Thor (vol. 2) #1
In Search of the Gods
Title continues from Journey into Mystery #521…
There is a hostage situation at the Balloon Bunch Daycare Center. The gunman inside believes that he is Heimdall the guardian of the Bifrost bridge and demands that the police send Thor to speak with him. When the thunder god arrives and hears the gunman’s claims, he decides to speak with the man in the hopes that it might lead Thor to his missing people.[1] Among the gathered authorities is paramedic Jake Olson, who doesn’t have much faith in Thor stopping the shooter before anyone gets hurt.
Inside, Thor meets with the gunman who reiterates his crazy story about being Heimdall and being trapped on Earth in mortal form. The man’s story doesn’t fully add up, but Thor decides to give him the benefit of the doubt. Since there is one way to know for sure, Thor grabs “Heimdall” and creates a dimensional vortex with Mjolnir to transport them to Asgard.
Meanwhile, at the docks, military officials are in the process of transporting something highly dangerous out of the city. Overseeing this operation is Colonel Preston Case, a man that none of the soldiers respect because he has never seen a day of combat in his entire career. When Case decides to get a closer look at what they are shipping, he’s warned to keep back as the weapon inside is dangerous. Preston ignores this and when he touches the case it suddenly explodes.
Back at the daycare center, Jake Olson and his partner Demitrius Collins and checking out the kids to confirm they weren’t injured. Jake is looking forward to getting off shift because he promised to take his fiancée, Hannah Fairmont, out on a date. Unfortunately, the pair get a call on the radio ordering them to head to the docs as there was a massive explosion and people could be hurt. Jake tries to con his way out of it, but is told that he is needed.
While in the Asgardian afterlife of Hel, the blind prophet Volla has seen a vision of the future of great importance to Hela, the goddess of death. She tells Hela that the one she has desired for so long will soon stand before her. Hela is pleased to hear that she will finally get the thunder god into her loving embrace after all these centuries.
At that same moment, Thor and “Heimdall” appear on the shattered remains of the Bifrost bridge. From there, Thor shows his fellow traveler that the kingdom of Asgard is completely deserted and left in ruins. Despite this, it is such an awe inspiring sight that “Heimdall” is rendered speechless for a moment but he ultimately admits that he is not actually Heimdall at all, just someone who is mentally ill and needs serious help. Thor is furious and laments that he was away when calamity hit Asgard. He hurls Mjolnir into one of the buildings in a fit of rage, shattering the structure with a single blow. Walking the streets, Thor finds an old arrowhead that reminds him of when he would go goose hunting in his youth with Sif and Loki. He refuses to believe that his friends his family, from Odin, to Balder and Sif, to the Warriors Three, and not even Loki would have stood idly by while this happened to their homeland. Thor vows that no matter what, he will find his people. But first, he needs to bring the mortal back to Earth. The thunder god knows who he can go to for help on Midgard and teleports away.
Moments after Thor is gone, something beneath the ruins he created finally blasts free after years of captivity.[2]
Back on Earth, Jake and Dimitrius are heading to the scene at the dock. Along the way, Jake calls Hannah and tells her that he has to cancel their date for the evening because duty calls. While she is disappointed, she understands. Her daughter Amanda, however, thinks that Jake is a creep and wonders what her mother sees in him.[3] Hannah tells her daughter that its hard for her to be mad with a man who saves lives.
At that same time, Thor takes the mentally ill man to the local hospital where he is left in the care of Thor’s old friend Jane Foster. Jane, now a doctor, is happy to see that Thor is still alive. When she tells him that there is a super-villain on the rampage at the docks and the Avengers are on the scene, Thor races off to assist his comrades. When the thunder god arrives his teammates — Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and the Scarlet Witch — are still evacuating innocent people from the scene.[4] With everyone clear, the Avengers head back into the destruction and come face to face with the Destroyer.[5] As Thor and the others clash with the enchanted armor, Jake and Demitrius arrive on the scene and are treating the injured.
