Tales to Astonish #101

Jan 17

Jan 17 Tales to Astonish #101

Where Walk the Immortals!

IMG 2020 20 01 17 20 41 29 6lhkb.png — Credits

Loki, hoping to use the Hulk as his pawn to take over Asgard, captures the unconscious body of Bruce Banner, transforms him into the Hulk and transports him to Asgard. There the Hulk fights his way past Heimdal and enters Asgard, where he gets into combat with the Warriors Three. Taking note of the battle raging on, Odin summons an army to also best the Hulk.

However, during the battle with the Warriors Three, the Three realize that the Hulk doesn't know how he ended up in Asgard and that the creature is probably being used as someone else's pawn. When the Asgardian army arrives, Fandral manages to make them stop. When Loki arrives to call the Warriors Three cowards, they refuse to be goaded into battle by Loki, suspecting him to be responsible.

To find out what Hulk is doing in Asgard, the Warriors Three ask him to follow them to see Oldar the Oracle. However, as the Hulk is jumping over the bottomless chasm, Loki strikes Hulk with a spell, not wanting the Warriors to know the truth. The spell causes Hulk to change back into Banner and fall into the chasm.

This story is continued in Incredible Hulk #102...

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Loki, Heimdall, Odin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg)

Continuity Notes

Hulk's arrival in Asgard was briefly glimpsed in Avengers #51.

...And Evil Shall Beckon!

Alone in a cavern, the Sub-Mariner is haunted with dreams of a strange man taunting him about erasing his memories. Waking up from the dream, the former ruler of Atlantis begins to wonder who this person is and what they may be responsible for his lack of memories of the time just prior to his amnesia.

Unable to jar his memory, the Sub-Mariner decides to take a more direct approach and flies over North America in hopes of finding the answers that he seeks. Along the way, he is picked up by a U.S. early warning radar station that sends out an air force jet to intercept him. When they fire their missiles at him, he easily catches them and tosses them back at his attacker, destroying the plane although the pilot manages to eject safely.

While back in the ruins of Atlantis, the Atlanteans being picking up the pieces of their city following the Plunderer's attack, and Warlord Seth breaks the bad news of Namor's supposed death, and the two mourn the loss of their leader despite his recent branding as a traitor when the people of Atlantis believed Namor was allied with the Plunderer. As Seth comforts Domra he secretly wishes that he could win her heart.

The Sub-Mariner meanwhile finds himself drawn to Antarctica once again drawn by his senses to a seemingly dead end. Furious he strikes an icy mountain wall revealing a hidden cavern. Deciding to venture inside, Namor finds a secret room with strange phosphorescent paintings on the walls and a hidden frozen city. There he is attacked by a strange creature that is guarding the temple. Although it's extreme cold saps Namor's strength, the prince of Atlantis manages to knock it through a wall, knocking the creature out. Behind it, he finds the man that has been haunting his dreams waiting for him.

This story is continued in Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1...