Chapter Summaries

Alex brought Hank to join Charles’s team as they headed to the Cuban blockade line to capture Sebastian Shaw and prevent the American and Soviet forces from going to war. After Charles destroyed the approaching cargo ship with a Soviet missile, Alex’s search for Shaw’s submarine came up empty, but Sean revealed that the team had sonar.

• Alex returned to Xavier’s School, found Hank in the laboratory, and persuaded him to join the mission against Sebastian Shaw.
• Alex, Hank, Charles, and the others flew toward the Cuban blockade zone with a government liaison officer.
• Charles telepathically discovered that Shaw’s people had killed everyone aboard the cargo ship, and Alex said it had to be destroyed before crossing the embargo line.
• Charles used telepathy to launch a Soviet missile at the cargo ship, which exploded and sank just before reaching the line.
• Charles and Hank could not locate Shaw’s submarine, while Alex’s search was limited by the seawater.
• Sean stood up and announced that the team had sonar.

Alex located Sebastian Shaw's submarine with Banshee's help and used Metal Control to haul it from the sea toward a nearby island. Riptide disrupted Alex's control, sending the submarine and plane crashing onto the beach, where Alex safely teleported the others out.

• Charles pushed Sea Siren Sean out of the plane, and Sean used his sound waves to locate Shaw's submarine beneath the sea.
• Alex climbed onto the plane's landing gear and used Metal Control to lift the submarine from the water while Hank steered toward an island.
• Riptide emerged from the submarine and created a powerful whirlwind that knocked Alex off balance and interrupted his control.
• The submarine crashed onto the beach, and the damaged plane also went down nearby.
• Alex used telepathy to get Charles and the others safely out of the plane, leaving them facing the overturned submarine.

Alex entered the nuclear submarine to stop Sebastian Shaw from absorbing its energy and turning himself into a nuclear bomb, while Charles led the fight outside. Alex confronted Shaw in the Blue Mirror Room and punched him after Shaw questioned why he sided with humanity.

• Charles learned that Shaw was absorbing the submarine's nuclear energy and ordered the fleets to withdraw.
• Alex entered the submarine while Charles, Hank, and Darwin stayed outside to fight the Brotherhood of Mutants and protect the Beautiful Liaison Officer.
• Alex shut down the Nuclear Reaction Controller and found Shaw in the Blue Mirror Room.
• Shaw asked Alex why he sided with humanity and argued that humans would destroy mutants once they feared them.
• Alex punched Shaw in the face.

Alex copied Sebastian Shaw’s Energy Absorption and drained him, ending their fight and capturing him in iron armor. Alex then emerged from the submarine and declared the war over as the battered fighters on the beach looked on.

• Sebastian Shaw defended his plans for mutant supremacy, then attacked Alex after absorbing the submarine’s nuclear energy.
• Alex let Sebastian Shaw touch him and copied his Energy Absorption ability, then actively drained the energy from Shaw’s body.
• Sebastian Shaw tried to trigger an explosion and die with Alex, but Alex absorbed the energy he unleashed and left him powerless and rapidly aging.
• Alex released Shaw from his grasp, sealed him inside iron armor, removed his helmet, and carried him out of the submarine.
• Alex arrived at the beach, where Hank, Angel, and Sean were in danger, and announced that the war was over.

Alex stopped the Brotherhood mutants from fighting, but the US and Soviet fleets opened fire on the island. He halted and returned their shells as a warning, then left with Charles, Riptide, and the others for the Floating Temple, while human governments became more determined to suppress mutants.

• Alex showed the Brotherhood mutants his power, prevented the Teleporter from escaping, and demanded that they surrender.
• Alex and Charles discovered that the US and Soviet fleets were preparing to fire, while the Beautiful Liaison Officer failed to contact the US fleet.
• Alex stopped the incoming shells, sent them back above the fleets, and formed the warning “If others do not offend me, I will not offend them.”
• After humanity received his warning, Alex detonated the shells and teleported away with Charles and the others, leaving the Beautiful Liaison Officer on the US fleet.
• Alex returned to the Floating Temple with Riptide and the Brotherhood mutants as the US and Soviet governments resolved to crack down on mutants.

Alex searched S.H.I.E.L.D.’s records for Medusa while the X-Men’s war against the Brotherhood of Mutants and AIM dragged on. After checking fifteen possible leads with Crystal, he brought her to the final two targets in China, where Crystal recognized a name connected to a valley from her memory.

• Alex led the X-Men against the Brotherhood of Mutants and AIM, but the Brotherhood resisted under a new leader and the fighting became a prolonged stalemate.
• Crystal confronted Alex about his promise to find Medusa, and Alex agreed to take her to search that day.
• At X-Film Company, Alex found seventeen unverified leads on Medusa in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files and set out with Crystal to investigate them.
• Alex and Crystal ruled out fifteen targets, leaving two in China.
• When Alex said the final targets were in China, Crystal asked if he meant the valley.

Alex took Crystal through the Snowy Region to search for the last two sightings of her sister, but they spent most of the day enjoying a lively market. At the final location, they found no sign of her sister and instead witnessed a vast Lightning Storm that seemed strangely familiar to Alex.

