Three Who Ride With Thunder!

Thor has been ambushed by the Destroyer in New York City. Not only has the enchanted suit of armor trounced Thor in battle, but also managed to shatter Mjolnir. With the thunder god down for the count, the Destroyer then flips down its visor to power up its disintegration ray to finish the job. However, before it can blast Thor into oblivion it is ambushed the Thunderstrike, aka Eric Masterson, who has come to his friend’s aid.[1]

As Thunderstrike helps Thor to his feet, the Destroyer reveals who is piloting it this time: Hela’s loyal guard dog Garm. The pair appear over the battlefield as astral projections to gloat over their impending victory. However, with the added muscle from Thunderstrike, the Destroyer decides to flee and come up with a new plan instead. With the immediate battle over, Thor recovers a chunk of Mjolnir that was cleaved off in battle and pockets it for later. The pair then get down to trying to find the Destroyer and putting a stop to its rampage.

Meanwhile, back at the Citadel of Science atop Mount Wundagore, the Godpack continues to assist the High Evolutionary with repairs to their headquarters. As they work, Jane Foster and her son Jimmy are visited by Blitziana who is coming back from a bathroom break. When the Godpacker mentions how weak bladders run in the family, Jane asks how she could know that if all of the High Evolutionary’s creations were mind-wiped when they got their powers.[2] Blitziana dismisses this and changes to the subject about Jane’s past relationship with Thor. Jane admits that they were once in love and even planned on getting married, but this was prevented by Odin. She insists that she doesn’t carry anymore feelings because it was a long time ago.[3] This makes Jane ask if Blitz is interested in the thunder god. The Godling dismisses this and tells Jane that she needs to get back to work, but Jane isn’t convinced.

Back in New York City, Thor and Thunderstrike decide to go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building as it will give them the best vantage point to seek out the Destroyer. After dealing with the crowd who are excited to see two superheroes, Thor quickly spots the Destroyer in an alley on the street below and the pair depart.[4] However, by the time they get to the alleyway, the Destroyer is nowhere to be seen. That’s because the enchanted armor was hiding in the building next door and when the two thunderers arrive it collapses the entire structure on top of them. It then uses its elemental powers to solidify the debris, trapping Thor and Thunderstrike. With Thor completely buried, Thunderstrike struggles to get free before his friend suffocates. He has to hurry though, because the Destroyer is approaching him and is reading to bash his brains out with ruined Mjolnir.

Meanwhile, in Asgard, Odin has summoned Sif, Balder, Beta Ray Bill and the Warriors Three. He tells them that he has called them all together to discuss the impending threat of Ragnarok. Since Thor has renounced Asgard and remains on Earth, Odin can no longer rely on the thunder god to be there to play his part in the prophecy. So, rather than force his errant son, Odin has decided to create a new Thor. He then pulls back a curtain to reveal the new god of thunder, a revelation that shocks everyone in attendance.[5]

On Earth, the Destroyer is about to strike when Thor suddenly breaks free. Eric soon follows and the pair dogpile on the Destroyer once more. Its by this point, Thor realizes that the Destroyer is more powerful than in previous battles and wonders why. That’s when he senses the presence of Don Blake within the construct.[6] This gives Thor the means to victory and he tells Thunderstrike to keep the Destroyer busy. The thunder god soon returns with Blake’s body, and convinces Don to fight back against Hela and Garm, telling him that by using the Destroyer he is making himself a pawn of Odin once more, since it was the All-Father who first created the Destroyer centuries earlier.[7] With Blake’s help, Thor and Thunderstrike are able to force Hela and Garm to break their connection with the Destroyer, allowing Don’s spirit to return to his body.

However, despite their victory, Don Blake refuses any help from Thor as he is still furious about how the thunder god stole his life for years. Thunderstrike offers to help Don back to his feet and suggests Thor take off. The thunder god agrees, but before he can do so he vows to both repair his shattered hammer and then confront Odin and demand he reveal the truth about Don Blake once and for all!

Recurring Characters

Thor, Thunderstrike, Destroyer, Odin, Balder, Sif, Tyr, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), High Evolutionary, Godpack (Anak, Blitziana, Loga, Luminor, Riger, Zefra), Beta Ray Bill, Hela, Garm, Jane Foster, Don Blake, Jimmy Kincaid, Red Norvell (unidentified)

Continuity Notes

1. Thor is surprised to see Thunderstrike again so soon. The pair previously crossed paths in Thunderstrike #10.

2. The Godpack were all in a prisoner transport that was struck by the High Evolutionary upon his return to Earth, killing all onboard. When transforming them into human gods, the High Evolutionary claimed the process erased all memories of their past, as explained in Thor #473. However, the process was hardly flawless, particularly with Blitziana who will start remembering her past in Thor #484.

3. Thor, when forced to live a double life as Dr. Donald Blake, feel in love with his nurse Jane Foster circa Journey into Mystery #84. After a long period of will-they-or-won’t-they, Jane returned his love and Thor eventually revealed his true identity to her in Journey into Mystery #124. He petitioned Odin to allow them to get married. Odin would only agree to it if Jane could prove she was worthy of becoming a goddess, a test she flubbed in Thor #136. Eventually, Jane fell in love with and married Keith Kincaid circa Thor #336. Had her son Jimmy sometime after Thor #372. She and Keith have been splitsville since issue #475.

4. Here, Eric Masterson offhandedly tells the group that he once stood-in for Thor. His relationship to the thunder god is a lot more complicated than that. When Eric was injured in one of Thor’s battle, Odin merged his son with Eric in order to save his life in Thor #408. When Thor was later goaded into seemingly killing Loki in issue #432, he was banished deep in Eric’s subconscious. The mantle of Thor was then passed to Eric who fought in that role until Thor was later liberated in issue #457. Masterson continued as Thor until he relinquished Mjolnir back to Thor in issue #459. Given a new hammer, Thunderstrike, Eric reinvented himself as a new hero of the same name in Thunderstrike #1.

5. Thor dreamed of this prophecy in Thor #472, however rather than stay in Asgard to fight he decided to leave for Earth instead. The Thor turns out to be Red Norvell, as revealed next issue. Red previously usurped the role of Thor back in Thor #276-278 he died stopping a previous Ragnarok level crisis. The this current Ragnarok threat never comes to pass, as seen in Thor #491, a device called the WorldEngine tricks Yggrasil into thinking the twilight of the gods had already come to pass.

6. For years, circa Thor #129, it was long believed that Thor’s first alter-ego — Don Blake — was a mystical construct and not a real person. However, in Thor #475 a man appearing to be Don Blake was discovered in suspended animation in a secret chamber below Wundagore Mountain. In issue #479 it is revealed that Blake was a real guy after all and that Thor was only temporarily merged with him. When Blake first struck the enchanted walking stick to transform into Thor in Journey into Mystery #83, the two were separated. Blake was stashed in the underground cave, while Thor would only turn into a facsimile of Blake. If that’s not confusing enough, it’s later revealed that this isn’t the real Blake either, but a mystical construct created by Sigyn after she accidentally killed the real Blake years earlier as we’ll learn in Thor #483. The real Blake will live on in a shattered realm until he and Thor are merged together again in Thor (vol. 3) #1.

7. Odin first created the Destroyer as the last line of defense against the Celestial Host if they deemed humanity unworthy. See Thor #300-301.