As the warriors of Asgard grow restless, Balder has them engage in a mock battle, offering the winning team an unlimited supply of mead. Watching them battle, Balder has private council with Loki. She points out that being stuck in the city of Asgard when there is a whole world outside has made the people grow restless. Balder wants more for his people but isn’t certain what he can do with his new princely powers.[1][2] With the battle over, Volstagg asks if his team has won the unlimited supply of mead. Balder responds by saying both teams gave it their best and are worthy of the prize. This is met with thunderous cheer.

Meanwhile, Donald Blake — Thor’s mortal half — is in New York City meeting up with his old flame, Jane Foster, for dinner. Jane arrives a little late because they almost lost one of her elderly cancer patients, Rose Chambers. Jane explains that the doctors said she wouldn’t last six weeks but the patient has had a remarkable will to live as if something is keeping her going. When neither Don nor Jane know is that Rose Chambers struggles to stay alive is because the essence of Sif is trapped inside her body.[3] Jane then asks what brings Don to New York. He says that he has come to see her specifically and properly say hello since their last visit didn’t go quite as well.[4]

Back in Asgard, Loki continues whispering in Balder’s ear. She reminds him that long ago the Asgardians were free to walk Midgard and interact with the mortals, likening their current situation to being kept in a box. The world is just outside their doorstep, yet it may as well be a million miles away. Their discussion is soon interrupted when a warrior rushes in to tell Balder that a blood duel has erupted in the courtyard. Balder rushes down to stop it, but only arrives in time to see one of the combatants slay the other. Balder recognizes the dead man as Alarr and mourns his passing. He scolds his killer, saying that on Midgard they are more vulnerable and the touch of mortality is greater. When he asks how this fight happened, Alarr’s killer says that he was insulted but he admits he cannot really remember what was said. Loki then points out that this is the end result of keeping their people cooped up in the city and that more deaths will happen unless they are allowed to roam.

By this time, Don Blake’s evening with Jane Foster has come to an end in Time Square. Don is walking Jane to a taxi when they walk past a shop window with TVs on display. There is a report commemorating the recent death of Captain America and this reminds Don that there is one more thing he needs to do while he’s in the city and that he’ll see Jane Foster very soon.[5] Don heads to Central Park where a memorial statue in Captain America’s memory has been erected. Don pays his respects first before changing into Thor, who then tries to pierce the veil between life and death to summon Captain America’s spirit, by crying out “Avengers Assemble!”

This surprisingly works, and the spirit of Steve Rogers appears before Thor. Cap is happy to see that Thor is alive once more and that he sensed it from his place in the afterlife. When Thor offers to use his power to resurrect Steve, he is declined. What Captain America would like more than anything else is to stop those trying to co-opt his crusade for their political agendas. Captain America was never about politics, he was about America the country. Even in the afterlife, his true message is being drowned out by a sea of voices trying to capitalize on his death. Thor tells Cap that there are very few warriors he has ever fought beside that he could ever feel privileged to have called friend. Steve Rogers is one of those people and Thor thanks him for that before allowing Steve’s spirit to pass back to where it belongs.

Thor also listens to the seemingly endless media chatter around this anniversary of Cap’s death and decides to do something about it. Flying into space, the thunder god uses Mjolnir to summon lightning and uses it to short out all satellite television broadcasts and forces a minute long moment of silence in honor of his friend.

Back in Asgard, a funeral pyre has been prepared for Alarr. As Balder watches, Loki says that such a funeral is distasteful as such a warrior should be buried at sea. When Thor returns from New York, he is brought up to speed on what happened. Balder then tells Thor that they need to talk.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Loki, Don Blake, the spirit of Captain America, Rose Chambers/Sif

Continuity Notes

1. Loki is appearing here as a woman because he has stolen Sif’s body to take on the female form, as explained in Thor (vol. 3) #12. As we saw in issue #8, Sif’s soul is trapped in the body of an elderly woman named Rose Chambers. This will remain the status quo until Sif is saved in Thor #602.

2. Last issue, Balder learned that he is a son of Odin and a prince of realm. This was kept secret from him for centuries by Odin to prevent Ragnarok from happening prematurely and to maintain the royal line in the event Thor died.

3. Sif died along with all the other Asgardians in the final Ragnarok cycle in Thor (vol. 2) #85. When Thor returned in Thor (vol. 3) #1, he learned that his people were cast down to Earth and bonded with mortals. He had revived everyone he could by issue #5. Sif remains trapped in her host body due to the fact that Loki has stolen her physical form.

4. Don is referring to the events of Thor (vol. 3) #8 when he first came to visit Jane Foster since his return. He was searching for Sif, which deeply upset Jane.

5. Captain America was seemingly assassinated in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. In reality, he was unmoored from time and space with a time bullet and has spent this entire time reliving his life over and over again. See Captain America: Reborn #1-6.

Topical References

• The news report about the death of Captain America states that the hero’s “death” occurred one year prior to this story. This should be considered a topical reference as it measures time between publications as Captain America (vol. 5) #25 was published in April, 2007, while this story was published in November, 2008. Per the Sliding Timescale, Cap’s death would have happened around 4-5 months prior to this story.

• A group of political pundits debate on how Captain America would vote in the then upcoming 2008 Presidential Election. This should be considered a topical reference as that election is long said and done. This reference is relative to the date of publication. Modern readers should interpret this question as how Cap would vote in an upcoming election not a specific one.