At Death Do We Part!

Loki has kidnapped Kevin, the son of Thor’s human host, Eric Masterson. Having stolen the power of the Wrecking Crew to boost his strength, Loki orders Thor to surrender Mjolnir or the boy will be put to death.[1] Refusing to surrender his weapon, Thor sends it off to another dimension while he tries to subdue his step-brother. However, Loki is much to powerful. Thor is forced to summon his hammer back before the 60 second enchantment causes him to revert back into Masterson. Deciding to trick the trickster, Thor tosses the hammer for Loki to catch. Loki forgets that only the worthy can lift the hammer and the weight of the weapon causes him to fall through the floor. This gives Thor time to free Kevin and summon back Mjolnir once more. This angers Loki who vows that no matter what happens next, only one of them will be walking out of his hideout alive.

At that moment, the upper floors of the office building explode, prompting NYPD’s Code: Blue team to show up and cordon off the building. As Thor tries to flee the building with Kevin, the members of Code: Blue entry the lobby and are attacked by statues that suddenly spring to life.

While in Asgard, the Grand Vizier has determined that Asgard is reaching at a pivotal juncture. He senses one of their people is going to die, but he cannot figure out who. With Odin in the Odin-Sleep, Heimdall has been left in charge and the former guardian of the Bifrost vows that no matter what happens, he see his people through this critical upheaval.[2]

Back on Earth, Loki catches up with Thor, who sends Kevin off on his own while he keeps the trickster at bay. Little do the two combatants know that their battle is being observed by the demon Mephisto in Hell. He has anticipated this moment and prepares a soul shroud with Thor’s face on in order to absorb a soul.[3] By this time, Code: Blue have fought their way past the statues in the lobby. With Fireworks Feldstein blowing the doors to the elevator shaft, Rigger Ruiz uses her newly invented grappling gun to help her teammates get to the upper levels of the building in no time flat. Outside, a crowd has gathered outside Loki’s office building. Among them is the Enchantress who now believes that Loki has gone utterly mad. Seeking to cover up her own involvement in matters, Amora decides to seek out the only person who can implicate her in matters, Susan Austin.[4] Using her telepathic power, Amora enthralls Susan and orders her to come out to the building. At that moment, Austin is being chastised by Marcy Steele — Eric Masterson’s ex-wife — who is furious that Susan took her son from school and got him kidnapped. Suddenly, Susan enters a trance like state and leaves, prompting Marcy and Jackie Lukus — Eric’s colleague — to follow after her.

Meanwhile, Kevin Masterson tries to find a place to hide when he is found by the members of Code: Blue who quietly remove the boy from the scene and get him to safety. Loki soon spots the police officers and begins attacking them as well. This gives Thor a chance to recover and resume his battle. As the rest of Code: Blue exfiltrates the building with Kevin, their leader — Marcus Stone — decides to remain behind to see what he can do to help the thunder god in battle. The battle is long and brutal and Thor’s anger gets the better of him that, when he finally overpowers his step-brother, threatens to kill him. However, Thor stops himself, remembering that the killing another immortal is a serious crime in Asgard. Insisting that only one of them will walk away from this battle, Loki looks out a hole in the wall and sees Kevin being reunited by his mother in the crowd below. He then fires a mystical bolt at the two of them. Seeing this danger, Susan Austin shoves Marcy and Kevin out of the way, taking the hit herself.[5]

This is a step too far and Susan’s injury is what finally pushes Thor over the edge. Channeling all his power into Mjolnir and seemingly slays Loki. The moment of the trickster’s alleged death causes Odin to awaken and while he cannot bring himself to punish his son, he tells Heimdall that the thunder god still needs to answer for his crime.

Back on Earth, Susan Austin is taken away in an ambulance. Recovering from the fight, Marcus Stone confronts Thor and tells him that regardless of his justification he still murdered somebody and needs to face the law. Thor agrees, but tells Stone that he must face the judgement of the gods. Taking to the rooftops, Thor is visited by the image of Heimdall who tells Thor that as punishment for his crimes, he will be banished for all eternity.[6] Suddenly, there is a flash of light and Thor has been replaced by Eric Masterson who no longer senses Thor’s presence inside of him. While in Hell, Mephisto laughs as his soul shround is now full, apparently with the soul of Thor trapped inside.

Furious that the Asgardians would banish their greatest warrior, Eric Masterson angrily strikes his walking stick against the wall. Suddenly, there is a flash of light and Eric is transformed into the new Thor.[7]

Recurring Characters

Thor, Thor (Masterson), Loki, Code: Blue (Marcus Stone, Rigger Ruiz, Mad Dog Rossitano, Jock Jackson, Fireworks Feldstein, Mother Majowski), Shelley Conklin, Susan Austin, Marcy Steele, Kevin Masterson, Jackie Lukus, Mephisto, Enchantress, Odin, Grand Vizier, Heimdall, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg)

Continuity Notes

1. The Wrecking Crew had their powers stolen in Thor #430-431. This power will eventually be returned to them in Alpha Flight #118-119. Kevin was kidnapped in issue #431 as well.

2. After Asgard defeated Surtur and Ymir and prevented Ragnarok (yet again) in Thor #425, Odin put Heimdall in charge in the following issue while he undergoes the Odin-Sleep. Odin will appear to awaken in issue #449, but things are a lot more complicated than that.. keep reading.

3. You’ll note I said a soul, not Thor’s soul. His face being on the shroud is a red herring. Through the magic of convolution, when Loki is seemingly killed by Thor, his spirit takes possession of Odin’s body. This results in Odin’s soul being cast into Hell and trapped inside the soul shroud. This will all be revealed in Thor #450-455. Loki managed to cheat death thanks to knowledge he has of the future, see Thor #440-441 and 454.

4. Amora has been posing as Susan’s roommate Leena Moran since Thor #422.

5. Susan will remain in a coma as a result of this injury until Mephisto — posing as Doctor Don Blake — performs a life saving surgery on Susan in Thor #442 and will be back on her feet again in issue #444.

6. It’s later revealed in Thor #456 that Thor wasn’t really banished someplace else, but submerged deep within Eric Masterson. He will ultimately be freed in Thor #457.