Thor (vol. 2) #54
To Reach Eternity
Its the dawn of a new day in New York City. A city bus driver name Malik is awoken by his alarm at 6:00 am. As part of his morning ritual, he listens to Chucky Diamond, a popular morning radio commentator. Today Chucky is talking about what everyone is talking about: The sudden appearance of Asgard over New York City and the humanitarian aid that Thor and his people are bringing to the world.[1] As he drives his morning route, the driver listens as Chucky takes a call from someone who doesn’t believe the Asgardians are gods. All Chucky can say is that he doesn’t know what to believe, since Thor once saved his life.[2] All he hopes is that he has the right answers when he is judged in the afterlife. What Chuck has to say gives a lot of people in the city a lot to think about.
One of these is a passenger on the bus, a nun by the name of Sister Mary who works at a local hospital. When she arrives, Sister Elise informs her that the young Donny Jennings has taken a turn for the worst. His mother is in his room, and isn’t taking the news very well. When Mary goes to offer comfort to the mother and her terminally ill son, she gets chewed out. Mrs. Jennings is deeply upset and is having a crisis of faith. She had lost her mother to cancer at the age of nine and her husband died in a car accident two months after Donny was born. She doesn’t understand how God could allow his children to suffer like this and following the appearance of the Asgardians over the city, she has come to a conclusion: There is no God.
Another passenger on the bus is one Roxy Perez. She runs a non-profit humanitarian agency that helps those imprisoned and tortured in other nations find freedom. However, despite her noble cause, the organization is running late on the rent. When she arrives at the office she gets an angry call from her landlord telling her that if it isn’t paid by Friday he will evict her from her office. This call is overheard by T’Ambo, one of Roxy’s employees. He offers to forgo his regular pay if it means making the rent on time. However, Roxy refuses to do that because he will need the money when they free T’Ambo’s brother from Kalanya and start his new life in America. She admits to him that they’re going to need a miracle of some kind to find a way to stay open. She says she’d get on her knees and pray if she wasn’t an atheist. Since there are no other options, she drops to her knees and prays to whoever will hear her need of aid.
Meanwhile, the Malik has stopped to pick up two rough looking passengers who walk on without paying the fare. When he calls them out, the two men pull guns an announce that they are going to rob everybody onboard. Suddenly, a mace comes smashing in through the windshield of the bus, severing the arm of one of the robbers. That’s when Balder comes swinging in from the roof and takes out the other gunman. When Hogun enters the vehicle, his friend already has the situation under control.
Back at the hospital, Sister Mary is working in her office when Mrs. Jennings comes in to inform her that her son Donny has passed away. Seconds later, a priest comes rushing in and says a miracle is happening. When Sister Mary and Mrs. Jennings go out into the hallway they are astonished by the sight of Sif and Neffethesk, Asgard’s royal healer. They have come with life saving potions that will cure every patient in the hospital.
At that same time, Roxy Perez is visited by Thor, the Lord of Asgard himself. He had just liberated the prison camp in Kalanya and brought them to Roxy to find new lives in America. Among them is T’Ambo’s brother M’Latta. Thor explains that not only did he free the prisoners, he also deposed General D’Andaa, the dictator of Kalanya. Roxy is shocked, and while she is grateful for his help, she isn’t sure if the decision to toverthrow D’Andaa was his decision to make. The thunder god points out that the General was a criminal that needed to be stopped, not any more different to the common crooks he’d spent his career capturing in New York. As he departs, he tells her that he is not doing this for worshipers, but to ensure that every mortal has justice and benefit in equal measure and asks her to spread that message.
Meanwhile, Neffethesk has been able to cure eighteen terminal patients, something that Sister Mary finds miraculous. Father John believes that this is a miracle of God. However, Sister Mary points out that their God allowed Donny Jennings to die just moments before the Asgardians showed up. Father John considers this blaspheme, and suggests that Sister Mary take time to consider her priorities.
By the end of the day, Malik has finished his shift and punched out for the day. On his way out, he is stopped by a co-worker named Charlie who comments how lucky Malik was that Balder and Hogun showed up to save him like they did. Malik admits that looking down the barrel of a gun really puts a lot of things into perspective. As he walks home, Malik notices an edition of the Daily Bugle tossed in the garbage. The front page story is about how a Church of Asgard has opened and is gaining popularity in New York. He decides to head down to the church to see what it is all about. Following behind him are Roxy Perez and Sister Mary, and countless other New Yorkers whose faith has been radically changed since Asgard appeared above the city.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Hogun, Balder, Sif, Neffethesk
Continuity Notes
Thor moved Asgard over New York City so that he and the other Asgardian gods could play a more active role in humanity, as seen in Thor (vol. 2) #50.
Thor previously saved Chucky Diamonds life in Thor (vol. 2) #5.
Topical References
Mrs. Jennings states that her mother died of breast cancer. Since this story, screening and treatment for this illness have changed and it is not necessarily the death sentence it was back then. Further, as medical science advances, better treatments or a possible cure could be possible. As such, the specific form of cancer should be considered a topical reference.
Many of the computers in this story are depicted as having CRT model monitors. This should be considered a topical reference as this type of technology is now considered obsolete.
