The Fortnite: Chapter 2 - Season 4 Live Event Explained

As soon as Marvel characters invaded Fortnite, players theorized about who would serve as the main baddie in Season 4's end event. Doctor Doom? No, he was already a skin in the game. Thanos? Done in 2018. Before long, the end season boss reared his big, tuning fork-shaped head. It was none other than Galactus, Marvel's (literal) biggest villain, capable of eating worlds and needing to do so on a regular basis. Of course, this raised the question of how players would band together to defeat him since Marvel characters have a pretty poor track record when it comes to taking out the World Devourer.

Eventually, the Chapter 2 – Season 4 live event dawned. Players were tasked with the unenviable mission of preventing Galactus from consuming the Zero Point, which is apparently behind Fortnite's mysterious location and its time-looping capabilities. Many gamers logged in to participate, and many more watched the action unfold via Twitch — even though the site wasn't up to the task.

For those who missed the legendary Galactus event, here's a quick summary of how things unfolded and what this means for the future of Fortnite.

Before the live event started, each match progressed as normal. But as the timer ticked down, players gathered on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. Once the event began, all eyes were glued to Galactus' helmet poking out of the ocean that surrounds Fornite's island. He slowly rose up out of the water ... and then he continued to rise. He just refused to stop rising. Eventually, Galactus took up the horizon and blotted out the sun. It turned out he was never in the ocean to begin with — it was just a trick of the light because he was so darn big.

Once Galactus made his presence known, he roared out a declaration of his hunger — accompanied by some very intimidating lightning bolts and trumpets — and backhanded the helicarrier into oblivion. The impact sent players scattering all over the map. Before they hit the ground, though, Iron Man rescued everyone and offered them jetpacks, but that was only a short reprieve since Galactus started consuming the Zero Point, and nobody had a gun big enough to stop him.

Luckily for players, Iron Man had a plan.

Before Galactus could fully absorb the Zero Point, Iron Man teleported everyone, including Galactus, into a pocket dimension filled with an army of Battle Busses. At long last, players could live out their dreams of piloting these airborne school wagons without relying on glitches. And, if that wasn't their dream, tough luck, because they had to drive the buses and their explosive payloads right down Galactus' gullet.

Of course, being the cosmic entity he is, Galactus refused to go down without a fight, so he sent billions of attack drones — the same drones that had invaded Fortnite matches since V14.10 — to stop them. Players had to blast their way through the drones and almost reached Galactus when he started munching down on the Zero Point again. Desperate times called for desperate measures, so players did the only thing that comes to mind when you're flying a bus with laser cannons: honk at Galactus. It was enough to draw his attention, but it also made them his prime target.

Galactus was ready to swat players out of reality when Thor showed up in the nick of time to divert the bus in between Galactus' fingers and up his forearm.

Once players were out of harm's way, they had to find another route into Galactus' mouth. Luckily, Galactus was so big that the little detail lines on his outfit let players stealth along them like the Death Star trench run. This led to an epic set piece to the tune of AC/DC's "Demon Fire." Of course, the attack drones still kept coming, so players had to blast them down while also steering clear of the walls.

Eventually, things got too hot in the trench, and attack drones blanketed players, but Wolverine showed up out of nowhere and cut everyone a path through the swarm. Battered, broken, but still functional, the weaponized Battle Buses were finally within charging range of Galactus' mouth, and he inhaled every last one of them. Players bailed before the buses were consumed, and everyone floated a safe distance away to watch the fireworks. Galactus exploded into a reality crack, leaving behind the Zero Point.

After players finally defeated Galactus, they could rest knowing they prevented the Marvel universe's biggest threat from getting his hands on a reality-bending, time-warping doodad. But, the event wasn't over just yet. Right after Galactus disappeared into the void, a phone rang. A phone? In outer space? What could it mean? Was Epic Games about to leave players on a cliffhanger? The answer was no.

Immediately after the phone started ringing, players were whisked to a very familiar office. It was Agent Jonesy's office back from the Chapter 2 – Season 2 live event, but now the situation had deteriorated. The room was shaking, lights and sirens were blaring, and people were running around as if it was the end of the world. Oh, and Jonesy himself was unconscious until he woke up thanks to dramatic timing. And that's where the event stopped. No more story, no more action, just a promise that Fortnite will return in Season 5, which went live ... at 4 a.m. Dec. 2.

While Galactus may have been defeated (for now), the Zero Point and its resulting island still remain. Players are still trapped in a never-ending battle royale cycle, and Agent Jonesy is finally going to do something about it, and by do something about it, we mean make sure it never ends.

Shortly after Galactus bit off more than he could chew, Epic Games released two trailers for Season 5. The Chapter 2 – Season 5 and Battle Pass videos revealed that Jonesy is under orders to ensure nobody leaves the time loop that is the Fortnite island. This mission raises some obvious questions: Why does Agent Jonesy's organization want to keep everyone who fights for their lives on an hourly basis trapped in a never-ending purgatory of guns, towers, and buses? What is their connection to the island? And how can the organization recruit bounty hunters from across the multiverse?

Every new season event seems to answer a few questions and then raises about 15 more. Season 5 is proving to be no exception.