Synopsis
In his 2023 series Thanos bound Death in a new Infinity Stone, the Death Stone. His 2024 Annual started both storylines running through this year's Annuals.
In the main Infinity Watch stories the bearers of the other 6 Infinity Stones are gradually coming together. Overtime (Time Stone), Quantum (Space Stone) and Star (Reality Stone) met in the Thanos and Amazing Spider-Man Annuals. The Immortal Thor and Ms Marvel Annuals brought in Otherone (Power Stone) and Multitude (Soul Stone), and now those 2 continue their odyssey here.
In the backup Death Stone Saga the Death Stone has resurrected Phil Coulson.
Wolverine and his motorbike are travelling through northern British Columbia, Canada making an annual pilgrimage. He stops at a remote filling station to pick up a long thin package from the owner Lee who is an old friend, and then he moves on. Overhead Multitude (the synthezoid named Ward) and Otherone (now going by the super-id Apex) are flying on an orange dragon-like creature created by Mult, searching for other Stones. And the voices in Ward's head direct them to Wolvie. 2 Stones close together make both more powerful, and he now hears many more souls' voices that were too weak before. And Apex is eager to increase his physical power more by recruiting another Stone bearer.
He leaps down onto a bridge that Logan is crossing, shattering part of the roadway and causing the bike to halt. He demands the bearer join them or he'll take the Infinity Stone by force. Logan says he doesn't want a fight on this special day but Apex insists. But he doesn't feel any increase in strength. Multitude joins them and tells Apex he recognises Wolverine, a good guy but dangerous. But the strongman is now consumed with battle lust. However Ward stands between them and tells Logan that the Soul Stone drew them to him. They thought it was because he had another Infinity Stone but now M knows it's something different.
Apex is fed up with all this talk and attacks Wolverine. Logan refuses to fight back because A is further damaging the bridge and there's a family in their car trapped with them. Apex throws him off the bridge but Wolvie uses his claws to save himself. Apex just exults that this will make a better fight. Ward tries to talk him down but Otherone says the Power Stone is filling him with the urge to fight. Wolvie gets back on the bridge and A throws his bike at him. W's claws slice it in 2. Logan's still holding back so A tells him to fight or he'll kill the family.
At that point he's interrupted by an oversized orange Hulk that Ward has created. Multitude reminds A that he's not a killer. When he destroyed his own planet it was an accident (as revealed in his origin in the 2021 Guardians Of The Galaxy Annual). In the background we see Wolvie free the car from the rubble its back wheels are stuck in, and it zooms away to safety. Ward now thinks maybe the Soul Stone wants Wolverine to help them. But the warrior madness makes Otherone attack his ally and throw him a long way away (so the 'Hulk' fades away).
But this also means that the power boost from the other Stone also fades. And Wolverine's given up being passive. Wolvie pretty much wins the ensuing fist fight until he sees that his package has broken open revealing a single rose. This is the last straw and he unsheathes his claws to brutally attack his foe. Otherone expects to die ...
... but Logan is stopped by the voice and sight of Rose O'Hara, whose soul Multitude has manifested. Hers was the voice which guided him to Wolverine so she could now tell James (Logan) that she didn't blame him for accidentally killing her, and she's proud of all the good he's done since. She forgives him and loves him, but now she has to go.
Apex is now reinvigorated by the proximity of the other Stone. But it also warps his personality again. He declares Wolverine a weakling for seeking forgiveness and prepares to kill him. But Multitude brings forth the souls of Otherone's mother and older brother and others from the home planet he destroyed. He hopes for forgiveness from them, but they instead hope his guilt torments him forever. They too vanish away. Otherone asks Wolverine to kill him, but Logan gives him a 'with great power' speech and says that the only way to counter the guilt is to use his power for good.
With the help of Multitude's 'dragon' and 'Hulk' constructs they repair the bridge. Logan tells Ward that he would have killed Apex if he hadn't sent Rose's ghost to stop him. Ward says that it was Rose who saved them both. Logan asks if he's sure he can keep Apex under control. Ward replies that Otherone is slowly learning. Wolvie warns him that if Apex loses control then he'll come back to finish the job. Ward says that's what he would want.
The story ends with Logan laying the rose at Rose O'Hara's grave.
Story 2:- The Death Stone Saga chapter 5
Writer Derek Landy. Artist Sara Pichelli. Colourist Mattia Iacono. Letterer Travis Lanham. Editor Nick Lowe.
In the Ms Marvel Annual Nick Fury Jr found Phil Coulson's grave broken open and the body gone. Now he gets a phone call (while fighting AIM Agents for some possibly unconnected reason) from Wolverine to tell him that Infinity Stone bearers are active. Maybe Wolvie asked around and learned about other Stone stuff because after the call Fury knows about the Death Stone. He remembers that Nighthawk (of Mephisto's Squadron Supreme Of America) was looking for Infinity Stones (in the Infinite Fury backups in the 2021 Infinite Destinies Annuals crossover event) and he (amazingly correctly) puts 2 and 2 together to deduce that Nighthawk has Coulson.
In the last chapter we saw Phil tied to a chair. We now learn that Nighthawk has been using behaviour modification techniques on him (that did affect Fury in the ID/IF backups). But Coulson has resisted it all. He credits his indomitable will but NH thinks it's due to the Death Stone inside him. He threatens to physically remove the Stone.
The villain leaves him and Phil continues to find that the Death Stone is no help in escaping his bonds. But Nick arrives to cut the ropes (luckily NH is still using the same base as in ID/IF). Phil fills him in on what's happened, including that NH has a scanner that can track his Death Stone energy. So Nick suggests they take him off the board, and hands Phil the gun from his grave.