Thor #245
The Temple at the End of Time
In the 50th Century, Thor, Jane Foster and the Warriors Three have failed to stop the Time-Twisters from destroying this era.[1] Stranded in this era, they are powerless to stop their foes from threatening their home era. Wondering how they survived the destruction of this world, Thor theorizes that Jane somehow tapped into Sif’s ability to bypass time and space, protecting them from the devastation.[2]
That’s when Zarrok and his Servitor return in their time ship. The Tomorrow Man is furious that Thor and his allies failed to stop the Time-Twisters. When Thor points out that Zarrko stood by and did nothing, his robotic protector attacks the thunder god to defend Zarrko’s honor. As the two battle it out, a man named Derrek emerges from Zarrko’s time ship. He is horrified to see his world was destroyed and wanders out into the wasteland to mourn the death of his wife alone.
Eventually, Jane convinces Thor and Servitor to stop fighting as it is pointless. She reminds them that their own era is still in danger and pleads with Zarrko to help. The Tomorrow Man is uninterested in providing aid, until Thor suggests that since the Time-Twisters are moving backward in time, they should go to the end of history to prevent the creation of the Time-Twisters, thus ending their threat before it begins. Zarrko agrees to pilot his time ship but it is far from a smooth ride. There is a lot of turbulence as they try to reach the end of all time. Thor and the Servitor put aside their differences to support the buckling walls of the time ship until they reach their destination.
When they arrive at the end of time they soon find a massive structure that exists relatively near a massive sun that is about to go super nova and bring about the heat death of the universe. Landing on the structures surface Thor and his allies find a force field preventing them from entering the building. Thor and Sevitor then combine thier power to breach the barrier. When they succeed, the statues that stand outside suddenly spring to life. They are actually robots called Protectroids and they try to keep the intruders from going inside. In the ensuing battle, the Servitor sacrifices its artificial life to protect its master. Ultimatley, the Protectroids are no match for and are destroyed by the four Asgardian warriors.
When the enter the building they soon find the unborn Time-Twisters inside a trio of incubators. As Thor prepares to smash these pods, they are stopped by an impossibly old being who refers to himself as He Who Remains. He pleads with them not to stop his creations as they are intended to be repositories of knowledge that will survive the destruction of this universe so they can impart their knowledge to the next universe so its people do not make the same mistakes they did. Thor and his allies try to explain the danger the Time-Twisters will pose to the past. However, it is not until Jane Foster gives a tearful plea to He Who Remains that they begin getting through to him. However, before He can make a decision the final cataclysm is about to begin forcing everyone to retreat back into the past. Left alone to make his final decision, He Who Remains tearfully approaches a switch that will terminate the life support of his creations and prepares to switch it off.[3]
When they return to the 50th Century, they are surprised to see that it is a futuristic utopia again. They are quickly taken into custody and brought before its ruler, Derrek. He explains that when Thor and his allies went into the future to prevent the birth of the Time-Twisters it undid the destruction of this era. More, without Zarrko in this era to subjugate its people, Derrek was able to take control and become a just ruler. Since this eliminated the need for Zarrko to go back in time and recruit Thor and his friends to begin with, the Asgardians and Jane Foster suddenly vanish. They reappear in Jane Foster’s apartment just moments before Zarrko first appeared to recruit them. With no memory of their trip through time, Jane hands out refreshments uninterrupted and they go about what turns out to be an uneventful day.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Jane Foster, He Who Remains, Time-Twisters
Continuity Notes
Alternate realities are abound in this story. Zarrko the Tomorrow Man’s 23rd Century future is actually an alternate reality. All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #12 identifies it as Reality-6297. While Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 identifies this 50th Century world exists in Reality-7613. The Time-Twisters themselves come from Reality-761243 per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5.
Jane Foster and Sif were merged together in Thor #236, and they will remain like this until issue #334-335. A footnote here reminds readers that Sif demonstrated her powers over time and space in Thor #139 and 143.
Thor’s intervention here creates a divergent reality classified as Earth-794282 (per the aforementioned Official Handbook A-Z #5) In this divergent reality, He Who Remain instead creates the Time-Keepers, who live to maintain order in the time-stream. They will be first seen in Thor #282. They will be in an eternal struggle to maintain their existence, constantly fighting the Time-Twisters to maintain their individual existence. He Who Remains is later revealed as the final director of the Time Variance Authority. See What If? (vol. 2) #39 and Avengers Forever #8.
Topical References
References to the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe takes place in the 20th Century should be considered topical references. The Sliding Timescale has pushed it forward in time that it does not begin until after the start of the 21st Century. As such, the Time-Twisters leap back in time every 30 centuries might actually be push forward to 31 centuries instead, either that or these time jumps are not as precise.
