Thor #344
Whatever Happened to Balder the Brave?
Asgard
Nornkeep, the home of Karnilla, has an unexpected visitor: Geri, one of Odin’s wolves. The wolf has come to deliver a message to Balder, who has been staying with Karnilla. Balder recognizes that this is an important summons and agrees to return to the kingdom of Asgard with Geri.
There, Odin is deeply concerned since Munin returned from his mission seriously injured. He had sent Munin and Hugin to investigate the origins of a demonic force that recently terrorized the people of Beta Ray Bill. Only Munin returned, severely injured and with grim news from this other dimension. Frigga, Odin’s wife, has noticed how deeply troubled her husband is and asks what’s wrong. He tells her of the grim news he received from his raven and that he has called Balder back to the kingdom to send him on a mission that could determine the fate of Asgard.
When Balder arrives, he is shocked to learn that Odin wishes him to deliver a message to Loki on the outskirts of Asgard. Balder is shocked that he is being sent to meet the man responsible for his recent brush with death and asks why Thor couldn’t be sent instead.[1] Odin insists that Balder is the only one who can carry out this mission. Balder reluctantly agrees but on the condition that he never be asked to lift a sword in violence for Asgard again, a term that Odin agrees to.
New York
Thor in his identity of Sigurd Jarlson is entertaining a woman named Meldoi, whom he had previously saved from Fafnir. He is unaware that she is secretly the Asgardian temptress Lorelei who is plotting to enslave him.[2] Stiff from his last battle, Sigurd agrees to a back massage and promptly falls asleep, much to Melodi’s chagrin. However, she decides to keep stringing Thor along until the moment where she can get him to drink her golden mead presents itself and leaves a note saying she’ll be back to make him dinner on Saturday night.
Asgard
Astride on his horse Silverhoof, Balder embarks on his journey to Loki’s castle. The trek is fraught with danger as he races through a living landslide and past the deadly tendrils of the living forest. After enduring the swirling windstorms of the deadly desert he finally reaches his destination.
As he travels the mountain pass to Loki’s castle he is ambushed by an army of trolls hiding beneath the path who quickly swarm him.
Elsewhere Beyond the Fields we Know
The demonic entity has nearly finished fashioning his weapon, the massive sword called Twilight. Taking the weapon by both hands he swings it into a massive pool of lava causing a massive explosion. Raising the flaming weapon high above his head, he proclaims that the weapon is now tempered.
Asgard
Bound by the trolls, Balder is brought before Loki who is entertaining Malekith, a dark elf who has recently escaped a centuries long exile put upon him by Odin. Balder cannot believe that Loki is entertaining the very threat that Odin send him to warn the trickster about.
Malekith decides that it is best that they slay Balder and orders his minions to kill him. Balder pleads with Loki to save him and allow him to complete his mission, not wanting to resort to violence. Loki responds by turning his back on Balder and when the trolls move in for the kill, Balder has no choice but to reach for a sword in order to defend himself.
New York
Unaware of the goings on in his homeland, Thor resumes his Sigurd Jarlson identity and reports to work at a construction side. His boss, Jerry Sapristi is impressed with how strong Sigurd is but reminds him to wear a hard hat on the site. Seeing Jarlson running around makes Jerry realize that his new employee is more than human. Since his friend Nick Fury got Sigurd the job, Jerry deduces that he must be some kind of superhero and suspects that Jarlson is really Spider-Man.[3]
Asgard
With the Trolls bearing down on him, Balder has no choice but to defend himself as his mission is more important than anything else. As such, he is forced to compromise his vow of pacifism and slaughters all of the trolls. The slaughter infuriates Balder who blames Malekith for pushing him too far. However, when he tries to attack the dark elf, Malekith teleports away. With the danger passed, Balder then hands the message from Odin over to the trickster god. Shockingly, Loki reveals he doesn’t care and tosses the message away. Angry at his quest being so casually dismissed after being forced to compromise his own morals Balder gives into his anger and decapitates Loki with his sword.
Meanwhile, at Nornkeep, Karnilla wonders what Balder’s mission entailed as she has been unable to monitor him since leaving her domain. That’s when the alarm goes off, informing her that something has happened at Loki’s castle. Conjuring up an image of the scene, Karnilla sees the anguished Balder fleeing the castle on horseback and wonders what could have happened to put him in such a fate.
Balder, horrified by the things he has done, decides that he has no place in Asgard and rides out into the endless deserts outside the kingdom in order to die.
Little does Balder know is that Loki wasn’t killed by his decapitation, having used his magics to make him difficult to kill. Amused by the charade, the trickster picks up his severed head and reattaches it to his body, deeply amused by the whole ordeal.
Recurring Characters
Balder, Thor, Karnilla, Haag, Odin, Frigga, Heimdall, Lorelei, Surtur, Loki, Malekith, Jerry Sapristi, Geri, Munin, Silverhoof
Continuity Notes
Loki was responsible for Balder’s brush with death that took place between Thor #274 and 301. It sent his soul into the afterlife and what he saw there badly terrified him to the point where he swore off all violence.
Lorelei has been on Earth trying to seduce Thor since Thor #340. He saved her from Fafnir, giving her an opening in the following issue.
Here, Jerry refers to Nick Fury as his cousin. However, this is an impossibility for one big reason: Fury was born in the 1910s and maintains his vitality thanks to the Infinity Formula (see Strange Tales #159 and Marvel Spotlight #31). As such the Sliding Timescale makes it impossible for Fury to have a surviving cousin young enough to work on a construction site. Fury’s profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4 does not list Jerry and his extended family as relatives of Fury. As such, Jerry referring to Nick as his “cousin” is likely figurative and not literal, much like when soldiers in war consider each others brothers-in-arms.
