Across All Worlds

In the distant future, a pair of soldiers have returned to the laboratory of Zarrko the Tomorrow Man with a cenessium conduit device he needs.[1] However, Zarrko is uninterested in their delivery as he is busy watching the battle between his agent — the Shi’ar warrior known as Gladiator — and Thor that is taking place in the present day. However, the reception begins to go out, frustrating Zarrko as it will take time to repair it.

In the present, Gladiator has just kicked Thor’s enchanted hammer Mjolnir all the way to LaGuardia airport. He then sent the thunder god crashing into a nearby trailer. This is witnessed by Amanda Fairmont who runs to see if the thunder god needs help. When she opens the trailer she is shocked to see her mother’s friend Jake Olson is inside and on fire. What she doesn’t know is that Thor has been living Jake Olson’s mortal life and had been separated from his hammer long enough for an enchantment to revert him back to mortal form.[2]

Regardless of how this doesn’t make sense, Amanda quickly smothers the flames with a blanket. Trying to get her panic in check, she then tries to call for help on her cell phone. However, Gladiator arrives before she can finish dialing. But, before the Shi’ar can explain that Jake Olson is Thor, he is attacked by Thor Girl — aka Tarene the Designate — who has come to her mentor’s rescue. As the two are fighting, Amanda pulls Jake’s burned body out of the trailer. That’s when Christine Collins — Jake’s fellow EMT — arrives in an ambulance. She takes tells Amanda to run for it while she treats Jake’s injuries. Once the girl is gone, “Christine” places a her hand on Jake and senses that he has been separated from Mjolnir for longer than a minute. Then, using her magical senses she begins trying to find where the enchanted hammer has been taken.

Meanwhile, in Asgard, the Trolls have run out of game to hunt and face starvation unless they are given food. Believing that Asgard has been ignoring their plight, Ulik is now leading an army to attack the golden realm. As they cross the Bifrost Bridge, they are witnessed by its guardian, Heimdall, who sounds the alarm that the kingdom is about to be invaded. Inside, Sif — who has been put in charge while Odin undergoes the Odinsleep — prepares for battle.[3] Balder enters the room and informs her that it is as they feared, the Trolls are invading Asgard. Going out to the balcony, Sif sees that the attack is already underway. Given the size of the invasion force, Sif leaves for Midgard as they will need the power of Thor in order to repel the invaders.

Back on Earth, the battle between Gladiator and Thor Girl rages on. However, the Shi’ar decides that he is wasting his time and decides to end the fight as quickly as possible. To pull this off, he smashes a water tower on top of Thor Girl. He then quickly uses his super breath to freeze the water around her, turning it into a prison. With the woman dealt with, Gladiator returns to the trailer where he last saw Thor and discovers that he is gone. He quickly deduces that the thunder god must have gone to recover his enchanted hammer. He races to LaGuardia airport. However, he arrives just as Christine gets Jake to Mjolnir. Gladiator slams into his fallen foe just as his hand touches the hammer, causing him to change back into Thor. The force of the blow sends them both plowing deep into the ground. However, Thor is back at full fighting strength and begins fighting back against his foe, little knowing that a commercial airliner is just about to land on the runway overhead.

At that same moment, Jake Olson’s mother has arrived at Memorial Hospital. There, she meets Hannah Fairmont, a friend of her son. That’s when Amanda runs into the hospital telling her mother and Mrs. Olson what happened to Jake. While in Hel, Hela is about to send one of her agents on a mission to interfere with the life of Thor. To this end she uses her magics to send him to Earth. Moments later, Keith Kincaid — who has been in a coma for days — suddenly wakes up. The attending nurse calls for his wife, Doctor Jane Foster who is surprised that her husband has suddenly woken up. When she asks how he is doing, Kincaid smiles and tells her he’s just fine.[4]

Back in Asgard, the invasion continues. As the Warriors Three fight to keep the invading horde back, Ulik manages to slip into the royal palace. However, when he enters Odin’s bedchamber he finds Balder waiting for him inside as the last line of defense. Concurrently, Sif arrives in New York and frees who she thinks is Thor from ice. She quickly discovers that this isn’t her beloved, but Thor Girl. As the young woman takes off after Gladiator, Sif recognizes her as Tarene, the Designate.[5]

Back at the airport, Thor and Gladiator notice that the airliner is going to crash due to their battle. Since both are noble men who protect the lives of the innocent, they both agree to stop fighting and prevent the airliner from crashing into the terminal. Once the plane is safely landed, Thor resumes the fight by blasting Gladiator into a fuel truck, causing it to explode. However, the blast is easily shrugged off by the Shi’ar. The attack convinces him that Thor is a threat that needs to be eliminated. Thor has no idea what Gladiator is talking about and is sick of being accused of some crime he has not yet committed. He pummels Gladiator into the ground just as Thor Girl arrives. Already weakened from fighting Thor, Tarene unleashes a full power blast on the Shi’ar, finally knocking him out. This show of power shocks Thor because he had no idea that Tarene could weild such power.

