Synopsis
In Korea in 1951 Adam Brashear on his 1st combat mission saves the life of his wounded Sergeant Conner Sims.
In 1960 Sims of the US Army Security Agency visits his friend Dr Brashear at the top secret Perseus Energy Research Facility to tell him that his bosses are very interested in Adam's Negative Reactor. DrB says it's actually a place he calls the Neutral Zone where matter and anti-matter can coexist. He hopes to get lots of stable anti-matter from there for power generation. Sims suggests it could also be used for weapons. And also it's rumoured that techs working on it have seen visions of other places, and the brass are asking about remote-viewing applications. Adam says he appreciates the military funding but he's only interested in peaceful uses.
At that point something goes wrong with the giant portal they seem to have. There's an explosion and this time it's Conner who rescues Adam, but all the others in the room are dead. And Sims is glowing orange with coruscating energy and claiming to have seen things that make humanity seem like ants. Brashear is also glowing but blue. And then Conner Sims appears to disintegrate.
Now Adam is Blue Marvel (and 87 years old) and he's led his Ultimates into the Neutral Zone/Exo-Space in the modified quinjet Abeona in an attempt to get even further out. And there they found someone glowing orange and asking for help at the end of last issue. Brashear recognised him as Conner Sims, the Anti-Man, who killed his wife. And now pilot Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) wants to know who this guy is. Adam describes a battle he remembers during Dark Reign (as seen in Adam: Legend Of The Blue Marvel #5) between Anti-Man and himself, Ares, Mr Fantastic, Ms Marvel (Carol D who somehow seems to not remember it), Sentry and She-Hulk (and some others not depicted here) where his wife Candace was killed by AM's energy.
Now he tells the others that they have to stop Sims before he destroys the world. He asks Black Panther to take control of the ship while the rest go outside. America Chavez is familiar with the dangerous inhabitants of the Zone so she can fight them off while he, Carol and Monica Rambeau (Spectrum) tackle the Anti-Man himself. Rambeau's light-form and Chavez can survive in the Zone but he and CapM will wear his Exploration Armour Mark XIII.
When they approach Anti-Man Adam has more fbs. 1st to when he wore Mark 1 of the EA in 1961 to rescue Conner from the Neutral Zone which he'd vanished to 10 months ago. Conner remembers it as a long nightmare where he saw things he can't describe. This time he says we're like ants who can't grow because there's a cage around us. Then Conner has a flash*forward* to himself in the Anti-Man costume fighting Blue Marvel in 1962 and saying that the cage is society and he's going to destroy civilisation to allow man to grow free. Then he comes back to himself in his hospital bed.
Now Conner in the Neutral Zone seems to be living in all these moments at once as armoured Brashear knocks his helmet off. Captain Marvel and Spectrum get ready to blast him while Adam lets his anger consume him. Conner claims to remember bits of what he did as Anti-Man. He was paranoid, nothing made sense and he thinks he hurt people. This makes Adam even angrier and he reminds his foe that he killed his wife, and he can't forgive him.
But then a white glowing figure interrupts them which turns out to be Adam's son Kevin Brashear, the 1st person to leave the Omniverse. Carol thinks it's another enemy but Monica recognises him and explains that Kevin got lost in the Neutral Zone, went cosmic and now sort-of guards the place (as told in issues of Mighty Avengers (2013)). Adam tries to persuade Kevin that Anti-Man must die for the hundreds of people he killed and all the lives he ruined. But Kevin asks how many lives did Galactus destroy, yet he redeemed *him*. And he makes his father remember a little detail, that he created Conner's helmet because he thought it might help him control his visions. Adam agrees to help Conner and they take him into their ship as we get a glimpse of Chavez monster-bashing. They leave Kevin behind with Conner's helmet and continue their journey to the Outside.
But we have 1 last scene with golden Galactus the Lifebringer in his worldship Taa II when he's contacted by Eternity who tells him of his saviours' mission to the Outside. He says that this will place them outside himself where they will see a truth that no-one, not even Big G, is aware of. He would spare them that knowledge and so urges Galan to do whatever he must to stop them.