Thor Annual #14
Set Ascending
This story continues from Avengers West Coast Annual #4…
Thor has gathered Quasar and the Thing and brought them to the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange.[1] The sorcerer explains that the world is imperiled by the nether god known as Set and that he has gathered those who have been in contact with the Serpent Crown as they hold the key to Set’s defeat. This task will not be easy as many of the others who have worn the crown in the past are either believed to be dead, missing, or already in Set’s control.[2][3]
With their mission laid out, Doctor Strange uses his magical powers to transport himself, Quasar, the Thing, and Thor to the undersea headquarters of Ghaur. There, the Deviant has just succeeded in opening a portal to allow Set to cross dimensions. The only opposition left are the remains of the east and west coast Avengers.[4] As the Avengers try in vein to force Set back, Ghaur gloats from the sidelines with the enslaved Brides of Set by his side.
When Set opens one of his mouths to try and swallow the Avengers, Strange and his companions fly inside in order to travel to Set’s home dimension. They travel through a corridor of darkness and combine their powers and strength to break through the barrier on the other side.
Thor and the others soon find themselves in another dimension where they are attacked by Set, who appears is gruesomely turned inside-out on this side of the dimensional gulf. However, attacking the demon on this side has no effect either.
With the battle going nowhere, Thor suddenly gets a moment of inspiration and teleports away. The thunder god has gone to seek out his biological mother, Gaea the Earth goddess to ask for her help defeating Set since she was born from the same primordeal god-stuff that gave birth to Set and the other elder gods. He hopes that she will help him summon Atum — her first born — so he can become the Demogorge and destroy Set on their behalf. Unfortunately, Gaea cannot act as Set’s magic is preventing her from interfering with his plans.[4]
Thor then teleports himself to the heart of Earth’s sun, where Atum awaits the end of the gods. There he tries to get him to act, but he refuses to do so because it is not time for his return. With no time to lose, Thor attacks Atum until he triggers the god’s transformation into the Demogorge. Unfortunately, this plan appears to backfire when Atum consumes Thor on the spot.
Back in Set’s dimension, the battle is going poorly until Thor — having taken control of the Demogorge’s body — arrives and begins attacking Set. With his increased powers he is able to rip apart all seven heads of Set and tosses each into a different dimension. However, moments after Set’s defeat, Thor is absorbed into Demorgorge who takes back control of his body. Doctor Strange and the others are ready to fight to free their ally, but the Demogorge tells them to hold. Explaining that it is not yet Thor’s time to die, the thunder god is released. The Demogorge then reverts back into Atum and returns to the Earth’s sun to wait for his time to return.
With the portal back home beginning to close, Thor and the others quickly cross back into their own dimension. There, they join the Avengers in cornering Ghaur. Unfortunately, the Deviant manages to cover his escape by tossing a black-out bomb. Even though their enemy has escaped, the Avengers and their allies vow to track Ghaur down to his domain in Lemuria and bring him to justice.
… This story concludes in Fantastic Four Annual #22.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Set, Ghaur, Llyra, Doctor Strange, Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, Wonder Man, Vision, Quasar, Sersi), Thing, Beast, Brides of Set (Andromeda, Dagger, Invisible Woman, Marvel Girl, Scarlet Witch She-Hulk), Gaea, Demogorge
Continuity Notes
The Thing is surprised to learn that Doctor Strange is still alive. This is a complicated situation. Not long prior to this story, in Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #79-81, Doctor Strange’s entire sanctum was stolen by an alien mystic named Urthona. In order to prevent his mystical artifacts from falling into the wrong hands, Strange destroyed them all. This created some ramifications as it weakened the barriers keeping a number of mystical threats at bay. Following the second Secret Wars, Strange faked his death so he could combat these threats, as seen in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #1. As for the eye-patch, Strange lost an eye in a battle with Ghaszaszh Nyirh in Strange Tales (vol. 2) #10, it will eventually get restored by Agamotto in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #7.
