Thunder in the Netherworld!

Hercules has been banished to Hades to take the place of Pluto. However, Thor has come to fight for his freedom. Pluto doubts that the thunder god will succeed against his armies and sends him to Hades to do battle. Arriving at the front gates, Thor confronts Cerberus in his humanoid form. However, Thor’s proves the more powerful combatant and he continues on.[1]

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Jane Foster is anxious for Thor to return so they can finally get married. Her new roommate, Tana Nile, considers Jane’s love for the thunder god to be pointless. Jane can’t understand how Tana can be so cold and unfeeling. That’s when Nile reveals that on her world, love is considered a useless emotion, tipping Jane off to the fact that there is more to her roommate than meets the eye. Realizing her cover is in danger, Tana then exerts her will on Jane Foster, ordering her to go on a long journey and never return.

Back in Hades, Hercules has been dragged to Pluto’s throne room. There, Pluto’s legions try to restrain the demigod long enough for one of them to place Pluto’s crown on Hercules’ head, finalizing the contract and trapping Hercules in Hades forever. Hercules continues to fight, even though his powers have been stripped from him when he was first banished to Hades. That’s when Thor arrives and orders the horde to let Hercules. Herc is happy to see Thor has come to fight on his behalf, but is quickly stunned into submission. Thor charges into the horde of soldiers and fights with such ferocity they eventually flee. They quickly bring up their cosmic cannon and try blasting him with it. However, Thor grabs some of the soldiers still fleeing and uses them as a shield against the weapon. Before they can reload another shell and fire again, Thor trashes the vehicle with Mjolnir. As Thor charges the soldiers again, one of them traps the thunder god in a turbulence chamber that will bombard him Thor with gale force winds.

By this time, Jane Foster has finished packing her bags and unable to fight off Tana Nile’s commands, leaves. With the Foster woman gone, Tana decides it is time to drop her disguise for good.

In Hades, Thor breaks free from the turbulence chamber and then defeats the Crusher — the most powerful warrior in Hades — in combat. The remaining soldiers respond by coming at the thunder god with flame throwers. That’s when Pluto arrives and orders everyone to stand down. He has decided to release Hercules from his contract before Thor destroys the armies that took centuries to build, knowing that the thunder god would never give up fighting. Pluto realizes that he still cares to rule over Hades and rips up the contract. Feeling his powers returning to him, Hercules is happy to finally be free. He thanks Thor for his help and decides that they shall be friends from now on.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Hercules, Pluto, Jane Foster, Tana Nile, Cerberus

Continuity Notes

1. Cerberus is depicted here as a humanoid instead of the three headed dog of Grecian myth. This was probably to appease the dickheads at the Comic Code Authority. He will be depicted as a three headed dog again in Thor #462. Apparently the Cerberus of the Marvel Universe can change forms.

The Fateful Charge!

Thor and the Warriors Three have been send on a quest for Odin to recover a powerful weapon called the Warlock’s Eyes. Arriving in the realm of Muspelheim, they discover the Warlock’s Eye has been stolen by the warlord Harokin and his armies.

The Warriors Three attack the forces of Harokin head on, providing cover for Thor to find Harokin before he can unleash the Warlock’s Eye. In the middle of the battle, Volstagg tries to cover up for his obvious cowardice by telling Fandral and Hogun that he is going to assist Thor.

Thor doesn’t need much help at all, as he quickly finds Harokin. After a brief battle, Thor manages to knock out his opponent. Getting a closer look at Harokin, Thor notices that they both look very much alike. Thor decides to disguise himself as Harokin and convince his men to bring him the Warlock’s Eye. To this end, Thor takes off his helmet, dyes his hair brown, and conceals his clothes under his cape. When Harokin’s guards come looking for their leader, Thor does his best impression by telling them that he intends to use the Warlock’s Eye to destroy Asgard.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Harokin