O, Bitter Victory!

With Odin absent from Asgard, Loki has seized the throne and with his newfound magical might he has staged an invasion of Washington, DC. Thor now leads a group of American soldiers on a covert mission into Loki’s camp. Although they manage to take down the sentries and make it to Loki’s tent undetected, the trickster is well aware of their presence. When he reveals himself, Loki then casts a spell trapping Thor and the soldiers in a massive diamond.[1] Loki vows that he will finally succeed and conquer Midgard while his step-brother is powerless to stop him.

At the American camp, General Sam Sawyer gets news that Thor and the others have been captured. This was their last ditch effort before making the hard decision to deploy nuclear weapons to stop the Asgardian’s invasion of America.

Meanwhile, Odin — who intentionally struck himself with amnesia to learn human humility — has been adopted by a commune in California who know him as Orrin. After seeing the news footage of the invasion of Washington, “Orrin” has found himself confused by strange thoughts and gone outside. He is joined by Judith, a member of the commune that he has befriended, and when they talk about what’s goin on, she dismisses the invasion as some kind of hoax. As she lectures him about how and why her generation is so jaded at a young age a drunk driver loses control of his car and comes speeding toward them. To Judith’s surprise, Orrin manages to swat the car away with his bare hands before it could run her down. Orrin once again feels strong thoughts in the back of his mind but assures Judith he will be fine once he has had some time alone.

At that same moment, Sif and Hercules arrive on a long abandoned world in search of the Runestaff of Kamo Tharnn, as it may be able to save the life of Thor’s mortal love, Jane Foster.[2] Karmo Tharnn’s home is marked by an eternal beacon signaling where the pair need to go. Sif reiterates her desire to save Jane Foster’s life, because she sees how much Thor loves the mortal and he wishes to help, even at the expense of her own love for the thunder god.

Back on Earth, Firelord tries using his cosmic powers to breach the forcefield placed around Avengers Mansion. When this doesn’t work, the former herald of Galactus pools his powers with Iron Man’s repulsor rays. This manages to make a temporary opening in the field, but only Firelord can leave as the stunt greatly depleted the power supply in Iron Man’s armor. Firelord quickly travels to Washington, DC where his aid is welcomed by Sam Sawyer. The cosmic being leads the soldiers into another attack on the invading Asgardians. This time, while Loki is distracted by Firelord, the spell keeping Thor trapped weakens enough for the thunder god to get free.

With the odds against him, Loki agrees to a one-on-one battle with Thor without weapons. Thor then has sixty seconds to defeat his step-brother or else he will revert back to his mortal guise and be killed. This becomes an all-out brawl and even was the second tick down, Loki begins loosing the additional powers he gained from Dormammu. This gives Thor the advantage and he manages to overpower Loki with two seconds to spare. Although his fellow Asgardians cheer Thor’s victory, none but Firelord sees that Loki’s madness has deeply upset Thor who sheds a tear for his fallen brother.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki, Odin, Sif, Krista, Hercules, Iron Man, Firelord, Sam Sawyer, Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

1. Loki mentions how his powers were magnified by Dormammu during the Avengers/Defenders War. See Avengers #115-118 and Defenders #8-11.

2. Jane Foster was manipulated into a suicide attempt by the Dweller in Darkness in Thor #231. Sif and Hercules began their question in issue #232.