The Destroyer is as unstoppable as ever and is possessed by the soul of Preston Case, who takes out his anger over being disrespected due to his position within the military.[6] Attempts to reason with Case fail and the enraged Colonel threatens to activate the Destroyer’s disintegration beam and wipe out the entire Earth. As the battle rages with no end in sight, Jake Olson spots a woman pinned under a car near a huge pool of gasoline. With flames rapidly approaching, Jake races to her side to pull her out before it explodes. Jake succeeds in pulling the woman free and gets her to safety, just as Thor unleashes the fully fury of Mjolnir. The stray bolt of lightning strikes the gasoline and explodes. Jake shields the woman’s body saving her life but is gravely wounded. Collapsing to the ground, he tells the woman to make a run for safety.
By this time, the Destroyer has managed to overpower Thor and wrest Mjolnir away from him. Fed up with the endless battle, Colonel Case unleashes the full power of the Destroyer through its visor, blasting Thor until there is nothing left but a horribly burned body. His fellow Avengers look on in horror, believing that their friend is dead.[7]
Recurring Characters
Thor, Jake Olson, Destroyer, Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch), Hela, Jane Foster, Hannah Fairmont, Amanda Fairmont, Demitrius Collins, Preston Case, Volla, Brady O’Neil Perrikus (voice only)
Continuity Notes
Lots going on here off the top. The facts:
At the time of this story, Thor had just returned after a long absence. He and his fellow Avengers were believed to have sacrificed their lives in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. In reality, they were transported to a pocket dimension where they lived reimagined lives. They were returned to their proper reality in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.
In Thor’s absence, the gods of Asgard were banished to Earth in mortal form. When they finally regained their godly powers they were all captured by some mysterious foe, as seen in Journey into Mystery #503-513. Thor (vol. 2) #5 reveals that they had been captured by the Dark Gods, who sought revenge against Odin for imprisoning their leader, Perrikus.
When Thor first returned to Asgard in Avengers (vol. 3) #1, he discovered the place was still an abandoned ruin. He’ll eventually track down and free his people from the Dark Gods in Thor (vol. 2) #12.
This is Perrikus, who was imprisoned by Odin centuries ago, as we’ll learn in issue #5. We won’t get our first look at him until issue #4. How he was imprisoned won’t be revealed until issue #9.
Amanda’s misgivings about Jake Olson turn out to be valid. As it turns out, Jake Olson was scamming drugs from the hospital to sell on the streets. We’ll slowly learn that his partner Dimitrius is an undercover cop trying to catch him. This will all come to a foot in Thor (vol. 2) #15.
Here, Captain America is carrying a triangular shield that is a replica of his original shield from Captain America Comics #1. At the time of this story, Cap’s trademark circular shield, used since Captain America Comics #2, was lost at sea in Captain America (vol. 3) #2. Cap recovers that weapon in issue #22 of that series.
A footnote here reminds readers that the Destroyer was last seen in Incredible Hulk #461 where it was used to house the soul of Maestro. Here, Thor states that the Destroyer was originally created to fight the Celestials. This was revealed in Thor #300-301.
Here, Hawkeye wishes the Vision could be there to fight with them. This story takes place shortly after Avengers (vol. 3) #3, where half the Vision’s body was destroyed by Morgan le Fay. He’ll be in repairs until issue #12 of that series.
Both Thor and Jake Olson die here. While Thor is resurrected by the mysterious Marnot next issue. While it appears that Thor is bonded with Olson, in reality the real Jake Olson is killed and Thor merely inhabits a construct. The real Olson will be resurrected in Thor (vol. 2) #19.
Topical References
Jake and Demitrius are depicted wearing pagers, which were standard issue for EMTs at the time this story was published. While the use of pagers have been in decline since the proliferation of cell phones, most hospitals still use them because they are more reliable than cell phones in an emergency. Still, there’s going to be a period where pagers are obsolete and you should pre-emptively consider this a topical reference.
