Death, Thy Name is Brother!

Don Blake is walking in the pouring rain when a police car suddenly pulls up beside him. One of the officers asks Blake to use his connections to contact Thor and have the thunder god meet with the chief of police. Blake tells the cop that he’ll do what he can and slips away to a nearby alley to change into his alter ego.

When Thor arrives at police headquarters, he pushes through a throng of reporters to meet with the chief. As it turns out, the terrorist named Damocles is threatening the city with a cobalt cannon and they need his help stopping him before it is too late. To assist in this, Thor is introduced to Bennett Barlow, whose brother —Eric — is actually Damocles. Bennett explains that from a young age his brother was quick to anger and aloof with society. Although he graduated from college at the top of his class, he continued to withdraw from society. Bennett began to drift away from his brother as he got involved in student protests of the time as well as earning himself a degree in physics. After Bennett got a job as a teacher and got married, Eric dropped out of his life completely until he resurfaced as Damocles. The only clue to Eric’s whereabouts that Bennett can think of is the rooming house they both lived in during their college days. With no time to lose, Thor picks up Bennett and flies off to investigate.

Meanwhile, Damocles and his men are putting the finishing touches on the cobalt cannon he intends to use to ransom the city and later, the world. When one of his men suggests they use the cannon to star committing robberies, Damocles shoots him as a lesson to the others not to break rank. Retiring to his private chambers, the would-be terrorist realizes that he has to start acting soon before his men stage a mutany.

Elsewhere, a prisoner tries to think of a way of escaping from jail, suddenly, someone blows out the wall to his cell. Before the prisoner can figure out what’s going on, the being who broke him out snatches him up and flies away before the guards can stop him.[1]

At that same moment, Thor and Bennett arrive outside the Brooklyn brownstone they used to live in together. There they are ambushed by Eric in his cobalt cannon. Furious that his brother would meddle in his plans, Damocles tries to blast him with the cannon. Luckily, Thor is able to shield Bennett from harm. However, Eric manages to retreat back to his hideout and decides that it is time for his men to stage a robbery at a local jewelry store.

As Thor tries to track down their foe, he mentions to Bennett how his brother’s cobalt cannon is powered with a synthetic source. This alarms Barlow as the cobalt is unstable and could explode, killing everyone in the city. When they find Damocles and tries to warm him of the danger of the synthetic cobalt, Eric won’t listen. In order to stop his brother, Bennett is forced to shoot him before he can trigger the device one last time and set off a chain reaction that will destroy them all. Thor then creates a vortex with Mjolnir that sends the cannon into deep space where it harmlessly explodes. With the danger passed, Thor decides to leave Bennett to mourn his brother, but tells the mortal that although his brother lived in infamy he died in glory.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Damacles, Blastaar, Wilbur Day

Continuity Notes

1. This prisoner is Wilbur Day, aka Stilt-Man as we’ll learn next issue. His liberator is Blastaar whose identity is also revealed next issue.

Topical References

• Bennett’s “protest days” are implied to have been the many Vietnam War protests that happened across American college and university campuses. This, and the fact that Bennett is depicted doing work on a typewriter, should be considered topical. One could assume (per History of the Marvel Universe #2) that instead of protesting Vietnam, Bennett and his classmates were actually protesting the Sin-Cong Conflict.

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are seen as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This is topical as the twin towers were destroyed in a terror attack on September 11, 2001 and have since been replaced by the singular Freedom Tower.