Thor #358
When Dalliance Was in Flower
Asgard
In another attempt to enthrall Thor and make him her slave, Lorelei has barged in on the thunder god in his bedroom. There she exposes him to the love perfume of Lofn. This makes Thor fall instantly in love with her, finally making him her slave.
New York
Sif and Beta Ray Bill meet again on the observation deck of the World Trade Center. There, Sif once again expresses her conflicting feelings between Thor and Bill. This has been made even harder since her time on Midgard has made her realize that she hasn’t fully experienced life through all the centuries of immortality.
Meanwhile, at their hideout in Redhook Brooklyn, the Green Liberation Front receive orders from their mysterious benefactor. These disgruntled war veterans have been rallied together to strike blows to the American economy. Their leader assures them that their next attack — the Federal Reserve — won’t disrupt regular business in America.
Little do the GLF realize is that their mysterious benefactor is the Russian operative known as the Titanium Man. After ending his communique with the GLF, Titanium Man orders his assistant — Sergei — to prepare the screening device as he wants to be able to appear in battle should Beta Ray Bill interfere with their operations again. The Titanium Man then contacts his superiors in Russia, telling them that the destabilization of the American economy is going according to plan thanks to Sergei’s assistance. Sergei has been forced into their service because they have his parents hostage, but Titanium Man is informed that Sergei’s parents have died in custody. He assures his masters that Sergei will continue to be loyal as long as this is kept secret, little knowing that the cockroaches that infest the hideout are actually tiny spy robots and Sergei has been listening in on this entire conversation.
While in Central Park, the armies of Asgard are packing up camp in preparation for their return home to Asgard. During this downtime, Harokin has become friendly with the American troops and have taken interest in their guns. One of the soldiers allows Harokin to examine an M-16 machine gun so the warrior can learn how they work.
Asgard
In order to confirm that Thor is completely under her control, Lorelei has the thunder god crush a pair of tusks — a gift from his father after Thor’s first successful boar hunt — in his bare hands. When he destroys this gift without a second thought, Lorelei then tries to convince Thor to allow Loki to take the throne of Asgard.[1] Unfortunately, not even the powerful love potion can make Thor agree to let his evil step-brother take the royal throne. Thinking he needs more time to breath in the perfume, Lorelei orders Thor to remain in his chambers, telling him that she will be back later.
New York
The members of the GLF are brought into the Federal Reserve in their card forms allowing them to appear in the bank and catch security off guard. They then begin robbing the stores of gold and set up a bomb to destroy the building. However, their arrival has been detected by Beta Ray Bill, who arrives on the scene moments later. This time however, the Titanium Man teleports himself onto the scene of the battle. However, his true appearance is disguised by a suit of armor the is similar to that of the GLF.
Elsewhere in the city, the Warriors Three step into a bar to get some drinks. There, the patrons make fun of Volstagg due to his weight. Instead of starting a fight, the portly warrior purchases drinks for everyone in the house and challenges everyone to a drinking contest.
Back at the scene of the battle, Titanium Man lets slip his true identity when he refers to Bill as a “lackey of capitalism”, causing the members of the GLF to pause. It’s then that Sergei deactivates Titanium Man’s disguise, revealing his true identity to everyone. Realizing that they have been duped by a Russian operative, the mercenaries turn against them because — despite being thieves — they are still loyal to the United States. Deactivating the bomb they had set, the GLF then begin attacking the Titanium Man who retreats by apparently teleporting away.
By this time, Beta Ray Bill has been given the device that will turn the GLF members into cards. He convinces them to leave behind the stolen gold and dispose of their armor, warning them that he will activate the card transformer and trap those who haven’t followed his instructions. Grateful at being given a second chance, the GLF take off to do just that, thanking Bill for getting them to see the truth.
As people watch this scene unfold, nobody notices when the villain known as Megatak appears, preparing to make a name for himself. However, when he bumps into what appears to be a harmless old man, Megatak is shot dead. “Justice is served” says the old man, as he leaves Megatak’s corpse in the street.[2]
In the aftermath of the battle, Sif has made up her mind and has decided to return to Asgard and be there for Thor. Although she and Bill will be parting company, Sif vows to cherish every moment they have left.
Later, Sergei returns to the Titanium Man’s hideout. There he retrieves a green card — the Titanium Man himself, trapped by Sergei’s card-forming technology. He then goes outside and rips the card in half before tossing it in the trash.[3]
Asgard
Lorelei has returned to Loki’s castle to report on her latest attempt to enthrall Thor. However, when she arrives she and Loki suddenly fall madly in love with each other. They give into the throws of passion, little realizing that this was a spell cast upon them by Lorelei’s sister, the Enchantress.
Meanwhile, Heimdall has come to see Thor to warn him that Malekith the Dark Elf has escaped from the castle dungeon.[4] However, Thor — still under the effects of the love potion — isn’t interested in any of this and decrees that in order to win Lorelei’s love, he will allow Loki to take the throne of Asgard.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Lorelei, Sif, Harokin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Heimdall, Titanium Man, Green Liberation Front, Megatak, Scourge of the Underworld, Loki
Continuity Notes
Here Lorelei mentions the apparent demise of Odin. Odin seemingly perished in a battle with Surtur in Thor #353. He actually survived and will turn up again in Thor #398-400.
As explained in US Agent #1-4, this assassin is one of the Scourge of the Underworld, an organization created by the wartime hero known as the Angel to eliminate super-villains. This is not the end of Megatak though, as he will be resurrected years later by the Hood in Punisher (vol. 8) #5.
This is not the end of Titanium Man either as he will turn up alive again in Soviet Super Soldiers #1.
Malekith has been imprisoned since he unleashed the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters, leading to the war with Surtur. See Thor #344-348.
Topical References
The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline. This should be considered topical as these buildings were destroyed in a terror attack on September 11, 2001. They have since been replaced by the Freedom Tower.
This story states that the Green Liberation Front are all disenfranchised Vietnam War veterans. This should also be considered topical as it would radically age the characters due to the Sliding Timescale. Per History of the Marvel Universe #2, one could assume that these characters are now soldiers who fought in the Sin-Cong Conflict, a fictional war that was created as a catch all for characters from the Modern Age who have had previous military experience.
Russia is referred to as the Soviet Union in this story. This and other Cold War references to Russia should be considered topical since the Soviet Union fell in 1991.
