Thor #425
The Flame, the Frost, and the Fury!
Thor and his allies have just witnessed the birth of a brand new Celestial in the heart of the Black Galaxy. Being included as part of the birthing process, Hercules has been restored to normal after feeling incomplete for months.[1] However, the High Evolutionary did not get off so lucky. Trying to gather as much data as he could from the Celestial birth, his mind ended up being ruined as a result.[2] Count Tagar takes command and assures Thor that he will restore his friend the Analyzer back to normal and return him to his people, the Rigellians.[3] As Tagar and the New Immortals prepare to disembark, Thor shares a brief glance with Nobilus. Neither god says a word but an understanding is made between them.[4]
Moments after the High Evolutionary and his followers leave, a mystical portal suddenly opens before Thor, Eric Masterson, and Hercules. Emerging from it are Sif and her Celtic allies Leir and Caber. They have come from Asgard seeking out Thor as some dire event threatens to destroy all of Asgard.[5] At that moment, the fire demon Surtur is about to clash with Ymir the Frost Giant, as part of the Endless Circle prophecy which foretells the end of Asgard and the universe as a result of this titanic battle between fire and ice. As the battle rages in the middle of Asgard, Heimdall has his soldiers assist in evacuating the royal city. Among those helping with the evacuation effort are Balder the Brave and a young warrior named Arko. Arko is beginning to question why he is out saving strangers when his wife is somewhere about to give birth to their child. By this time, the soldiers have readied the cosmic cannons to try and destroy the two monsters, but not only do they have no effect, Surtur destroys them with a fireball.
Watching from the royal palace is the Grand Vizier who fears that Asgard is doomed. Suddenly, Sif and her companions return with Thor, Eric Masterson, and Hercules. While everyone is willing to do their part in the battle ahead, Eric Masterson finds himself way out of his depth since he is a simple architect and not a warrior. Quicky, the Grand Vizier explains that the only way to stop Surtur and Ymir is to recover the Twilight Sword — Surtur’s ultimate weapon — from its hiding place in the Sea of Eternal Night.[6] Thor volunteers to go and retrieve the weapon even though entering the realm of the dead will cause him to wither with age and potentially kill him. Sure enough, when Thor dimensionally hops to the Sea of Eternal Night he begins to rapidly age. As he tries to make his way to the Twilight Sword he is attacked by a horde of demons that try to prevent him from achieving his goals.
Back in Asgard, Hercules and Lier combine their strength and begin throwing ruined buildings at Surtur and Ymir. This provides only a momentary respite and requires Caber to use his super-speed to pull the pair to safety when the two titans counterattack. While in the palace, Eric Masterson realizes that Thor won’t survive without some help and convinces the Vizier to send him into the Sea of Endless Night to help, even though Masterson is at an even greater risk of dying given that he is a mortal. With an Asgardian flying craft, Eric rescues Thor and the pair manage to make their way to the Twilight Sword. However, upon their arrival, Eric has become impossibly old and has very little time left.
Thor uses Mjolnir to teleport himself and Masterson back to Asgard, causing them to snap back to their proper ages. The thunder god then uses the Twilight Sword to try and lure the two battling titans. However, Ymir knocks Thor off the hilt of the sword and buries him under chunks of ice, separating him from Mjolnir. Realizing that Thor needs the added strength of his enchanted hammer now that they have been separated, Eric leaps down and tries to lift it.[7] Unfortunately, the enchantment that prevents virtually anyone but Thor to lift the hammer gets in his way. Realizing that they need to merge together once more, Eric holds onto Mjolnir and reaches out to Thor. The can just barely reach each other, however a spark of lightning leaps between their fingers completing the connection and merging the pair together once more.
With his full power restored, Thor waits for Surtur and Ymir to grasp the hilt of the Twilight Sword and blasts them the full power of Mjolnir. This transport the Twilight Sword, as well as Surtur and Ymir to the Sea of Eternal Night where they are buried and placed into suspended animation.[8] For a brief moment, Odin is believed to have been lost in the battle since he was possessed by Surtur. However, a ball of fire falls out of the sky and from the flames emerges Odin, alive and well.[9] The All-Father thanks Thor for his part in saving Asgard and the Asgardian people celebrate their hard won victory. This epic battle has also been watched by the Watcher who observed the birth of the Celestial in the Black Galaxy. His observations complete, he goes off to view other important events transpiring in the universe.
In the aftermath of the battle, Arko races back home and is relived to discover that his wife Deilla is safe and sound and has given birth to their child, a son.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Eric Masterson, Ymir, Surtur, Hercules, High Evolutionary, Tagar, Odin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Leir, Caber, Sif Heimdall, Balder, Analyzer, New Immortals (Nobilus, Juvan, Zon), Grand Vizier, Arko, Deilla
Continuity Notes
Hercules has been having a rough go of things recently. First, he got the living shit beat out of him by the Masters of Evil in Avengers #273-277. From there he was hyper-evolved during a fight with the High Evolutionary in Avengers Annual #17. This form was abducted by the Celestials for the first part of their birthing ritual, as seen in Thor #406-408. Thereafter, Hercules found himself incredibly traumatized in battle and aloof because his experiences with the Celestials. Ultimately, Hercules was brought back to the Black Galaxy to complete the Celestial birthing process as seen in Thor #419-424.
The High Evolutionary had his brain fried last issue. He’ll remain in this state until his New Men devise a way to restore his mind, as seen in Thor #473.
The Analyzer was previously known as the Recorder before he was captured and heavily upgraded by the High Evolutionary in Thor #422. Tagar does not follow through on this promise as we’ll see that the robot is still in his Analyzer form when we see him again in Thor #450. In fact, he will remain in this form in all of his subsequent appearances to date, as of June 2022.
Nobilus was created using DNA stolen from Thor. See Thor #408 and 422 for the details.
This would be the threat of the Endless Circle, one of many Ragnarok prophesies that fortell that the universe will be destroyed in a titanic battle between Surtur and Ymir. See Thor #417-424’s Tales of Asgard back-up features for the entire sprawling story.
The Twilight Sword was created by Surtur over the course of Thor #343 through 348. He then attempted to use it to destroy Asgard in Thor #350-353, but he was defeated by Odin. The sword remained on the field of battle for a time as seen in Thor #363-364 and 366. It was contained in a scabbard that was constructed over the course of Thor #373 through 376.
Eric Masterson merged with Thor in order to save the his own life in Thor #408. They were later separated by the Celestials in issue #423 as Eric was integral to the birth of a brand new Celestial. The pair will remain merged from here until Thor is banished in Thor #432.
This is not the last we’ll see of the Twilight Sword, Surtur, or Ymir. The Twilight Sword will remain in the Sea of Eternal Night until it is briefly stolen by Morgan le Fay in Avengers (vol. 3) #1-3. Surtur will be brought back again in Thor (vol. 2) #37-40, while Ymir will be one of the many foes plucked out of time and space by Krona to stop the Avengers and the Justice League in JLA/Avengers #4.
Odin has been possessed by Surtur since Thor #418.
