Charles that changing the timeline would not prevent Mutants from being wiped out and offered them refuge in his future territory.
• Charles questioned Sean's intentions and said Erik would never agree to compromise.
• Sean said he could persuade Erik through words or other means.

Magneto met Sean Sipes in a deserted bar in Lofen City, where Sean revealed the plans to capture or kill him and introduced Umbrella’s Mutant Suppression Drug. Magneto prepared to fight as Sean faced the steel defenses he had raised.

• Magneto met Caliban in a Canadian bar and told him to search for more Mutants to join the Brotherhood.
• A mysterious force emptied the bar, and Magneto found Caliban gone as Sean Sipes entered.
• Sean explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stryker had planned to trap Magneto, and said Umbrella’s Mutant Suppression Drug could temporarily remove Mutant abilities.
• Magneto recognized the drug as a threat, summoned steel beams, and encased himself in a metal fortress.
• Magneto mocked Sean and sent sharp steel lunging toward him.

Sean overwhelmed Magneto with his speed and strength, but Magneto recovered and used a metal storm to trap him. As Magneto believed victory was near, Sean remained surrounded by lethal steel.

• Magneto attacked Sean with a steel spike, but Sean caught and shattered it before striking Magneto through the bar wall.
• Sean kicked Magneto and his steel fortress into a truck, which exploded as Magneto escaped through the flames.
• Magneto gathered metal from the bar, cars, and trucks into a storm and asked whether Sean was a military Super Soldier or one of Stryker’s creations.
• Sean charged through Magneto’s metal blades with his Energy Field and used them to propel himself toward Magneto.
• Magneto turned the blades into spikes and a steel net, closing off Sean’s escape routes and expecting to crush him.

Sean defeated Magneto in a fierce battle and destroyed the helmet that protected him from psychic attacks. He spared Magneto because Professor Charles had requested it, but declared that the Mutants’ future would not belong to the old leader.

• Elektra and Professor Charles watched Sean fight Magneto while the Brotherhood members remained imprisoned aboard a transport plane.
• Sean broke through Magneto’s steel defenses and destroyed the storm of steel balls with his energy beams.
• Magneto offered Sean a place in the Brotherhood, but Sean refused and kept fighting.
• Magneto launched hidden metal needles at Sean, who shattered them and reached his opponent.
• Sean grabbed Magneto by the throat, removed his helmet, and turned it to dust.
• Sean spared Magneto because Professor Charles had made his survival a condition, then said the old era was over.

The professor and the Mutants confronted the president with evidence of William Stryker’s anti-Mutant plan and urged him to choose peace. Back at Xavier’s School, Sean advised the professor on winning public support while the X-Men learned how close Stryker had come to destroying the school’s Mutants.

• As the president prepared to denounce Mutants on live television, the professor and his group appeared in the Oval Office during a storm.
• Storm placed Stryker’s documents on the Resolute Desk, and the professor urged the president to reject the plan and welcome peace.
• After the Mutants left, the president decided not to escalate the conflict at that time.
• At Xavier’s School, Sean advised the professor to build ties with the government and promote public acceptance of Mutants.
• The X-Men learned that Stryker had nearly wiped out the school’s Mutants, and the professor asked Sean to leave so he could speak with the children.

After the X-Men returned to the school, Professor Charles explained Sean Sipes’s role in saving them and discussed the fate of Magneto and Stryker. Sean then challenged Charles over Jean’s suffering, while Charles warned him that hostile forces were hunting travelers from other worlds.

• Professor Charles told the X-Men that Sean Sipes had saved the school and that Erik and the Brotherhood had fallen into his hands.
• Scott distrusted Sean and confronted him at the school, while Sean noticed the Phoenix power within Jean.
• Sean told Professor Charles that Magneto would remain confined and that the Brotherhood could be recruited into his ranks.
• Sean urged Professor Charles to improve Mutants’ public image and argued that Jean was suffering because her power had been restrained.
• Professor Charles warned Sean not to approach Jean and told him that people hostile to travelers from other worlds were looking for him.

At the Stark Industries Expo, Tony Stark celebrated Iron Man’s public image while privately facing worsening palladium poisoning. Sean warned him that the poisoning could be fatal and offered him a chance to save himself, but Tony remained focused on the legacy Iron Man would leave behind.

• Tony Stark descended onto the Expo stage in Iron Armor and introduced his father Howard Stark’s vision for a gathering of people seeking a better future.
• Backstage, Tony checked his blood and saw that the palladium toxin had increased as he reflected on his approaching death.
• Sean explained that Pepper had invited him and described Osborn Industries’ energy work, including its Smart Grid and Dr. Otto’s Artificial Sun project.
• Sean warned Tony that palladium poisoning was painful and that he still had time to save himself.
• Tony said that Iron Man, unlike Tony Stark, deserved to be remembered, and Sean offered to drink to Iron Man before Tony declined and walked away.

