When Mountains Walked

Thor has agreed to join up with the High Evolutionary and his Godlings as they head back to Wundagore Mountain. Along the way, Thor believes that he is about to begin on an epic adventure, not unlike his long ago days in Asgard when there wasn’t tension between he and his father Odin.[1] It brings to mind a particular adventure and he thinks back to that moment, all those years ago…[2]

Everything was peaceful in Asgard that day and to pass the time, Odin had Thor and Volstagg fight it out to see who would win. The festivities are interrupted by Hermod, who has returned on a mission with Hogun injured. Before he passes out he barely manages to mention one phrase: “Mogul of the Mystic Mountain.”

Suddenly, the sound of Heimdall’s horn blares across the kingdom warning the people of Asgard that invaders are coming up on the Bifrost bridge. Heading outside to see who these invaders are, Thor recognizes them as the horde of Mogul of Mystic Mountain. They include the Devil Jinni, the cyclopean Ogur, the bestial Mutarus, and Mogul’s forty demon riders. Behind them looms Mystic Mountain which has been unmoored from its original location and follows closely behind the army. Having faced Mogul and his forces in the past, Thor leads the charge into battle with Fandral and Volstagg at his side.

Inside Mystic Mountain, Mogul and his minions Abu Dakir and Shezada observe the battle from a mystic crystal. They are confident that they will crush Asgard in revenge for Mogul’s previous defeat. Shackled in the dungeon are Hogun and Alibar — the thief who was put in charge after Mogul’s defeat. Alibar apologizes to Hogun, as their situation was all his fault for not being a vigilant king. He explains that how he allowed himself to be seduced by Shezada — Mogul’s sister — who charmed her way into his life in order to get to and free her brother from the enchanted rod he had been trapped in since his defeat. From there it was a simple matter for Mogul to take control of Mystic Mountain once more then ambush Hogun and Hermod on their mission. Hogun is just glad that Hermod managed to evade capture and warn Asgard of the impending invasion.

Hearing all this, Mogul confronts the two prisoners and gloats about his impending victory. Deciding to be more direct in his invasion, Mogul leaves Mystic Mountain to join the battle astride his sky-craft. As the two opposing armies meet, Thor and his closest allies all take on one of the larger foes. While Thor clashes with the Jinni, Fandral fights Ogur, and Volstagg — rather typically — runs away from Mutarus. While Ogur and Mutarus are defeated, the Jinni manages to grab hold of Thor. The thunder god tries to reason with the Jinni, telling it to turn against its master. However, when the creature refuses Thor is forced to summon storm clouds with Mjolnir. This cuts the Jinni off from its source of power, the sun, causing it to vanish in a puff of smoke.

With their most powerful asset destroyed, the forces of Mogul begin to fall in great numbers. Eventually, Sif and Balder manage to push through and get into Mystic Mountain to try and rescue Hogun. After freeing him and Alibar, they then go looking for the enchanted rod to use to imprison Mogul once more. Unfortunately, Sherzada uses her magic to destroy it, foiling these plans. However, Alibar has a back-up plan already and reveals an innocuous looking lamp is actually a magical artifact that he once stole from another thief named Alaedoin. Racing to the roof, Alibar casts a spell that causes the lamp to suck up Mogul and his armies in a massive vortex where they are shrunk down in size and trapped within the lamp. As Thor was fighting Mogul at the time, the thunder god narrowly manages to break free before he too was trapped.

With the battle over, Thor then uses Mjolnir to tightly fasten the lid onto the lamp ensuring that Mogul and his followers will be trapped forever.[3] Alibar then returned Mystic Mountain to its proper location while Thor and his allies returned to Asgard to celebrate their hard won victory…

…. Concluding his recollection, Thor thinks about all the things he has lost since renouncing Asgard. He also wonders what the future holds in store for the Godlings and if they can ever replace that timeless age he has turned his back on forever?

Recurring Characters

Thor, Mogul, Sif, Hermod, Heimdall, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Balder, Tyr, Hoenir, High Evolutionary, Godpack (Blitzaina, Loga, Luminor), Alibar, Jinni, Mutaurus, Loki, Abu Dakir, Sherzada, Sleipnir

Continuity Notes

1. At the time of this story, Thor has had his outs with Odin over a number of issues. The oldest being the time he was forced to live a double life as the mortal Don Blake from Journey into Mystery #83 through Thor #339, and the time he was forced to be bonded to Eric Masterson from Thor #408 to 457. After a bout of madness from Thor #460-471, Thor was still sour about everything and left Asgard in the following issue. He joined up with the High Evolutionary and the Godlings last issue.

2. This flashback takes place a few thousand of years in the past. Chronologically, it takes place after Thor’s battle with Mogul of Mystic Mountain in Thor #137-145, the same story arc that this past adventure references heavily.

3. As of this writing (June, 2022), Mogul and his followers haven’t been seen again so apparently it worked.