This Battle-Ground Earth

Contacted telepathically by Odin and told the people of Asgard are coming to Earth, Don Blake immediately cancels all his appointments and clears out his office to prepare for their arrival. Odin soon teleports into Don’s apartment alongside Sif, the Warriors Three, Heimdall, and Balder, among others. They explain that Loki and Tyr have teamed up and stolen the golden apples that grant the Asgardians their immortality, forcing Odin and the others to seek refuge on Earth in order to stave off the advancement of old age. Changing into Thor, the thunder god can’t have his people hanging around Don Blake’s apartment so he heads off to find a more suitable place for them to congregate.

Meanwhile, Loki and Tyr have discovered that the Asgardians have fled to Earth. In response, they summon Jormungand — the Midgard Serpent — to launch a direct attack on Midgard.

Back on Earth, Thor has gone to Long Island where he asks Tony Stark for help with his situation. Tony is more than glad to help and offers a decommissioned computer complex for the Asgardians to find shelter in, leaving a team of staff to assist them in any way possible. Odin and the others arrive shortly after this deal is brokered and a quick meal is prepared for the hungry gods.

By this time, Jormungand has wrapped itself around the Earth, which causes freak weather conditions all over the Earth. Tyr then leads his army along the monster’s scaly hide down to Earth to resume their battle with the warriors of Asgard. When the enemy army arrives outside the Stark facility, there is a tense stand-off between factions. It is here that Loki decides to switch sides, explaining that he only started this conflict because he thought Odin was cheating on his wife with the warrior princess Jolena. Knowing the truth and seeing Tyr has descended in utter evil, the trickster god has decided to fight on Odin’s side. Soon a massive battle breaks out and as the Asgardians fight for their lives, they receive assistance from the Stark employees charged with their care. However, the battle will not be won until somebody stops Jormungand from squeezing the Earth.

Thor decides to do something about this and forces a Storm-Giant named Hamir the Fisherman to return with him to Asgard.[1] There, he commandeers a bull and a sailing ship and prepares to set bait for the Midgard Serpent. Using a massive fishing rod, Thor coaxes the serpent into taking the bait and uses his titanic strength to pull the monster away from the Earth. As soon as Jormungand is pulled away from the Earth, the freak weather conditions come to an abrupt end. Thor then forces the serpent to disgorge all the golden apples it swallowed then tries the monster to Yggdrasil, the world tree.

When Thor returns to the scene of the battle with the golden apples, it gives the Asgardians the will to keep on fighting. Soon, Tyr and his armies are defeated and as the storms clear a rainbow appears in the sky as if in celebration over their victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Odin decrees that Loki will be forgiven since he switched sides but Tyr will face punishment for his mutiny. The Asgardians then celebrate their victory and enjoy the bounty of the recovered apples.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Sif, Tyr, Odin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Balder, Heimdall, Iron Man, Loki, Jormungand, Nurse Stevens

Continuity Notes

1. The scene where Thor snares Jormungand with a fishing rod using a bull for bait is not unlike the vision Loki once had about Ragnarok back in Thor #273. In that story, Thor was assisted in the task by a Storm-Giant named Hymir. Although the giant’s name is spelled Hamir in this story, Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Thor confirms that Hymir and Hamir are the same character. This was probably a misspelling.

Topical References

• When being served food, the Asgardians are told that it comes from Pizza Hut. This should be considered a topical reference as Pizza Hut is a real world business.

Errors

• In this story, Nurse Stevens is depicted as an Black woman when in past issues she was depicted as a Caucasian. It could be that the creative team mixed her up with Brenda Barclay, Don Blake’s secretary.