First Blood

Venturing into the WorldEngine bunker, the Lost Gods have come face-to-face with the being responsible for their exile from Asgard, Seth the Egyptian god of death.[1] Learning the truth, Ericka Velez charges at Seth with guns blazing. This prompts the other Lost Gods and their allies, Amora the Enchantress and Ulik the Rock Troll, to leap into battle against Seth’s men in black.[2] How this will not be an easy battle because Seth is far more powerful than any of them as they are bereft of most of their godly powers.

Topside, Freda Barker and Pietro Vizarri has taken Wad on a walk through the East Village. The fresh air has a sobering effect on the drunk and as his mind clears he explains how he is actually Odin and with the fear of Ragnarok looming over his people he made a desperate effort to save their lives.[3]

Back down below, the Enchantress finds this battle a pointless exercise that could claim all their lives. When she pulls back, Howie Barker scolds her for retreating. Amora makes an excuse that she is holding back to gather up her sorcerous might. Howie on the other hand, refuses to back down and is determined to prove that he is more than just some average person, but a hero. At the same time, Tso Zhung gets close enough to Seth to try and barter with Seth, suggesting a mutually beneficial alliance. Seth disappoints and shocks the businessman when he explains that there are no material possessions that could keep him away from his goal: The utter destruction of all life in the universe.

By this time, Freda and Pietro have taken Wad on the ferry. He continues his explain his grand design and how he hid the gods in mortal guises using a combination of Asgardian magic and science to pull off this feat. His intention was to hide his people until it was safe for them to return, and planned for Thor to be the one to revive their true natures. This hope seems all but lost now that the thunder god is apparently dead.[4] As the battle in the bunker rages on, Freda and Pietro then take Wad back to the antique shop where these revelations began. Wad is given up all hope because his attempts to set up fail-safes by empowering Red Norvell, Beta Ray Bill, and Thunderstrike, have also been thwarted leaving him to wonder how he can finally awaken his people.[5] Freda and Pietro decide to let Wad rest as they try to make sense of everything he has said, unsure if he’s telling the truth or if he’s actually crazy. Suddenly, some of Seth’s men in black come crashing in through the door. Fearing for her safety, Pietro tells Freda to make a run for it while he tries to hold them back.

Back at the scene of the battle, things take a turn for the worse when Freddie leaps in the path of an energy blast meant for Ericka and is seriously wounded. Having grown tired of the battle, Seth and his forces retreat vowing that soon they and all life in the universe will be snuffed out. With Freddie dying in her arms, Howie comes up with a solution to save him and tells the Enchantress to teleport them back to Ericka’s apartment. There, Howie goes into the trunk of Asgardian artifacts and finds the golden apple and has Freddie eat it. Miraculously, the apple saves his life by instantaneously healing his wounds. This upsets Tso Zhung — ever the opportunist — because the apple could have been examined and exploited for valuable medical treatments.

Despite this, the Enchantress believes that they are all doomed leading to another spat with Ericka. That’s when Howie’s aunt Freda arrives, having found them thanks to a business card Velez gave her earlier. She tells them everything Wad had told her and how he was captured by Seth’s minions. Regardless of the impossible odds, Ericka believes their best course of action is taking the fight directly to Seth himself.

Meanwhile, in his own domain, Seth now has Wad and Pietro shackled to the wall in his dungeon. Seth is now confident that he has victory in his hands and he intends to destroy Yggdrasil root by root until all life in the universe has been ended.

Recurring Characters

Ericka Velez, Wad, Freda Barker, Pietro Vizarri, Howie Barker, Tso Zhung, Donald Velez, Barry Landers, Freddie Moyer, the Enchantress, Ulik, Seth

Continuity Notes

1. The WorldEngine was used to fake Ragnarok, causing Yggdrasil to banish the Asgardians to Earth in mortal form with no memories of their past. See Thor #491-494 and Journey into Mystery #511 for all the details.

2. The true identities of most of the Lost Gods are revealed in issue #512. Ericka, Barry, Freddie, Donald, and Howie are Sif, Balder, Fandral, Heimdall, and Hermod respectively. Tso Zhung is revealed to be Loki in issue #509.

3. Freda is revealed to be Frigga in issue #512 as well. Pietro is actually Odin’s Grand Vizier, as revealed in Journey into Mystery #511. Odin took advantage of the WorldEngine plot to banish the Asgardians to Earth, including himself. Odin found himself decades in the past and became a homeless drunk. See Thor #497-498 for the details.

4. At the time of this story, everyone believes that Thor sacrificed his life alongside the Avengers and Fantastic Four to stop Onslaught in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. They actually survived and are living new lives in a pocket dimension. They will ultimately be found and returned to their proper reality in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.

5. Odin gave each of these individuals powers similar to Thor at different periods of time. They include:

   • Red Norvell: Was originally given the power of Thor in Thor #276-278 in order to be sacrificed to prevent an earlier Ragnarok level threat. When the true Thor later turned his back on Asgard in issue #472, Odin resurrected Red in Thor #478 to take his place. More recently, Red was murdered by Seth’s minions in Journey into Mystery #503. He will be resurrected next issue.

   • Beta Ray Bill was one of the few individuals worthy enough to lift Thor’s hammer. After passing a test, Odin gave him Bill his own enchanted hammer, Stormbreaker in Thor #367-369. Bill fell deathly ill by the WorldEngine in Thor #492 due to his essence being linked to Thor. In order to save Bill’s life, Odin was forced to sever his connection to Thor as seen in Cosmic Powers Unlimited #5.

   • Thunderstrike: Eric Masterson spent time replacing Thor as god of thunder from Thor #432 through 459. He was then given a Odin made mace and reinvented himself as Thunderstrike in (you guessed it) Thunderstrike #1. He just recently died in issue #24 of that series.

Topical References

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as they were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and subsequently replaced by the Freedom Tower.