Even an Immortal Can Die!

Thor, Sif, and Fandral have been captured by the so-called Soul-Survivors while searching the Doomsday Star for the long missing Odin.[1] Thor demands the leader of the Soul-Survivors, K’rll, explain where they have taken Odin. The albino skinned alien decides to tell their Asgardian captives much more than that.

He explains that the people who lived near the Doomsday Star were part of a confederation of planets that lived in a utopian society. This world was once known merely as Templeworld as it was home to their god, an entity they called the One Above All. The god powered their world with its very lifeforce, which was thought to be infinite. One day, their utopia came under attack by those who sought to destroy their way of life. In order to protect his worshipers, the One Above All created the massive wall that protected the planet. However, such an expenditure of energy caused their god to grow drastically weak and die off.

In order to sustain their way of life, the Soul-Survivors then began hunting down and capturing gods from elsewhere in the universe so they might use their power. However, the process of draining these energies would eventually kill the various replacement gods. Their dead bodies ended up outside their world in the cosmic graveyard Thor and his friends encountered when they first arrived. During their last search, they were able to detect the presence of Odin and intercept the All-Father’s attempt to return to Asgard from Earth.[2] Concluding his tale, K’rll of the Soul-Survivors tells Thor that when Odin eventually dies, the thunder god and his friends will take his place. He assures the captured Asgardians that they will be worshiped by his people for their sacrifice.

While outside, the remaining members of Thor’s party — Hogun, Volstagg, and the Rigelian Recorder — have arrived at the Soul-Survivor’s headquarters. There they get a drop on the guards who have written them off as dead. While inside, Thor and the others are taken to where Odin has been held prisoner this whole time. Witnessing his father sitting in a mock funeral barge that is draining his life energies almost makes Thor speechless.

As both Thor and Odin try to think of how to get themselves out of this situation, back in Asgard, Balder and Karnilla are being led into the kingdom of Asgard by a man they believe is Thor. This impostor has convinced them that there is a threat to the eternal realm. However when their guards are down, “Thor” manages to incapacitate Balder. When Karnilla tries to fight back, the impostor shrugs off her mystical bolts and attacks.

Back at the Doomsday Star, Hogun and the others scale the side of Soul-Survivor’s central tower. As they begin reaching the central tower that have to fend off a swarm of bat-like carrion creatures. While back inside, Thor witnesses as his father dies right before his eyes.[3] Thor is so upset by this he finds the strength to shatter his bonds. As the thunder god attacks the Soul-Survivors, Hogun and the others arrive to lend a hand. K’rll and his assistant N’gll race into another room where K’rll is hooked up to a device that gives him access to the power they drained from Odin. He then appears in a massive from powered by the Odin-Force itself.[4] As he confronts Thor and his allies, Hogun believes they are doomed.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Soul-Eater, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Sif, Odin, Balder, Karnilla, Recorder, Kroda (disguised)

Continuity Notes

1. Odin is missing since Thor #243. The aliens here call themselves the Soul-Survivors, however Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #3 identifies their race as the Dionists.

2. Odin’s kidnapping happened following the events of Thor #239-242. Odin was on walkabout on Earth to learn humility and was briefly enslaved by the Heliopians in the hope he would help liberate them from Seth. Thor managed to save the day, but he and his fellow Asgardians did not notice Odin went missing because Mangog posed as Odin from that point on until Thor #250.

3. Odin doesn’t actually die here, but transfers a portion of his lifeforce to Volstagg, as detailed next issue. A footnote there states that this was revealed on page 15, panel 6, and page 22, panel 4 which — you could have fooled me — since it’s not that obvious.

4. This form of K’rll is unnamed here. It is later identified as the Soul-Eater in Quasar #35.