Thor #440
The Thor War Part 3 of 4: All the Rivers Run!
The Time Stream
Zarrko the Tomorrow Man has successfully tricked the Thor of the 26th century and present day into a fight in order to absorb the mystical energies created from the battle. Zarrko now returns to the time stream with enough power to make him a master of time.[1] He then explains the next phase of his plan to his robotic bodyguard, the Servitor. He explains how there is a multitude of alternate timelines where critical events branch off into alternate realities, creating a chaotic timeline. He intends to use the energies stolen from the Thors to power his Radical Time Stabilizer to collapse all history into a singular timeline, thus making him the master of all time.
The Present
Zarrko the Tomorrow Man has just fled, stranding Dargo Ktor — the Thor of the 26th Century — in the present day.[2] Beta Ray Bill pledges to help Dargo get back to his proper era. The present day Thor — Eric Masterson — is stand-offish about the whole thing as he has only reluctantly agreed to join them on this mission. The two humans almost come to blows again until Beta Ray Bill breaks them up again. Bill then instructs them on how to combine the power of their three hammers to follow after Zarrko and moments later they disappear into the time stream.[3]
Meanwhile, at the city hospital, Doctor Gary Paretsky continues to monitor Susan Austin, who has been stuck in a coma for weeks.[4] Things are looking grim unless they can find the Doctor Donald Blake as he has the surgical expertise needed to treat Austin’s condition. Just when he is about to give up hope, one of the nurses comes running into the room with a note. What it says gives Paretsky renewed hope.[5]
The Timestream
The Thor Corps appears on the roof of Zarrko’s time cube as it hurtles through the time stream. Without wasting time, the trio then smash their way inside. However, Zarrko is aware of their presence and has plucked old foes from the time stream to fight his foes. These include the Gray Gargoyle, Mercurio the 4-D Man, the Cobra, Tyrus the Terrible, Shatterfist, Demonstaff, and Uroc the Rock Troll.[6] In the ensuing battle, Dargo’s Mjolnir is knocked out of his hand allowing Zarrko to trap it under a force field. Since it too has a sixty-second enchantment that will revert Ktor to human form, Eric Masterson tries to circumvent this limitation by handing off his own hammer to Dargo. Amazingly, this allows them to get around the enchantment and the pair pass their hammer between each other while fighting their foes.
The Present
Kevin Masterson has run away from home, sending his mother Marcy and step-dad Bobby into a panic. Marcy worries that Kevin may have overheard them talking about Bobby’s intention to adopt the boy as his own son and got upset.[7]
Marcy is correct, but Kevin is not in any danger. He has gone to a nearby construction site talk to Jerry Sapristi — a family friend — about the situation. Kevin knows that loved ones need to sacrifice a lot for the people they care about and he upsets Jerry by suggesting that perhaps his father would be better off without him.[8]
The Timestream
The battle between the Thor Corps and the time displaced villains rages on. However, Uroc is causing such a ruckus that Demonstaff decides to retreat, vowing to settle the score with Dargo at a later date. Ultimately, the three Thors channel their magic to jettison Uroc out of the Time Cube where he is lost in the timestream.
That’s when they are attacked by the Executioner, the latest foe to be plucked out of time by Zarrok. He finds that the three men dressed as the thunder god are an affront to the noble warrior and attacks them savagely. Eric and Dargo decide to work together and manage to lay Skurge out with a single punch.[9]
With no other foes left to fight, the trio race into the next room to stop Zarrko. However, the Tomorrow Man has one last foe on hand to stop them: Loki, the god of mischief!
Recurring Characters
Thor Corps (Thor-616, Thor-8710, Beta Ray Bill), Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, Servitor, Grey Gargoyle, Mercurio, Tyrus, Shatterfist, Demonstaff, Uroc, Executioner, Loki, Susan Austin, Bobby Steele, Marcy Steele, Kevin Masterson, Gary Paretsky, Jerry Sapristi
Continuity Notes
For the record, Zarrko comes from Reality-6297 as detailed in All New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12.
Dargo Ktor’s origins were first told in Thor #384. Per All New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #11, his future exists in Reality-8710. Zarrko tricked him into going to the Modern Age and attacking Thor last issue as well.
Going to be nitpicky here for a second here: Mjolnir lost the ability to travel through time after Immortus tricked Thor into giving up this power in Thor #281-282. In this case, Eric Masterson’s hammer would not have the power to travel through time. When Stormbreaker was created in Thor #339, it had all the enchantments that Mjolnir had at that time, as such it did not receive any time travel abilities as well. Lastly, assuming that Dargo’s Mjolnir had remained unchanged over the centuries it too would not have time travel abilities. I have a theory below…
During a battle between Thor and Loki, Susan Austin pushed Marcy Steele and her son Kevin Masterson out of harms way, taking a mystical blast meant for them. This has put her in a coma sever since. See Thor #432.
The situation with Don Blake is, as you can guess, complicated:
Don Blake was a mystical construct created by Odin to be the mortal guise of Thor during a period in which the All-Father wished to teach Thor humility. Thor learned his lesson and regained his power in modern times but retained the Don Blake identity for years before the enchantment was transferred to Beta Ray Bill’s hammer instead. See Journey into Mystery #83, Thor #159, and Thor #339.
For all intents and purposes, everyone in the know believes that Don Blake no longer exists. Years later, we’ll learn that Blake’s existence endured as he lived in a mystical limbo until he was needed again as we will see in Thor (vol. 3) #1.
Dr. Paretsky has been looking for Don Blake since Thor #437. In issue #442 it appears that he has succeeded but we’ll learn that the “Don Blake” seen here is Mephisto in disguise and this is all part of some elaborate attack on Thor.
