Thor #411 — Nick Peron

Sep 27

Sep 27 Thor #411

The Gentleman’s Name is Juggernaut!

Eric is watching the latest news reports about the sinking of Hydrobase, the Avengers headquarters.[1] This is just the latest in a series of brazen attacks by super-villains on heroes all over the city. Eric worries that somebody is conspiring against them.

Little does he know that his suspicions are correct as elsewhere, the mastermind behind these “Acts of Vengeance” is observing them.[2] However, this man doesn’t seem to be aware that Masterson and Thor are merged and wonders how he can make the thunder god come out of hiding.[3]

At that moment, the guards at Crossmore Prison are checking in on their most dangerous super-powered prisoner, the Juggernaut.[4] Confident that the stasis cage will keep their prisoner in check they are shocked when the Juggernaut suddenly vanishes in a flash of light. Cain Maker is transported to New York City and is glad to be free even though he doesn’t know how or why. The news media picks up on the Juggernauts rampage right away. Catching the broadcast, Eric decides to go after the Juggernaut as Thor.[5][6] He considers getting Hercules to tag along, but the Olympian is lost in his own world and he decides against it as three way battle could cause untold property damage.

When Eric taps his walking stick on the ground he suddenly switches place with Thor. The thunder god’s appearance causes the mastermind’s viewing spell to home in on him as he heads into battle. However, because it did not capture Eric Masterson’s transformation, the evil genius behind this plot is left wondering where the Asgardian came from.

Moments later, Susan Austin — Eric’s assistant — returns home from groceries with his Kevin. When they asks “Harry Clese” where Eric had gone, Herc hasn’t the faintest idea.

Meanwhile, Thor confronts the Juggernaut and orders him to stop his rampage. Unimpressed by the thunder god, the Juggernaut swats him away with a single blow. Thor tries his best to stop the Juggernaut but he finds himself torn between bystanders safe from harm and another one of the momentary dizzy spells that he has been struck with recently.[8] Richard Rider watches the battle from his bedroom window and decides to call his friends online. His call to action goes out to Vance Astrovik, Angelica Jones, Robbie Baldwin, and Nita Prentiss. The last person to receive the call is Dwayne Taylor. However, he is in the middle of an exercise routine in his penthouse gym and is informed by his assistant, Chrod. Chrod thinks the kid is going to get himself killed but tells him that he has been summoned anyway.[9]

By this time, Thor’s battle with the Juggernaut has reached a nearby train yard and with no apparent end in sight. When Thor tries throw Mjolnir at his foe, the enchantments that protect the Juggernaut cause the hammer to stop inches from his face before returning to its master. The Juggernaut quickly grabs Mjolnir’s leather thing, pulling him along for the ride and sending him on a collision couse with Thor. The force of the blow is enough to knock the thunder god out however, before the Juggernaut can throw a freight car on the injured hero it is blasted to bits by a microwave blast.

The Juggernaut is then confronted by the New Warriors — Night Thrasher, Firestar, Marvel Boy, Namorita, Nova, and Speedball — who have all come to stop him.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Juggernaut, Hercules, Loki, New Warriors (Night Thrasher, Firestar, Marvel Boy, Namorita, Nova, Speedball), Eric Masterson, Kevin Masterson, Susan Austin, Andrew Chord, Tai

Continuity Notes

Avengers Headquarters was sank in Avengers #311. Eric mentions how Thor and Captain America went to the Fantastic Four to see if they could set up shop at the Four Freedoms Plaza in the interm and were turned down. See Fantastic Four #334.
In case you haven’t guessed, this is Loki. They keep stringing along the obvious until the big reveal in Avengers West Coast #55, like we don’t know what Loki doesn’t look like when he’s wearing his stupid horned helmet.
Masterson and Thor were merged together in order to save Eric’s life in Thor #408. This union will remain in play until they are separated again in Thor #457.
Ol’ Juggs has been in the clinc since he was defeated in Excalibur #3.
The news broadcaster refers to the Juggernaut as a mutant here. However, he’s wrong, Cain Marko is not a mutant. As explained back in X-Men #12, his powers are mystical in origin given to him by the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. Other than Tom DeFalco fucking up his script, we could assume that — in universe — the newscaster is making an assumption since Juggy is always fighting the X-Men.
Eric, under the mistaken impression that Juggernaut is a mutant states that X-Factor usually handles menaces like this. Eric is out of the loop since X-Factor — who posed as mutant hunters when they appeared in X-Factor #1 — had recently revealed that they themselves were mutants in X-Factor #24-25.
Thor has been stricken with these dizzy spells since Thor #402. Little does he know that these are being caused by Loki who has been linked to Thor after giving him a portion of his power back in issue #398. Thor will not learn the truth until issue #413.
An origin as to how the New Warriors first formed is not given here, but it will be told in New Warriors #1.

Topical References

The opening splash page has topical references galore:
- Hercules is depicted listening to “She Drives Me Crazy” by the Fine Young Cannibals on a Walkman tape player. While maybe you could believe that Herc might be into 80’s pop hits, these devices have been obsolete since about 2004. They maintain a niche market but come on that’s a stretch.
- There are two issues of the Alf comic book on Eric Masterson’s coffee table. Marvel did publish an comic book based on the sitcom Alf from 1988 to 1992. However, since that was a licensed comic book its appearance here should be considered topical since the comic has been out of print for almost 30 years at the time of this writing in November 2021.
- Lastly, Eric is depicted as having a CRT television with a channel box and a massive VHS player. All topical. If I have to explain why at this point you haven’t been paying attention.
The New Warriors are depicted as communicating with each other online through a Bulletin Board Serice. A BBS was typically connected to via a modem, it was a really old precursor to the internet and a lot more localized. All the technology used here is, obviously, topical.

The Psychic Slaveship of Space

On its voyage across space, Skuttlebutt detects a heavily armed ship on an intercept path and revives Beta Ray Bill. Learning of the ship, Bill taps his cane to change into his cybernetic form to face any potential threat this vessel may pose to his mission to find a new homeworld for his people.[1]

As Bill approaches the ship alone he is picked up on the scanners by Captain Orack who sees this as a hostile action and orders all weapons to fire. Bill evades these attacks and boards the ship. He then fights through the crew to the bridge where he confronts Orack. The Captain tells Bill that he can call him master just moments before he is knocked out by a blast from behind.

When Bill wakes up he is strapped to a device with a number of other prisoners. Orack welcomes back to the waking world an explains that he operates a slaving ship that is powered by the psychic energies of those he has enslaved. He then excuses himself as his scanners just picked up a fleet of ships full of potential slaves. Bill realizes that Orack is talking about his convoy and realizes that there is nothing he can do to help his people.