By Fire Born, Part V of V

Much has happened recently in the realm of Asgard. After centuries of rule, Odin had fallen in battle saving Midgard from the fire demon known as Surtur. Following his death, Thor reluctantly took on the role of Lord of Asgard from his father. However, it has been a turbulent transition. The people of Asgard are quick to doubt Thor’s leadership. Most recently, this was true when the Frost Giants — aware of the losses during the war of Surtur — tried to invade Asgard. Thor led warriors to their death in that battle, something the people came to blame him for.[1]

A lot of this lack of faith comes from the fact that Thor lived a double life, spending more time on Midgard defending the mortals than he did in Asgard. It is on Earth where we find the thunder god now. Using the cursed Bloodaxe, he had just slain Desak, the Godslayer before the astonished eyes of all those gathered there. For the average New Yorker, who either viewed Thor’s claim of godhood as an act, now have seen his true power and are left staggered by it. Thor’s mortal half, the paramedic known as Jake Olson, is shocked to see Thor take life so candidly. Thor then embraces the Amor the Enchantress, knowing that some will blame her for his sudden shift in attitude, and his distancing from his friends, but he doesn’t care.

As Thor is about to teleport himself and Amora back to Asgard, he pauses to look and sees humans looting a nearby store and the Grey Gargoyle trying to steal Desak’s axe. This angers the thunderer after he just saved all their lives. Summoning a bolt of lightning to strike the Gargoyle, he orders the others to put back the stolen goods. With that, Thor departs and the vortex transporting him back to Asgard closes with such fury it blasts everything around with a heavy gust of wind.

After he is gone, the entity living in the jewel that gives Desak his power appears and has his body carried away to a distant world to heal and rest until he is needed again. She fears she will have a need for him again in the future as already events are falling into place. She knows she will have other allies. One of them will be Zarrko the Tomorrow Man who is working despirately to prevent a nightmarish future ruled by Thor from coming to pass. She also knows that a new warrior will soon be born, one noble enough to lift enchanted Mjolnir, who will be instrumental in the plans ahead. Lastly, there is Tarene, aka Thor Girl, who is unaware of the fact that her personal evolution is rapidly approaching and her time as the Designate is soon at hand![2]

Recurring Characters

Thor, Heimdall, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Thialfi, Jake Olson, Enchantress, Thor Girl, Loki, Desak, Grey Gargoyle, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, Spirit of the Jewel

Continuity Notes

1. This is recapping the last handful of issues, namely the battle against Surtur which led to Odin’s death in Thor (vol. 2) #39-40, Thor taking the Asgardian throne in issues #41-44, and his recent battle with Desak in issues #45-49. Odin will remain among the deceased until Thor #618.

2. This is all setting up the next part of the Reigning storyline as it pertains to all the different players….

   • Zarrko the Tomorrow Man: Has been trying to prevent the future of the Reigning, a timeline where Thor rules over both Earth and Asgard with an iron fist. He has been trying to prevent this since Thor (vol. 2) #33. This timeline will take place in Reality-3515 per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2.

   • Desak: Will remain among the deceased as per his next appearance in Avengers Prime #5. His Reality-3515 counterpart will be restored to life as we’ll see in Thor (vol. 2) #75.

   • The new warrior is in reference the Magni, the son of Thor, who we’ll first see in Thor (vol. 2) #68.

   • Tarene: We’ll learn in Thor (vol. 2) #79 that the Spirt in the Jewel that has been empowering Desak is actually Tarene’s future self from Reality-3515.

Forever Divided

In Asgard, families wait outside the palace gates for the return of the warriors sent off to help fight off the invading Frost Giants with Thor. Also present is Sif, who tries to calm the women, particularly one named Hyrra who fears for her son, Osav’s safety. However, her attempts at doing so doesn’t work so well so soon after Odin’s death in battle against Surtur. Hyrra points out that if the All-Father could fall in battle, what hope is there for her husband. In fact, her husband perished in that same battle and until now she thought her son was too young and inexperienced for combat against the deadly Frost Giants.

That’s when someone notices that the army is returning from Niffelheim, but they notice that the numbers are smaller than those who left. Hoping her son safe, Hyrra rushes out in the hopes of greeting her boy. However, Balder tries to stop her as Osav perished in battle and he doesn’t want her to see his lifeless body until she is ready for it. Hyrra is devastated by the second loss in her family in so many days. However, not everyone is experiencing tragedy as the newly wed daughter of Volstagg discovers that her father and her husband Gharskygt both survived.[1]

When Sif asks Balder what became of Thor, he tells her that their leader suddenly went to Midgard in the middle of the battle. This is overheard by Hyrra who is furious to learn that Thor left to go to the place where her husband was killed. Balder tries to explain that Thor only left the battle because something on Earth was sapping his power, but this isn’t a sufficient excuse for Hyrra who races back to the city in tears.[2]

Soon a funeral is prepared for Osav and the other warriors who perished in battle. When Hyrra goes to pay her final respects, she is visited by Loki who offers his condolences. She is upset that Thor hasn’t come by to pay his respects as well, and Loki tells her that the duties of being king are keeping him away. When Hyrra wishes for a ruler that wasn’t so preoccupied, the trickster gets a big grin on his face.

