Thor has finally been reunited with his beloved Sif. However, their reunion comes at a troubled time, as Thor has been exiled from Asgard and its people having relocated to Latveria.[1] Thor doesn’t know what to do with himself now, but Sif and the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg) will remain by his side no matter what. Thor thanks her, but says that they need to make some adjustments for Sif while he lives in Broxton in his mortal guise of Donald Blake.

Meanwhile, the Warriors Three head to the local diner, only to discover that it has been closed. They also run into some locals who say that the place shut down when Bill Cobbs went with Kelda to Latveria. When Volstagg suggests that he could fill in as the cook, they are told how they can sneak in the back way.

By this time, Don Blake has had Sif dressed up in mortal clothing and heads to the Sooner Hotel where he has been saying. He introduces her as Sylvan, a model from New York City. However, he says that her ID and credit card were lost on the trip and asks the owner, Beth Sooner, to put “Sylvan’s” room on his tab. Beth gives Doctor Blake a disapproving affirmation before looking for the appropriate paperwork.

This is all observed from Latveria by Loki, who is amused by the shade Sooner is giving his step-brother. His viewing is interrupted by Doctor Doom who tells Loki that everything he has requested has been provided for, however he is displeased at having to do the trickster’s bidding. Loki reminds Doom that he provided everything has promised. They go into a room where Doombots are being prepared for a massive strike on a taget. Loki shows Doom an image of Donald Blake, and tells Victor that the man has to be eliminated with extreme prejudice. All that he asks is that they bring back Blake’s walking stick — intact — as a souvenir after the fact. Doom pledges that he can do just that and Loki goes to prepare another gift for his gracious host.

Elsewhere, Bill and Kelda are at their new home, where the goddess is hoping for a night of romance. However, Bill is concerned about Balder, and thinks that his decision to bring the Asgardians here is trouble. Worse, he worries that Balder knows this but is in too deep and doesn’t know how to get out of it. Bill thinks he knows how to help and although she has reservations about Bill doing it, Kelda realizes that this is something he has got to do. However, before Bill leaves, Kelda hands him a sword as he might need to defend himself.

At that same time, Loki has relocated to an ale house where he is chatting up an Asgardian named Endrick. They start off by talking about his sword, and Loki pivots onto talking about Endrick’s family. Just as Loki had hoped, the warrior has no surviving relatives and no child of his own. That’s when the drug that Loki slipped into Endrick’s ale kicks in and he blacks out.

When Eldrik wakes up he discovers that he is strapped to a device in one of Victor Von Doom’s labs. Loki is there to oversee things as Doom vivisects Eldrik to learn what he can about Asgardian physiology.[2] They work undisturbed, unaware that Bill is spying on them and is horrified by what he has seen. When Loki chances to look out the window, he catches Bill who flees the scene. However, Loki has dispatched three warriors, the same three that hassled Bill earlier that evening, to go after him. Realizing that he can’t outrun them, Bill draws his sword and warns them that Kelda didn’t pick any ordinary mortal, but one with great powers. This causes the three warriors to pause and consider this for a moment and call his bluff. One of them stabs Bill in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. However, before they can finish the boy off, Balder arrives and demands to know what treachery is afoot.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Sif, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Balder, Kelda, Loki, Doctor Doom, Bill Cobb, Beth Sooner

Continuity Notes

1. Here’s another bit from the “Shit You Need to Know Off the Top” deptartment:

   • The Asgardians all died during Ragnarok in Thor (vol. 2) #85. When Thor returned, he learned that his people were cast down to Earth and were trapped in mortal bodies and freed virtually everyone from Thor (vol. 3) #1-5. Nearly everyone except….

   • Sif, who was trapped in the body of Rose Chambers, an elderly cancer patient undergoing end-of-life care. This was because Loki had stolen her body to use while his original form was still reforming. Thor learned the truth, and was able to free Sif just moments before Rose died. See Thor (vol. 3) #8, 12, and 602.

   • Meanwhile, Thor was banished from Asgard when he inadvertedly slew his own long-lost grandfather, Bor, in battle. See Thor #600.

2. As we’ll learn in Thor #604-606, Doom is using this knowledge to make an army of Asgardian cyborgs.