Thor #253 — Nick Peron

May 2

May 2 Thor #253

Chaos in the Kingdom of the Trolls!

21 21 05 02 %h 42 37 yrp1l.png — Credits

Thor and Ulik are seeking out the ruby eye of the dragon for competing purposes: While Thor needs the ruby to help locate his missing father, Ulik needs it to save his people.[1] Fighting on a stone bridge suspended over a pit of flames, Thor is tossed over the edge by his foe. Assuming that Thor has fallen to his death, Ulik then turns his attention to the dragon.

However, Thor is far from doomed as he manages to pull himself out of the pit by tossing Mjolnir and grabbing hold of its leather thong. Thor arrives just as Ulik slays the dragon and takes its ruby eye. The two begin fighting it out again, and they almost lose the ruby when it’s knocked into the fire pit. Luckily, Thor is able to save it from destruction with Mjolnir.

When Ulik once again states that he needs the stone to save his people, Thor decides to hear him out. Ulik explains that the Rock Trolls were doing their usual excavation of underground tunnels when they accidentally uncovered a portal to a dark dimension and unleashed a monster Trogg. Although his people have been able to hold Trogg at bay, the monster refuses to give up trying to escape his dimensional prison. Thor’s sense of honor refuses to allow him to leave the Rock Trolls to their fate and he suggests that they form a truce in battling Trogg, hoping that they will not need to sacrifice the ruby eye to stop the monster. Even though they are eternal enemies, Ulik decides to accept Thor’s offer.

Soon, the two unlikely allies return to the domain of the Rock Trolls where their leader, Geirrodur, is surprised to see the thunder god has come to fight for his people. Not long after their arrival, Trogg — a massive albino creature — breaks through the barrier the Rock Trolls built to block the portal to his world. Trogg is incredibly strong and has the ability to fire blasts of energy from his mouth. In the ensuing battle, Ulik manages to use a massive log to shove Trogg back through the portal, but he can’t hold him there forever. Realizing that he has no other choice, Thor tosses the ruby into the portal, sacrificing it to shut it down and end Trogg’s threat for good.

Thor has now lost the one thing that could help him find his missing father and is disheartened by the sacrifice. Ulik is unsympathetic and gloats that only a fool will sacrifice the prize for an enemy. Thor figures Ulik might be right and as he departs the domain of the Rock Trolls he warns Ulik that they’ll meet again and he will not forget this moment.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Ulik, Geirrodur, Trogg

Continuity Notes

Odin has been missing since Thor #243, something that Thor did not learn until issue #250. The All-Father will be found again in issue #262.

The Weapon and the Warrior

Having just won the right to wield the mystical hammer Mjolnir, young Thor had crossed paths with a Storm Giant who refused to move out of his path without a fight. When Thor decided to fight him, he quickly learned that the giant draws strength from the earth itself. Having sunk into the ground, Thor is now at the mercy of the Storm Giant who is prepared to dash the boy’s head on a massive bolder.

However, Thor manages to summon Mjolnir back into his grasp and tries to smash his way free. However, he causes the ground beneath their feet to cave in, sending the pair falling into a cavern. The fight continues in this pit and Thor quickly discovers that whenever he throws his foe he momentarily loses his strength. Remembering that the Storm Giant boasted that he draws his strength from the earth, he realizes that he can defeat his foe by lifting him up off the ground.

With his weakness figured out, the Storm Giant eventually ceases fighting and the two agree to work together to get out of the cavern. Mutually impressed, the two warriors then part company, vowing to fight again some day. Walking away from the battle, Thor realizes that his the truth behind his father’s words “it is the warrior, not the weapon that wins battles!”[1]