Worldengine Part 3: Run Down

Due to the many sudden changes in his life, Thor finds himself thinking back on better days and remembering how simple everything used to be back then. However, things have changed very drastically. He recently fell sick and when he sought out his father he was turned away.[1] Having lost his immortality, his usual manner of speech, and much of his strength, Thor is only being kept alive by the spells of one of his oldest foes, the Enchantress. When he tries to look for deception in her story, all he can see in Amora’s eyes is caring.

While at the NYPD, Detective Curzon — on a secondment to Code: Blue from the United Kingdom — is examining a bizarre severed head that was mailed to the station. It’s similar to a group of creatures they found dead on the roof of an abandoned construction site the day before. As he examines the rotting skull he really misses his earlier days as an ordinary cop. Now he’s stuck investigating some bizarre case tied to Norse mythology in America, a country he bloody hates. His investigation has tied these creatures to Yggdrasil, the world ash tree fabled to be connected to all life in the universe. On top of that, forensics were able to pick up the unique radiation signature given off by Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, connecting him to the battle and whatever it was all about. In order to find out what it could all mean, Curzon resigns to the fact that he is going to have to read a bunch of Norse mythology and grabs a cigarette from his pack.

Back at Amora’s apartment, the Enchantress knows that Thor is struggling with whether or not he should trust her. She understands given how she frequently tried to kill him. They both recount her time as a member of the Masters of Evil.[3] However, she admits that she never really hated him over the years, angry that he never loved her back for sure, but never hated him. She full admits that she is a flawed individual but she points out that while they may be gods, they are human in all the ways that count.

While the Enchantress is making these admissions to Thor, Curzon is pouring over a text called “A Guide to Norse Religion”. It tells of the Norse creation myth which states that in the beginning of time there was a great abyss called Ginnuga-Gap where the ice of Niflheim met with the fires of Muspelheim. From here sprang the first Frost Giant, Ymir as well as Buri, the first of the gods. Buri then begat three sons: Odin, Vili, and Ve. The trio later slew Ymir and created Midgard — aka the Earth — from the giant’s corpse. Ymir’s blood and sweat became the oceans, while his bones made the earth, his teeth the mountains, and his air the forests. Ymir’s hollow skull became the sky and his shattered brains the clouds. Odin then created the first humans using ash and elm trees. This new world and all life on it were then suspended in the branches of Yggdrasil, the world ash which soon connected itself to the Nine Worlds of Asgard.[4]

Back at the Ash Apartments, Amora continues stating her case on why she and Thor should be together. She admits that her primary motivation is that she just doesn’t want to be alone anymore. Thor decides to give this a chance and the two embrace.

Meanwhile, Curzon’s research goes on. This time he is reading from “Alien Heaven: The Truth About Asgard”. The author posits that the Asgardians are not really gods, but aliens from another world. While they aren’t sure if they influenced Nordic myth or the other way around. Based on SHIELD fields that have recently been declassified under the Freedom of Information Act, the author has learned that Asgard is so technologically advance that it is indistinguishable from magic, even to the Asgardians themselves.[5] Regardless, what the author states that the Asgardians represent something that present day humanity is on the verge of losing: the sense of wonder. From Marvel Magazine, there is an article clarifying all the people who have taken on the mantle or received similar powers to Thor. It gives brief profiles on each of these men: Red Norvell, Thunderstrike, and Beta Ray Bill.[6]

Finishing his reading for the day, Curzon finds it all very confusing but he figures he’s got the gist of it and that someone had killed Thor using the World Ash Yggdrasil. From here he reads a passage in “The Norse Winter — Tales of Icelandic Legend” which states that the World Ash twines through all existence. It contains a prophecy which states that when Ragnarok happens and the Gods die, humanity will die with them leading to the birth of a brand new race of future men who will be born from the pregnant branches of Yggdrasil. As Curzon tries to piece together all the clues he suspects that someone has tricked Yggdrasil into thinking Ragnarok already happened.[7]

The following morning, Thor and Enchantress wake up in bed together after a night of romance. That’s when one of her servants enters the room with a new costume for Thor that Amora had made up for him. Changing into his new outfit, merely a stylized pair of pants, belt, and wrist armor, Thor intends to go back to where he found Yggdrasil and find out who has been experimented on it and why. After coming so close to death, Thor intends to put a stop to this mad scheme as he now has so much to live for.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Enchantress, Warren Curzon

Continuity Notes

1. Thor fell ill in issue #491 as a result of the WorldEngine trying to trick Yggdrasil into thinking Ragnarok had already come to pass. When he petitioned Odin for help, the All-Father turned his back on him since Thor walked out on Asgard back in Thor #472. Enchantress saved his life last issue.

2. Curzon isn’t actually called by his first name in this story. There are two conflicting sources as to his first name. The first source to list his full name is the profile on the United Kingdom in Marvel Atlas #1 states his name is Warren Curzon. Later, the Code: Blue profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2 states his name as being Aaron Christopher Curzon. The Warren Curzon is also stated in Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Thor. Since the Index book is the most recently published reference to his real name, I think it’s safe to assume that his intended name is Warren Curzon.

