Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me!

After returning from their search from Odin, Thor and his allies — Sif and the Warriors Three — are shocked to discover Loki sitting on the Asgardian throne.[1] By Loki’s side are some of his past allies: Kroda the Duelist, Magrat the Schemer, Snaykar the Skulker, the Enchantress, and the Executioner.[2] Loki convinces everyone that he has a right to the throne with some documents allegedly written by Odin, and that Karnilla and Balder returned to the Norn Queen’s home. These, in reality, are clever forgeries that fool everyone including Thor. With no way to prove these are fakes, Thor and his allies have no choice but to comply with Loki’s wishes when he dismisses them from his presence.

With Thor and the others gone, Loki gloats how easy it was for him to conquer Asgard while it was left in Balder’s care. He then puts a plan in motion to ensure his rule continues uninterrupted. To this end, he has the Executioner and the Enchantress steal Odin from his sleeping chambers to hide him away.

Unaware of Loki’s schemes, Thor and his allies begin to wonder what became of Balder and Karnilla, whom they left in charge while they were gone searching for Odin. Thor decides to go seek out Karnilla with Sif and the Rigellian Recorder. Before leaving, he charges the Warriors Three with keeping Odin safe until they return. Entering the land of the Norns, Thor and his allies are ambushed by two Storm Giants. As Thor takes them down, the Warriors Three arrive in Odin’s bed chambers to discover that someone had kidnapped him. Finding footprints at the scene, the trio begin to follow the trail.

By this time, Thor and his friends get an audience with Karnilla. She doesn’t know what happened to Balder, saying that when Loki seized the throne, he refused to return to her kingdom. Annoyed with being spurred by Balder yet again, Karnilla returned to her domain. When the Recorder concludes that Loki was lying, Thor races back ahead of the others to search for his missing friend.

Meanwhile, the Warriors Three find the Enchantress and the Executioner in the tunnels below the castle. After a brief battle, the trio defeat their foes, unaware that they are being observed by Loki. The trickster god is glad to be rid of his two allies but fears this might ruin his best laid plans. While down in the dungeon is Balder, who has been shackled since he was tricked by a fake Thor — who turned out to be Kroda in disguise. Suddenly, guards barge into his cell and carry Balder off for some unknown purpose.

Later, Thor arrives at the palace and confronts Loki over the disappearance of Balder. Loki refuses to answer the thunder god’s questions and teleports away. That’s when the Destroyer comes crashing through the wall on a mission to destroy Thor.[3]

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki, Sif, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Recorder, Karnilla, Balder, Executioner, Enchantress, Kroda, Magrat, Snaykar, Destroyer, Odin

Continuity Notes

1. Odin had been missing since Thor #243 prompting Thor to go on an epic search for his father from issues #255-263.

2. Thor recalls when he had to deal with Magrat and Kroda on a mission to prevent Ragnarok some time ago. This was depicted in the Tales of Asgard stories in Journey into Mystery #118-125 and Thor #126-128.

3. Thor last saw the Destroyer back in Thor #228 when it was turned over to Galactus as his new herald. How it came to be here is explained next issue.