Sean offered Magneto an equal partnership, promising Mutants a free land in Africa where they could build a homeland or regime. He asked Magneto to conquer a hidden kingdom for him, leaving the imprisoned leader to consider the price.

• Sean told Magneto that he had reached an understanding with Charles and explained why he had kept him in a plastic cell with regular suppressant injections.
• Sean asked Magneto to cooperate as an equal partner, with Charles handling Mutants’ public image and Magneto serving as their hardline vanguard.
• Magneto rejected the idea of submitting to Sean, insisting he would never bow to anyone.
• Sean offered Mutants land in Africa and told Magneto he needed a force to conquer a hidden kingdom.
• Magneto sat alone with his newspaper, weighing Sean’s offer.

Umbrella unveiled Dr. Otto’s successful nuclear fusion reactor, drawing worldwide attention to Sean Sipes and Tony Stark’s planned partnership. Tony left for Monaco, while Sean hinted that he would introduce Tony to another weapons-manufacturing genius.

• Reporters gathered at Umbrella’s laboratory for Dr. Otto’s announcement of a new, low-cost energy source and the partnership between Umbrella and Stark Industries.
• Backstage, Sean explained Dr. Otto’s neural-controlled mechanical tentacles to Tony and assured him that Red Queen could keep them under control.
• Dr. Otto used tritium to start the fusion experiment, and the reactor produced a stable, miniature sun as his wife and the audience celebrated.
• Tony praised the achievement but compared it unfavorably with his Arc Reactor, then said he was leaving for Monaco before his expo.
• Sean told Tony he planned to introduce him to a weapons-manufacturing genius, and Tony dismissed the idea that anyone could rival him.

Sean handled Umbrella Labs’ growing workload and sought to recruit the Vankos, seeing Ivan’s engineering talent as a way to expand into the military industry. After meeting Anton and Ivan Vanko, Sean offered Ivan a chance to restore his family’s reputation and challenge Stark, and they agreed to work together.

• Sean considered hiring an assistant as Umbrella Labs’ paperwork and meetings consumed more of his time.
• Sean recalled Tony’s planned trip to Monaco and decided Ivan Vanko’s talents could help him enter the military industry.
• Gwen brought Anton and Ivan Vanko to Umbrella Labs, where Sean welcomed them and acknowledged Anton’s history with Howard Stark.
• Anton introduced Ivan and vouched for his talent, while Sean dismissed Ivan’s criminal past as unimportant.
• Ivan challenged Sean’s intentions, and Sean offered to help restore the Vankos’ standing and let Ivan defeat Stark openly.
• Sean and Ivan shook hands and agreed to a partnership.

Sean explained to Harry why Umbrella was partnering with Stark Industries to enter the energy market while using Stark as a shield against powerful energy interests. At the golf course, Sean sensed a strange fluctuation and wondered whether the secluded mages had come looking for him.

• Sean surprised Harry by hitting a golf ball well on his first attempt at American National Golf Links.
• Harry questioned Umbrella’s cooperation with Stark Industries and worried that the company was moving too quickly into energy.
• Sean explained that Stark’s Arc Reactor could disrupt the energy market while Umbrella profited by supplying the mid- and low-end markets.
• Harry relaxed and talked about his plans to vacation in Mexico.
• Sean sensed sparks and a strange fluctuation near the woods, then recalled the professor’s warning and wondered if mysterious mages had found him.

Sean was confronted by the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, after she trapped him in a warped cityscape. She revealed that she had sensed his arrival from another world and accused him of changing the timeline.

• Sean worried that the sorcerers might target him and considered finding an Infinity Stone before facing the Sorcerer Supreme.
• As Sean drove toward Umbrella Labs, sparks surrounded his car and transported him into a distorted space among skyscrapers.
• Sean escaped the crashing car and faced a powerful figure in a yellow robe, whom he recognized as the Sorcerer Supreme.
• Ancient One revealed that she had investigated Sean as an outsider from another world and that the sorcerers had failed to uncover his identity.
• Ancient One accused Sean of altering the timeline and declared that no one was allowed to change what was ordained.

Sean fought Ancient One in the Mirror Dimension, but their battle gave way to a discussion of his otherworldly origins and the vastness of reality. Ancient One returned him to the material world and revealed that she had foreseen her own death in the near future.

• Ancient One attacked Sean in the Mirror Dimension, and they exchanged powerful magical and physical blows.
• Ancient One called Sean a beast trapped in the Mirror Dimension, but Sean challenged her claim and said the place could not hold him forever.
• Ancient One questioned Sean about his origins and said she had encountered other travelers who claimed to come from different worlds.
• Sean asked why he had escaped the Sanctums' notice, and Ancient One explained that some outsiders' powers were harder for their defenses to detect.
• Ancient One ended the Mirror Dimension and told Sean that countless dimensions made up a reality far larger than the planet.
• Ancient One told Sean that every Sorcerer Supreme could glimpse the future and that she sensed her own death approaching.

