Payments

In Hades, Ares the Olympian god of war is picked up along the shore of the River Styx by Charon who ferry’s him to the palace of Pluto, ruler of this domain of the dead. Pluto has summoned Ares to his domain to discuss getting revenge against Thor for all the times he has interfered with their plans in the past.[1] He explains that this is the perfect opportunity because the Asgardian thunder god has left Asgard alone and has recently fought his own friends. He is alone and ripe for a surprise attack from the pair of them.

Meanwhile, Thor continues his voyage of self-discovery across the sea of space with his new companion Valkyrie.[2] Although he pledge to no longer allow himself to be manipulated again. Although he was pretty confident about this a moment ago, he is now filled with self doubt. Particularly in light of the fact that he just beat the shit out of his old friend Beta Ray Bill, a being worthy enough to life Mjolnir. Valkyrie reminds him that Bill is one of many who are responsible for Thor’s current identity crisis and got what he deserved.[3] Valkyrie then suggests they put aside talk for a moment and asks him to love her. However, before they can get down and dirty, Thor’s ship is rammed by one piloted by Pluto and Ares. Pluto announces that they have come to destroy the god of thunder and attack.

While in Asgard, Sif is still coming to terms with the fact that Thor is afflicted by the Warrior’s Madness. She wonders who she can talk to about this, as Asgardian law states that anyone who suffers this mental illness will be put in permanent exile. For now, she needs to keep this a secret as she tries to figure out a way to cure him. That’s when she is visited by Odin, who sent his son on his current mission of self-discovery. He is concerned that Thor might be gone for a long time and asks Sif if she might know something that might speed up his journey. Not telling the All-Father what she knows, Sif tells him that there isn’t anything she can think of.

Back aboard Thor’s ship, the thunder god defends himself from his two attackers. Although they had the element of surprise, neither Ares nor Pluto are prepared for the unchecked rage of Thor. The thunder god beats the ever living shit out of them and they quickly teleport away to save themselves. Although they failed to destroy the thunderer, their defeat gives Pluto another opportunity to claim victory. The pair return to Olympus and interrupt Zeus while he attempting to engage in an act of infidelity.[4] Pluto shows Zeus his injured son and tells him that Thor had attacked them out of the blue. Zeus is furious and agrees that Asgard must pay for this allegedly unprovoked attack.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Valkyrie, Odin, Sif, Pluto, Ares, Charon, Zeus

Continuity Notes

1. Pluto mentions the time Thor interfered with his plans to invade Earth in Thor #163-164 and Ares’ attempt to foment a war between Asgard and Olympus in Thor #221-222. He neglects to mention the time Thor thwarted Pluto’s efforts to trick Hercules into taking his place in Hades circa Thor #127-130, or the time Ares tried to trigger war on Earth leading to a clash with both Thor and the Avengers in Avengers #98-100.

2. Valkyrie is a figment of Thor’s imagination and is the personification of his growing insanity, as explained in Thor #469.

3. This is referring to all the times he was merged with others or had his identity taken over by others. They are:

   • When Thor needed a lesson in humility, Odin banished him to Earth in the mortal guise of Donald Blake for years until he learned his lesson. Thor was able to regain his powers but limitations to them had to juggle his life with that of Don Blake for years. Ultimately, he broke free of this cycle when the enchantment that allowed him to change into Blake was transferred to Beta Ray Bill’s hammer, Stormbreaker. See Journey into Mystery #83, Thor #159 and 339.

   • Beta Ray Bill was not only able to lift Thor’s hammer and obtain his power, but as I said above, he was also given his own hammer and similar powers. See Thor #336-339.

   • More recently, Thor was bonded to Eric Masterson and had to share a life with him from Thor #408 until issue #432 when the thunder god was banished to Eric’s subconscious. He was finally freed and separated from Masterson in issue #457.

4. Zeus is trying to convince the goddesses that his wife Hera would be on board with him screwing around with them. Which is totally not true. Greek mythology points to the fact that Hera gets pissed whenever Zeus fucks around. This has been addressed in universe mostly in handbook entries namely the Zeus entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #12 and the Hera entry in Thor & Hercules: The Encyclopeda Mythologica #1. She has also attacked Hercules on numerous occasions because he is the child of infidelity. These revenge schemes have been detailed in Hercules (vol. 3) #5, Incredible Hulk: Hercules Unleashed #1, Incredible Hercules #129, Avengers #349, 380-382 and 384 in particular.