Father Issues, Part 2

Entering the Odinsleep, Thor has been transported to the realm between life and death. There he has found his father Odin is trapped there and is forced to fight Surtur to the death every day.[1] Seeing the torture that his father endures, Thor wanted to bring his father back from the dead.

However, Odin declined this offer, telling a story about how he had to let his father — Bor — die to become king of Asgard.[2] Odin realized that Thor would have to do just such as a thing when the thunder god was first born. He had finally put the haunting voices of his father behind him, but after Thor’s birth, they began again. Eventually, the image of Bor appeared to him one night and said that soon another father will be killed, orphaning his son. Bor then told Odin that he would stop haunting him if he adopts this child and raise it as his own.[3]

Odin is speaking about how he adopted Loki after slaying his father, Laufey. However, Odin tells Thor the true events that transpired that day. There was no oath made between the two warriors. Laufey was slain like any other foe on the field of battle. When he was killed, Loki came charging around from cover threatening to kill Odin. Believing this to be the child Bor spoke of, Odin ordered the boy restrained and taken back to Asgard to be raised by him. At the time, Odin though that this job was given to him as an act of forgiveness, however over time he realized that this was revenge as Loki proved to be a constant threat for centuries thereafter.[4]

Concluding his tale, Odin says it is for that very reason why he must remain among the dead. Thor tries to apologize, but Odin won’t hear it. After a moment’s thought, the All-Father decides that there is something he can do while he is here, as Odin’s wounds have healed up and the sun is starting to rise, signaling another day of eternal battle.

Meanwhile, Don Blake — Thor’s mortal half — has been free to walk the Earth since Thor went on his journey. He has taken the time to travel to New York City and track down Jane Foster, the woman he loves. He learns that she is working in the Oncology department on the 11th floor and goes up to see her. Don finds her looking after an elderly patient named Rose Chambers. She agrees to talk with him and as they leave, one of the patients calls out for help. Since her primary task is end-of-life care, Jane tells Don that sometimes you have to let them do things for themselves, otherwise they’ll call you for every tiny thing.

They go down to the lunch room, where Don recalls that Jane had gotten married and had a child.[6] Jane says that she had been married until a six months ago when rumors started getting out that Don Blake was seemingly back from the dead and that he was real. For years she questioned if Don and her feelings for him were ever real. However, after everything she experienced through her encounters with Thor, she came to realize they were and that nothing could make her feelings go away.[7]

Back in the realm between life and death, Odin leads Thor back to where he fights Surtur each day. He explains to his son that Surtur managed to transfer part of his lifeforce to this unending limbo as a means of cheating his death in Ragnarok. Each dawn, Surtur tries to escape back to the world of the living and Odin is the only thing keeping him from breaking through. Each dawn the fight to the death and both die, only to repeat the cycle over and over for all eternity.

While on Earth, Jane has to get back to her shift and tells Don to tell her what he wants to see. Blake explains how the Asgardians had all been cast to Earth and were trapped in human hosts. He is now searching for Sif, and wonders if perhaps Jane might be her host since the two of them once shared a life together.[8][9] Hearing that Don had come searching for Sif instead of her deeply upsets Jane and she slaps him across the face. She understands that his mission is important but what bothers her about it is that this was the first thing he said. Don thinks for a moment and he explains that this is the first time in a while that he didn’t have Thor present inside of him, hearing and seeing everything he does. Since he didn’t know how long this is going to last he wanted to find out about Sif as soon as possible so he could break the news to Thor gently. After he apologizes and asks how she is doing, she dismissively tells him she’s fine and storms out of the room.

In limbo, Odin suggests that his son leave, but after everything Thor has heard he refuses to let his father fight alone this time. However, Thor realizes the enduring torture that Odin endures and has made up his mind to bring him back from the dead. Odin, however, refuses to allow him to do so because if he does, Surtur will be able to escape and undo everything Thor has done for the people of Asgard, and that’s something he cannot allow. Thor accepts this, but decides to stay and fight by his father’s side one last time to make sure he doesn’t fall in battle. As Surtur emerges from his protective fire ball, the father and son team charge into battle shouting the name of Asgard as they go.

