HIM!

For their part in the battle against Pluto and his Mutates, the United States military get a standing salute from Thor, Sif, and Balder. They are then granted permission to enter the atomic research facility to investigate the powerful entity that Pluto hinted about during their battle.

Meanwhile, back in Asgard, Karnilla summons Haag the witch in order to help her force Balder to become her consort. Haag looks forward to aiding her queen. When Karnilla summons an image of Balder from her Space Pool, Haag reaches into its waters with her elongated and mishapen hand.

Back on Earth, Thor and his allies get closer to the room where the strange being is being held when suddenly the entire building begins to shake. This is because the entity — the artificial man known only as Him — has just emerged from his protective cocoon. Confronting the three Asgardians, Him explains who and what he is and how his creators made him to become the first in an all-powerful race of beings. However, upon discovering that they were evil, Him destroyed his creators.[1] He then tells them how after destroying his masters he decided to find his fate in the stars. Unfortunately, this voyage proved short lived when he got caught in a space trap, forcing him to enter a protective cocoon. What he doesn’t know is that while he was in suspended animation, he was found by the Watcher — who set the space trap to examine meteors in space. Although this violates the Watcher’s vow of non-interference, he determined Him came from Earth and placed his cocooned body inside a space satellite that was heading back to Earth.[2]

Now that he is free once more, Him decides to cure his loneliness by taking Sif as a mate. This doesn’t sit well with Thor and Balder who try to attack Him but are knocked back by their Him’s mental powers. Grabbing Sif, Him then teleports away to another dimension. Furious that Sif has been captured, Thor vows to go after Him no matter what and uses Mjolnir to open a vortex to follow them.

Back in Asgard, Odin meets with the royal astrologer to continue his investigation into the origins of Galactus.

Meanwhile, Thor and Balder appear on another world and find Him with Sif. However, Him is not willing to give up the woman without a fight. Suddenly, Haag appears through a portal and tries to pull Balder back to the realm of the Norn Queen. Thor has to break off his attack to try and free Balder. Fighting off Haag, Thor then uses a mystical bolt from Mjolnir to close the portal. By this time, Him has teleported away with Sif to points unknown. As Thor’s rage continues to increase, Balder begins to grow concerned about the thunder god’s state of mind.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Him, Sif, Balder, Odin, Karnilla, Haag, the Watcher (flashback)

Continuity Notes

1. Him’s origins were told in Fantastic Four #66-67. His creators, the rogue scientists known as the Enclave actually survived their encounter with Him and will resurface again in Incredible Hulk Annual #6.

2. The Watcher’s vow of non-interference comes from the fact that they shared nuclear technology with another alien race which used it for war. See Tales of Suspense #53 and Original Sin #0.