Synopsis / Summary / Plot
In the previously page recap:- Mr Fantastic does his standard explanation from #2 of the incursions problem. In #24 Dr Doom says Molecule Man knows how to find who's behind it all. Black Swan confronts the captive Iron Man in #26 (but IM isn't in this issue, and the only relevance seems to be the mention of the Ivory Kings). And in Avengers #40 Sub-Mariner agrees to be accountable for the worlds that his Cabal has destroyed, and later Black Panther reports that the Cabal are dead and Namor with them.
8 months ago the Illuminati (Beast, Black Bolt, Black Panther, Doc Green and Mr Fantastic plus Captain Britain) discover that Thanos' force-cage in the Wakandan Necropolis is broken and empty.
Then we jump to after last issue and Av#40. Reed Richards and T'Challa survey an expanse of Wakandan tombstones, and Panther sees ghosts including his sister Shuri. They await 2 flying craft which bring Captain Marvel, Hawkeye and Steve Rogers to represent the SHIELD Avengers, and Black Widow, Manifold and Sunspot of the newest Avengers group. They all repair into the Necropolis, which the Illuminati have reclaimed now that the Cabal are gone.
Apparently the Cabal and world governments have been hiding the fact that domes have appeared over each old incursion site. Now that the Cabal has gone Sunspot has been able to pay the governments to allow his AIM scientists to study the domes.
It seems that the domes appeared at the same time as an event the Illuminati noticed which made them precipitate the actions of the last few issues of this series and Avengers. That event was the sudden decrease in the remaining universes from hundreds of thousands to less than 2 dozen. This suggests that time is about to run out for the multiverse.
Somewhere in a white space Dr Doom and Molecule Man materialise after they left Earth in #27. Owen Reece says he used to live here, and that this is where the death of the multiverse began. He also says he can show Victor the way but can't open the door, and shows him scattered pieces of metal. Doom deduces what the pieces were once part of, and reassembles a large machine which emits a beam of light. He says he's built the door and opened it. Reece then takes them both down the beam.
Back on Earth everyone wants to know what Mr Fantastic's plan is to stop the end of the multiverse. But all he can tell them is that this Earth is probably not going to have any more incursions until the final 1. Angry Steve Rogers wants to know if the Illuminati have actually been doing anything in these last months apart from useless investigations.
T'Challa tells them some of the Illuminati's 'adventures'. They used a Cosmic Cube to create exodus planets in other solar systems to move the Earth's population to, so they could destroy the Earth and save their universe from incursions and destruction. But 1 of the stars they selected died early (as the Ex Nihili discovered was happening all over the universe in Av#35) and took the Cube with it.
They got Galactus to take them to the Celestials for help, but the giant aliens disappeared in the middle of discussions.
They tried a multiversal solution involving the Captain Britain Corps, but something bad happened to Brian Braddock.
They tried using the power of Reed Richards' son Franklin, who died in the attempt.
They also haven't been able to find the cause of the incursion/dying multiverse problem. But then a signal alerts Mr Fantastic to the sudden arrival of Yellowjacket, who we learn was sent on a mission into the multiverse 8 months ago uncover that cause. He tells them he's found the Ivory Kings - who turn out to be the Beyonders who have followed him here.