Thor #464
Blessed Obedience
The Infinity Crusade continues from Avengers West Coast #96…
Thor has agreed to join the Goddess’ mission to bring peace to the universe.[1] After securing his support, she takes the thunder god to her headquarters, Paradise Omega. There he is astonished to see a massive cathedral. Inside, he sees that the Goddess has recruited many other super-heroes from Earth including members of both Avengers teams, the New Warriors, the X-Men, and Alpha Flight among others. The Goddess explains that part of their job is to not only usher in this new age of peace, but to stop those who might stand in her way, such as Valkyrie whom the Goddess seemingly destroyed earlier.[2] She then leaves Thor to ponder their mission with the other heroes.
The thunder god is soon greeted by Hercules, who has also joined up with the cause. The Olympian is pleased to see his long time friend has joined up with them.[3] When he notices that Thor isn’t in the best of moods he asks what's the matter. When the thunderer says that he is mixed up over a woman, Hercules dismisses this personal issue and calls the woman a trollop. This angers Thor that he lashes out against his friend. The two exchange blows until the Goddess reappears and breaks up the fight, scolding them for behaving in a way that is contrary to their mission. Seeing how troubled Thor is, the Goddess tells him to enter the cathedral’s catacombs to meditate on his personal issues.
Meanwhile, in Olympus, Pluto checks in on Ares who is still recovering after their recent battle with Thor. He tells his nephew that he successfully convinced Zeus to go to Asgard to demand retribution for what he believes was an unprovoked attack. He hopes that their ruler will be so confused with rage he won’t see through his deception.[4] This makes Ares’ injuries all the more worth it as soon the thunder god will suffer.
While in the catacombs beneath Paradise Omega, Thor is greeted by what appears to be Valkyrie. She tells Thor that she will never leave his side as they are two halves of the same soul. However, before they can get down to some romance they are interrupted by Loki. Something that should be impossible as the trickster god is a prisoner of Mephisto.[5] With Loki’s appearance, Valkyrie has vanished. When his step-brother suggests that they made peace with one another, Thor falls into a rage and begins attacking Loki. That’s when the trickster turns into a massive serpent and begins squeezing the life out of him.
That’s when the Goddess enters the room and Loki vanishes just as suddenly as Valkyrie did. She explains that these were all illusions to teach him a lesson: That individual action is futile and that they all must work together to vanquish all evil in the universe. She then asks Thor to swear absolute obedience to her. Thor asks if the illusion of Valkyrie was also her doing, however the Goddess has no idea what he’s talking about and says he must be mistaken. Thor suddenly finds himself agreeing to her and then bows down and pledges his loyalty to her.
… The Infinity Crusade continues in Warlock Chronicles #1.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Goddess, Valkyrie, Pluto, Ares, Alpha Flight (Puck, Sasquatch, Talisman, Windshear), Avengers (Captain America, Black Knight, Crystal, Hercules), Avengers West Coast (Living Lightning, Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Wonder Man), Spider-Man, X-Men (Archangel, Colossus, Storm), Doctor Strange, Invisible Woman, Moondragon, Moon Knight, Namorita, Silhouette, Sleepwalker, Wolfsbane
Continuity Notes
The primary story behind the Goddess’ mission is chronicled in Infinity Crusade #1-6, which reveals that her idea of peace in the universe is extinguishing all life. Thor was recruited into the cause last issue.
The Valkyrie has been Thor’s companion since issue #460. The Goddess seemingly destroyed her last issue as well. However, she isn’t so easily killed since she is the personification of Thor’s growing madness and is all in his head, as we’ll learn in Thor #469.
Thor notes that Hercules has shaved his face since the last time he saw him. At the time of this story, Herc had just shaved in Avengers #350 in order to impress his then girlfriend, Taylor Madison.
Pluto and Ares tried to attack Thor in Thor #461 out of revenge for the thunder god’s past interference in their schemes. Thor beat the shit out of them, prompting Pluto to spin things in the following issue so Zeus will do their dirty work for them.
Loki attempted to talk over Asgard in the body of Odin from Thor #432 through 455, with Odin’s soul being banished to Mephisto’s Hell. Thor (Eric Masterson) and his friends helped free Odin’s soul in exchange for Loki’s. The trickster will remain a prisoner in Hell until Thor #482.
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
