The Spiral, Part 5: One Night

New Mexico

In the middle of the New Mexico desert, an unidentified group of soldiers have set up camp. They are protecting a priest sent by the Vatican to meet with Thor and discuss the Pope’s growing alarm about Thor’s claim of godhood. Thor is uninterested in hearing the opinions of others, saying that he only seeks to help people. The Padre asks if Thor has considered the sociological and spiritual ramifications of what he is doing. Thor takes this to mean the Vatican fears it will be destabilized, but he assures them that he has no interest in in their religion.[1]

The Padre explains that after everything Thor has done, people are flocking to worship him. Thor is disinterested, saying he asked nobody to do so. The Padre warns that Thor is using his great power without the proper wisdom. That he is offering simple solutions to complex problems. This insult the thunder god, who points out that even the Christian faith preaches that the strong protect the weak, and to safeguard all life, just as he is doing.

Maine

In a small fishing town, Virginia Casey leaves home to go to school and is surprised to see her boyfriend Trent Skoglund outside waiting for her in his brand new mini-van (how is a mini-van cool?). Since his father, Lars, converted to the Church of Asgard he has been catching so much lobster that he had enough money to buy new cars for himself and his son. While Virginia agress that this was divine intervention, she believes it was the Catholic god who brought the lobsters. Trent doesn’t care either way, all that matters to him is that his family’s financial troubles are over and things are getting back to normal.[2]

Across town, at a converted garage, the worshipers of Thor are engaging in combat training to better serve their new lord. Lars Skoglund is training with his fellow lobsterman Lloyd Cullen until he is cut with a sword, ending the practice. Lars finds this fight training tough to handle, but Lloyd says it will be necessary. Willie Lawson, the leader of the church, concurs. When they are done for the day, Lars reaffirms his commitment to the church, telling the others that had it not been for Thor bringing in more lobsters he would have committed suicide so his family could collect the insurance. It’s just hard to take in all at once after living as a Catholic his entire life until now. Willie reminds him that Thor answered his prayers when God did not. Willie also says it is a shame what Lars’ old church is doing. Lars has no idea what they are talking about and Willie offers to take them downtown to see.

Meanwhile, Virginia has Trent take her to the local church so she can pray before classes. Trent says he’s not going in since his parents now worship Thor. He actually finds his family’s new religion quite interesting, plus the idea of not having to go to school on Thursdays appeals to him. Still, Virginia insists that he talk to Father Murphy first. Both she and the priest try to convince Trent to remain a Catholic. This is really important to Virginia, particularly since her father is also devoted to the church. Trent finds that kind of ironic since her father recently refused his dad a bank loan when they were in financial troubles. He soon becomes incredibly uncomfortable with their pressure and asks if they can leave already.

New Mexico

The Padre has dropped all pretenses and says that Thor’s work will destroy the Catholic Church and they will not let that stand. Thor is disinterested, pointing out that they had power for centuries and what they are really afraid of is a loss of that power. He points to the fact that the church only dictates what people should or shouldn’t be doing in their bedroom while befriending some of the world’s most heinous dictators, while also using the ignorance of their followers to keep them in line and doing nothing to improve their lives. He then angrily smashes a table with Mjolnir. The Padre counters this by saying that they worry not about providing comfort in the moment, but prepare people for the afterlife.

Maine

By nightfall Father Murphy has called those who are still loyal to the Catholic faith to meet with Father William, who has been sent by the head of their diocese to talk about Thor. Among those gathered Virginia Casey’s parents, Charles and Amy. Both Murphy and William tell the rest that it may be too late to convince those who have started worshiping the Asgardians and that they might start preying on their children next. This worries everyone in the room, particularly Amy Casey who considers worshiping Thor nothing more than barbarism.

Not far away, Willie Lawson and his followers have stopped down the street from the church. Willie tells his followers that all the remaining Catholics are meeting to discuss what to do about them and their faith. He warns them that they will be persecuted and destroyed just as the Catholics had done to the Native Americans who lived in America before the first settlers. This riles up the entire crowd and everyone agrees that they need to fight to preserve their faith.

New Mexico

Since he has gotten nowhere trying to convince Thor, the Padre explains that right now the Pope is celebrating mass. Soon he will give a sermon where he will ask his followers to denounce Thor and reject everything he stands for.

Thor finds these to be strong words for a man who claims to guide lives to eternal peace. He once again reiterates that he seeks no worshipers and expects nothing from anyone. All he wishes to do is cure suffering and doesn’t see how that is a crime. With that, he flies off into sky.

Maine

Virginia and Trent are out getting ice cream where she continues to try to convince Trent and his family to come back to the church. That’s when they run into his father and the other followers of the Church of Asgard. Willie Lawson has directed their attention to the front page of the newspaper which has a headline about the Pope condemning Thor and tells them that this is an act for war. That’s when Lars notices his son and Virginia and asks both of them to join them. This is overheard by Charles and Amy Casey who are arriving with Father Williams and the remaining Catholics. They order their daughter to get away from the barbarians. That’s when Father William slips a gun into Charles’ hand and suggests he use force to get his daughter back. When Charles is reluctant to do so, the gun suddenly goes off in his hand, fatally shooting Lloyd Cullen. This is all it takes to get the two sides fighting against one another.

The only people absent from the fight are Father William and Willie Lawson. This is because they were both the same being — Loki, the god of mischief — who is watching from atop the church. He is deeply amused by how easy it is to manipulate the mortals.

This isn’t the only town affected by this, all over the world violence towards those who worship Thor is on the rise with hundreds of people being injured or killed.

Injured in the crossfire, both Trent and Casey are rushed to an already overworked hospital. Despite the best efforts of medical staff, the two young lovers are among the 18 people who died that evening.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki, Lars Skoglund, Trent Skoglund, Virginia Casey, Charles Casey, Amy Casey

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. If you want to learn more about how the Skoglund family were saved by Thor (and how much a goober their son Trent is) see last issue.