The Trial of the Gods!

Having grown tired of the constant conflict between Thor and Loki, Odin has called the Trial of the Gods. Now, as his two sons stand before him, Odin tells them that they are to go to Skornheim where they will battle each other with nothing by their natural strength, as no weapons or magic are allowed. He warns them that in Skornheim even an immortal can find death. Loyal to his father and following the rules, Thor relinquishes Mjolnir. With the formalities out of the way, Odin then teleports his two children to the field of battle.

When they materialize in Skornheim, Loki reveals that he smuggled a bag of Norn Stones with him to the battlefield. Producing one of these gems Loki projects images from Earth to show his latest scheme. Thor watches in horror as Jane Foster is kidnapped from Don Blake’s office by the Enchantress and the Executioner. While Thor laments over Jane’s fate, Loki ambushes him by turning the mound of rock they are standing on into molten lava. Although Thor sinks into the molten rock he quickly breaks free. Fleeing, Loki finds a field of spiny stone plants barring his pather. Using another one of the Norn Stones, Loki becomes intangible and passes harmlessly through this patch of deadly plants. Without his mystical hammer, Thor wraps his harm in his helmet and cape and smashes his way through the patch. The thunder god manages to catch up to his evil step-brother. However, before he can answers about Jane Foster out of Loki, the pair are ambushed by Yagg the Invincible who vows to destroy any intruder on his land.

Meanwhile, back in Asgard, Odin’s royal bath is interrupted by Balder the Brave. He has come to tell Odin about the Enchantress and Executioner’s activities on Earth and how he suspects it is the work of Loki. Toweling himself off, Odin goes to his Celestial Screen to see for himself what transpires on Earth. There he sees the Enchantress and the Executioner pursuing after Jane Foster. Although Odin has frowned upon Thor’s love of the Foster woman, he refuses her to be used as a tool to sway the outcome of the trail. As such, he allows Balder to go to Earth and save Jane from her two pursuers.

Back in Skornheim, Loki has fled the battle with Yagg the Invincible. Although Yagg is much larger and can fire blasts of energy from his hands, Thor manages to defeat the titan in one-on-one combat. Not far away, Loki presses on across a harsh desert landscape. In order to protect himself from the harmful heat, he uses another Norn Stone to summon a whirlwind around him that will keep him cool. At the desert’s end, Loki finds himself before a field of massive carnivorous plants and once again uses his magic gems to press through this new obstacle.

On Earth, Jane Foster is finally nabbed by the Enchantress and the Executioner. When bystanders try to come to her aid, the Executioner uses a lamp post to push them back while the Enchantress casts a spell to put them all to sleep. News about this brazen kidnapping reaches one of the members of the Teen Brigade who contacts their leader, Rick Jones, and his allies the Avengers. At that moment, the Avengers are concluding a meeting. Giant-Man expresses his concern that Thor is not present, but Iron Man reminds him that their group charter allows each individual member the privacy to conduct their own affairs without interference from the others. They are so busy with this debate that they do not hear the incoming message from a member of Teen Brigade.[1]

The long member of Teen Brigade then spots Daredevil crossing the rooftops from his window and calls out to him. However, the man without fear is pre-occupied with the Sub-Mariner to stop and listen.[2] When he tries contacting the Fantastic Four at the Baxter Building, this member of the Teen Brigade discovers that they are not home. Above the Fantastic Four’s headquarters, the Fightful Four arrive to verify that their enemies were destroyed during their last clash.[3] That’s when they see a fireball falling from the sky, prompting the Frightful Four to make a hasty retreat, fearing that it might be the Human Torch. In reality, it is Balder the Brave arriving on Earth and he soon materializes atop of the Baxter Building. Disguising himself as a mortal, Balder rushes down to the street where he confronts the Executioner and Enchantress.

In the meantime, Thor continues pressing further across the hostile terrain in Skornheim. Even exhausted from the heat and bruised and bloodied by the harsh domain, Thor presses on. He manages to catch up to Loki just at the border of Skornheim, with only 100 yards between the two. The only thing between them and freedom is a moat of fire. Loki uses his magic to float across the expanse but is tackled by Thor. In the ensuing struggle, Loki manages to break free and cross the border first and is teleported away, leaving Thor shocked that his evil brother could defeat him after he worked so hard.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki, Jane Foster, Odin, Enchantress, Executioner, Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp), Teen Brigade (Rick Jones), Daredevil, Frightful Four (Wizard, Medusa, Trapster, Sandman)

Continuity Notes

1. This Avengers meeting takes place during the events of Avengers #16.

2. Daredevil’s battle with the Sub-Mariner is chronicled in Daredevil #7.

3. The Frightful Four attempted to slay the Fantastic Four with a Q-Bomb in Fantastic Four #38. They actually survived, as we’ll see in the following issue of that series.

Topical References

• The Teen Brigade is depicted using ham radios to contact each other. This should be considered topical since ham radios are no longer a popular method of communication between teenagers (if they ever were) In more modern tellings of these early days of the Marvel Universe (such as Avengers: The Origin #1-5) Teen Brigade are depicted as a group of hackers who communicate via the Internet. Modern readers should interpret Teen Brigade as using whatever the current communication technology exists (internet, cell phone, cranial implants that we’ll probably all have in another 80 years. Whatever.)

The Challenge

Loki has been seeking to make allies in his future plan to seize the throne of Asgard. While in the kingdom of Hymir. Loki convinces Hymir to ally with him by showing him Thor fraternizing with his daughter, Princess Rinda. Loki explains that he and Thor have been sent on a diplomatic mission and King Hymir can manipulate Thor into battle as they are bound to accept any challenges that are made by their guests. Hymir, who is known for his evil challenges, summons Thor to his court. Reading the order, Thor agrees to go despite protests from Rinda that it will be too dangerous.

Visiting the king, Thor learns that if he fails the challenge he will have to become Hymir's slave and toil in manual labor for the rest of his days. Thor’s challenge is to bring back a single fish from the Sea of Eternal Darkness. Taking a boat out into the sea, Thor discovers that the fish in these waters are massive leviathans. When he manages to pull one creature to the surface he quickly slays it with Mjolnir and brings to back to shore. Hymir’s second challenge is for Thor to destroy a simple-looking drinking goblet within two minutes. Thor quickly discovers that this goblet is enchanted to make it indestructible. With time running out, Thor contemplates slaying the king in order to get himself out of potential enslavement. Not willing to let Thor kill her father, Rinda tells Thor the secret to destroy the goblet. Sure enough, when Thor throws the goblet at King Hymir’s head it shatters to bits.

Loki is shocked that Thor discovers the secret to destroying the goblet and asks how he found out. Thor tells his half-brother that they will discuss this further when they get home and leaves. Furious that he was humiliated by Thor, King Hymir accuses Loki of betraying him and strikes the trickster god and tells him to begin from his court. Recovering from the blow, Loki believes that fortune cannot always favor the thunder god and vows to keep scheming until Thor is utterly destroyed.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki, Princess Rinda, King Hymir

Continuity Notes

Unlike another website out there, there is no known connection between the King Hymir in this story to the similarly named entity that appeared in Thor #237 and 307. That same crowd-sourced website also wonders if there is a connection between King Hymir above and the character Aegir from Thor #307 since, according to Norse mythology, Aegir was also known by Hymir. If they bothered to check the Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Thor TPB, they would know that these characters are unrelated entities. It’s almost like those morons don’t realize that people (and characters) can have similar names. But hey, that’s what you get when your platform is based on GIGO crowd sourcing.