Devil's Reign
"Devil's Reign" is an American comic book event written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Marco Checchetto, published from December 2021 to May 2022 by Marvel Comics.
Premise
In a ploy to increase his power, Mayor Wilson Fisk has outlawed superheroes in New York City.Plot
Mayor Wilson Fisk discovers physical evidence proving that he once knew Daredevil's true identity, noticing gaps in his own memory after the fact. Outraged, Fisk confronts Daredevil, who taunts him. Consequently, Fisk outlaws vigilantism in the city.To enforce his new law, Fisk sets up Thunderbolts units. Moon Knight, Danny Rand, Reed Richards, and Sue Storm are apprehended by members of the Thunderbolts and incarcerated in the Myrmidon. Luke Cage speaks out against Fisk while being filmed by onlookers. Fisk visits a captured Purple Man, cutting off the latter's finger to create a staff with mind-controlling abilities. At their estate, the elite Stromwyns plan to have Fisk run for President.
The remaining heroes gather at Avengers Mansion, where Tony Stark announces he plans to run for mayor opposite Fisk. The other heroes decide that Cage is a better candidate, angering Stark. At City Hall, Fisk and Doctor Octopus discuss their plans to sway the populace of New York into reelecting Fisk by amplifying the Purple Man's powers. Doctor Octopus uses Reed Richards's inter-dimensional gateway to summon alternate-universe Octopus versions of Hulk, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine, considering his plans "Superior". Meanwhile, Taskmaster fights Spider-Man, leaving the latter severely injured.
Spider-Man is then brought to the police station, where he is rescued by the Thing and Human Torch. Luke Cage holds a rally to announce his mayoral campaign. At the Myrmidon, Sue Storm discusses the situation with her lawyer, Kirsten McDuffie, who gives Sue a paperclip. Fisk discusses his plans with the Purple Man, who notes that the Purple Children erased their memories of Daredevil's identity. Jessica Jones realizes that Fisk is using the Purple Man to influence the city, prompting the Avengers to act immediately. They are intercepted by Doctor Octopus and his alternate selves; Stark is revealed to be the Chameleon in disguise and in league with Doctor Octopus while Foggy Nelson is attacked in his office by Fisk's men.
Two weeks later, Doctor Octopus has released thousands of Octobot drones in order to enforce Mayor Wilson Fisk's zero-tolerance policy, effectively wiping out all crime in the city. Daredevil visits Nelson, who is recovering in the hospital. Sue Storm uses the paperclip to remove her power-dampening collar, meeting with Reed Richards and breaking out of the Myrmidon with the other jailed heroes. The Champions battle Rhino, who saves the team from incoming Octobots. He explains that Fisk ordered the Thunderbolts to hunt down a group of children, who Miles Morales identifies as the Purple Children. Fisk discovers that his staff can restore memories, and uses it on himself, rediscovering Daredevil's secret identity of Matt Murdock.
As the Purple Children are apprehended by the Thunderbolts, Jessica arrives with the Champions in an attempt to rescue them. They are driven away by Abomination, but are able to rescue one of the Purple Children, Joseph. The remaining Purple Children's' powers are given to their father in order to increase his power. Fisk then orders the Purple Man to kill the superheroes. While Spider-Man works on reverse-engineering neural disruptors in order to protect the heroes from the Purple Man, Joseph tells them that their only option to stop him is to kill him. The Avengers then go out to search for the Purple Man, before discovering that he has taken control of the Thunderbolts and the general populace. Meanwhile, Fisk beats Matt's identical twin Mike Murdock to death, mistaking him for Matt as McDuffie watches.
McDuffie informs Daredevil of "Matt's" death, causing him to leave the main battle and hunt down Fisk, who is confronted by Elektra. Daredevil arrives, angering Fisk. The real Iron Man, Moon Knight, and the Fantastic Four arrive at the battle, while Joseph seeks out the Purple Man. Luke Cage gives his neural disruptor to Joseph, who attempts to counter the Purple Man. Cage is able to fight off the Purple Man's control and encourage Joseph, who defeats his father and is reunited with his siblings. At the same time, Daredevil uses Fisk's staff, forcing Fisk to hesitate while Daredevil subdues him. Daredevil then attempts to kill Fisk, but is stopped by Elektra who asks him what kind of symbol he wants to be. They leave Fisk to the authorities, automatically making Cage the new mayor. Fisk is taken to the Stromwyns, choosing to refuse their offer and fighting through their robots, leaving the role of Kingpin to his son, Butch Pharris.
One week later, Daredevil discusses the idea of finally taking down the Hand with Elektra now that he no longer has to worry about his civilian identity. Fisk and his wife, Mary, go sailing into the sunset together.
