With Great Power

The kingdom of Asgard has suddenly appeared over the skies of New York City.[1] In response, the United States has scrambled a trio of stealth aircraft. Little do they know that Spider-Man has hitched a ride to get a closer look. The planes have been sent in an attempt by thew US government to establish communications with Asgard. However, when they are seen by Heimdall — the guardian at the gates of Asgard — he views their approach as a threat. Firing an arrow from his bow, the primitive weapon blows up one of the steal aircraft with a single blow. This was the plane that Spider-Man was clinging to and he barely manages to leap out of harms way. In order to break his fall, the wall-crawler weaves a parachute out of his webbing to slowly descend to the majestic city below.

Unfortunately, he’s still falling too fast anyway and has to create a web cushion on the roof of a building to try and break his fall. In the traditional Parker luck, the force of the web-slingers fall causes him to smash through the roof and land in the middle of an ale house full of Asgardian warriors. Unsure of what to make of the strangely dressed hero, the warriors deem him a threat, prompting a hasty retreat from Spider-Man.

At the same time, the United Nations is meeting to discuss the sudden appearance of Asgard. US officials are becoming nervous and some are calling for the floating city to be shot out of the sky. That’s when Thialfi comes crashing in through a window on a winged horse. When he is told that the Secretary General of the UN was stashed away the moment he appeared, Thialfi grabs one of the other officials to take back with him to Asgard. Watching this, a Chinese official decides that things have gone too far and contacts his superiors to tell them to launch a strike, despite the fact that it will destroy New York City in the process.

Back on Asgard, Spider-Man lures the warriors following him into a nearby blacksmith. There he ambushes them from the ceiling and webs them up. Hearing them mentioning Odin, confirms that this is Asgard and so Spider-Man heads to the royal palace to see what’s going on. The web-head arrives just as Balder and Thialfi are bringing the representative to the United Nations to see Lord Thor. Spider-Man learns that Odin is dead and Thor has taken over.[2] Thor explains that he has brought Asgard to Earth so that his people can serve as an example and assist humanity in becoming a better society. His people have left humanity to figure things out for themselves for far too long and has decided that their conquest of science has led them astray and into immorality.

The UN rep tries to explain that nobody will accept the Asgardians to lord over them. This infuriates Thor who bellows that they have no choice in the matter. That’s when Spider-Man decides to make his presence known. He tries to explain to the thunder god that humanity will never accept gods showing up and telling them how to act without being asked first. However, Thor rebukes this by saying that this is merely an extension of what he was already doing. He also points out that Spider-Man continues to fight crime even when others doubt his true intentions. Spider-Man then goes into his usual song-and-dance about great power and responsibility, something Thor assures he will do.

That’s when Heimdall sense some threat heading their way and sounds the horn. When Thor and the others rush outside, they see that China has launched two nuclear weapons at the city of Asgard. Thor then flies into the air and uses the Odinpower to destroy the nukes and contain the blasts long enough for him to open a portal to banish the explosion and the harmful radiation away. When the thunder god returns, Thor tells Spider-Man that he and his people wish to help and enlighten and asks the web-slinger to spread the word. With that, he teleports both the wall-crawler and the UN rep to the ground below. The UN guy is floored by how much power is at the Asgardian’s command and will advise that they leave the gods alone, for now. Spider-Man can only think how Thor suggested that if he had the same power he’d be doing the same thing. The web-slinger is happy that he’ll never have to make that decision.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Spider-Man, Heimdall, Thialfi, Balder

Continuity Notes

1. This happened last issue, where were you?

2. Odin died battling Surtur in Thor (vol. 2) #40, he will remain among the deceased until Thor #618.

Topical References

• The stealth aircraft that Spider-Man hitches a ride on are depicted as Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first stealth bombers used by the United States military. This should be considered a topical reference as, time of this writing (June, 2023), this model of aircraft is in the process of being retired from use as newer more technologically advanced stealth vehicles have been put into service.