The Spiral, Part 4: The Follower

In a small fishing town in Maine, Trent Skoglund and his girlfriend Virginia Casey appear to have the average life of small town teenagers. However, Trent’s family is struggling as his father, Lars is a lobster fisherman. While Virginia’s father thinks the surrounding waters are fished out, Trent’s father thinks its just a slow year. Walking home from school, they soon arrive at Trent’s home. Virginia notices a car and Trent says his Aunt Mary has come for a visit. Virginia remembers that Trent’s aunt is a nun. Still, she is Trent’s favorite relative despite her religious devotion.

When he goes inside, things appear normal and after saying hello to everyone he heads to his room. With Trent gone, the grown-ups talk about the serious financial troubles they are in. Lars lied to his son by saying he finally go a huge catch. The bills are piling up and this is worrying Mary. However, Lars refuses to give up because he wants to send Trent to college and is willing to move heaven and Earth to do so.

In Trent’s bedroom we learn that his room is decked out with all sorts of superhero related posters and merchandise, he really envies them. A few minutes later, Aunt Mary enters the room and tells Trent that if he never needs to talk about anything that she is always there to listen. When Trent asks if there is anything specific she had in mind. She tells him that not everything is what appears on the surface, something Trent will learn as he grows up. She points to the poster of Thor on the wall. She always thought that Thor referring to himself as a god was some kind of secret identity thing, but now that he is using it as justification to reshape the world she has her worries.[1]

Indeed, Thor’s new mission has amassed quite the group of followers. What was once referred to as a religious cult is quickly gaining more and more followers. Nowhere is this more visible is that Sunday when the Skoglund family goes to church, which is emptier than usual. Their priest, Father Murphy, uses part of his sermon to denounce Thor as a god, saying that the god of the Catholic faith is the one true Lord and asks his congregation to reject the Asgardian and all he offers.

After the sermon, the Skoglunds leave with the Caseys. That’s when Charles Casey, Virginia’s father, pulls Lars aside to speak in private. Charles is the manager at the local bank and he is aware of the Skogland’s finanical troubles. Lars admits that the lobster season has been pretty bad and asks Charles to see if there is anyway the bank can help. Charles isn’t sure what he can do, but agrees to meet with Lars once he is done fishing for the day. When Charles leaves, Lars’ wife Karen asks what they were talking about. Lars lies and says they were talking about baseball. When Karen asks to borrow money for the church bake sale, all he can give her is $5 because that’s all he has on him. He admits that he put his last $20 in the church collection plate. Realizing just how bad things are, Karen hugs her husband.

The next day, as Lars is preparing to head out on his boat he is visited by a fellow fisherman named Lloyd Cullen. He wants to introduce Lars to a friend of his named Willie Lawson.[2] They are also by to tell Lars that they are members of the Church of Asgard and worship Thor, and they want him to join up with them. Lars tells them that they are free to worship whomever they want, but he was born and raised Catholic and can’t just turn his back on his family religion and respectfully declines. They are understanding and soon depart, but Willie tells Lars that should he ever change his mind, he will always be welcome.

Later that day, Lars pulls up all eighty-four of his lobster traps and is devastated to find that every single one is empty and wonders what he is going to do. When he returns to shore he heads down to the bank for his meeting with Charles Casey. Unfortunately, the news is grim, Charles tells Lars that a directive has come down from management that they are no longer allowed to extend anymore loans to lobstermen. When he returns home, he tells Mary the bad news. Soon, the bank will be coming for the house since he can’t pay his mortgage. He is convinced that the seas are empty. At 54 years old, it’s not like he can change careers and the idea of his wife supporting the family with two minimum wage jobs embarrasses him. Mary tells Lars to keep his faith and that God will provide. However, Lars doesn’t think so as he has lost what little faith he had left.

That’s when they are interrupted by Trent who still has no idea what’s going on. He asks to borrow $40 to go out on a date. Lars doesn’t have the money, but before he can speak up, Mary gives him the money telling Trent that the evening is on her. Trent, still oblivious (the poor dope) runs off to meet up with Virginia.

That evening, there is a powerful storm rolling in off the coast. Lars decides to take his fishing boat out in the dangerous weather. He has a life insurance policy that will pay off all their debts and send Trent off to college if he dies on the job. He hasn’t come out to lobster trap, but to commit suicide by the storm. He thinks of how dire things have gone and begins to cry. That’s when he sees a man floating over the waters, commanding the storm. It is Thor himself and when a massive wave is about to come crashing down on Lars’ boat, the thunderer uses his power to create a waterspout that lifts the boat to safety. When he goes outside to get a better look he is shocked to see a bounty of lobsters waiting for him. He almost can’t believe it until he sees Thor fly away as the storm clears.

When Lars returns home he walks between the crucifix in the hallway and the poster of Thor hanging in his son’s bedroom. After considering one over the other, he places his hand on the poster of Thor and prays. He then heads down to the dockside warehouse where the local Church of Asgard meets for worship. They are all mostly lobster fisherman who have also able to get huge catches. Outside, Lars pauses just long enough to take off the crucifix he wears around his neck and walk inside.

Recurring Characters

Trent Skoglund, Lars Skoglund, Virginia Casey, Thor, Willie Lawson

Continuity Notes

1. Some things you need to know off the top that aren’t really explained in this story are:

   • Odin is dead. He was died fighting Surtur back in Thor (vol. 2) #40. Thor has since taken up the royal throne. Odin will remain among the deceased until Thor #418.

   • Since issue #50, Thor has been trying to use Asgardian resources and magic to make the Earth a better place for mortals. This has included abolishing war, sickness, and hunger. While many people have come to accept Thor’s aid, others (particularly those in power) have not.

2. As we’ll learn next issue, Willie Lawson is actually Loki in disguise. He is intentionally increasing tensions between the Church of Asgard and local religion in order to make the new religion a persecuted class. This is all part of a scheme to push Thor to become more controlling over the mortals.

Topical References

• Trent is depicted as having a 2000s model iMac in his bedroom. These were popular computers at the time this comic was published in 2003. This model has long since become obsolete and its appearance here should be considered topical.

• When lying about his conversation with Charles Casey, Lars Skoglund says they were talking about the failings of the Boston Red Sox. He is disparaging the team because, at the time this story was published, they had not won the World Series since 1918. However, time of this writing (June, 2023) they have since won four times in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. Due to the dated reference and the fact that the Red Sox are a real world baseball team, this should be considered a topical reference.

• Charles Casey’s computer at the bank is depicted as having a CRT monitor. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology.