Journey into Mystery

Loki is paying a visit to Hela, his daughter[1], in Hel. He has come to mock her domain, but Hela points out that he is merely bitter that she succeeded in defeating Thor, something that he has failed to do for centuries.[2]

Little do either of them suspect that Thor has taken possession of the Destroyer armor and returned to Asgard. He stands at the entrance to Hel. There, the giant wolf Garn tries to block the thunder god’s path but is quickly incapacitated by the Destroyer’s powerful energy beams.

Thor then makes his way into Hel, using the Destroyer’s powers to lay waste to everything in his path. He eventually reaches the Gjallerbru Bridge and its guardian — Modgud — wisely gets out of Thor’s way.

Back in the kingdom of Asgard, the city is about to be attacked by the Frost Giants. Unfortunately, a plague has swept through Asgard leaving only Balder, Volstagg, Kurse and Volstagg’s children Hildy, Mick and Kevin left standing. Although Balder insists they must defend the kingdom, Volstagg questions how the three men and three children will manage to pull off such a feat.

Back in Hel, Thor crosses the Gjallerbru where Hela is waiting for him on the other side. Unaware that it is his soul possessing the Destroyer armor, she sends her legion of the dead to attack him. They are quickly decimated by the Destroyer’s powerful energy bolts. Seeing this amuses Loki to no end and while Hela cowers, Thor orders her to remove the curse on his body or else he will lay waste to her entire domain.

While in Asgard, Balder has returned to the royal palace where he struggles to come up with a solution to their situation. Unfortunately, Utgard-Loki and his forces arrive and begin destroying the city.[3] They are surprised when Balder comes out to face them, but Utgard-Loki realizes that he’s alone and orders his men to charge.

Meanwhile, Hela refuses to restore Thor’s body to normal because she wants him to suffer for the way he humiliated her recently.[4] Thor then responds by laying waste to her armies of the dead.

Back in Asgard, the children try to help in the battle but are quickly attacked by one of the giants. Luckily, Kurse springs to action and saves their lives. The Dark Elf then joins Balder in the battle.

At that same moment, Hela decides to try and stop Thor’s decimation of her domain by killing his physical body. However, her mystical spell is blocked when Thor uses the Destroyer’s power to seal his body in impenetrable crystal. Thor then incapacitates her and tells her that he will give her time to contemplate the destruction of her realm before he ends her life. Observing all this wanton destruction is the Executioner, who previously sacrificed his life to save Thor from Hela’s domain in the past. He tries to convince the thunder god that this is very unlike him, but Thor swats him away and continues his rampage.

While in Asgard, Volstagg watches the battle from the sidelines like the coward he is. That is until a Frost Giant grabs him from behind. However, Volstagg’s squirming causes the giant to drop him and he lands on his attacker’s foot. This is so painful, the giant ends up crashing into a building and causes it to topple on a number of his comrades. This accidental turn of events give Balder and Kurse the distraction they need to turn the tide of battle.

In Hel, Hela tries one last ditch effort to stop Thor from destroying her domain. She teleports his physical body from Earth and shatters the crystal barrier. However, before she use her touch of death, Thor grabs her by the throat. As he flips down the Destroyer’s disintegrater, Loki watches and gleefully taunts his daughter. Thor then explains the folly of Hela’s plan: that by cursing Thor to eternal life he is depriving herself of souls that the thunder god would have slain, thereby diminishing the population of her domain.

Breaking free, Hela finally caves in and uses her power to restore Thor’s physical body back to normal. This was all according to Thor’s plans but the thunder god doesn’t have long to gloat because Loki reveals to him that Asgard is under attack from the Frost Giants. The trickster conjures up an image from home showing Utgard-Loki and his minions pooling their powers together to try and freeze Asgard with snow and ice. Thor realizes that he needs to deal with this, but vows to confront Loki about his part in everything that has been happening. After getting Hela to promise to only go after souls that belong in her domain, Thor returns his spirit to his body. He uses the last of the Destroyer’s power to seal the suit of armor in a crystal prison as a monument to remind Hela and others of what happens to those who try to mess with him.[5]

Thor then apologizes for striking the Executioner, explaining that he was only pretending to be power man in order to force Hela to remove her curse and commends him for his bravery. Before leaving for Asgard, Thor asks Hela to make him capable of dying again as a warrior who doesn’t put his life on the line is but an empty vessel. Hela complies and teleports Thor out of her realm. She then commends the Executioner for standing up to Thor in the battle and sends him off to Valhalla where he belongs.

When Thor arrives in Asgard he ambushes the Frost Giants and after capturing Utgard-Loki, he forces the others to leave. Balder is pleased to see the thunder god, but doesn’t know how to restore the people of Asgard. That’s when Utgard-Loki offers a cure for the plague in exchange for his own freedom. Thor agrees and lets Utgard-Loki go free, knowing that he will be true to his word. Thor then heads off with Balder, Volstagg, Kurse, Hildy, Kevin, and Mick to celebrate their victory.

Utgard-Loki comes through and soon everyone in Asgard is restored to full health. Sometime later, Loki’s brooding is interrupted by the arrival of Thor who has come to speak with his brother over his machinations over these past few months. He has come to teach his brother a lesson and uses Mjolnir to break Loki’s arm as a warning for next time. After delivering this warning, Thor departs ready to resume his role as champion of the weak.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Hela, Loki, Balder, Volstagg, Kurse, Executioner, Hildy, Garm, Modug, Utgard-Loki, Kevin Mortensen, Mick Mortensen

Continuity Notes

1. According to Norse mythology, Hela is the daughter of Loki. In the Marvel Universe it’s somewhat murky. Journey into Mystery #642-644 reveals that a girl named Leah was sent into Asgard’s distant past and has been implied to be Hela’s younger self. Leah was a construct created by Loki, so Hela’s claim to be his daughter may not be in the literal sense.

2. Hela cursed Thor with brittle bones that will never heal back in Thor #373. He sustained numerous injuries until he was reduced to a pile of jellied flesh last issue.

3. One of the Frost Giants likens the illness plaguing Asgard as being similar to the one that recently ravage Nornheim in Balder the Brave #1-4. This illness was unleashed by Loki in Thor #376.

4. Thor defeated Hela in battle in Thor #360-362, which is the reason why she cursed him.

5. Hela mentions how Thor killed Jormungand the Midgard Serpent. He slew the monster in Thor #380. However, the Serpent will return in Thor #486-488. Here, the serpent is referred to as Loki’s son. This is per Norse mythology. However, at the time of this writing (October 2021), this has not been confirmed as true in the Marvel Universe. It may be true in some Ragnarok cycles, but not others.