Firesword!

The town of Rutland, Vermont, is hosting their annual Halloween parade. Attending the event are Marvel Comics staffers Len Wein, his wife Glynis, Steve Englehart, and Gerry Conway. They are happy to have made it to the event since Steve’s car has been giving them trouble on this trip.[1]

They soon head to Tom Fagan’s mansion where he holds a costume party after the parade. While they are welcomed in by Tom himself, they note that he is acting strange for some reason. Tom quickly excuses himself to check on Loki who is hiding in one of the empty rooms with his dogs, Satan and Diablo. He is pleased with Tom for following his commands and begins preparing a reception for Thor.

At that same moment, Thor has arrived in Rutland with Sif in Hildegard on the hunt for the Absorbing Man. They find Crusher Creel hiding in a nearby forest where their battle begins anew. As Thor and Crusher fight it out, Sif tries to join the battle but Hildegard restrains her, telling Sif that this is the thunder god’s battle.

As the battle rages on, the Marvel staffers have left Tom Fagan’s party to go watch more of the parade. However, they stop to grab a bite to eat. While the men are chowing down, Glynis goes to a washroom. When she doesn’t return right away, the others get worried and send a waitress into the ladies room to see what’s taking so long. The waitress returns moments later, telling them that Glynis is not there, leaving them to wonder where she went and why.

By this time, the battle between Thor and the Absorbing Man comes to an abrupt end when the thunder god knocks his foe into a nearby pond. Unable to stop himself from absorbing the properties of the water, Crusher Creel turns into liquid and dissipates.[2] As Thor contemplates the irony of Creel’s defeat he is confronted by Loki who has used his magic to enthrall and enhance Satan and Diablo. Thor has no wish to harm the innocent dogs and sends them away by creating a whirlwind with Mjolnir. Loki then reveals that he has enslaved a number of the Halloween revelers and uses portions of their life force to create a flaming sword powerful enough to injure Thor.

As they battle, Loki explains how he used his magic to escape the amber prison he was trapped in after he freed Mangog.[3] Watching from the sidelines, Sif fears that Thor will fall in this battle. Still, Hildegard refuses to let Sif join the battle as it is the thunder god’s battle to fight alone. They are then visited by Karnilla the Norn Queen who has teleported to Earth from Asgard seeking her beloved , Balder the Brave. When Sif pleads with Karnilla to help, the sorceress refuses to do so unless Sif agrees to assist her in finding Balder. After Sif agrees to do the Norn Queen’s bidding, Karnilla uses her magic to summon a powerful rainstorm. This distracts Loki long enough for Thor to summon lighting. When a bolt strikes the flaming sword it destroys the weapon and strikes Loki blind.

In the aftermath of the battle, Len Wein and his pals find Glynis who was among those kidnapped by Loki. When they return to Steve’s car they arrive just in time to see someone steal it and drive off. Hearing the fleeing vehicle, Loki tries to flag down the vehicle. Instead, he runs right past it and falls over the edge of a cliff to his seeming demise.[3] With Loki defeated, Thor finds Hildegard who tells him how Sif left to help Karnilla find Balde.r

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki, Absorbing Man, Sif, Hildegarde, Karnilla, Len Wein, Glynis Wein, Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Tom Fagan,

Continuity Notes

1. The group experienced car trouble in Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #16. The events of this story unofficially crossover with the events of Justice League of America #103, as that story and this one fully document the activities of Len Wein and co’s trip to Rutland. In particular what happens when Glynis disappears later on in this issue and the identity of the man who steals Steve’s car at the end is revealed to be Felix Faust, the Justice League’s magical villain.

2. The Absorbing Man will reconstitute himself and terrorize Thor anew in Thor #235-236.

3. Loki freed Mangog who repayed this kindness by sealing him in amber. The battle against Mangog took place in Thor #195-198. Loki freed himself form this prison next issue.

4. Loki is saved from the fall from Dormammu and gets involved in the Avengers/Defenders war. See Avengers #115-119 and Defenders #8-11.

Topical References

• The appearances of Tom Fagan, Len Wein, his ex-wife Glynis, Steve Englehart, and Gerry Conway in this story is not a topical reference. Marvel creators exist in the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe in their relative prime. This also extends to Tom Fagan since he is featured in many Marvel stories to promote the Rutland Halloween Parade which continues to this very day even though Fagan has been dead since 2008.

An Unofficial Crossover

This story marks the first Marvel/DC crossover, albeit an unofficial one as the events of this story — as explained above — crosses over with the events of Justice League of America #103. The only time both companies have acknowledged this unofficial crossover in print was the appendix to the JLA/Avengers hard cover collectors edition.

Still, how do you explain this crossover since both this issue of Thor and Justice League were written in a way to suggest that both franchises exist in the same universe, particularly when later stories establish they are not, particularly DC Versus Marvel, JLA/Avengers and countless other Marvel/DC crossovers of the 90s and early 2000s.

One could assume that Rutland, Vermont — due to it’s mystical significance — causes the barriers between the Marvel and DC universe to grow weaker causing the Rutlands of both realities to merge and become one on Halloween. This caused the characters that exist in both worlds (the Weins, Steve, Gerry and Tom Fagan) to merge, while others that are unique to one universe or the other (Loki and Felix Faust for example) were able to briefly interact before the convergence at Rutland came to an end.