Only three previous wearers of the Serpent Crown are identified here (the rest I’ll cover below) they are:
The Scarlet Witch: She first wore the Serpent Crown in Marvel Two-In-One #66. At the time of this story she had been turned into a Bride of Set as seen in Avengers Annual #18.
The Viper wore the Serpent Crown back in Captain America #181.
Lastly, he mentions the Sub-Mariner who wore the crown in Sub-Mariner #9. Here, Strange states that Namor was reported to have died. The Sub-Mariner had seemingly perished in Iron Man Annual #10. In reality, he has been working behind the scene to prevent Set’s return and will turn up again in Fantastic Four Annual #22.
Here, the Thing reveals that he no longer has his powers and is actually wearing an exo-skeleton based on his mutated form. This story happened shortly after Ben lost his powers in Fantastic Four #327 and will remain the status quo until he is mutated again in issue #350. The exo-suit he is wearing is based off a model that was built the last time Ben lost his powers. He wore it from Fantastic Four #169 through 176.
Gaea was revealed to be Thor’s biological mother in Thor #301. Thor also recounts her origins, those of Atum, and his recent battle with the Demogorge. These events were chronicled in Thor Annual #10.
Topical References
Doctor Strange offers the Thing some Dramamine when he complains about being motion-sick. This should be considered a topical reference as Dramamine is a name brand of a real world product for the nausea drug Dimenhydrinate.
On the other hand, the Thing referring to Ghaur as a “reject from an old re-run of the Munsters” would not be considered topical since he is referring to the Munsters (a TV show that ran from 1964 to 1966) in the past tense.
God’s Hope
It is the year 3289, the planet Earth has been a dead world for the last thirteen centuries following a great nuclear war. Thor finally returns to his adopted world and sees that it is an empty tomb. Seeing the utter ruination of the planet, the thunder god mourns the utter loss caused by the destruction. Sorrow gives in to rage as Thor summons a powerful storm that causes rain to fall for the first time in centuries. Suddenly, Thor becomes aware of the presence of the Watcher, and believes his sudden appearance is signifying that something important has just happened. With a smile on his face, Thor returns to Asgard, as the waters he has brought to this dead world will guarentee that life will begin anew.[1]
Recurring Characters
Thor, Watcher
Continuity Notes
This possible future has been designated as happening in Reality-89142 in Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Thor.
Relative Strengths and Comparisons
There make a strength comparison of many of the powerful entities he has faced over the years. In the order of power (from weakest to strongest) are Volstagg, Hercules, Loki, Odin, Zeus, Mangog,[1] the Destroyer,[2] Surter,[3] Galactus, Ego,[4] the Beyonder,[5] Exitar the Executioner of the Celestials,[6] Eternity, and the Living Tribunal.[7]
Recurring Characters
Thor, Volstagg, Hercules, Loki, Odin, Zeus, Mangog, Surtur, Ego, Galactus, Beyonder, Exitar, Eternity, Living Tribunal
Continuity Notes
Thor states here that Mangog claims to have the power of a billion billion beings and thinks he might be exaggerating. Regardless, Mangog was created when Odin merged an entire alien race together as punishment for offending him. See Thor #154-157.
Thor states that the Destroyer was created for one thing: destruction. It’s later stated in the narrative that the Celestials once destroyed the Destroyer armor. This and the Destroyer’s origins were detailed in Thor #300-301. Since then, the Destroyer was revived by Loki and at the time of this story it is sealed in crystal in Hel. See Thor #381-382.
Mention is made how Surtur nearly eliminated all life in the universe with his Twilight Sword. See Thor #350-353.
Thor recounts his first battle with Galactus which also included an encounter with Ego the Living Planet. See Thor #160-162.