3. The Enchantress joined up with Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil back in Avengers #7. Thor recounts how during that time Amora made him suffer a nightmare that convinced him that his fellow Avengers were demons.

4. This version of the Norse creation myth is probably the most accurate one in a Marvel book to date when comparing it to actual translations of what remains of these ancient texts. That said, in the Marvel Universe itself the story is not so cut and dry and there are many conflicting versions of events.

   • Past versions of the Asgardian creation myth were told in Journey into Mystery #97, 98, 103, Thor #293-294. Most accounts of these creation stories all tell a similar story about the creation of Ymir, Bor, Odin and his brothers, and how Ymir’s was killed and used to create the Earth.

   • However, Thor #293-294, Odin’s severed eye stated that Asgard goes through cycles of death and rebirth every once in a while. While these origin stories may have been true in earlier cycles, they were not in the most recent — which happened on the same day Jesus Christ as born. In this current cycle, Odin merely implanted the myths surrounding the origins of the Asgardians into the minds of the people before they were reanimated and they just believed it as fact. In this cycle it was claimed that there were no Bor, Ve, or Vilie.

   • This was later refuted by Bor — Odin’s father — during a period of time in which he nursed Thor to help in Thor #355. He stated that since the severed eye had a grudge it was not telling the truth.

   • However, the one-shots Thor: Age of Thunder #1, Trial of Thor #1, The Rage of Thor #1, Reign of Blood #1, and Man of War #1 all support the Ragnarok cycle idea, while Thor (vol. 3) #7, 12 and 600 would show Bor existing in this current Ragnarok cycle, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of both of these claims. This is further supported in History of the Marvel Universe #1.

   • The creation of Earth from Ymir’s corpse is a bunch of hokum. Earth was created in the Big Bang, as supported in Silver Surfer Annual #2, Thor Annual #10 and History of the Marvel Universe #1. The formation of the dimension where Asgard came to be followed after the creation of the Earth, not the other way around.

   • That all said, how old the Asgardians really are is not fully understood. Marvel Legacy #1 shows that they have been around as early as 1 million BC.

5. Here, the author of “Alien Heaven” mentions that Nick Fury is recently deceased. Everyone believed Nick Fury was murdered by the Punisher in Double Edge Omega #1. In reality, this was a Life Model Decoy and the real Fury will come back in Fury/Agent 13 #1-2.

6. Over the years Odin has endowed the power of Thor on others as listed here. They are:

   • Red Norvell: Was manipulated into getting the powers of Thor in Thor #276-278 to be sacrificed during a Ragnarok crisis, killing one Thor and leave the true thunder god alive to stop the twilight of the gods. More recently, when Ragnarok threatened the realm again and with Thor having turned his back on Asgard in issue #472, Odin resurrected Red in Thor #478.

   • Thunderstrike: Eric Masterson was bonded to Thor in Thor #408 and shared a life with him. Later, when Thor was banished in issue #432, Masterson was made the new Thor a role he served until Thor #459. He later operated as Thunderstrike until the time of his death, see Thunderstrike #1-24.

   • Beta Ray Bill: Proved worthy enough to life Thor’s hammer and after proving himself an honorable warrior, Odin gifted him with a hammer of his own called Stormbreaker. See Thor #337-339.

7. That’s exactly what is going on, we’ll learn next issue that this was all done by a guy named Price. However, in Journey into Mystery #506 it is revealed that he was provided the needed equipment by the Egyptian death god Seth, who is trying to wipe out all life in the universe. His attempts to do so won’t be thwarted until Journey into Mystery #513.

Topical References

• The author of “Alien Heaven” states that they are on the verge of the 21st century. This should be considered a topical reference. The Sliding Timescale of the Marvel Universe makes it so that the Modern Age is continuously bumped forward in time. It has moved forward so much that it no longer begins until after the start of the 21st century.

• The Marvels Magazine goes over all of the different Thor’s that have appeared in a 3 years period. Red Norvell who appeared as Thor in October, 1978 and again in September 1994, Beta Ray Bill who got his Thor-like powers in January 1984, and lastly Thunderstrike who took over the mantle of Thor in May 1991 before becoming Thunderstrike in June, 1993. Measuring these dates to the Sliding Timescale shows that these incidents did happen over a three year period, in universe. The only presumption in this case is assuming that the Marvels Magazine article was published shortly after Masterson became Thunderstrike.

• Curzon likens Norse mythology to the sitcom Soap. This show was a parody of soap operas of the era which were known for highly convoluted plotlines. It ran from 1977 to 1981. Curzon states that it was a show imported to the UK from the United States, presuming he watched re-runs of the series and thus this wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference.

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered topical as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and subsequently replaced with the Freedom Tower.