The Ancient One explained why she tolerated Sean Sipes despite his status as an outsider: his presence might create possibilities that could help the world face a future catastrophe. After warning him not to cause changes too great for the Sanctum Sorcerers to correct, she left through a portal, while Sean was left stranded in ruined clothes.

• The Ancient One told Sean that fighting him further would be pointless and that imprisoning or destroying him would come at too great a cost.
• The Ancient One described her visions of the river of time, her approaching death, and the danger of interfering with time too deeply.
• The Ancient One revealed that she had tolerated Sean because his arrival created new possibilities for a future catastrophe, and warned him that the future was not fixed.
• The Ancient One explained that Dark Dimension energy was wearing down her will and said she had found a suitable successor.
• Sean asked whether he could enroll at Kamar-Taj, and the Ancient One warned him not to make changes that stirred up great waves in time.
• The Ancient One departed through a portal, leaving Sean to complain that she had not given him cab fare.

Tony drove Sean to his birthday party at Stark Mansion, where Sean saw the palladium poisoning worsening but Tony refused to give up Iron Man. At Kamar-Taj, Ancient One revealed that she could not see Sean’s future and considered him a powerful variable in stopping a coming crisis.

• Tony picked up Sean on the highway and drove him toward Stark Mansion instead of Long Island.
• Sean urged Tony to have the shrapnel removed and stop using the Arc Reactor, but Tony insisted that being Iron Man was the life he wanted.
• Tony and Sean traded barbs about Pepper as they arrived at the seaside villa, where Tony’s birthday party was underway.
• Mordo asked Ancient One about her trip to New York, and she said Sean was a variable whose future she could not see.
• Ancient One wondered whether Sean would threaten the world, then left the Eye of Agamotto untouched while weighing his possible role in a future crisis.

At Tony Stark’s birthday party, Sean saw how Palladium Poisoning and despair were driving Tony toward reckless self-destruction, while Pepper feared she could not take over Stark Industries. After Rhodey fought Tony in War Machine, Sean offered Tony a chance to change his fate.

• Sean confronted Tony at his birthday party and recognized that Palladium Poisoning was slowly killing him.
• Tony told Sean about a dream in which he became a celebrated superhero but watched his partners die, and said Pepper did not know about his illness.
• Sean comforted Pepper and eased her anxiety about becoming president of Stark Industries.
• Sean took Pepper to a guest room while Rhodey and Tony fought in their Iron Armors, wrecking the party venue.
• Sean told the exhausted Tony that death with regrets was not his only fate and that he could change it.

Nick Fury failed to recruit Tony Stark into the Avengers Initiative after Tony said he would focus on curing his palladium poisoning. Sean learned that Fury had resumed investigating him and decided to use the attention to step into the open and test the limits of the Sanctum Sorcerers and Kamar-Taj.

• Nick Fury met Tony Stark at a burger joint and invited him to join the Avengers Initiative, but Tony refused.
• Tony told Fury that Sean had given him Lithium Dioxide and that he planned to seek treatment at Umbrella and find a palladium substitute.
• Fury appealed to Tony through Howard Stark’s legacy and offered S.H.I.E.L.D.’s protection from the Department of Defense, but Tony only said he would think about joining.
• Fury left disappointed and told Coulson to pull up Sean Sipes’s file.
• Sean learned from Skynet that Fury had resumed investigating him and chose not to erase the traces, intending to draw Fury’s attention and make a public move.

Sean attended Stark Industries' World Expo, where Tony prepared to debut his latest Iron Armor after recovering from palladium poisoning. Sean learned Tony had discovered the secret to a new element, discussed Umbrella's military ambitions with him, and then noticed a mysterious, weathered-looking man watching old footage of Howard Stark.

• Sean arrived at the science museum and spoke with Pepper, who worried that Tony was hiding something about his health.
• Tony pulled Sean aside, confirmed his confidence that Iron Man would soon be reborn, and Sean urged him to resolve his problem quickly.
• Tony warned Sean that Umbrella was too inexperienced to compete for military contracts, but Sean insisted Umbrella had a weapons designer who could rival Tony.
• Sean wandered through the expo and saw a handsome man in a baseball cap laughing nostalgically at footage of Howard Stark's 1942 World of Tomorrow Expo.

Sean met Steve Rogers at the Stark Industries Expo and spoke with the newly awakened Captain America about his lost past and his struggle to adjust to the modern world. After Steve left with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Sean wondered how they would investigate him and anticipated the coming arrival of Asgardians and humanity’s expansion into space.

• Sean found Steve Rogers watching footage of Howard Stark at the Stark Industries Expo and recognized him as Captain America.
• Steve described waking after seventy years to a changed world, with his former lover and friends gone or aged, and Sean tried to reassure him that heroes remained remembered.
• Steve noticed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents nearby, said goodbye to Sean, and left with them.
• Sean watched Steve go and wondered how S.H.I.E.L.D. would investigate him after the expo.
• Sean looked forward to the Asgardians’ arrival and the coming age of exploration beyond Earth.