Thor (vol. 2) #56
Resistance
A video is posted online by a Christian mutant named Davis,[1] who rails against Thor and the Asgardians work on Earth. He sees it as an affront to the god that he worships and vows to do whatever he can to stop it.[2]
Meanwhile, Thor is at a recently decommissioned nuclear power plant charging a chunk of uru metal which will be used as a source of clean and limitless energy. As he is doing so the reformed Absorbing Man (Carl “Crusher” Creel) explains how this will be a benefit to everyone.[3] Once Thor has completed energizing the power plant, he takes a sliver of uru and asks Thialfi to deliver it to his friend Tony Stark for analysis.[4] As Thor flies off for his next job, some of the plant workers wonder what they are going to do now that the plant has been shut down.
Later, back in Asgard, Thialfi returns to tell Thor that he completed his mission. Hearing this, Balder questions if it is wise to give Asgardian magic to the mortals. Thor explains that doing so will allow the humans to become less reliant on plundering the Earth for natural resources. He goes on to say that he is merely providing them with the means, leaving the mortals to decide how to use them and reminds Balder to think of the good that they are doing.
Back at the former nuclear plant, the Davis arrives and uses his powers to destroy the uru power source Thor just provided. He is caught in the act by the Absorbing Man, who takes on the property of steel in order to attack the saboteur. The youth is easily knocked out and Creel takes him back to Asgard to face punishment. When Thor meets with the youth, Davis is arrogant and engages in a religious debate. Thor explains to the boy that he neither claims to be the one true god, nor does he seek worshipers, he is merely going to where help is needed. This doesn’t sit well with the religious young man, who repeats the often refrain other mortals have countered him with: That Thor was not asked to do these things. Davis explains that this is the fundamental difference between the Asgardians and his god. God, he says, invites people who welcome his involvement instead of forcing his will upon them (this kid obviously hasn’t read the Old Testiment, but I digress).
Surprisingly, Thor lets the boy go without any punishment as long as he stays out of trouble in the future. Not taking the hint, Davis goes back online to mock Thor and say that he is going to be ramping things up.
The following day, a delivery truck arrives at another converted power plant in Cleveland. Asgardian soldiers have been posted at the front gates as security. When they stop to search the truck, Davis leaps out and uses his powers to burn all the flesh off, leaving nothing but bones. He then races into the plant and uses his powers to blow up the uru generator there as well.
When the story makes the front page of the Daily Bugle, Thor decides that the boy needs to be stopped. By taking a life he has not only broken Asgardian law, but also the laws of his own religion. Balder reminds Thor that Davis is just a boy, but Thor still wants to seek justice and orders Heimdall to be summoned to help track the young mutant down. Heimdall leads Thor to the forest where Davis records all of his videos. While the camera is recording, Davis leaps at Thor and clamps his arms around the thunder god. However, rather than use his powers against Thor, Davis turns them on himself. The boy then falls back and dies as his body withers away. His final words are the last rights of a Christian.
Playing back what Davis recorded before they arrived, Thor realizes that they have been set up. The boy used his powers to sacrifice himself in order to make it look like Thor had killed him.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Absorbing Man, Thialfi, Balder, Heimdall, Davis
Continuity Notes
Davis is never mentioned by name in this story, we learn his name in Thor (vol. 2) #60. I use it here because it makes identifying him easier.
Thor and the Asgardians have taken it upon themselves to turn Earth into a utopia since Thor (vol. 2) #50, not everyone has been happy about it.
The Absorbing Man reformed last issue after Asgardian healers cured Titania of cancer. It should be noted here that a time distortion during this period caused there to be two Absorbing Men. One is the reformed version we see here, the other appears in Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #55-59. This anomaly will be explained in Captain Marvel (vol. 4) #18.
This will come back to bite Thor in the ass, as Tony will use the uru to create a suit of magically powered armor to fight him. See Thor (vol. 2) #58, Iron Man (vol. 3) #64, and Avengers (vol. 3) #63.
Topical References
Among the members of the media that are covering the installation of a new power plant, CNN is depicted as being present. This should be considered topical as this is a real world news organization.
Davis is depicted using a camcorder connected to his laptop to record the messages he posts on the internet. This story was published during a time that webcams were not quite as common. The idea of having a portable camera built into a laptop computer were also quite uncommon. This set up is both dated and less common now than it was in 2003 when this comic was originally published. As such this should be considered a topical reference. Someone Davis’ age nowadays would more likely to be filming himself with a smart phone.
