If This By My Quest

In Queens, New York, Howie Barker is woken up by his aunt Freda who tells him that he needs to get up for school.[1] After breakfast, Howie puts on his inline skates and heads off to school. Little does he know that the mysterious men and black have taken an interested in him.

Meanwhile, the police have arrived at a trailer park in Belleville, New Jersey where Red Norvell was murdered that evening.[2] Ericka Velez — a sniper for the NYPD — is questioned about the incident by Marcus Stone the head of Code: Blue. Velez explains how she just met Norvell a few hours earlier and how he told a wild story about Ragnarok was faked and the gods of Asgard were exiled to Earth in the form of mortals. Norvell claimed that she, university teacher Barry Landers, and businessman Tso Zhung, were just such individuals. However, before he could prove his claims he was attacked by the men in black that have been chasing them. Hearing this story, Marcus doesn’t finds it an interesting story but given his experience with Asgardians in the past he doesn’t Velez and the others match up.[3]

Since the police will be no help, Ericka meets back with Barry and Zhung and they agree that they need to find the other people on Red’s list and at least warn them of the threat posed by the men in black. While Anderson is willing to do this for altruistic purposes, Tso wants to get his hands on the advanced technology used by their would be assassins since they are of incredible value. Ericka, on the other hand, doesn’t know if this is something she wants to get involved with.

Meanwhile, in the ruins of Asgard, King Geirrodur — ruler of the Rock Trolls — has summoned Ulik to see what he has been observing on Earth. He has noticed that someone has been tracking down the exiled Asgardians and murdering them one by one. When Ulik questions why they should care about the extermination of their greatest foes, Geirrodur points out that whoever is targeting the gods may turn to them once they have finished their task.

Back on Earth, Erika Velez has returned to her apartment and tries to call her brother, Donald. Unfortunately, he doesn’t answer, and ignores the fears she has that her brother might have been killed by the men in black.[5] She reminds herself that she was born and raised in the Bronx and has vivid memories of that period, refusing to believe that these are implanted memories. Still, this hasn’t stopped her from buying a book on Norse mythology from the bookstore and so she begins to read.[6] However, he minds keeps turning back to Red Norvell’s list of possible gods and can’t push it out of her mind.

In Los Angeles, photographer Freddie Moyer is getting a bunch of models ready for their shoot when the men in black come barging in. Lucky for Freddy, both Tso Zhung and Barry Landers arrive to rescue him. In the ensuing brawl, Freddie grabs a prop sword to defend himself and discovers that using it comes naturally to him even though he’s never used on in his life.[6] As the three men fight for their lives, Ulik teleports onto the street outside and, not seeing his quarry in immediate sight decides to hang back and look around incognito.

While in Asgard, the Enchantress is prisoner of the Ice Giants, who have locked her away in the dungeon. Stationed outside her cell are the two giants who first captured her: Pyllar and Mroht. Smitten by Amora, Mroht can’t help himself but go into her cell when he notices she is awake, ignoring Pyllar’s protests.

At the same time, Ericka Velez has decided to look into one of the names on Red’s list, taking her to an unassuming home in Forest Hills to find Howie Barker. His aunt Freda tells Ericka her nephew isn’t home and is probably hanging out at the local music store on Queens Boulevard. After the strange woman leaves, Freda feels the sudden urge to go up into her attic and inspect a trunk she has been storing there for many years, that’s when she hears a strange noise but dismisses the immediate assumption that there are intruders in her home.

In Malibu, celebrity chief Vincent Starwit is filming the latest episode of his popular cooking show “The Gargantuan Gourmet” when he too is attacked by the men in black.[7] Starwit manages to defend himself with his favorite frying pan. Across the country, Howie Barker is also attacked, but rescued from danger by Ericka Velez. As they are making their daring getaway, Vincent Starwit returns to his mansion where Tso Zhung, Barry Landers, and Freddie Moyer are waiting for him. After hearing that they too have been targeted by the men in black, he invites them into his home to talk about it. Once they enter they discover the men in black — including the one in a refurbished suit of Iron Man armor that killed Red Norvell — are waiting for them inside and have Vincent’s wife Gerty as a hostage. Tso Zheung tries to negotiate with their attackers, but this doesn’t pan out.

Luckily, Ulik had followed them back to the Starwit estate and comes crashing in through the wall and tackles the Iron Man. As the men fight for their lives, Freddie and Vincent can’t help but feel light they have fought side-by-side like this many times in the past. Eventually, Ulik manages to rip open the Iron Man’s helmet and getting a good look at his face, he knows exactly who sent them. When the men in black retreat by teleporting away, Ulik informs them that the four men that they are in grave danger.[8]

Back in Forest Hills, Ericka has managed to give their attackers a slip. They then return to Howie’s home to find it in shambles and his aunt Freda missing. Howie then finds a trunk on the floor with a note saying that she had gone to see an old friend and that the contents of the trunk will help keep him and his friends safe. When he and Ericka look inside they are surprised to Asgardian weapons inside.[9]

Recurring Characters

Ericka Velez, Howie Barker, Freda Barker, Barry Landers, Tso Zhung, Freddie Moyer, Vincent Starwit, Gerty Starwit, Marcus Stone, Ulik, Geirrodur, the Enchantress, Pyllar, Mroht

Continuity Notes

1. Freda and Howie are Asgardians who have been banished to Earth in mortal guises with no memories of their past following the events of Thor #491-494. Journey into Mystery #512 reveals that they are secretly Frigga and Hermod. The scene/page layout of “Howie” getting ready for school pays homage to a similar scene of Peter Parker getting ready for class in Amazing Fantasy #15.

2. Red was killed last issue. However, he will be resurrected by Seth in Journey into Mystery #508.

3. Tso, Ericka, and Barry are also secretly Asgardians as well. Tso is revealed to be Loki in Journey into Mystery #509, while Ericka and Barry are revealed to be Sif and Balder in issue #512.

4. Ericka’s brother Donald is actually alive and well and will pop up in Journey into Mystery #506. Issue #512 reveals that he is Sif’s real-life brother, Heimdall.

5. The book on Norse mythology that Ericka is reading is written by Walter Simonson. In real life, Simonson wrote a celebrated run of Thor from issues #337 to 382.

6. This is a hint that Freddie is actually Fandral of the Warrior’s Three. This is confirmed in Journey into Mystery #512.

7. Vincent Starwit is revealed to be Volstagg of the Warrior’s Three in issue #512 as well. His wife Gerty is Volstagg’s real wife, Hildegund/Gudrun.

8. The men in black are minions of Seth, the Egyptian god of death as we’ll learn in Journey into Mystery #506.

9. Next issue we’ll learn that each of the objects in the trunk are keyed to a specific Asgardian, allowing them to unlock some of their godly abilities when using the weapon.

Topical References

• When being woken up to get ready for school, Howie states that he was just listening to Howard Stern. At the time this story came out, Stern had a popular syndicated radio program. This show came to an end in 2005 when Stern moved from traditional radio to a satellite service. As of this writing Stern will be on the radio for at least another 3 years. However, being in his late 60s, I don’t think he’s going to be on air for much longer. Either way, reference to Stern and his show should be considered topical.

• Howie Barker likens the men in black to the Blues Brothers. Two characters created by Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi for a sketch on Saturday Night Live. First introduced in 1978, the characters were popular enough to film based on the characters in 1980 and a less well received sequel in the year 2000. This should be considered a topical reference because a “teenager” like Howie wouldn’t be expected to know the Blues Brothers by today’s standard. Don’t believe me? Go ask a 13 year old, I’ll wait.