Thor (vol. 2) #39
Ignition
Following his battle with the Destroyer, Jane Foster gives Thor’s mortal form of Jake Olson a full medical examination. Jake has completely healed from his earlier burns,[1] but now has a broken arm and jaw. She is surprised that Jake is completely healed when he changes into Thor, but injuries sustained as Thor are downloaded to Jake. It raises a lot of unanswered questions about the nature of Jake Olson’s existence.[2] With Jake patched up, she asks him to change into Thor so she can treat the real patient since it was Thor who suffered these injuries. Jake slams his fist on the ground, triggering his transformation into the god of thunder.
Outside of the examination everyone who knows and cares for Jake Olson are waiting outside to get a prognosis. This includes Jake’s mother, Hannah Fairnmont his former fianceé, her daughter Amanda, Jane Foster’s husband Keith Kincaid, Jake’s EMT partner Christine Carpenter, and his boss, Thomas Ryan. While everyone is concerned for Jake’s well being, Thomas wants answers for Olson’s frequent absences from work. He asks Christine if she thinks her partner has some kind of secret life. Carpenter tells him off, saying that Jake is only concerned with helping people and should be considered a hero for how dedicated he is. This causes Ryan to back down and walks away. When Keith Kincaid goes to get another cup of coffee both him and Christine think they recognize each other but outwardly dismiss it. Since Christine is really the Enchantress in disguise, she senses that there is something more to Kincaid, something that she can almost put her finger on.[3]
When Keith grows impatient he decides to go into the examination room to see what’s taking so long. That’s when someone yells no, this comes from the newcomer, Tarene. Tarene is secretly the Designate who will usher the universe to its next stage of evolution. While living on Earth, she has taken on a mortal guise and is pretending to be Jake Olson’s younger cousin. When this doesn’t work, Tarene uses her powers to briefly make Thor appear as Jake Olson so as not to blow Thor’s cover. When Keith is satisfied that nothing untoward is going on he leaves again. With her husband gone, Jane concludes that treatment of Thor’s injuries are beyond mortal medicine and suggest they go back to Asgard. Thor is more than happy to oblige and uses Mjolnir to open a vortex to transported them across the dimensional gulf.
Meanwhile, on the coast of Norway, a group of locals — enslaved by a mystical amulet — have brought the fire demon Surtur to Earth. Seeking to burn Earth to a cinder, Surtur lays waste to everything on his path, transforming every mortal he encounters into a fire demon just like his followers.[4]
While in Asgard, Odin has returned home and have had the Destroyer armor imprisoned again. Given all the group it has caused over the years, Odin wonders if he shouldn’t just destroy his creation.[5] That’s when Thor and Jane Foster appear in the middle of the throne room. The trip has really taxed Thor and he almost collapses to the floor. Hearing Jane’s please, Odin summons Cyra and Neffethesk the royal physicians to heal his son. After examining Thor, Neffethesk determines that the fastest way to heal the thunder god would be with the Elixer of Renewal. It is a vat of healing potions that, when charged with Odin’s power, can heal even the most grave injuries within a matter of days. Due to the power needed to charge the potions, this treatment is usually reserved for those who have truly earned it. Hearing this, Jane considers how this type of medicine could be real helpful on Earth.
While Thor wants to undergo this process, he is concerned of what will happen if Jake Olson is absent from Midgard for a few days. Odin has a solution and uses his magic to separate Thor and Jake Olson into two separate beings. After assuring Jane Foster that this Jake Olson is real enough to maintain Thor’s double identity he uses his power to send them both back to Earth. When they reappear in the hospital examination room, Jake admits that he is taken aback by all of this, but other than the feeling he belongs somewhere else, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him. When they exit the examination room, everyone is shocked to see that Jake is fully healed. Quick thinking, Jane explains that Thor used the magic of his hammer to heal Jake’s injuries during the battle with the Destroyer. Jake then has to explain to his mother who Tarene is, since she doesn’t remember any cousins. While these explanations are accepted at face value not everyone buys it as Hannah, Christine, and Amanda are all suspicious in one way or the other. Christine, on the other hand, is still thinking that there is more to Keith Kincaid than he is letting on.
Back in Asgard, Thor is given some potions before he is sealed a metal chamber to be exposed to the Elixir of Renewal. Before he does, he tells Balder to watch out for the Enchantress, as he saw her during his battle with the Destroyer. Soon Thor is sealed in the chamber where he cannot be disturbed for a few days. That’s when Fandral comes running in with some dire news. Balder follows him back to the throne room where Odin and the other Warriors Three — Hogun and Volstagg — are watching images of Surtur’s rampage on Earth. They have to stop the fire demon, but will have to do it without the help of Thor. Since he has used much of his Odinpower to power the elixier, the best Odin can do is gather an army. Within moments, an army as Asgard’s greatest warriors is gathered and transported to Earth to face Surtur. Odin then uses his power to summon Thor’s allies Kurse, Hercules, and Beta Ray Bill to join the battle. The strain of transporting everyone to Midgard severely weakens the All-Father, leaving him unable to help.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Thor Girl, Odin, Balder, Cyra, Neffethesk, “Christine Carpenter”/Enchantress, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Kurse, Hercules, Beta Ray Bill, Surtur, Jane Foster, Thomas Ryan, Hannah Fairmont, Amanda Fairmont, Keith Kincaid/”Executioner”, Jake Olson’s mother
Continuity Notes
Jake Olson was severely burned by Gladiator’s heat vision in Thor (vol. 2) #34-35, he was cured when he changed into Thor in the issue #36.
Jake Olson was once a real live guy until he was killed in Thor (vol. 2) #1 during an earlier attack by the Destroyer. Thor thought he was sparing his life but in reality, as explained in Thor Annual 2000, he merely saved his physical form while his soul ended up in the afterlife. Thor (vol. 2) #79 gives the best explanation, suggesting that the Jake Olson that exists when Thor turns mortal is the personification of his inner humanity, much like the case was with Don Blake before him.
Although not implicitly stated here neither Keith Kincaid or Christine Carpenter are who they appear to be:
At the time of this story, Keith Kincaid was recently and seriously injured by the Absorbing Man in Thor (vol. 2) #26. He was in a coma until Hela transferred the essence of someone into his body in issue #35. They have been teasing that this is the Skruge the Executioner, however it’s later revealed in Thor (vol. 2) #42 that it’s actually one of Hela’s cyphers who took on the form of Skurge.
Christine is actually the Enchantress in disguise, as we learned in Thor (vol. 2) #35.
The mystical amulet was found in Thor (vol. 2) #36, leading to Surtur’s transportation to Earth last issue.
As explained in Thor #300, the Destroyer armor was originally created as a weapon to use against the Celestials if they chose to judge against reality. In recent times it has been more of a headache than of use as it has often been activated by others (usually Loki) to try and destroy Thor or threaten Asgard, starting in Journey into Mystery #118, and as recently as the last two issues.