At the same time, Balder is having his wounds treated by Neffethesk the royal healer. He is visited by Sif who learns how the warriors who fought alongside him against the Frost Giants were also questioning Thor’s leadership in battle. He fears that this is more than a momentary lapse in confidence, but a growing lack of faith in Thor that was never present when Odin was ruler. That’s when one of the royal guard comes to get Balder and Sif and asks them to come up to the throne room immediately. Along the way, they are told how the Enchantress and Thailfi went to Earth to assist Thor in battle. When they arrive they discover that Loki has gathered all those upset with Thor’s rule to get answers. Balder accuses Loki of treachery, however, the locals are genuinely upset with the way Thor has been handling things.

Little do they know that Thor, Thailfi, and the enchantress are listening from the balcony above. Hearing how upset his people are, Thor decides that he needs to seek council on how to handle matters. Thor then ventures to Olympus and gets an audience with its ruler, Zeus. Thor tells Zeus about how he finds himself divided between defending the mortals on Earth and his duties as ruler of Asgard. After hearing the problem, Zeus tells Thor that he has a solution.

Moments later, Thor returns to his kindom and finally faces his people. He tells them how, on Midgard, he fought and vanquished Desak a powerful being devoted to the elimination of every god including everyone gathered in the hall. Hearing this, Hyrra gets on her knees and begs for forgiveness. However, Thor tells her to get up as he is the one who should apologize for dividing his attention. He tells them something else he saw when he was on Earth: For the first time he saw the systemic problems among the mortals. It is a realm of inequity where many require the basic necessities of life and that there is more that they can do as gods for these people. When Sif wonders if they shouldn’t let the mortals find their own way, Thor disagrees saying the need for gods is greater than it has ever been.

With that, Thor uses the Odinpower to transport the entire city of Asgard to Earth. The massive city then appears over New York City, so that the Asgardians can watch over the mortals.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Zeus, Sif, Balder, Volstagg, Neffethesk, Ggorgstog, Enchantress, Loki, Thailfi

Continuity Notes

1. Volstagg’s daughter got married in Thor (vol. 2) #42.

2. Thor’s powers were halved when Jake Olson used the Enchantress’ mirror to regain the ability to turn into Thor, as we saw in Thor (vol. 2) #47.

Children of Gods

Long ago, when Thor was just a youth, the thunder god would look down upon the Earth and heard the plight of the Vikings who worshiped Thor and his people. They would plea for Odin to intervene but these prayers fell on deaf ears. One day, during a feast, Thor could no longer remain quiet and demands to know why his father ignores the cries of the mortals who worship them. This leads to laughter from the warriors gathered from the table. When Thor insists that there is more they can do, Odin gets insulted and tells his son to leave the table else he be punished.

Thor leaves and heads to Midgard where he uses the power of Mjolnir to help the bring rain to the drought stricken village that was praying for help. From there, Thor helped the villagers feed their people and vanquish their enemies, bringing prosperity to the village. The locals soon throw a celebration for Thor, who promises to use his power and wisdom to lead them henceforth. That’s when a young mother approaches Thor and tells him that her infant son has just died of some sickness and pleads to him to bring the boy back to life. This is beyond Thor’s power and when he tells her that he cannot he is shocked when the woman suddenly turns on him. The grieving woman then spits in his face and storms off.

The other villagers watch in stunned silence and follow after her. Moments later they return to present the woman’s dead body as an offering to appease Thor’s anger. The young god is horrified to see that they murdered the woman and calls them cowards. Deeply upset by what happened, Thor flees the scene. As he goes, one of the villagers curses the thunder god for all time.

When Thor returns to Asgard he is visited by his father, who knows what the boy had done and why he is upset. When Thor asks why the mortals acted in such a way, Odin tells him that they are like children. He explains that if they controlled every aspect of their lives, they would grow resentful and blame the gods for every bad thing that happens to them. Odin says that like father to a son, the gods must let mortals make and learn from their own mistakes.[1]

Recurring Characters

Thor, Odin, Loki

Continuity Notes

1. According to Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Thor, this story takes place between the events of Thor: Wolves of the North #1 and Marvel Graphic Novel #15. This placement is mirrored on the semi-official Marvel Chronology Project. However, this makes little sense to me, since in this story Thor is depicted as a boy who is just barely a teenager, whereas the stories before and after show him as a young adult who doesn’t look much different from his early Modern Age appearances. I’d argue that this story takes place closer to the events of Journey into Mystery #102. I’ve presented my case in more detail here.