• Alex teleported with Crystal to the Snowy Region, where she marveled at the crowded market and asked him what it was.
• Alex explained the market custom, and Crystal eagerly explored the stalls while he carried her purchases.
• Alex found no news of Crystal's sister, and Crystal comforted him before continuing to enjoy the market.
• As evening fell, Alex and Crystal left for the final sighting, but his telepathic search found no one near the mountain.
• A massive Lightning Storm erupted from a distant mountain, and Alex brought Crystal closer to investigate after returning briefly to the Floating Temple.

Alex and Crystal encountered Zhang Tong, who had survived their battle years earlier and returned wearing ten powerful magic rings. Zhang Tong attacked Alex with the rings’ deadly rays, and Alex escaped with Crystal by teleporting away.

• Alex and Crystal waited for the Lightning Storm to dissipate and discovered Zhang Tong inside.
• Zhang Tong recognized Alex, revealed his identity, and charged at him over their old grudge.
• Alex remembered killing Zhang Tong years earlier and dodged his freezing blue energy beam with Crystal.
• Zhang Tong showed off his ten rings and fired a white energy beam that pierced Crystal’s earthen shield, but Alex teleported away.
• Zhang Tong attacked with red and silver rays, and Alex teleported away with Crystal.

After learning Zhang Tong might be the Mandarin, Alex returned to the Floating Temple and hoped to claim the villain’s ten rings. Three days later, the Mandarin attacked Howard Stark to lure Alex out, and Alex promised to bring him down.

• Alex told Emma that Zhang Tong, his old enemy from China, had mastered mysterious Eastern magic and possessed the Mandarin’s ten powerful rings.
• Emma suggested Alex take the rings with his metal-controlling ability, but Alex teleported back and found Zhang Tong had vanished from the devastated forest.
• Three days later, Remy told Alex that the Mandarin had attacked Howard Stark in New York and said he would come for Alex to settle the score.
• Howard woke in the hospital and warned Alex that the Mandarin could fire a disintegration-like ray.
• Alex reassured Howard and promised to make the Mandarin regret his attack.

Alex challenged Mandarin to a fight in the desert outside Las Vegas to keep their battle away from civilians. After Mandarin accepted, the two met at the former mutant training ground, where Alex attacked first but found that Mandarin could block his control over the Ten Rings.

• Alex challenged Mandarin to a fight in the desert outside Las Vegas, and Mandarin accepted.
• Alex explained to Vivien Leigh that he chose a remote battleground to avoid harming people, then reassured her before leaving.
• Alex teleported to the desert and remembered the young mutants who had once trained there.
• Mandarin arrived wearing the Ten Rings and offered to spare Alex if he joined forces with him.
• Alex rejected Mandarin's offer and used Erik's Metal Control to seize the Ten Rings.
• Mandarin released a shockwave that disrupted Alex's control over the Ten Rings.

Alex fought Mandarin, first using his abilities against the Ten Rings and then accepting Mandarin’s challenge to fight without the magic rings. The chapter left Alex injured and without feeling in his right arm after Mandarin struck him with a powerful martial technique.

• Alex used Teleportation to escape Mandarin’s ring and then attacked him with ten steel balls under Metal Control.
• Mandarin broke free of Alex’s restraint and transformed the steel balls into wires with a ring.
• Mandarin declared that he wanted an honorable fight without using the magic rings, and Alex accepted the hand-to-hand challenge.
• Alex and Mandarin exchanged blows, but Mandarin’s strike numbed Alex’s right arm and forced him to stagger back.

Alex used Energy Absorption to withstand Mandarin’s martial arts and grow strong enough to fight him evenly. After Alex absorbed Mandarin’s lightning spell, the two prepared to fight seriously, with Mandarin activating all Ten Rings.

• Alex repaired his arm and challenged Mandarin to fight again, but struggled to block Mandarin’s powerful palm strikes.
• Alex began absorbing the energy from Mandarin’s attacks and used it to strengthen his body until they fought evenly.
• Mandarin praised Alex’s improvement and began casting Chinese Sorcery, while Alex prepared to teleport if the spell threatened him.
• Mandarin trapped Alex in a sea of lightning, but Alex absorbed it instantly with Energy Absorption and Energy Control.
• Alex told Mandarin to stop holding back, and Mandarin raised both hands as all Ten Rings lit up.

Alex fought Mandarin in the desert, but Mandarin used the Ten Rings to exploit Alex’s weaknesses and trapped him inside a diamond. Alex was unable to teleport out, leaving Mandarin in control of the fight.

• Alex realized Mandarin used the Ten Rings one at a time and that wielding them put strain on him.
• Mandarin injured Alex with a Cutting Beam, then used the Black Body Ray to plunge the battlefield into darkness and attack him from close range.
• Alex tried invisibility, but Mandarin broke it with sound waves and buried him under compacted sand using gravity.
• Alex teleported out of the darkness and fired Red Impact Beams into it, only to find Mandarin was no longer there.
• Mandarin used all ten rings to trap Alex inside a diamond, and Alex’s attempt to teleport failed.

