Thor #463
Devotions
Infinity Crusade continues from Terror Inc. #13…
Having decided to divorce himself from his association with Asgard, Thor smashes the sailing vessel given to him by his father Odin to embark on his quest of self discovery.[1] This pleases Valkyrie the mysterious woman who has been following him for some time and encouraging him to denounce Odin and his people.[2] With the ship now destroyed, the pair continue on their voyage under the power of Thor’s enchanted hammer Mjolnir.
Meanwhile, in Olympus, Pluto is petitioning Zeus to do something about the fact that he and Ares were attacked by Ares without provocation.[3] Pluto riles Zeus up so that he agrees that he must travel to Asgard and demand retribution for the harm done to his son, Ares.
Later, Thor and Valkyrie arrive at what appears to be a deserted planet lush with vegetation. The pair stop to rest for a while and Valkyrie tries to get the thunder god to romance him. However, he gets distracted because he hears someone calling his name. Unable to ignore this voice, Thor goes looking for its source. He reaches a pond where his reflection suddenly changes into the form of a woman with golden skin and equally golden armor. She introduces herself as the Goddess and, emerging from the water, she explains that she is seeking out spiritually connected individuals to assist in her crusade to bring peace to the universe, something she calls her Infinity Crusade.[4]
Thor tries to make the case that he isn’t interested in joining a cause now that he is his own man. However, the Goddess is very pervasive and manages to start convincing Thor to join up, saying he will be part of an important cause. Valkyrie takes issue with this, telling Thor that he only needs her counsel. When the Goddess continues to try and convince the thunder god, Valkyrie summons a sword and attack. The Goddess meets her attack with a sword of her own. As the two women fight it out, Thor makes up his mind and slams his hammer on the ground to get them to stop fighting. He tells the pair that he is going to join the Goddess’ cause because it is not a selfish one.
Valkyrie protests this idea, saying that the Goddess is trying to manipulate him just like Odin had done in the past. The Goddess intervenes and seemingly vaporizes Valkyrie.[5] With Thor in her thrall, she convinces him that he won’t need Valkyrie where he is going.
While in distant Asgard, Sif is still concerned about Thor’s well being, confident that he is suffering from the Warrior’s Madness. After Beta Ray Bill failed to get the thunder god to see reason,[6] she has decided to seek out a new ally to help her find a cure, Thunderstrike![7]
… Infinity Crusade continues in Avengers West Coast #96
Recurring Characters
Thor, Sif, Goddess, Valkyrie, Pluto, Zeus
Continuity Notes
Thor has been struggling with a loss of identity since Thor #460. This is because his life has constantly been balanced against alter-egos, forced merges, and others adopting his identity. These instances 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.
In Thor #468 it is revealed that Valkyrie isn’t real. She is a delusion brought on by Thor’s worsening sanity and is a personification of his growing madness.
Pluto and Ares attacked Thor last issue in an attempt to get revenge against him for foiling their past schemes. While they failed to do so, they turned things around by using their defeat to prompt Zeus into taking action.
The Goddess has been gathering heroes of faith for her quest for universal peace in Infinity Crusade #1-6. It’s later revealed her big solution for peace in the universe is destroying it, because of course it’s something that stupid.
Although Valkyrie is seemingly destroyed here, she will pop up again in Thor #469 because, you know, she’s all in his mind. How was the Goddess able to see and fight her? Well, she’s a telepath, you tell me. * crosses arms in disappointment *
Beta Ray Bill confronted Thor in issue #461 and had the shit beat out of him. She also mentions how she hid all of this from Odin, that was last issue.
Sif’s adventure continues in Thunderstrike #2-3.
Infinity Crusade Reading Order
Infinity Crusade #1, Iron Man #294-295, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #18, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #54, Alpha Flight #122, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #56, Terror Inc. #13, Thor #463, Avengers West Coast #96, Thor #464, Warlock Chronicles #1, Infinity Crusade #2, Web of Spider-Man #104, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #55, Thor #465, Alpha Flight #123-124, Darkhawk #30, Warlock Chronicles #2, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #19, Cage #17, Web of Spider-Man #105, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #57, Infinity Crusade #3, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #56, Avengers West Coast #97, Darkhawk #31, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #16-17, Warlock Chronicles #3, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #20, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #83, Infinity Crusade #4, Warlock Chronicles #4, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #84-85, Infinity Crusade #5, Deathlok (vol. 2) #28, Web of Spider-Man #106, Warlock Chronicles #5, Thor #466, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #21-22, Infinity Crusade #6, Deathlok (vol. 2) #29, Thor #467