The thunder god doesn’t have much nice to say about the Beyonder, recounting how he destroyed an entire galaxy in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1, but dismisses it as an illusion — something that has never been confirmed or denied. He also mentions how the Beyonder was recently revealed to be the product of a flawed Cosmic Cube. This idea was floated Fantastic Four #319. There have been many contentions to the Beyonder’s origins. However, most recently in New Avengers (vol. 3) #33 it was stated that the Beyonder was a young member of the Beyonders (plural) godlike entities who created the multiverse.
When commenting on the Celestials, Thor mentions the Fourth Host. See, per Eternals #1-3, the Eternals came to Earth a number of times in hosts to experiment on humanity and study their progress. Ultimately, the fourth host arrived to observe humanity for the next fifty years and render judgement. However, Odin put in motions plans to intervene and the Celestials were forced to judge in humanity’s favor well in advance of those 50 years. See Thor #300-301, again.
Lastly, Thor states that the Living Tribunal is a singular being who renders final judgement on cosmic affairs all over the multiverse. The idea that the Livin’ T (as I like to call him) is a singular entity in all existence was first floated in What If? #32.
Balder Agonistes
Balder is mourning the loss of Nanna, his beloved who sacrificed her own life in order to prevent him from being forced into a marriage to Karnilla, the Norn Queen.[1] He is visited by Karnilla who tries to convince Balder that he only loved Nanna because her manipulations and that he secretly knows that he loves Karnilla and that they are destined to be together.
Balder is insulted by this and tells Karnilla to leave him alone with his grief. However, to prove her point, Karnilla summons Hela and offers to take Nanna’s place instead so that he can be reunited with her if that is what he truly wants. Balder is surprised with himself when he hesitates to give the order. Not sure what that means, Balder leaves to try and figure out what that is.
Little does he know is that Hela was only an illusion conjured up by Karnilla, yet another manipulation on her part to bring Balder one step closer to finally accepting her love.
Recurring Characters
Balder, Karnilla, Hela, Nanna (corpse)
Continuity Notes
Karnilla manipulated Balder into falling in love with Nanna in order to force him into marrying her by threatening Nanna’s life. This backfired when Balder agreed to only marry Karnilla if she would promise not to be responsible for Nanna dying. Nanna, being a fucking psycho, fatally stabbed herself to get Balder out of the forced marriage. See Thor #305-306 A footnote states that this story takes place prior to the events of Thor #311 which started an arc where Odin and the Valkyrie retook Valhalla which, at the time of this story, had been conquered by Hela. That story concluded in Thor #314.
Thy Neighbor’s Wife!
Ages ago, after mastering the secrets of the late sorcerer Eldred, Loki has begun to grow lonely and decides it is time for him to seek out a new mate.[1] Using a crystal ball to find the fairest woman in all of Asgard, Loki is shown an image of the goddess Sigyn. Deciding to make her his bride, Loki rides out and offers her gold in exchange for her hand in marriage.
However, Sigyn flat out refuses, telling him that she is to marry Theoric — one of Odin’s Crimson Hawks — in the next three weeks. Besides, she explains, she could never marry a man who thinks he could win her over with gold. Angered at being mocked, Loki vows that he will make her his bride no matter what.
Days later, Odin sends Theoric on a mission to the southern border of the kingdom to make sure that nothing threatens Asgard. Despite the fact that his wedding is coming up, Theoric agrees to this mission. Hearing of this, Loki sends his astral form out to the domain of the Rock Trolls. There he convinces King Geirrodur to slay Theoric and his companions in exchange for three bags of gold — promising the king that he will make sure that the killing will not spark a war with Asgard.
When the Rock Trolls ambush and murder Theoric and his men, Loki uses his magic to pose as the warrior and returns to Asgard. There he tells Odin that he was ambushed by unknown assailants and that he was the only man alive. The trickster then spends the next few weeks continuing the charade to spend time with Sigyn before the wedding. Although she notices a difference in “Theoric’s” personality, Sigyn does not even suspect the truth.