Subplots
Daredevil: Woman Without Fear
After her visit to Mayor Wilson Fisk, Elektra in her Daredevil attire meets up with Matt Murdock, who learns about her visit. After making out with Matt while recalling her training with Stick, meeting Aka of the Hand, and training with the Hand where she finished off one Hand ninja with one of her sais, Elektra has coffee with Robert 'Goldy' Goldman as she sees Aka in the streets. Upon making it to the forest, Elektra encounters Aka as jumps off a cliff. Back on the road, Elektra swerves off the road due to a deer appearing on the road. After recovering, Elektra finds a dart in one of the tires, puts on her mask, and goes hunting for what appears to be Aka only to avoid a trap. She finds the culprit responsible in the form of Kraven the Hunter, who is looking for a challenge.Kraven mentions that he is looking for a challenge and wants to take on Elektra who holds the title of "World's Deadliest Assassin". As Elektra states to Kraven that he is being used, Kraven states that he knows that she took her file from Mayor Wilson Fisk and it will benefit them both. Kraven mentions how Fisk told him about how Elektra betrayed Daredevil once and was associated with the Hand. After Kraven intercepts one of Elektra's attacks, the police arrive responding to the car accident. Kraven the Hunter flees to obtain something golden to keep up his insurance policy while Elektra subdues the police and makes off in their police car. After a flashback with Aka, Elektra finds that Kraven got to Goldy as she is attacked by the Thunderbolts unit. After fighting them off, Elektra catches up to Kraven and Goldy as Aka is shown watching from the rooftops. When the Thunderbolts agents catches up, Kraven states to Elektra that Fisk also gave him the law.
Elektra engages Kraven in battle as Goldy and the Thunderbolts agents stand back. When Kraven manages to punch Elektra, Goldy throws a snowball at him as the Thunderbolts agents restrain him. Elektra manages to kick Kraven before entering a school. He pursues Elektra and is defeated by her as Aka appears noting that Elektra is still trying to recruit Matt Murdock. Aka then disappears as Elektra notices that the Thunderbolts agents are clearing the school. Borrowing a jacket from a student, Elektra meets up with Goldy who states that Matt Murdock was killed in his apartment. She vows to make Fisk pay for this as Goldy notes that it's always part of the plan.
Devil's Reign: Superior Four
Doctor Octopus has formed the Superior Four with his Multiverse counterparts in the form of Hulk of Earth-8816, Ghost Rider of Earth-1666, and Wolverine of Earth-9712. He mentions that he has gone through an evolution after his tenure as Superior Spider-Man and that he plans to span the Multiverse and establish a Council of Ocks from every version of Doctor Octopus he can find. The other three Ottos claim that the result can cause a paradox as Doctor Octopus claims that they are a fixed variant like the ones for Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange. Doctor Octopus takes his Superior Four to Earth-5069 where they encounter Iron Scab who demands that they leave his universe. The Superior Four do away with Iron Scab. Doctor Octopus' tentacles failing to work causes the Superior Four to flee Earth-5069. Back on Earth-616, Otto Blaze claims to Doctor Octopus that magic was responsible with Doctor Octopus forgetting his deal with Mephisto. As Doctor Octopus continues his research in order to find a better solution, Otto Banner, Otto Blaze, and Otto Howlett talk about how their fates will intertwine with the other Ottos. Doctor Octopus and Otto Banner state that they should get some insight on their Multiverse counterparts. Doctor Octopus then states that out of the 3,409 variants of himself, there is one out of all realities that knows how to defeat the Superior Four. Arriving on Earth-2902, the Superior Four arrive in its forested city area and cause a disturbance to draw out Doctor Octopus' variant in this reality. They encounter a variant of Otto in recolored Spider-Man-like attire named TJ. He operates as Spider-Ock and is familiar with Earth-616 and the history of each of his variants. They beat him badly as Spider-Ock states that they had tormented pasts while his father died. Doctor Octopus uses a synthetic blood-parasite from Earth-5069 on Spider-Ock to claim his knowledge enough to disintegrate him. Doctor Octopus tells the rest of the Superior Four that they got a several thousand to go. On Earth-7214, Doctor Octopus leads the Superior Four in attacking its Atlantis where they encounter Supreme Octopus.There are views of different versions of Otto Octavius who died. One died of an accident that Norman Osborn covered up. One was beheaded by a laser from President MODOK. One was addicted to gamma radiation, causing his brain to fail at puberty. One got lost in the forest and was found eaten by a wolf. This was viewed by Supreme Octopus who is tasked with keeping his counterparts in line. At the Baxter Building, Doctor Octopus gazes into the different parts of the Multiverse when he is contacted by Supreme Octopus to cease and desist. Hulk of Earth-8816 interrupts Doctor Octopus as he, Ghost Rider of Earth-1666, and Wolverine of Earth-9712 argue with him about the paradox that Doctor Octopus caused. The portal suddenly sucks the Superior Four to Earth-7212 where some type of mass-extinction event occurred due to sulfur being in the air. A tsunami then occurs as the Superior Four are caught in it. Ghost Rider of Earth-1666 claims that the Multiverse is seeking atonement for the Superior Four's meddling. Doctor Octopus is then teleported to the Savage Land on Earth-8969 where he is ensnared by Supreme Octopus who considers himself superior to Doctor Octopus where he mentioned that he liquefied Shuma-Gorath, made Dormammu grovel, and burned Knull to ashes. The rest of the Superior Four are brought to Earth-8969 where neither of them want to follow Supreme Octopus. Despite what the Superior do, they are unable to beat Supreme Octopus. Hulk of Earth-8816, Ghost Rider of Earth-1666, and Wolverine of Earth-9712 turn against Doctor Octopus and help Supreme Octopus to rip off Doctor Octopus' tentacles. Doctor Octopus is locked up with a skeleton and carnivorous plants in Supreme Octopus' mobile base called the Supreme Sanctorum.
