Aftermath!

Surtur and Ymir have been defeated and Ragnarok averted once again. The people of Asgard celebrate Thor for his part in saving the kingdom. Meeting with his father, Thor learns that Odin must enter the Odinsleep once more and needs someone to rule in his place.[1] Thor declines as he needs to return to Earth. Instead, he suggests that Balder lead in his place. Balder, however, declines, pointing out that things didn’t go very well the last time he was chosen to rule.[2] Odin understands and decides to select Heimdall to rule in his place instead. Transferring a portion of his power to Heimdall, he then has the loyal warrior use it to restore the long shattered Bifrost Bridge, re-establishing a direct connection between Asgard and Earth.[3] With Heimdall serving as ruler of Asgard, the Warriors Three are charged with guardian the bridge.

With celebrations underway, Thor prepares to return to Earth. However, Hercules — who has been fully restored after his ordeal with the Celestials — has decided to stay behind and enjoy the revelry on Asgard for a little while.[4] However, before Thor can leave, he is confronted by Lier the Celtic god of lightning. The warrior wants to battle Thor for the right to make Sif his bride.[5]

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Wrecking Crew are clashing with the NYPD. In order to keep the officers at bay, they have taken a hostage. However, the police have been preparing for such super-human threats for a while now. Once word gets to the precinct of the situation, Captain Shelly Conklin orders Lieutenant Marcus Stone to mobilize his new special unit. This unit is called Code: Blue and each member has been hand picked by Stone. They include inventor Margarita “Rigger” Ruiz, hot tempered Julius “Mad Dog” Rossitano, demolitions expert Daniel “Fireworks” Feldstein, the athletic Andrew “Jock” Jackson, and the wheelchair bound Samuel “Mother” Majowski, who operates the team’s communications network and coordinates the team on the field.

Back in Asgard, Thor is more than willing to engage Leir in combat in order to prevent Sif from being forced to marry him. Sif quickly intervenes and explains that she only agreed to marry Leir if he defeated her champion. However, she never told him who her champion would be, that he only assumed that it would be Thor. Sif then reveals that she will be fighting Leir herself. This puts Leir in an awkward position as he does not wish to fight the woman he wants to wed. This leads to his downfall and he is summarily knocked into a nearby fountain. This gets a good laugh from Leir’s ally Caber.

While on Earth, Code: Blue ambushes the Wrecking Crew and rescues the hostage. At first the quartet believe these cops will be pushovers. However, thanks to a combination of training, equipment, and direction from Mother Majowski, the special police unit proves that they are far more of a threat than first glance. With the capture becoming a very real possibility, the Wrecker decides that the best course of action is escape and channels his Asgardian magic through his crowbar to teleport himself and the rest of his Crew to safety. This use of magic is detected by the new crime boss that has set up operations in New York. He is displeased to learn about this and sends his operative, Ulik the Rock Troll, to deal with it right away.[6]

Meanwhile, Thor bids farewell to his family and friends before returning to Earth.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Eric Masterson, Odin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Balder, Sif, Heimdall, Hercules, Leir, Caber, Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer), Ulik, Loki (unidentified), Code: Blue (Marcus Stone, Rigger Ruiz, Mad Dog Rassitano, Fireworks Feldstein, Jock Jackson, Mother Majowski), Shelley Conklin

Continuity Notes

1. Odin will enter the Odinsleep until Thor #449.

2. Balder’s rule of Asgard came during a period in which Odin was believed to have perished during a battle with Surtur circa Thor #350-353. Balder was chosen as Odin’s successor in Thor #366. He relinquished rule of the kingdom in following the War of the Gods in Thor #395-400, after Odin turned up alive and was rescued from Seth, the Egyptian god of death.

3. The Bifrost was shattered back during the battle with Surtur in Thor #351. This made travel between Asgard and Earth incredibly difficult for a time. During its time adrift, Asgard ended up getting stuck in the Negative Zone, as seen in Thor #404-405.

4. After being hyper-evolved in Avengers Annual #17, Herc was abducted by the Celestials as part of the process of birthing a new member of their race in Thor #406-408. The process was incomplete and a portion of Hercules was left behind. Ultimately, Herc returned to the Black Galaxy and the process was completed, leading to the Olympian being returned to normal. See Thor #419-424. Hercules will return to Earth in Marvel Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #1.

5. Sif promised to wed Leir if he would first bring her to Earth and then defeat her chosen champion in battle. She made the agreement in Thor #417, but the conditions aren’t explained until this issue.

6. This crime boss set up operations back in Thor #414. His face is obscured here but it is so obviously Loki you’ll be screaming at the pages until they make the very obvious reveal in issue #427.

Errors

Colourist Mike Rockwitz must has been asleep on the switch with this issue as there are panels where Marcus Stone is coloured as a Caucasian instead of Black.

Here a Giant Abides!

Officer Kyle Brock and his partner Eddie have cornered members of the Bloody Claws gang at their hideout. However, the situation gets out of control when Eddie is wounded by gunfire. Chased by the gang members, Kyle is forced to carry his friend up to the roof where they is no escape. When he attempts to call for back up, he quickly discovers that his radio caught a bullet as well. Eddie is bleeding out and he begs Kyle to not let him die like this.

This gets Brock to thinking about his own recent brush with death after getting shot in the line of duty. On the brink of death he and two others were brought to the dimension of death where they were offered a new lease on life and super-powers by Seth, the Egyptian god of death. They all found themselves transformed into the Earth Force — Pam Shaw became Wind Warrior, Winston Manchester became Skyhawk, and Kyle became the titanic Earth Lord.[1]

Despite his newfound powers, Kyle tried to keep a low profile by rejoining the police force and trying to live a normal life. Realizing that he doesn’t have this luxury anymore, Brock activates the sign of the atom on the palm of his hand, triggering his transformation into Earth Lord. This is just moments before the Bloody Claws gang arrives on the roof. They are no match for the titanic strength of Earth Lord and they are easily trounced. With the immediate danger over, Kyle can now get Eddie immediate medical attention. He realizes how useful his powers can be after all and decides that Earth Lord is here to stay.[2]

Recurring Characters

Earth Lord

Continuity Notes

1. Kyle and the other members of Earth Force were given their powers by Seth in order to try and destroy Thor. They realized that they were being duped and eventually helped the thunder god liberate Asgard and save Odin, see Thor #395-400.

2. Yeah, this promise proves to be short lived as Earth Lord only makes two more appearances after this (as of this writing in June, 2022): Thor Annual #16 and Thor #456. Probably because Earth Force sucks.

Topical References

• Kyle Brock’s police radio is depicted as a hand held walkie-talkie. This should be considered a topical reference as modern police forces have replaced hand-held models that are more hands free model.