All Swords Against Them!

After their battle against Xorr the God-Jewel, the crew of the Starjammer head back to Asgard. Their crew consists of Thor, Odin, Sif, Karnilla, Fandral, Hogun, Hildegarde, Tana Nile, and Silas Grant.[1] When they arrive home, they find the people of Asgard cheering for Odin even though they are not looking in the direction of the arriving ship.

Once they get in closer, Thor and the others are shocked to discover the people of Asgard cheering a group of impostors who resemble Odin, Thor, Fandral, Hogun, and Heimdall. The real Odin and his crew confront these impostors and a battle breaks out. While fighting his doppelganger, Thor can’t understand why the others couldn’t see through the impostor’s trickery since the phony Thor is weilding a sword instead of Mjolnir. When the other warriors of Asgard try to get involved, Odin orders them back and erects a barrier between his people and the impostors so no innocent blood is shed.

At that moment, on the planet Rigel, the Grand Commissioner is overseeing the evacuation of the entire planet due to a powerful threat that is coming to their world. The Commissioner believes that they are shaming their ancestors by abandoning their home world, but in light of the danger they have no other choice.

Back in Asgard, the battle rages on and in a nearby forest, a young maiden named Krista has fled into the woods to get away from the chaos of the battle in the city. There she comes across a strange stone with a demonic face carved on its face. She is enticed to to pick it up and take it into her possession. While back at the scene of the battle, Fandral runs into Volstagg and learns that he and Balder returned to Asgard while the others were out searching for Sif.[2] When they arrived, they found the impostors and Balder was quickly overpowered by a doppelganger of himself and dragged into the dungeon. He and Volstagg then race to the dungeon where they fight off some hell-hounds and free the real Balder from his prison.

The battle continues on, with the warriors of Asgard pushing through the barrier to join the fight. Meanwhile, Thor knocks the fake Heimdall off the Bifrost Bridge and watches as the entity suddenly disappears in a flash of light. Saving Sif from a fake Hildegarde, Thor then confronts the fake Balder. He and Sif are then mystically trapped in a box and the fake Balder drops his disguise, revealing himself to be Igron, Loki’s former minion. Igron explains how he was betrayed by Loki, who banished him to the kingdom of the Rock Trolls.[3] There he toiled as a slave until Thor’s recent battle with Ulik, which created enough of a distraction for him to escape.[4] When Igron eventually returned to Asgard to get revenge it was when the population was the prisoner of intergalactic slave traders.[4] When the people of Asgard later returned without Odin, Igron took advantage of the situation by creation mystical constructs of Odin and the others to fool them into giving control of the kingdom over to Igron who was acting behind the scenes disguised as Balder.

While Igron was busy boasting his scheme to Thor and Sif, the real Balder manages to sneak up behind him and knock the wizard out. This frees the captured pair and the join the others in battle. The conflict comes to a quick end as the impostors — no longer sustained by Igron’s magic — begin to fade from existence. With the battle over, the true Odin reclaims his throne. However, there is little time for celebrating as Odin has become aware of a danger that threatens the planet Rigel that could threaten all life on Earth if it is not stopped.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Odin, Sif, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Heimdall, Hildegarde, Balder, Igron, Grand Commissioner, Tana Nile, Silas Grant, Krista

Continuity Notes

1. Absent from the crew is Karnilla, who isn’t seen again until Thor #249. He absence is quite the plot hole.

2. Sif had went missing in Thor #208 as she and Karnilla went searching for Balder. Thor only just recently rescued her from Xorr the God-Jewel last issue.

3. Igron was betrayed by Loki after he helped him with that lame-ass body-swap scheme in Thor #179-181.

4. Thor’s battle with Ulik referenced here was chronicled in Thor #210-211.

5. The people of Asgard were taken prisoner by alien slavers in Thor #212-213.