It is only after the wedding has been officiated by Odin himself does Loki drop his disguise and reveal his deception. When Odin tries to annul the wedding, Loki reminds him that an imperial command cannot be reversed. Surprisingly, Sigyn decides to honor he marriage to Loki and be a dutiful wife. So touched by her sacrifice, Odin decrees that Sigyn will forevermore be known as the goddess of fidelity.
Recurring Characters
Loki, Sigyn, Geirrodur, Odin, Crimson Knights, Sif, Thor, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Frigga
Continuity Notes
Loki’s betrayal of Eldred was chronicled in Thor #400.
Congress of the Crown
This story continues from Avengers West Coast Annual #4….
Uatu the Watcher continues the history of the Serpent Crown. He speaks of the time a few years back when the Thing teamed-up with the Scarlet Witch and Stingray to recover the Crown from Hugh Jones the CEO of Roxxon Oil. At that time, Jones had just used the power of the Serpent Crown to enthrall the entire United States government.[1][2]
Addressing Congress, he tells the gathered politician how he obtained his power. He recounts how the Serpent Crown of another Earth was previously owned by the Living Laser until he was defeated by the Avengers. After that battle, the Vision dumped the Crown in the Pacific Ocean where it was found by the crew of an oil rig. Hiring the Serpent Squad, Jones had the Crown recovered and merged it with the Serpent Crown from this dimension, to further increase his powers.[3]
When the Thing and his allies entered the captial building, Jones summon phantom constructs of everyone who wore the Serpent Crown before him to fight off the uninvited guests.[3] While the Thing and Stingray battle these constructs, the Scarlet Witch engages in mystical combat with the Serpent Crown itself.[4] Wanda is pulled into the Astral Plane where she battles with Set himself. That is until the Thing yanks the Serpent Crown from Jones’ head, despite the fact that it tried to stop him by reverting him back to human form.
Resuming his rocky skin, the Thing was compelled to put on the Serpent Crown. Luckily, his stone hide acted as a natural buffer against the Crown, allowing the Thing to remove it and contain it by crumpling up the wood flooring. With the immediate danger passed, the Thing decided to bring the Crown to Project PEGASUS for safekeeping. This would turn out to be a mistake…[5]
… This story continues in Fantastic Four Annual #22.
Recurring Characters
The Watcher
Continuity Notes
This entire story recaps the events of Marvel Two-In-One #66.
Here, the Scarlet Witch is referred to as a mutant. However, this is not the case. It’s later revealed in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #5 that she was experimented upon as a child by the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his work he made it so that future genetic tests would have Wanda register as a mutant.
For all the references that are being dropped here see Avengers #141-149, 153 and Annual #6 as well as Marvel Two-In-One #64-65.
Nearly everyone who had worn the Serpent Crown in the past is represented here. Other than the Viper and Sub-Mariner (whose connection to the Crown I explained above), these individuals are:
Thoth-Amon: who wore the Serpent Crown (then called the “Cobra Crown) during the Hyborian age. See Savage Sword of Conan #41-43.
Destiny: Who found the Serpent Crown in the 1920s while it was disguised as the Helmet of Power. He wore it from Tales to Astonish #101 until his death in Sub-Mariner #7. The Helmet of Power was revealed to be a disguised Serpent Crown in Sub-Mariner #9.
Naga: Who coveted the Serpent Crown from Sub-Mariner #9-13.
The Living Laser, who wore the Crown in Avengers #153 and Annual #6.
Warlord Krang who wore the Serpent Crown in Captain America #180.
The Serpent Crown would end up taking over Project PEGASUS as seen in Marvel Team-Up Annual #5.
Atlantis Attacks Reading Order
Silver Surfer Annual #2
Uncanny X-Men Annual #13
Punisher Annual #2
Daredevil Annual #5
New Mutants Annual #5
X-Factor Annual #4
Thor Annual #14 <— You Are Here