Lighting the Fuse

Off the coast of Norway, a fishing boat pulls up its latest haul. As they empty the net, one of the fishermen notices a strange medallion that fell out with all the fish. It has the visage of a flaming demon inscribed on its face. As the captain of the boat picks it up, he remarks that it is hot to the touch. [1]

Meanwhile, at Woodrow Wilson Correctional Facility in upstate New York, Loki is still trapped in the mortal body of Jake Olson. [2] Out in the exercise yard, Loki is about to be beaten up by some of the other inmates when suddenly everyone around him stops moving. As it turns out, this is a spell cast by Karnilla, who has come to free Loki. She frees Loki from his mortal shell and explains why she has come to free him. [3]

She explains that Odin has banished Thor to Midgard, trapping him in his mortal form. She wishes for Loki to eliminate Thor once and for all so that Balder might become Odin’s favored warrior from then on. Loki agrees to do her bidding but is already planning to eliminate Balder once Thor is dead.

Meanwhile, word has reached Memorial Hospital that Jake Olson was seriously injured during Thor’s recent battle with the Gladiator. [4] Doctor Jane Foster, Hannah Fairmont, her daughter Amanda, Jake’s mother, and Christine Collins are all waiting for Jake to be brought in. They are all taken aback when Sif arrives with Olson, who has been seriously burned. Jane takes control of the situation and rushes Jake off to be treated. Sif follows along the way and explains how Odin trapped Thor in his mortal form before it had time to heal, putting him at the risk of death. While the others wait for word, Keith Kincaid — Jane Foster’s husband — emerges from his room looking for his wife. Christine — who is secretly the Enchantress in disguise — can sense that there is something different about him, something familiar. [5]

In Asgard, Odin has thrown a party to celebrate his awakening from the Odinsleep and the end of the war with the Trolls. [6] The party screeches to a halt when Tarene — aka the Designate, aka Thor Girl — throws her hammer across the room. [7] She is furious that Odin has trapped Thor in his mortal form and orders the All-Father to restore him to normal. Everyone else takes offense to this on Odin’s behalf; however, the Lord of Asgard is not insulted by this affront. He tells her that while she is on the path of ascension to her role to bring about the next phase of evolution to the universe, she has no authority in Asgard. Odin intends for Thor to remain in his mortal form until he has learned his lesson. He tells Thor Girl that it is entirely up to her what she chooses to do while they wait, saying he will not raise a hand against her. Tarene decides that she will return to Earth and stay by Thor’s side, just as he did for her when she was targeted by Thanos. [9]

That’s when Volstagg comes running up from the Vault of Whispers to report that the prisoner lives again. Annoyed at the constant dangers posed to his kingdom, Odin leads an army down to the vault. As they go, Hescamar — one of Odin’s ravens — senses the danger and flees. When Odin and the others arrive at the Vault of Whispers, they discover the guards have been rendered unconscious and that the prisoner has escaped.

Back on Earth, Loki arrives at Memorial Hospital in his astral form, looking for the right pawn to use against Thor while he is trapped in mortal form. He considers all of those waiting in the hospital for him to awaken from his coma but decides that someone more powerful than a mere mortal will suffice. Heading out to find one of the Avengers, he happens to witness Thor Girl arrive outside. Sensing her great power, Loki poses as an elderly old man and calls out for help. When Tarene approaches the “old man”, she quickly falls victim to one of Loki’s spells. He tells the young woman that she will go down in history as the one who assassinated Thor.

Upstairs, Jane Foster tells Sif that Jake’s burns are life-threatening, and unless they can find a way to change him back into Thor, he will die. That’s when the hospital is attacked by the Destroyer. This sends Sif, Jane, and Jake falling to the street below. Luckily, Hescamar arrives on the scene and resumes its humanoid form known as Marnot. Marnot uses his magic to save them from a fatal fall, then uses his power to restore Thor to normal. As Thor tries to fight the Destroyer, Marnot tries to warn the thunder god of the true danger. However, when the Destroyer unleashes its power on Thor, the hero can tell whose spirit is powering the armor this time: Tarene!

In Norway, the fishing boat has returned to shore, but there is no movement from the ship. When the harbor man goes to check on the crew, he is shocked to discover that everyone on board has been burned to death. Everyone, except for the captain, who is now wearing the pendant found earlier that day. He has been possessed by some great evil that feels that the summoning is well at hand.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Enchantress, Sif, Jane Foster, Hannah Fairmont, Keith Kincaid/”Executioner”, Odin, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Thor Girl, Amanda Fairmont, Loki, Karnilla, Destroyer, Marnot, Jake Olson’s mother

Continuity Notes

1. This medallion will allow Surtur to manifest on Earth, as we’ll learn next issue.

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. Loki then resurrected Jake in order to use him to make Thor’s double-life complicated by committing crimes. When Odin discovered this, he trapped Loki in Olson’s body, and sent Jake’s soul off to his proper reward in the afterlife. Thor then convinced the authorities that the other Jake Olson was actually his “twin brother” Lorne, and Loki has been incarcerated ever since.

3. Here, Karnilla states that she owes Loki for the time he enlisted her to destroy Balder, an event that made her fall in love with the hero. See Journey into Mystery #107.

4. As seen in issues #33-35, 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.

5. Christine’s was revealed to be the Enchantress last issue. Keith Kincaid had been in a coma since he was seriously injured by the Absorbing Man in Thor (vol. 2) #26. Last issue he was possessed by an agent of Hela. While this story is teasing the fact that it is the Executioner (who has worked with the Enchantress int he past), we’ll learn in Thor (vol. 2) #42 that it’s not really the Executioner, but a cypher that has taken his form. Its purpose of taking possession of Keith Kincaid’s body is never clearly explained.

6. Odin had gone into the Odinsleep in issue #26 and awoke last issue.

7. 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.

8. While everyone believes that Thor Girl was attacked by Thanos, it was actually one of his Thanosi clones, as will be explained in Infinity Abyss #1-6.