Alex escaped Mandarin’s diamond prison but could no longer teleport, and he managed to wound Mandarin with a concealed steel-ball strike. Mandarin then trapped Alex in dark space and tried to exhaust his mental strength while Alex prepared to survive by absorbing energy through repeated contact.

• Alex broke free of the diamond prison, raised energy defenses, and attacked Mandarin with a controlled Red Impact Beam and three reflected blasts.
• Alex rushed Mandarin and used a hidden steel ball to wound his back before Mandarin blasted him away.
• Alex resolved to overload Mandarin by repeatedly feeding him energy while staying alive and maintaining contact.
• Mandarin plunged Alex into dark space, and Alex protected himself with Energy Shields and scattered metal particles to track attacks.
• Alex realized Mandarin was using the prolonged darkness to drain his focus and Psionic Power.

Alex tricked Mandarin into entering the dark space and flooded his body with energy, leaving him unstable and struggling to move. Mandarin escaped with his magic rings, while Alex was left hoping the damage had given him a chance to win.

• Alex faked repeated failures in the dark space, convincing the cautious Mandarin that his mental strength was nearly exhausted.
• Mandarin entered the dark space and fired his Cutting Beam at Alex, who dodged and pressed both palms against his back.
• Alex restrained Mandarin briefly and poured a vast amount of energy into him, while Mandarin fought back without using his magic rings.
• Mandarin finally used his rings to blast Alex out of the dark space, but the excess energy left him unsteady and restricted his movements.
• Mandarin fled on a whirlwind when Alex approached, using a repulsive force to keep Alex from pursuing him.

After failing to capture Mandarin, Alex realized his abilities and fighting skills needed improvement and decided to train. Emma told him AIM had stolen and enhanced Tyrannosaurus Rexes for a dinosaur army, and Alex volunteered to use them as combat practice.

• Alex returned to the Savage Land after Mandarin escaped and told Crystal he had failed to capture him.
• Alex recounted his battle with Mandarin to Emma and recognized the limitations of his abilities.
• Alex decided to train his fighting skills, but Emma admitted the X-Men lacked close-combat expertise.
• Emma warned Alex that Strucker's AIM had stolen Tyrannosaurus Rexes, implanted them with human minds, and enhanced them for war.
• Alex told Emma he would handle the dinosaur army and use the creatures for practice.

After warning Vivien Leigh and Carter that Mandarin might target them, Alex returned to the Floating Temple and learned that the Brotherhood of Mutants had joined AIM. He infiltrated AIM’s headquarters and discovered hundreds of mutants being experimented on, with many already dead.

• Alex asked Carter to find him Chinese kung fu instructors and warned her and Vivien Leigh to stay alert because Mandarin knew about his relationships with them.
• Alex returned to the Floating Temple and learned that the Brotherhood of Mutants had withdrawn into AIM’s headquarters.
• Alex ordered the X-Men to stand by, then teleported to Poseidonia to investigate AIM’s base.
• Alex entered a guarded industrial complex and found Brotherhood mutants trapped in liquid-filled coffins while AIM injected them with drugs.
• Alex discovered that many of the mutants had died and erupted in fury.

Alex found Bucky working for Strucker and tried to take him away without hurting him. He flew off with Bucky using energy wings, while Strucker ordered Black Queen to stop Alex.

• Alex heard Strucker nearby and found him beside Bucky, whom he had believed lost after their previous reunion in Japan.
• Strucker ordered Bucky to kill Alex, and Bucky attacked him, but Alex refused to fight back for fear of hurting his old friend.
• Bucky’s electric arm and resistance thwarted Alex’s attempts to restrain or teleport him, so Alex created energy wings and carried him out of the laboratory.
• Strucker fired at the escaping pair, then ordered his people to pursue them and threatened them with the spores.
• Black Queen appeared, and Strucker asked her to keep Alex from escaping before he left.

Alex tried to take Bucky away from the Savage Land but was confronted by Selene, the Black Queen, who sought his cooperation with the Hellfire Club and AIM. After Alex rejected her offer, Selene used a strange power to animate a towering building and attack him.

• The Black Queen disintegrated a subordinate who questioned her, then caught up with Alex and Bucky as they flew away.
• Alex stopped to face Selene, who introduced herself as the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club and proposed cooperation.
• Alex accused Selene of enabling AIM’s experiments on mutants, but she defended the partnership as a way to strengthen mutant genes.
• Selene offered Alex the Supreme King position and the Hellfire Club’s obedience, but he mocked her offer and refused.
• Selene attacked with a strange energy that brought a hundred-meter building to life, and Alex set Bucky down before dodging its grasp.

Alex battled the Black Queen, using a metal trap and then seizing control of part of her Flame Beast. The Black Queen retaliated by sending the Flame Beast after him.

• Alex attacked the skyscraper man and the Black Queen, but discovered that ordinary attacks passed harmlessly through her smoke form.
• Alex used Teleportation to trap the Black Queen in a shrinking metal box, but she tore her way out and vowed revenge.
• The Black Queen summoned a Flame Beast, and Alex took control of nearly thirty percent of its flames.
• The Black Queen commanded the Flame Beast to charge at Alex.