The various Thor foes have been plucked from different points of history, some from the past, some from the present, others from the future. I have consulted the Marvel Chronology Project to determine what points in the time stream characters have been taken from. They are:
The Gray Gargoyle: Was plucked out of time shortly his first appearance and battle with Thor, placing his appearance here as happening between Journey into Mystery #107 and 113.
Mercurio the 4-D Man: Was taken between his appearances in Captain Marvel #51 and Quasar #14.
The Cobra: was also taken early on his career between his appearances in Journey into Mystery #106 and 110.
Tyrus the Terrible: Hails from Dargo Ktor’s timeline. He appears here after his one and only previous appearance in Thor #384.
Shatterfist: Is actually a foe that Thor has not faced yet. His first chronological appearance will be in Thor #458.
Demonstaff: Is identified as a former foe of Dargo Ktor. Their past clashes will be chronicled later in Thor Corps #1-4.
Uroc: Appears here following his last appearance in Thor #409. Appearance wise, he doesn’t really seem to have been plucked out of any past period of history, at least time of this writing (June, 2022) it’s entirely possible he could have come from some other point in history given that there is thousands of years of events between his chronological appearances.
The Executioner: Was pulled out of time at some point in the distant past between his chronological appearances in Thor #294 (a flashback to the recreation of Asgard) and Marvel Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #15 (another flashback story).
Loki: Loki was pulled out of time between his appearances in Thor #429 and 430.
Bobby Steele announced his intentions to adopt Kevin in issue #438. Kevin overheard them talking about it last issue.
Eric Masterson’s life has been slowly swirling down the drain since he was bonded to Thor in Thor #408, and later forced to take over the mantle in issue #432. However, nobody knows this. As a result of his frequent absences, Eric had to give up custody of his son in Thor #421. These absences also led Jerry to believe that Eric has a drinking problem and confronted him about this in Thor #429-430.
Eric calls Dargo “Sparky” here. When Ktor asks why, Masterson merely says that it is a private joke. “Sparky” was the nickname given to Eric by the Absorbing Man upon learning he Thor had been replaced. See Thor #436.
Topical References
References to the Modern Age taking place in the 20th century should be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age forward in time such that it does not begin until after the start of the 21st century.
Eric Masterson mockingly calls Beta Ray Bill “Obi-Wan Kenobi”, the name of the sage Jedi master from the Star Wars franchise. Usually a reference like this would be considered topical. However, since both Marvel and Star Wars are both owned by Disney that would probably no longer be the case due to brand synergy.
By Mine Own Heart Betrayed
Sif and Balder are on a quest to find the banished Thor.[1] Their quest has taken them to Neffelheim only to discover that the Destroyer has conquered the domain and imprisoned its mistress, Hela.[2] In order to save her and stop the Destroyer, the pair ventured into the domain Midhogg to retrieve a magic sword that can free the death goddess from her crystal prison. In removing the sword from its last victim, Gar-Toom comes back to life and is prepared to destroy them. Worse, the Destroyer has caught up to them, trapping the two valiant warriors in a cave. Luckily, Gar-Toom ends up fighting the Destroyer, prompting Balder to suggest a strategic retreat. Sif refuses, however, because she is convinced that it is Thor’s soul that is powering the Destroyer and she refuses to abandon her beloved.[3] Seeing that she won’t listen to reason, Balder leaves her with the Norn Stones and races off with the magic sword to free Hela.
By this time the Destroyer has defeated Gar-Toom in battle, prompting Sif to try and reason with it in an effort to coax Thor’s personality to the fore. That’s when the Destroyer strikes her across the face. The host then finally reveals her true identity, revealing herself to be Lorelei, the sister of the Enchantress. She has taken control of the Destroyer to get revenge against all those who allowed her to die. As Sif recovers from a furious attack, she vows to stop Lorelei before she can accomplish her goals. Deciding that Sif’s life is now forfeit, Lorelei commands the Destroyer to lower its visor and begins powering up its powerful disintegration ray.
Recurring Characters
Sif, Balder, Gar-Toom, Destroyer, Lorelei
Continuity Notes
After Thor seemingly slew Loki, he was banished for the crime of killing a fellow immortal in Thor #432. Loki actually cheated death as we’ll see in Thor #450-455. We will also learn that Thor wasn’t banished someplace else, but had his identity buried deep within his human host, Eric Masterson, as explained in Thor #456-459.
Hela had previously cursed Thor with brittle bones that would never heal back in Thor #373. In order to force her to remove this curse, Thor piloted the Destroyer armor leading to their clash in Thor #381-382.
Here, Sif wonders whose spirit is piloting the Destroyer armor. She hopes that it is Thor. Unfortunately, Sif’s guess would prove to be incorrect, as we’ll learn in later this issue, the Destroyer is actually being piloted by the spirit of Lorelei who has been dead since Thor #402.
Theory: The Time Travel Problem in This Story
As stated above, per Thor #281-282, none of the enchanted hammers in the Thor Corps story should have any ability to travel through time, yet they manage to pull it off without much of an explanation. The assumption that I can make here is the fact that, according to the fiction, magic is not as precise as science. Perhaps there was some left over magic in all three of the hammers that allowed them some limited time travel ability. This holds up when you consider the events of this issue and the next. The three Thors use their power to enter the time stream, but need Zarrko’s time machine to return to their own times at the end of next issue.
Based on this, a reasonable theory could be that the residual time-travel magic could only allow the Thors to enter the time stream but they would have no control over traveling through it, or out of it, hence why they needed Zarrko’s time machine to return home.
