Death in Olympia!

In noble Asgard, Odin has called together the Warriors Three. He has become aware that Thor is somewhere in the Negative Zone and needs help. Unfortunately, Odin is in a weakened state and asks Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg to come to his aid instead. Looking forward to a reunion with their closest ally, the Warriors Three depart right away.[1]

Elsewhere in the Zone, Thor is locked in battle with Blastaar in the displaced city of Olympia, home of the Eternals. Blastaar has seemingly slain the immortals and seeks to destroy Thor and his fellow Avengers as well. Thor goes into a rage when Blastaar strikes Sersi with one of his energy blasts seemingly atomizing her on the spot.

Not far away, Captain America and the Sub-Mariner recover from Blastaar’s ambush. Hearing the battle raging in the Eternal’s meeting chamber Cap sends Namor ahead while he gets his head together. Following on foot, Cap comes across the She-Hulk, who was also knocked out by Blastaar. As She-Hulk is also coming around, Thor and Blastaar come crashing through a wall.

Back on Earth, a strange portal opens in an alleyway. The only witness is a homeless man who runs away in fear. A man then emerges from the portal, satisfied that he was unobserved. He then heads off into the city to begin his quest for vengeance.[2]

While in the Negative Zone, the Avengers surround Blastaar and have him surrounded. The She-Hulk then asks how Blastaar survived being destroyed by Annihilus during their last encounter. Blastaar reminds her of how, before Annihilus blasted him with the Cosmic Control Rod, Blataar’s own men tried to restrain him in a stasis ray.[3] He explains that this ray protected him from the cosmic energies and he was instead jettisoned into the Negative Zone where he drifted in space until recently when his body was recovered by the Eternals. Not knowing how dangerous he was, the Eternals foolishly used their powers to heal him. He then repaid that kindness by seemingly destroying them all.

Blastaar then attacks the Avengers, but is forced to flee when the Warriors Three arrive to lend a hand. As he runs for it, the Negative Zone resident is suddenly attacked by strange golden energy that knocks him off his feet. This turns out to be the Eternals, who return to human form. They explain that Blastaar didn’t kill them, merely scattered their atoms, which took time to reassemble. Now that they are back they have ensured that their foe cannot pull the same move on him and quickly knock Blastaar out.

When they check on Gilgamesh, they discover that he is finally waking up.[4] Thena theorizes that his condition was caused by a prolonged absence from Olympia and believes that her people should remain in isolation. Captain America hopes that there will soon come a day when humans and Eternals can live in harmony together. With the battle over, the Warriors Three restrain Blastaar and ask Thor to return to Asgard with them. Unfortunately, the thunder god must remain on Earth and bids his friends farewell. When the Avengers asks how the Eternals ended up in the Negative Zone in the first place, Thena explains it was due to Sprite tampering with the machines that hide them from the rest of the world. With the machines now repaired, the Eternals are able to transport themselves, the Avengers, and their city back to Earth.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Sub-Mariner, She-Hulk), Blastaar, Eternals (Ikaris, Thena, Phastos, Makkari, Sersi, Sprite, Gilgamesh, Cybele), Karkas, Ransak the Reject, Odin, Hugin, Munin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Grant Vizier, Loki

Continuity Notes

1. Lots to know about Asgard at the time of this story:

   • Asgard has been adrift since the destruction of the Bifrost bridge in Thor #351 causing it to drift into the Negative Zone circa Thor #404. Here it will remain until Thor #426.

   • Odin is still in a weakened state after a lengthy battle with the Egyptian death god Seth. See Thor #395-400.

2. This mystery man is Loki, who is going off to start the Acts of Vengeance conspiracy that will pit Earth’s heroes against foes they never faced before. This is all part of a complex plot to get revenge against the Avengers. The Avenger’s part in Acts of Vengeance is chronicled in Avengers #311-313.

3. Blastaar’s seeming demise was chronicled in Fantastic Four #290. What Blastaar doesn’t tell the Avengers is that he didn’t spend that entire time adrift as he clashed with the Fantastic Four again in Fantastic Four #318, but that’s just splitting hairs since he was left adrift a second time anyway.

4. Gilgamesh has been in a coma after getting the shit kicked out of him by a lava monster. See Avengers #305-307.