Secret Agendas!!

Thor had agreed to help the Absorbing Man scare his girlfriend Titania into going straight by faking a robbery of a golden bull from the Guggenheim Museum.[1] Unfortunately, things have gone south after Thor accidentally let slip that this was a staged robbery and Spider-Man — thinking that Thor is in cahoots with the two crooks — crashes the event and starts a fight with the thunder god.

With the wall-crawler busy with Thor, the Absorbing Man tries to get himself and Titania out of there. However, Titania is none to happy with her boyfriend over this deception.

Thor is having trouble with Spider-Man. The thunderer is much stronger than the wall-crawler, but Spider-Man is faster and more agile than he is. Getting fed up with being a punching bag, Thor then unleashes a powerful bolt of lightning from Mjolnir to get Spider-Man off his back. This briefly ends the fight long enough for Thor to explain the situation, leaving Spider-Man to wonder who left this loser replace Thor.[2]

Meanwhile, war is on the horizon in Asgard, and Heimdall has asked Karnilla to unite their two kingdoms and fend off the coming invaders. Little does he know that Karnilla is only pretending to be an ally. Once under the privacy of the Norn Briars, Karnilla contacts the leader of the rebellion to tell him that Heimdall has fallen for the ruse hook, line, and sinker. The entity responsible is pleased to hear this and eagerly awaits Asgard’s downfall.[3]

Back on Earth, Absorbing Man and Titania are still on the run. Once they have gotten far enough away, Titania knocks her boyfriend into a nearby construction site to give him a beating for betraying her to Thor. Creel tries to explain to Skeeter that he was just doing so to try and get her back on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, MacPherran doesn’t want to listen. Hot on their heels are Spider-Man and Thor and they quickly find the couple squabbling at the construction side.[4] Upon their arrival, the pair turn their anger on the two heroes. The battle draws the attention of a cop walking the beat and he sends in a call back to the station asking they deploy Code: Blue.

While at the nearby hospital, Susan Austin is recovering well after waking up from her coma. Her doctor, Gary Paretsky, tells her that if there is anything he can do for her to just ask. Unfortunately, this tender moment is interrupted by Ed Marrero, Kevin Masterson’s teacher, who has come to deliver flowers to her in person.[5]

At the construction side, Thor is separated from his enchanted hammer and needs to get it back in the next sixty seconds or its enchantment will cause him to revert back into his mortal form of Eric Masterson. Luckily, Code: Blue arrives on the scene distracting the Absorbing Man long enough for Eric to recover Mjolnir. When Titania is wrapped up in bolo made of titanium. When Absorbing Man uses his powers to free her, Titania responds by slugging him in the face as she is still made at him. He decides to turn his frustration over to Thor, whom he blames for their plan backfiring. In the ensuing battle, the thunder god is pinned to the ground. Deciding to take a risk, Masterson taps Mjolnir on the ground triggering his transformation back into a mortal. This temporarily blinds everyone on the scene, including Creel who is quickly beaten into submission by Masterson before he changes back into Thor again.

Seeing her boyfriend hurt, Titania instantly stops fighting and rushes to his side and apologizes for everything. She promises to go straight from now on, much to Creel’s delight. In the aftermath of the battle, Thor isn’t sure that their success was worth all the grief it caused.

While back in Asgard, Karnilla meets with Uroc and Skoll. She tells them that in order to defeat Asgard they will need more allies in their cause and sends them to Earth to recruit them.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Spider-Man, Code: Blue (Marcus Stone, Rigger Ruiz, Mad Dog Rossitano, Jock Jackson, Mother Majowski), Absorbing Man, Titania, Karnilla, Loki (unidentified) Uroc, Skoll, Susan Austin, Gary Paretsky, Ed Marrero

Continuity Notes

1. Absorbing Man and Titania both agreed to go straight back in Thor #436. Titania, however, couldn’t get over the thrill of committing robberies as seen last issue. If that golden bull statue looks familiar that’s because the Circus of Crime once tried to trick the real Thor into stealing it years earlier as seen in Thor #145-146.

2. Nice self-depreciating dig on DeFalco’s part here. But, in story, the decision was made by Heimdall after Thor seemingly slew Loki in Thor #432. Masterson will carry the mantle of Thor until Thor #459.

3. The looming war and Karnilla’s pledge to fight for Asgard happened last issue. The mastermind behind this plot is Loki who was believed to have died in Thor #432. In reality, his soul took possession of Odin’s body and is now plotting behind the scenes while pretending to be in the Odinsleep. Loki’s scheme and the rescue of Odin’s soul will be chronicled in Thor #350-355.

4. Here, Spider-Man mentions how the Avengers get a weekly stipend, something Eric was apparently unaware of. A cash strapped Spider-Man first learned of this income and used it as a motivation to join the Avengers in Avengers #236-237. Things didn’t really work out for the web-slinger and he didn’t end up joining the Avengers at that time. More recently, the web-slinger was granted reserve status on the team in issue #329, but nothing really comes of it.

5. Susan Austin was struck by one of Loki’s mystical blasts in Thor #432. She remained in a coma until she was given a life saving surgery by Mephisto who was disguised as Doctor Don Blake at the time. See Thor #442.

Topical References

• When Thor tries to explain the situation, Spider-Man makes a quip about how he’s not Ann Landers. Landers a pseudonym used by a number of advice columnists in a syndicated feature published in many newspapers, particularly at the time this comic was published. This should be considered a topical reference as the Ann Landers brand was retired in 2016 since — thanks to the internet — writing about your problems to a newspaper fell out of vogue.

The Face of Fear

Sif and Balder are on a quest to find the exiled Thor. Their travels have brought them aboard the Wundagore II where they have been captured by the New Immortals — Nobilus, Juvan, and Zone. They are taken to the bridge where they meet with Count Tagar, who is currently trying to track down their master, the High Evolutionary. The master geneticist had recently been driven mad after witnessing the birth of a new Celestial. Despite this, the Evolutionary has taken off with the robotic Analyzer to points unknown.[1] Hearing Nobilus talk, Sif notices that he looks and acts like Thor and wonders if he might actually be her long lost lover.[2]

While on Earth, the Enchantress is atop the Statue of Liberty in New York to answer a summons from Karnilla the Norn Queen. Appearing as a mystical projection, Karnilla asks Amora to join her army against Asgard. The Enchantress is reluctant to join her side out of fear of reprisal from Odin. Karnilla warns her that she will have to make up her mind as sooner or later the choice will be taken from her.[3]

Back aboard the Wundagore II, Balder and Sif consider the possibility that Nobilus might be Thor. While Sif is certain that this is the case, Balder isn’t quite so sure. That’s when the alarm begins going off. Racing to the bridge, the two Asgardians are informed by Count Tagar that he finally found the High Evolutionary. His master has managed to find the new born Celestial that drove him mad and it is fighting for its life on the surface of Ego the Living Planet!

Recurring Characters

Balder, Sif, Tagar, New Immortals (Nobilus, Juvan, Zon), Ego the Living Planet, Karnilla, Enchantress, High Evolutionary, Analyzer

Continuity Notes

1. The High Evolutionary attempted to gather as much data as he could on the Celestial birthing process. This left his mind addled, as seen in Thor #419-424. This will remain the HE’s status quo until Thor #472.

2. He’s not, but Nobilus was created using DNA stolen from Thor in Thor #408, as explained in issue #422-423.

3. Odin’s wrath isn’t the only reason why the Enchantress is reluctant. It is also because she once had a relationship with Asgard’s current ruler, Heimdall, from Thor #360 through 402.