Thor #203
They Walk Like Gods
Now
During his battle with Ego-Prime, Thor has been pinned under tons of rubble. This has separated him from his hammer, Mjolnir, leaving him at risk of reverting back to Don Blake. This was all part of Ego-Prime’s plan, as he read Thor’s mind and discovered his weakness. As Sif and Balder try in vein to lift the enchanted hammer, their foe gloats over his victory pointing out how the Fandral, Hogun, and Hildegarde have already fallen to his mutated army.
However, when 60 seconds elapses and Thor changes back into Don Blake, the transformation destroys the rubble instead of crushing him alive. Quickly, Blake races to his walking stick. Slamming it on the ground, he changes back into Thor and leads Sif and Balder back into battle.
Earlier*
Heimdall and Kamorr have just recruited Brooklyn resident Jason Kimball a part of their mission for Odin. They take him down to the pier where their ship is still moored. Once they arrive, Heimdall sees no furthe need for disguises and drops the illusion that makes his viking ship look like a yacht. Aboard the ship, Heimdall introduces Jason to two others he has gathered. They Chi Lo, who went to school in Tokyo returned to her rural village to farm and fish in the sea. The other is Carter Dyam, an Israeli soldier who fought to defend his homeland but did so with a heavy heart and soon learned the pointlessness of war. Jason doesn’t understand why Heimdall wants an artist like himself alongside a farm and a soldier. However, the Asgardian says that all will soon be revealed.
Now
In Asgard, Karnilla forces her way into Odin’s private chamber to demand he act to save Balder from Ego-Prime. Her entry causes Odin’s chessboard to spill on the floor. The All-Father’s vizier tries to apologize for the Norn Queen’s actions when he sees the scattered chess pieces and is horrified to learn that Odin has been playing “The Game". Odin decides that it is time to explain his actions and summons up an image of the battle on Earth.
There, Thor and his allies continue their battle with Ego-Prime, Heimdall and his three charges arrive on the scene. Not far away, Silas Grand and Tana Nile have fled into a nearby apartment building where they try to hole up against the people who are mutated by Ego-Prime. Also nearby, Volstagg is led into the basement of another building by a little girl he rescued from the battle to wait out the battle. By this time, Ego-Prime has grown tired of the constant conflict and decides to unleash his full power so he can transform Earth into a bioverse like that of Ego the Living Planet. However, the entity makes the mistake of blasting the three humans gathered by Heimdall and they sap all of his powers. Realizing what happened, Ego-Prime stands in stunned silence as his body fades into nothingness.
When Thor looks at Jason Kimball, Carter Dyam, and Chi Lo he is surprised to see that Ego-Prime’s energies have transformed them. That’s when an image of Odin appears in the clouds. He explains that he orchestrated all of these events in order to transform the three humans into a new race of young gods. As the three newly born gods are raised up into the heavens, Thor is furious that Odin would play with the lives of everyone on Earth in order to do this and questions if he is father even cares about the billions of lives he jeopardized.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Ego Prime, Sif, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Hildegarde, Odin, Karnilla, Heimdall, Kamorr, Young Gods (Jason Kimball, Carter Dyam, Chi Lo), Tana Nile, Silas Grant, Mephisto (unidentified)
The Passage of Time
Last issue states that Heimdall’s mission takes place one week prior to the main events of this story. However, Thor #203 explains that Heimdall was sent to Earth at the same time he sent Thor to the World’s End and Sif to Blackworld back in Thor #195. If this is an accurate measurement of time, or is it subject to the sliding timescale? I suppose you could go either way. Based on the 4:1 ratio of the Sliding Timescale, Heimdall’s quest would have been about 1.75 days instead of a whole week. I suppose if you want to split hairs, you could since in the grand scheme a few days to a week doesn’t really change overly much.
