When Mephisto Commands

Thor, aka Eric Masterson, and Balder have entered Mephisto’s realm to rescue Sif and what they believe to be the captured soul of the true Thor.[1] There, they discover that Sif has decided to side with Mephisto. She orders them to leave this infernal domain or feel her savage fury. Observing the ensuing battle is the Lord of Lies himself, who goads the heroes with a soul shroud with Thor’s face upon it which contains a captured soul. Thor and Balder try to convince Sif to stop fighting, but she has been convinced to do anything to free the soul of her beloved Thor. While she and Balder lock swords, Thor uses the power of Mjolnir to keep hordes of demons at bay.

Meanwhile, in Asgard, Odin and Karnilla observe the battle. The All-Father is pleased with Karnilla’s spell that reduced Thor’s strength, which will assure his death in Mephisto.[2] This is overheard by Arko, a member of Odin’s personal guard, the Crimson Hawks. Disturbed by what he has heard, Arko decides to leave his post and inform others of this situation.

Back in Hell, Thor is able to fend off the light sensitive demons with bright flashes of lightning. This tactic doesn’t work against a demon that doesn’t have any eyes. However, despite his waning strength, the thunderer manages to fight off his attacker by using fighting tactics that learned from Captain America. Balder, meanwhile, continues to try and reason with Sif but nothing is getting through. By this time, Thor has finished off the demons and confronts Mephisto directly. The demon warns the mortal-turned-god that there is more at stake than just their lives and begins taunting him with the soul shroud.

On Earth, the day has finally come for Susan Austin to leave the hospital as she has fully recovered from her injuries.[3] Her doctor, Gary Patersky, is wheeling her out of the hospital where she is greeted by all her friends and colleagues: Marcy Steel, her husband Bobby, and son Kevin Masterson, Kevin’s teacher Ed Marreno, lawyer Samantha Joyce, and work colleagues Jerry Sapristi and Jackie Lukus. Little does anyone know that one among their number is the vigilante known as Bloodaxe. They believe that nobody will be a victim of senseless crime like Susan had now that they have the power to do something about it.[4]

Meanwhile, the battle in hell rages on and as Thor fends off yet more demons, Sif finally defeats Balder in battle. Horrified by what she has done, the warrior woman becomes consumed by even more rage and directs her anger toward Eric Masterson. As Thor fights for his life, Karnilla casts another spell that prevents Eric from summoning lightning with Mjolnir.

In Asgard, this treachery is seen by the Warriors Three who have answered Arko’s call. When they ask Odin why he would betray their ally like this. This prompts the All-Father to denounce them as traitors to the realm for daring to question his rule.

Back in Hell, Eric Masterson realizes that he cannot hope to match Sif’s strength without his full powers and decides to change tactics. He taps Mjolnir on the ground to revert back to his mortal form and tells Sif that if she still wants to strike him down, it will be like this. Sif begins pummeling Eric, telling him that she will do whatever it takes to win back the soul of the true Thor. When the bloody and bruised Masterson asks if she would be willing to commit murder, Sif suddenly becomes filled with shame and stops fighting. She falls to her knees and pleads with Eric to forgive her. He does, and promises that they will work together to free Thor. As he gives Sif his jacket, the two kiss each other.

Mephisto is disgusted by the tender scene and tells them to take the pilfered soul and take their sentimentality and hope away from his domain. This comes as a surprise to Eric, Sif and the recovered Balder. Mephisto explains that he is willing to give up his prize as his possession of it has been part of a much grander scheme. With the soul shroud finally in hand, Eric opens it up and releases the soul trapped within it. However, they are shocked to discover that it is not the spirit of the long lost thunder god. Amused by this revelation, Mephisto confirms that it is not and never said it was.[5]

Recurring Characters

Thor, Mephisto, Balder, Sif, Susan Austin, Gary Patersky, Ed Marreno, Samantha Joyce, Bobby Steel, Marcy Steel, Kevin Masterson, Jackie Lukus, Jerry Sapristi, Arko

Continuity Notes

1. Thor is believed to have been trapped in Mephisto’s realm since his banishment in Thor #432. Eric Masterson was led to believe this was the truth when he last ventured into this realm in Thor #442-443. He’s not, but we’ll cover this as we go along.

2. Odin’s evil streak here is because he’s not actually Odin. When Loki was seemingly slain in Thor #432, he cheated death by taking possession of Odin’s body. Odin’s soul ended up getting shunted into Mephisto’s realm. This will all be revealed next issue.

3. Susan Austin was seriously injured after getting struck by one of Loki’s mystical blasts in Thor #432. This put her into a coma until she was given a life saving surgery from Mephisto who was posing as Don Blake in Thor #442. She has been recovering in hospital ever since.

4. The identity of the well-wisher who is secretly Bloodaxe is, of course, obscured in shadow and everyone at the scene is drawn with similar jackets so as to keep readers guessing. We’ll find out that Bloodaxe is really Jackie Lukus in Thunderstrike #22.

5. It’s Odin’s soul which we will learn next issue, agian. So where is Thor? When he was banished by Heimdall in Thor #432, he subdued the thunder god’s persona within Eric Masterson, his human host.

Betrayed!

Arko of the Crimson Hawks has alerted the Warriors Three about Odin’s strange behavior. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg then caught Odin and Karnilla using magic to strip Eric Masterson of his powers. When they question the All-Father over this, he pronounces the four warriors as traitors of the realm for daring to question his actions. He then uses the Odinpower to lash out at the traitors while Karnilla summons skeletal warriors to fight on her behalf. The Warriors Three struggle between trying to defend themselves and maintaining their loyalty to Odin, but eventually they all fall in battle,

Meanwhile, the Enchantress has returned from Nightmare’s realm with the exiled Heimdall.[1] With her lover seriously injured, Amora takes him to the seedy back streets of Asgard where she convinces a thief named Togar to take them to a doctor who can keep a secret. Togar agrees to do so, but with reluctance as he wishes to avoid Odin’s wrath. The Enchantress scoffs at this, telling the thief that the man who is sitting on the throne is not Odin, and never was.

Recurring Characters

“Odin”, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Arko, Enchantress, Heimdall, Karnilla

Continuity Notes

1. When Odin entered the Odinsleep in Thor #426, he put Heimdall in charge of the kingdom. After Loki took possession of his father’s body and awoke, he proclaimed Heimdall a traitor and banished him as seen in Thor #449-450. He was banished to Nightmare’s realm where he was rescued by Amora in issues #451-452.