To Hela and Back

After liberating Asgard from Mangog, Thor is left to wonder what really happened to his father, Odin, who has been missing for some time.[1] His brooding thoughts are interrupted by Sif, who is concerned about Thor’s feelings for her since Jane Foster re-entered his life. Now that Sif is back, Thor realizes that he cares for her as much as for Sif as he does for Jane.[2] However, the mystery of what happened to Jane has to wait until after they locate Odin.

Going into the room where the vizier searches for Odin, he informs Thor that he cannot detect Odin on any of the worlds known to Asgard. One place where Odin could be is in Valhalla, the dimension of the dead. Thor decides to go there to find his father, leading to protests from Sif. Thor insists that this is a mission that he must go on alone and leaves Balder and the Warriors Three to guard the kingdom in his absence.

Thor then rides a horse out to the border between Asgard and Valhalla. There, his horse becomes so afraid that it dies of fright, forcing the thunder god to continue on foot. Once he crosses over into Valhalla, Thor is greeted by the long dead Harokin who believes that his old foe has died and welcomes him to the endless battle that is the afterlife in Valhalla.[3] Thos insists that he has only come seeking his father, but Harokin and his army of warriors attack. Seeing he has no choice, Thor fights off his attackers. It’s during this battle that Thor looks up a nearby mountain and sees a warrior obscured by shadow, and believes it to be Odin.

Back in Asgard, Balder questions why Karnilla has not returned to her home following the defeat of Mangog. She points out that she goes where she pleases and asks if he has any issue with her lingering around. After a moments consideration he admits that he doesn’t want her to leave.

While back in Valhalla, Thor tries to approach the warrior he thinks he is his father. Unfortunately, before he can reach this man, he is ambushed by Harokin who will not stop his attacks. As he battles Harokin, the other warriors set up massive bludgeon-bow and knock the thunder god out. While Thor is knocked out, Sif comes to the vizier to talk about her fears for Thor’s safety. The vizier reminds Sif that Thor has faced Hela many times in the past and managed to defeat her every time. By this time, Thor has woken up and fights Harokin and his armies anew. The battle is abruptly stopped when Hela arrives. She assures Thor that Odin is not in her domain but the thunder god does not believe her.

Hela decides to indulge Thor and allows him to meet with the man that he believes is his father. However, when Thor gets close enough he discovers that this is actually an elderly warrior named Grombar. When seeing the truth, Thor loses his temper and vents his frustration by unleashing a powerful storm. Once he has calmed down, Hela allows the thunder god to leave Valhalla. When Harokin asks why he didn’t claim the thunder god’s soul, Hela explains that she will claim Thor’s soul at a time of her own choosing and that leaving him to live in torment is sufficient for her ends.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Hela, Sif, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Harokin, Karnilla

Continuity Notes

1. As explained last issue, Odin has been missing since Thor #242. It’s revealed that he is being held prisoner by the Deonists.

2. The situation with Sif and Jane Foster is a convoluted mess. In a nut-shell: Sif merged her life essence with Jane Foster in Thor #236. Jane was in the drivers seat until Sif swapped places with her in issue #249. Sif will remain in control until they are split up again in Thor #334-335.

3. Mention is made of Thor’s long ago battle with Harokin that ended in the warrior’s death. This happened in the Tales of Asgard features in Thor #129-133.