The Hammer and the Hellfire!

Ulik has called a meeting with Geirrodur, the king of the Rock Trolls, to go over his strategy of finally defeating Thor. Ulik believes that he lost his past battles against Thor were lost due to the thunder god’s reliance on the enchanted hammer Mjolnir.[1]

At that moment, they are observing Thor on Earth where he is locked in battle with the North Korean army who have attacked him because they think he is spying on them for the Americans. Ulik believes it is the right time to strike and has the other Trolls begin working with some Uru metal — the same substance as Thor’s hammer.[2]

Meanwhile, Thor fights off the Korean soldiers, disappointed that they would attack him for simply stopping in their country to rest. With the soldiers gone, Thor decides to rest and falls asleep thinking about his exile from Earth and his recent search for Sif, who has gone missing.[3]

As the thunder god sleeps, the Trolls come up from the ground and carry them into their underground domain.[4] They manage to get Thor back into the domain of the Rock Trolls before he wakes up. When he does, the thunder god attacks his captors until he is ambushed by Ulik. As the two are locked in combat, the other Trolls begin preparing Ulik’s scheme. However, Geirrodur’s aids suspect that Ulik plans to use Thor’s defeat to steal the throne from their master. Worse, Geirrodur’s wife, Queen Ulla insists they sew for peace. Although his aids consider this treasonous, Geirrodur orders them to ignore his wife and follow through with the plan.

By this time, Thor has stunned Ulik by slamming his fists against the troll’s ears. That’s when two Rock Trolls arrive with a chunk of magnetised Uru metal. As planned, the Uru manages to pull Mjolnir from its clip on the side of Thor’s belt. With sixty seconds before Thor reverts back to his mortal form, the Trolls then rush Mjolnir to their furnaces. Thor soon discovers that his weapon is missing and time is running out before he reverts back to his mortal form. Ulik gloats that this was his plan all along, intending to slay the thunder god when he changes back into Don Blake. Thor tries to get away from the fight, but Ulik continues his attacks.

It’s only when Ulla arrives on the scene and pleads with them to spare Thor’s life does the thunder god break free. He then races to the chamber where Mjolnir was taken just in time to see the other Rock Trolls dump it into once of the furnaces. With second left to spare, Thor leaps into the flames after his enchanted weapon. When Ulik arrives and learns what happened, he considers Thor as good as dead.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Ulik, Ulla, Geirrodur

Continuity Notes

1. Ulik mentions he was defeated by Thor on two previous occasions. He actually fought Thor on three different times. First in Thor #137-139, again in #151-154, and lastly in Thor #173.

2. It is mentioned here that Geirrodur was responsible for the creation of Mjolnir. The forges of the Rock Trolls were used to create Mjolnir, but the weapon was forged by the Dwarves known as Eitri, Brokk, and Buri. There are many conflicting accounts. See Thor Annual #11, Thor (vol. 2) #80, Mighty Thor (vol. 3) #12, Loki (vol. 2) #1.

3. Thor, Sif, Hildegard, Balder, and the Warriors Three were exiled on Earth by Odin in Thor #203. Sif has been MIA since Thor’s most recent battle with Loki in Thor #207. His thoughts also recount his recent battle with the Demon Druid that happened last issue.

4. This story leaves the reader to believe that the Rock Trolls live underground on Earth. In reality, per Thor #137, it is located under Asgard. Marvel Graphic Novel #15 specifies it is located beneath the region of Gundersheim. There are numerous dimensional portals between Earth and Asgard, it wouldn’t be outlandish to assume that such a portal connects the Realm of the Rock Trolls to a geographical location beneath the Earth’s crust.

Topical References

• The North Koreans in this story are depicted as having yellow skin. This was a common colouring choice for Asians in the early days of comics. However, the practice was mostly stopped by the 1970s because, you know, it’s racist.