Look Homeward Asgardian!

After defeating Hero, Thor is shown a startling image by the Celestial leader known as the One Above All. Apparently a scene from over a millennia ago, Thor witnesses his father bowing before Arishem the Judge. Thor can hardly believe it and thinks that this is some kind of deception. However, when he attempts to renew his attack on the One Above All, he is instantly teleported back to Earth.[1]

Appearing in the Eternal realm of Olympia. He is greeted by the Zuras and the other Eternals. That’s when Hero is also teleported back to Earth and reverted back to his original form as the Forgotten One. Thor is surprised to see that his opponent is blind and when Zuras attempts to punish the Forgotten One for his earlier attack, Thor tries to come to his defense. The other Eternals rally behind their leader until Makkari arrives with Sprite who reveals that it was his mischief which led to the Forgotten One being transformed into Hero.[2] Zuras changes his mind and instead of exiling the Forgotten One anew, he charges Sprite to look after him, hoping they will be able to put their positive qualities together and be better Eternals.

This is when Thor notices that more and more Eternals are arriving in the city. Zuras then tells Thor that he and his people have not made a decision on if they should attack the Celestials as the Uni-Mind. Thor is offered the opportunity to join this amalgamation of the entire Eternal population, however the thunder god declines as he must return to Asgard and learn the truth about what the One Above All showed him, despite the fact that he has been exiled.[3]

At that same moment, Odin has traveled to the realm of the Olympian gods to seek out an audience with Zeus. When he arrives he is attacked by Argus the cyclops and a pair of Yellow-Crested Titans. The All-Father easily fights off his attackers and is then confronted by Zeus who has come with Ares, Athena, and Hercules to see what Odin wants from them. Although the Asgardians and the Olympians have did not directly deal with one another except for in rare circumstance, Odin reminds Zeus of their long silent pact with one another.[4] Although Ares and Hercules are untrusting of Odin, Zeus decides to hear him out. The All-Father then explains that he has come to seek the aid of Olympus to prevent anyone from stopping those who may destroy Midgard.

Back in Asgard, Karnilla cries over the body of Balder, who has been kept in a state of suspended animation between life and death after he was mortally wounded during Odin’s faked Ragnarok. She is joined by Odin’s wife Frigga who tries to explain her husband’s intentions were for the good of Asgard. However, Karnilla refuses to believe this considering it a needless act. However, before they can debate this further they hear the horn of Heimdall, warning the kingdom that an enemy is approaching on the Bifrost Bridge. This “enemy” is Thor, whom Heimdall refuses to allow into Asgard while Odin is away. This leads to a battle between the thunder god and his own people.

In the middle of the battle, Thor is paused when Sif suddenly arrives with the Destroyer armor. Sif tries to convince Thor to stand down and stop fighting. However, when he refuses she is forced to use her lifeforce to animate the Destroyer armor. With it, Sif overpowers Thor and tosses him over the edge of the rainbow bridge. Returning to her own body, Sif tries to go to Thor’s aid but she is stopped by her brother Heimdall. As Thor plummets to Earth, his flaming re-entry causes Arishem the Judge to briefly look up into the sky and watch his descent for a moment before resuming his observation of Earth.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Destroyer, Lodur, Balder, Frigga, Heimdall, Karnilla, Odin, Sif, Zuras, Delphan Brothers, Ikaris, Forgotten One, Makkari, Ransak the Reject, Sersi, Sprite, Thena. Karkas, Zeus, Ares, Hercules, Athena, Argus, Sleipnir, Arishem the Judge, One Above All

Continuity Notes

1. Odin bowing down to the Celestials circa 1000 AD is explained in more detail in Thor #300. Odin was just appeasing the Space Gods while he and the Council of Godheads worked together to either find a way to convince the Celestials to spare humanity or destroy them if they should remain unsawed.

2. For more on the Forgotten One’s stint as Hero, see Eternals #13.

3. Thor was exiled after telling off Odin for sacrificing three lives — including that of Balder the Brave — to stage a fake Ragnarok. For all the gory details see Thor #273-278.

4. Odin mentions the times in the past that Thor gotten involved with the affairs of Olympus: Specifically his first and second battles with Hercules in Journey into Mystery Annual #1, Thor Annual #5 (also Odin and Zeus’ first meeting) and Thor’s involvement in the battle of Troy in Thor Annual #8.