Thor (vol. 2) #41
Taking Charge, Part 1
The battle with Surtur on Earth is over, but has come at great cost. At first none of the gathered warriors can believe that Odin is dead. That is until they find his lifeless body laying near the spot where Surtur was destroyed. While everyone accepts the fact that the All-Father is dead, Thor refuses to accept that his father is gone. He asks Tarene — the Designate destine to usher the universe to the next level of evolution — to use her power to restore Odin to life. However, after lending her power to defeat Surtur, she collapses from exhaustion.
Not willing to give up, Thor teleports to Asgard and brings the healers Cyra and Neffethesk back to Midgard to do something. While they are able to give Tarene a potion to restore her strength, they determine that Odin is beyond help. As Tarene recovers she feels different and Cyra decides to use the Horns of Truth to figure out what’s wrong. It reveals that the energies involved in Surtur’s destruction have somehow trapped her in her Asgardian form. Not willing to accept this, Tarene tries to return to her true form, but nothing happens. Neffethesk then tries to convince Thor that he has to accept the fact that his father is dead.
Thor eventually accepts the reality and the warriors of Asgard all return home to organize Odin’s funeral. A huge pyre is set in Odin’s memory. Tossing the Odinring in the flames, Odin delivers a eulogy for his father. Those gathered are not the only ones who have sensed Odin’s passing as the funeral is observed from afar by Hela in Hel, Ulik and Orikal in the domain of the Rock Trolls, Doctor Strange on Earth, Mephisto in his domain, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man from the future, as well as the space faring Silver Surfer, the Rigellian Colonizers, and cosmic beings such as the Celestials and the Living Tribunal.
On Earth, the Enchantress has been masquerading as Christina Carpenter, EMT partner to Thor’s mortal half Jake Olson. She has been able to maintain this double life unobserved until she was caught returning to her true form by Keith Kincaid, the husband of Jane Foster. However, he has a secret of his own and uses Amora’s enchanted mirror to reveal his true form. She is shocked to discover that he is her former lover, Skurge the Executioner, something that should be impossible since Skurge has been dead for years.[2] He tries to explain that he has come back for her, but that’s when they see the image of Odin in Amora’s mirror, tipping her off to the fact that the All-Father is dead.
Meanwhile, in deep space, Desak the God Slayer has just finished wiping out another pantheon of gods. That’s when he sees images in his axe that show that not only is Odin dead, but the Designate is weakened, making Asgard ripe for attack next.[3]
Soon, visitors from across the universe arrive in Asgard to pay their respects to its fallen king. Among those in the crowd are both Jane Foster and Jake Olson. As Thor gives a public statement, Jake can’t help but feel disbelief since he and Thor have been separated.[4] Gathered with Thor are his mother Frigga. As they have a moment of silence it is interrupted by the arrival of Loki. While this is met with protests from the other mourners, Thor reminds them that the trickster is also part of the royal family and is entitled to mourn alongside everyone else.
After the service, Thor and his closest friends — Balder and Sif — as well as Loki hold private council in the throne room. Everyone expects Thor to take the throne in place of his father. Even Loki insists that his step-brother would be the only person the people will follow. However, the thunder god thinks himself unworthy, despite all the constant tests and grooming Odin has put upon him over he centuries for this very purpose. Thor tells the others that he is still devoted to protecting Midgard and thus it shall remain. As he walks out, he tells his friends that until a suitable replacement for Odin is found, the throne of Asgard will remain empty.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Jake Olson, Hercules, Beta Ray Bill, Thor Girl, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Kurse, Balder, Odin (corpse), Cyra, Neffethesk, Jane Foster, Frigga, Sif, Enchantress, Keith Kincaid, “Executioner”, Hela, Ulik, Orikal, Doctor Strange, Mephisto, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, Silver Surfer, Living Tribunal, Desak, Rigelians, Celestials
Continuity Notes
Not only did Odin and Surtur die last issue, but also Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder. About those deaths though….
Surtur won’t stay dead for long as Loki will find a way to resurrect the demon in order to bring about Ragnarok, as seen in Thor (vol. 2) #80-84.
It will be some time before Odin is resurrected, which happens during the events of Thor #615-621, when his might was needed to defeat the Ano-Athox.
As for Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, they appear again without any implicit explanation in Thor (vol. 2) #83. However, according to Norse mythology, the two goats could be reborn after being eaten as long as their bones weren’t also broken. Technically speaking, they were consumed by flame, so perhaps the whole “eaten” thing is very literal.
The current situation between the Enchantress and the Executioner is complicated. Let’s break it down:
Since Thor (vol. 2) #26 she has been posing as Christine Carpenter, partner of Jake Olson, as was revealed in issue #35.
After Keith Kincaid was put in a coma in issue #26, he was later possessed by an agent of Hela in issue #35. While we’re led to believe that this is Skurge the Execution, Thor (vol. 2) #42 reveals that this entity is really a cypher that took Skurge’s form.
The real Executioner died after sacrificing his life while on a mission into Hel, as seen in Thor #360-362. Although he will make the odd appearance here and there he will remain among the deceased for until Asgardians of the Galaxy #1.
If you’re unfamiliar, we met Desak in Thor Annual 2001, he was an alien being who renounced the gods of his world and was chosen by an alien gem to become a god slayer. What he doesn’t know is that he is being guided by a future version of Tarene herself, as we’ll learn in Thor (vol. 2) #79. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2, this future Tarene comes from Reality-3515.
Jake Olson has been Thor’s mortal guise since Thor (vol. 2) #2. After being injured by the Destroyer in issue #39, Thor needed to subjected to a healing elixir that needed a few days to work its magic. So as not to disrupt Jake Olson’s mortal life, Odin used his power to separate him from Thor, they will remain separated until Thor (vol. 2) #79.