The Demon Brigade!

Thor and his allies have come to the Golden Star to rescue Odin and the others Asgardians that had been kidnapped by Vrellnexian slave traders. Assisted by Sssthgar and his army of lizard men, they quickly discovered that the reptile was not the former slave he claimed to be, but a former business parter of the slavers.[1]

As Thor and his allies prepare to fight their betrayers, Odin pleads with them to stop fighting, saying the battle is pointless. His pleas distract Hogun enough to allow the lizards to knock him out. Fandral is the next to fall as Thor locks weapons with Sssthgar. However, he is quickly knocked out when one of the lizards drops a massive boulder on him. Soon Hildegard, Tana Nile, and Silas Grant are also taken prisoner.

When Thor finally wakes up he finds himself shackled to the walls of a dungeon. Seeing that his comrades are not in chains, he pleads with them to do something but they have all given up the fight. When one of the lizards tries to force Thor to eat a bowl of gruel, he suddenly realizes that the food has been drugged to sap the prisoners will, hence why even Odin wants to give up resisting their captors. His rage exploding, Thor breaks free from his restraints and fights his way out of the cell. In the next cell over he finds Hildegard and Tana Nile locked up. As they have not been force fed either, he helps free them and they escape the slave pens to plan a rescue mission.

As they sneak around the Golden Star they are approached by a deformed creature named Gregor who convinces Thor and his allies that he is a friend. Gregor proves to be telling the truth when he brings Thor and the others to the secret hideout of a resistance group. It consists of aliens who used to rule the Golden Star prior to its conquest at the hands of the Vrellnexians and Sssthgar. They were allowed to live in poverty because the slavers found no practical use for them. Agreeing to help, Thor, Hildegard, and Tana Nile lead an army of resistance fighters back to the palace where they get the drop on Sssthgar. Held a knife point, Sssthgar is forced to watch as the slaves are freed and his drug factories are destroyed.

With his empire in ruins Sssthgar pleads with Thor not to leave him on this world for punishment. He then reveals that he knows where Sif and Karnilla — whom Thor had been searching for — had gone to the Dark Nebula.[2] Thor and his allies refuse to take Sssthgar with him, leaving him to the mercies of the liberated slaves of the Golden Star.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Odin, Fandral, Hogun, Hildegarde, Sssthgar, Silas Grant, Tana Nile

Continuity Notes

1. The identity of Ssslthgar’s race is not identified in this story. These lizard men are identified as members of the Sssth per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10.

2. Sif and Karnilla have been MIA since Thor #207 when the Norn Queen enlisted Sif’s aid in finding Balder.