As Sif arrives on the scene and begins telling Thor about the invasion back home, Ulik defeats Balder. He is about to slay Odin in his sleep when suddenly, there is a sudden boom of thunder and lightning. However, this isn’t Thor returning to Asgard. Instead, Odin has awoken and — after giving Ulik and his people what they need — he returns to Earth immediately to reveal that he has awoken. Odin is displeased to see that Sif abandoned her post, but assures them that the crisis is now over. That’s when Gladiator pleads with Odin to end Thor’s life as he is a threat to the future. Omnipotent Odin knows that the Shi’ar is talking about something called the Reigning and quickly banishes Gladiator back to his own time. When Thor asks what Gladiator was talking about, Odin says that it is of no concern to him. Unhappy with how things have gone during his absence — particularly Tarene becoming Thor Girl and risking the future — Odin orders everyone back to Asgard.

When Thor refuses to abandon Midgard, Odin decides to punish his son by forcing him back into the form of Jake Olson and then departing with Sif. Once back in human form, the injuries Thor sustained as Jake Olson — terrible burns from Gladiator’s heat vision — he collapses to the ground in incredible pain.

Centuries in the future, Gladiator has returned to his proper time and informs Zarrko the Tomorrow Man that he failed his mission. The news is grim, and he shows the Shi’ar what he has failed to prevent. Outside, the future is one of squalor with starving people wallowing in the streets. Off in the distance is a massive statue of Thor holding up Mjolnir into the heavens.

Back in present day New York, Christine Collins rushes back to her apartment as the enchantment that maintains her illusion is about to disappear. Walking through the enchanted Mirror of Mysolljh, “Christine Collins” reverts back to her true form, that of the Asgardian known as Amora the Enchantress, who plans to make Thor fall hopelessly in love with her.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, Gladiator, Thor Girl, Amanda Fairmont, Enchantress, Heimdall, Sif, Balder, Jane Foster, Hannah Fairmont, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Odin, Ulik, Hela, Volla, Jake Olson’s mother

Continuity Notes

1. As revealed in issue #33, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man is working with the Gladiator to prevent the future timeline of the Reigning, where Thor rules over Earth, as will be chronicled in Thor (vol. 2) #67-79. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2 that timeline exists in Reality-3515. Per Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Thor, it states that Zarrko and Gladiator hale from that reality, which is not exactly accurate. See issue #33 for my comments on that.

2. The real Jake Olson died saving lives during an attack by the Destroyer in Thor (vol. 2) #1. Thor petitioned Odin to spare his life and the two were merged together. However, as we learned in Thor Annual 2000, Thor only took over Jake’s mortal body, his soul ended up going to the afterlife.

3. Odin entered the Odinsleep back in Thor (vol. 2) #26. Before going to sleep, he chose Sif to rule the kingdom in his absence. Apparently, Odin would use his magic to provide game for the Trolls to hunt in order to maintain peace on Asgard. This is something that fell on the wayside since Sif took over, as we learned last issue.

4. Keith Kincaid was seriously injured when the hospital was attacked by the Absorbing Man back in Thor (vol. 2) #26. The entity that takes possession of Keith is teased as being Skurge the Executioner here. However, as we’ll learn in issue #42, “Skurge” is actually one of Hela’s cyphers who took on the form of the Executioner.

5. The Designate is a powerful being that is supposed to usher the universe to its next stage of evolution. She was previously targeted by a Thanosi clone in Thor (vol. 2) #21-25. She decided to take on the mantle of Thor Girl in issue #33.

Topical References

• Amanda Fairmont’s cell phone is depicted as having physical buttons and a visible antenna to pick up signals. This should be considered a topical reference as these types of cell phones have since become obsolete.

• During his battle with Thor at LaGuardia, Gladiator is knocked into a Shell fuel truck. This should be considered a topical reference as Shell is a real world company.

Zarrko’s Timeline

As I’ve pointed out in my summary of issue #33, it’s my opinion that Zarrko was originally watching from his native reality of Earth-6297. His reality diverged following the events of Thor (vol. 2) #67, the catalyst that creates the future of the Reigning, aka Reality-3515. Although it’s not implicitly explained here, I think what we’ve witnessed is Reality-6297 being overwritten with Reality-3515. This would have been much in the same way as when Reality-616 was briefly overwritten with Reality-295 (the Age of Apocalypse) and 58163 (House of M). If you look at the beginning of the story, we see a futuristic world where there are people using high tech gadgets. A complete contradiction of what we see when Gladiator returns home to, and what we see in the Reigning reality, a world where most human technology is abandoned and is forbidden. Since Zarrko is a time master, he was probably shielded when his timeline changed, hence why he is still there and knows what’s going on when Gladiator returns. Zarrko has been seen implicitly shielding himself from changes in the timeline in Indestructible Hulk #11-15, so it’s not so outlandish to consider the fact that he did the same thing here.