There is a brief history of the creation of a Man-Thing with tentacles that end with the heads of carnivorous plants. In his cell on Earth-8969, Doctor Octopus is confronted by a tentacled Man-Thing who frees Doctor Octopus. He figures out that this Man-Thing is a variation of himself. Meanwhile, Supreme Octopus shares some of his history with Hulk of Earth-8816, Ghost Rider of Earth-1666, and Wolverine of Earth-9712 claiming that an army of Ocks is both a success and a failure. He reveals that his real name is Otto Werner von Strange and that he is the last and remaining variant of a long and tireless war. Having maintained a Multiversal balance, Supreme Octopus is in need of an heir or some heirs as he has stopped a Doctor Octopus while having obtained an army of Ocks. Meanwhile, Doctor Octopus tries to get his Man-Thing counterpart to help him as the Man-Thing bonds to him and serves as his guide through the Sanctum Supreme. Supreme Octopus explains that every Doctor Octopus variant has tried to ruin what he has built. Supreme Octopus has Hulk of Earth-8816, Ghost Rider of Earth-1666, and Wolverine of Earth-9712 see the Multiverse as it is like how a version of Doctor Octopus from Earth-7214 is an Atlantean whose kingdom Supreme Octopus sunk to keep his bio-weapon from being complete as well as their flaws. As Supreme Octopus uses his magic to restrain Hulk of Earth-8816, Ghost Rider of Earth-1666, and Wolverine of Earth-9712 so that their worlds can be reset, Doctor Octopus and Man-Thing arrive as Supreme Octopus states that he done the impossible while claiming that he can remake him into the Superior Spider-Man. He stated that he was the one who whispered in Doctor Octopus' ears on how to summon Mephisto and that he can grant him his Superior Spider-Man life back. As Doctor Octopus restrains Supreme Octopus, he explains that his Man-Thing counterpart traveled the Multiverse and freed him from his cell. Supreme Octopus summons his armor. Hulk of Earth-8816 breaks free as he is advised by Ghost Rider of Earth-1666 and Wolverine of Earth-9712 to force Supreme Octopus to send them home. They break free and help Doctor Octopus into knocking out Octopus Supreme. The Man-Thing variant then detaches from Doctor Octopus as it is introduced by Doctor Octopus as the source of his paradox. Using Supreme Octopus' body, the Man-Thing variant opens a portal back to Earth-616. Back in the Baxter Building, Doctor Octopus heads off to build himself a new set of tentacles while Hulk of Earth-8816 beings to work on rebuilding the portal. Using a translation device, the Man-Thing variant wants its agreement honored. When the rest of the Superior Four ask what agreement it is talking about, Doctor Octopus states that it wants to euthanized naturally so that it would sever the paradoxes. After building another set of arms, Doctor Octopus enters the rebuilt portal to euthanize the Man-Thing variant alone. Once that was done and having noted to himself that Supreme Octopus would one day seek revenge on him, Doctor Octopus returns to Earth-616 and makes a counter-offer with the Superior Four by stating that they can rid New York City of crime better than the police and the superheroes where he gives Hulk of Earth-8816 a special pill to devolve his Hulk form, travel to Hell with Ghost Rider of Earth-1666 and retrieve his soul while finding out what happened to Doctor Octopus' mind, and arrange for Wolverine of Earth-9712 to be a citizen on Krakoa. The Superior Four are seen attacking a smuggling operation involving Savage Land biotech. On Earth-2902, it was discovered that Doctor Octopus actually released the Man-Thing variant in Fresh Frond City as it starts to evolve into a form similar to Spider-Ock as the civilians mistake him for Spider-Ock in a new look.