Thor #436
Savage Reunion!
At Avengers Mansion, the ball-and-chain once owned by the Carl Creel, aka the Absorbing Man, begins flying around the room with a mind of its own. As Captain America and the Avengers Crew try to contain the weapon it suddenly smashes through the roof and gets away. Suspecting that Creel might be back, Cap gives orders to contact both Quasar and Thor to warn them the Absorbing Man has returned.[1]
At that very moment, Eric Masterson is meeting with Mr. Kosinski, who had recently fired him from an architecture job due to his frequent absences. As Masterson pleads for his job back, his Avengers ID card begins to buzz. Thinking Eric came into the meeting with a cell phone, Kosinski is insulted and tells him to get lost. Finally answering the call, Eric learns about the Absorbing Man situation and changes into Thor so he can scout around the city. Along the way, he worries about the toll his double identity has been taking on his personal life. Not only has he lost custody of his son, Kevin, his business is also tanking because being Thor keeps taking him away from his job.[2] He is once again questioning if he is really worthy of being a replacement for Thor when, suddenly, the Absorbing Man’s wrecking ball whizzes by.[3]
Meanwhile, across town, Titania is trying to enjoy a drink at a bar when one of the patrons tries to pick her up. Annoyed by his insistence she gets him to back down by ripping his stool off the ground and putting it up on the bar. That’s when she catches a news report about Creel’s wrecking ball. Believing her lover to be coming back, she decides to head out so she can meet him at their rendezvous point.
At that moment, the Absorbing Man has managed to reform his body, gloating that no matter what superheroes do to him, he’ll always come back. Moments after his ball-and-chain returns to him, Creel is ambushed by Thor. When the thunder god appears unfamiliar with the Absorbing Man’s powers, Carl realizes that he isn’t fighting the real Thor, but somebody else. Still, Eric Masterson tries to apprehend his foe. Unfortunately, the Absorbing Man is able to get away by absorbing the properties of water from the nearby pier and gets away.
A short time later, Thor races to his son Kevin’s school to meet up with him after class. After reverting back to his civilian identity he finds his son and after a tender hug the two head off to spend some time together. Little do they know that they are being tailed by a mysterious man wearing a New York Smashers baseball cap.[4]
At that same moment, the Absorbing Man has robbed a clothing store for something less conspicuous to wear. After changing into his new duds, Creel passes by an electronics store and catches a news story about a bizarre scene where two cars have been twisted into the shape of the letter T. He recognizes this as a message from Titania and heads off to go and find her.
When Eric Masterson gets home he also catches the story and suspecting that this might be a message meant for him he prepares to change back into his alter-ego, but is interrupted when his colleague Jackie Lukus comes knocking. She tells Eric that they need to talk after learning he lost the Kosinski job, but Eric doesn’t have time and bolts out the door, much to her chagrin.
Meanwhile, the Absorbing Man has reached his rendezvous point at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Thor arrives at the scene first, leading to a battle between the two. Thor makes the mistake of trying to strike Creel down with a bolt of lightning, allowing the criminal to absorb its properties and grow to massive size. However, Eric manages to absorb Creel into Mjolnir and shoot him into the air. Absorbing Man, now back in human form, soon comes crashing down. That’s when Thor is ambushed by Titania, who wants to get even with him for attacking her man. When Thor knocks her out in the ensuing clash, Creel becomes deeply upset. He then openly admits that he had hopped they could go straight for once, settle down, and start a family. Waking up to this, Titania is touched and agrees to this idea. Feeling sympathy for the couple, Thor decides to let them go, but warns them to stay out of trouble.[5]
However, by the time Eric gets back to his apartment he can’t believe that he actually let the two criminals go and wonders how he is going to explain this to Captain America. After a shower, Eric hears someone watching TV in his living room and goes to check it out. He is dismayed to see that Hercules is back![6]
Recurring Characters
Thor, Absorbing Man, Titania, Hercules, Kevin Masterson, Jackie Lukus, Captain America, Bobby Steele, M’Daka
Continuity Notes
The Absorbing Man was seemingly destroyed when he absorbed the properties of Quasar’s Quantum Bands to the point where he was overloaded. See Quasar #5.
Eric gave up custody of his son back in Thor #421 when he realized his double life would put his son at risk.
When the true Thor was banished in Thor #432, his powers were passed on to Eric Masterson. This will remain the status quo until issue #457.
This man is Marcy Steele’s new husband, Bobby. He has been trying to find Eric Masterson since last issue. The reason why he wants to talk to Eric is to announce his attentions to adopt Kevin. See Thor #438.
Unfortunately, Titania can’t bring herself to give up her criminal ways, as we’ll see in Thor #447-448. Also, in case your wondering, the two do eventually tie the knot as we’ll see in Avengers Unplugged #3-4.
Eric reluctantly accepted Hercules as his roommate after he was bonded to Thor in issue #408. More recently, Hercules decided to part company to enjoy some revelry after he and Thor rescued Asgard from another Ragnarok threat in issue #425-426.
Topical References
The TVs in this story are depicted as CRT models with knobs and dials to control them. This should be considered a topical reference as these are obsolete technologies.
After first getting pummeled by Absorbing Man, Thor quips “You’d think I was a stand-in for Eddie Murphy” At the time this story was published, comedian Eddie Murphy was somewhat at the height of his popularity and had major starring roles in films. This should be considered a topical reference since Murphy — while still active is in his early 60s at the time of this writing (June, 2022) and likely won’t be active for much longer due to age.
Speaking of obsolete technology, Eric Masterson is also depicted as having a VCR in his apartment.
When watching the news and seeing Titania’s message to Creel, Masterson quips “Probably just a wild publicity stunt for some designer jeans!” At the time this story was published, Calvin Klein was making news for provocative advertisements for their brand of jeans that were highly sexualized and featured celebrity spokes people. This should be considered topical since this method of advertising is hardly new anymore.
A kid in the park is wearing a Was (Not Was) t-shirt. This band was at the height of their popularity at the time this comic was published. While the band is still together at the time of this writing (June, 2022) it should be considered topical because it is unlikely that a teenager would be wearing a shirt from a now obscure band.
Hercules is depicted watching the Flintstones at Eric’s place. This wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference as the animated sitcom has been aired in syndicated re-runs since the series ended in 1966. Hercules is absolutely watching a re-run here.
