Easy Money

Texas, 1875

A young gunslinger named Sundance is thrown out of a saloon for cheating at a card game. Winged in the shoulder by a bullet, he is told to get out of town before dusk, otherwise the other card players will hunt him down and kill him.

This is overheard by an old cook who offers Sundance a job. Giving him a claim check ticket for the Union Pacific Railroad. He is told if he goes to the town of Alberdene and gives the ticket to a man riding a white horse he’ll make an easy hundred dollars. Sundance can’t make sense of the offer but when the old man sees some riders coming into town, he hands the boy the ticket and tells him to get going.

As he rides out of town, Sundance pauses to see what the arriving riders are up to and is horrified when they stop outside the saloon he was just in and begin opening fire, slaughtering everyone inside. This gang of outlaws is led by a wrinkled gunslinger who has come seeking the old man and the bag-check ticket. The leader of the gang decides to get revenge against the old man for betraying him. As Sundance rides into Alberdene, the man on a white horse arrives at the scene of the slaughter in Danville. There he finds the old man who is dying of a gunshot wound. He tells the newcomer that he gave the ticket to a young man named Sundance and that he can be found in the town of Alberdene.

When Sundance arrives in Alberdene later that day, he decides to pass the time by playing some cards in the local saloon. There he finds the hardcases and their leader waiting for him. However, rather than kill him for the baggage ticket, their leader instead asks him to lead the man on the white horse to an ambush at the railroad crossing at high noon the following day. In exchange, the leader of this gang offers Sundance of enchanted playing cards that will assure he’ll never lose a poker game. Sundance doesn’t buy it until the cards are pressed against his gunshot wound, healing it instantly.

That evening, Sundance is awoken in his hotel room by the man who he is supposed to meet. Sundance tries to shoot the intruder before he realizes who he is and the man is only saved because the youngster is a lousy shot.

The following day, the train heading into town is stopped by the gang of outlaws seeking the special cargo. Their leader finds what their looking for, a crate carrying the golden apples of Idunn. Taking a bite out of one of the apples, the leader of the gang has his youth restored, revealing that he is none other than Loki. Apparently, he had stolen the apples and intrusted them to the old man that Sundance met earlier. However, the old coot had a change of heart and arranged for Loki’s step-brother, Thor, to recover them.

That’s when Sundance and his mysterious benefactor arrive. This other cowboy turns out to be Thor in disguise and upon seeing his brother and his men, changes into his godly form. Despite the fact that he has aged considerably, the thunder god is able to defend himself against Loki’s gang — which turn out to be Rock Trolls in disguise. Realizing that he made a deal with the proverbial devil, Sundance begins helping Thor in the battle. Despite his lousy shooting skills, the young man is able to shoot the partially eaten golden apple out of Loki’s hand and toss it to Thor. With his own youth and vitality restore, the god of thunder is able to defeat Loki and his minions. With the battle over, Thor recovers the golden apples and teleports himself, Loki, and the Trolls back to Asgard.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sundance realizes that he still has the enchanted playing cards given to him by Loki. For a moment he considers using them to make it rich, but tosses them away instead.[1]

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki

Continuity Notes

1. This story was originally set on Earth-616, however, in Black Panther (vol. 3) #46-47 the Black Panther goes back in time and alters the events of this story. This creates a divergence where the Black Panther’s exploits in the 1870s is part of Earth-616 history, while the incident without T’Challa diverges into an alternate reality. Thor: Asgard’s Avenger #1 indexes this as Reality-86870.