Thor #198
— And Odin Dies!
Thor has returned to Asgard after he collected the waters from the Twilight Well only to discover that his home has fallen to Mangog and the creature now threatens to kill Odin himself.
Thor and the Warriors Three attack Mangog all at once. While Fandral and Hogun keep the creature busy, Thor manages to pull the All-Father from Mangog’s grasp. The thunder god is relieved that he is still alive. He then hands the final waterskin containing the waters from the Twilight Well to Volstagg and orders him to take it to Odin’s vizier. Volstagg does as he is told and the vizier theorizes that the Twilight Well might have some connection to Odin’s own Cosmic Well. To test this theory, the vizier pours the Twilight water into the Cosmic Well.
Nearby, the battle between Thor and Mangog rages on. Meanwhile, Rongo, Bulwar, and Whitemane — old friends of the All-Father — races to Odin’s side to check on him. Odin suddenly wakes up and prepares to re-enter the battle. When his old friends protests this, Odin pulls rank, ordering them to follow his lead as he charges into battle. Mangog is still able to fight them off, vowing to not stop until Odin and Asgard are destroyed.[1]
At that same moment, on Blackworld, Sif and Hildegard ride on Silas Grant’s steam ship. They are trying to make sense of their surroundings when they discover the medieval village they originally found has been replaced with a massive city that looks like it has come out of the 1920s. When they get to shore, they find the citizens are all running in fear of the entity that rules this realm. The two Asgardians can’t find any answers but are surprised to see the Rigellian Colonizer known as Tana Nile is also in the city.[2] Protected by a force field and shooting at a massive target that is beyond their sightline, Tana Nile orders them to seek cover in her force field. They comply and moments later, the entity Tana Nile has bee fighting in vein appears before them.
Back in Asgard, the mixture of the waters from the two Wells causes a massive geyser of water to erupt from the Cosmic Well. This not only causes Asgard to make the trip back to his proper dimensional plane, but it also bathes Odin with rejuvenating water that increases his power even more. By this time, Mangog has made it to the chamber where the Odinsword is kept. He pulls the massive weapon from its scabbard hoping to trigger Ragnarok. When nothing happens, Mangog realizes that Odin has pulled the realm of Asgard out of time and space to prevent him from destroying everything. That’s when Odin arrives and blasts Mangog with all of his might. This appears to do little and Odin is then struck dead by a fatal blow. Horrified to see his father murdered, Thor begins attacking Mangog with all of his might. It’s during this final clash that Mangog begins to shrink in size. The more he fights back the smaller he gets. Refusing to accept the reality of the situation, Mangog eventually shrinks down to nothingness, ending his threat.[3]
Although Mangog is defeated, Odin is still dead and Thor mourns the loss of his father. Quickly a funeral is held and Odin’s body is interned in a tomb. That’s when Thor notices that Hela has not come to claim his father’s soul or body. He realizes that they are still outside of time and space and thus Odin’s soul is still inside his body. Thor then uses the magic of Mjolnir to place a protective barrier around his father should Hela finally appear and goes about finding a means of restoring the All-Father to life.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Mangog, Odin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Hildegarde, Tana Nile, Silas Grant, Balder, Rongo, Bulwar, Whitemane
Continuity Notes
Mangog mentions his recent re-awakening that happened in Thor #195, which followed his last defeat depicted in Thor #154-157.
A footnote here reminds readers that Tana Nile first appeared in Thor #129.
This is not the end of Mangog. He will return to his normal size and briefly pose as Odin in his next scheme against Asgard. See Thor #243-250.