At the hospital, Don Blake waits in the hall outside Rose Chambers’ room while Jane composes herself in the women’s washroom. When Rose wakes up, she asks if he is a doctor and if he can help. Blake tries to explain he’s not on staff, but decides to help her anyway. That’s when Jane comes out and tells Don that it is ok and she’ll get someone to help. She has gotten her composure back and apologizes for slapping him. She admits that she built up a lot of expectations in her mind while she waited for him to reappear in her life again. She has also had a moment to think about the time she and Sif were merged together, and unfortunately, she doesn’t feel as though Sif is trapped inside her now. As Jane walks Don out, she asks a passing nurse to check with Mrs. Chambers. Don thanks Jane and apologizes for getting off on the wrong foot and asks if he can see her again sometime. Jane admits she’d like that and wishes him luck.

As Don goes to the elevator, Rose Chambers calls out for help, but the nurse quiets her saying that she’s there to help. Rose insists that only Don could save her. The nurse — who is actually Loki in disguise — tries to calm her by combing her hair and looking in a vanity mirror. The reflection in it is that of Sif.[10]

By this time, Thor and Odin have defeated Surtur and the fire demon has retreated back to the darkness to heal for the next day’s battle. Thor says that no matter what, this day will be that and Odin stood together in battle. Thor knows that some day they will fight alongside each other again. Odin notes that Thor’s slumber is about to end and tells the boy to not to think of his fate with sadness, as the Asgardian idea of a good afterlife is one of endless battle, and that is something he has here. He then tells his son to live long and live well. Thor promises that he will and they say goodbye to one another. As Thor makes his way back he is mocked by the ravens Hugin and Munin. They call him a princeling who only succeeded in giving himself forgiveness. They mock his intelligence and warn that a god cannot be all things to all people.

The moment Thor wakes up and emerges from his specially made sarcophagus, Don Blake vanishes off the streets of New York. Now knowing what Don knows, Thor presumes that Sif is lost. Going out and addressing his people, he tells them that the it is now time to start creating a new lives for themselves and move on from the one they knew before. Little does Thor know that Sif is still alive and trapped in the body of Rose Chambers.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Odin, Loki, Surtur, Don Blake, Jane Foster, Rose Chambers/Sif, Hugin, Munin, (in flashback) Bor, Laufey

Continuity Notes

1. Odin died battling Surtur in Thor (vol. 2) #40, while Surtur got a brief resurrection before being killed off in Ragnarok in Thor (vol. 2) #80-85. Odin will remain among the deceased until Thor #618. Surtur will be back from the dead in Journey into Mystery #629.

2. Bor was turned into snow by a mysterious sorcerer centuries earlier, as explained last issue.

3. This isn’t really Bor speaking with Odin, its the same person who turned Bor into snow last issue. In Thor (vol. 3) #12, it is revealed that Loki went back in time to turn Bor into snow and orchestrated events to make sure that Odin adopted him as a child.

4. Odin makes a point of saying here that many versions of the these events have been told and that what he says now are the true events. This is done to explain the discrepancies in this story to other recountings of Loki’s origins, particularly Journey into Mystery #112.

5. Don Blake and Jane Foster go way back to Journey into Mystery #83. The two fell in love over time, but Thor’s life often interfered with the romance. After running hot and cold for years, we’ll get into the finer details as we go along.

6. After years of Thor interfering with her life, Jane eventually ended up marrying Keith Kincaid in Thor #336. They had their son Jimmy in Thor #394. The child was last seen in Thor #486, and Keith in Thor (vol. 2) #41 and won’t be seen again. In Mighty Thor #704 we will learn that both Keith and Jimmy died in a car accident.

7. Jane is specifically Thor #136. See, because Don Blake loved Jane so did Thor. Eventually, Thor petitioned Odin to allow him to marry Jane. Odin decided to test Jane to see if she was worthy of becoming a god. When she failed, Odin banished her to Earth with no memory of her past with Thor/Don Blake, and set her up with Keith Kincaid and you already know how well that went.

8. When the gods were killed in Ragnarok in Thor (vol. 2) #85, they were cast down to Earth where they were merged with humans. Thor seemingly freed everyone between Thor (vol. 3) #1-5, except for Sif, we’ll find out why later this issue.

9. When Jane was mortally wounded in Thor #231, Thor ventured to get the Rune Staff of Kamo Tharnn to save her life. To do so, both Jane and Sif were merged together as seen in Thor #235-236. Sif became the dominant persona and eventually Jane’s essence was cast into the Rune Staff and ultimately freed in Thor #335.

10. As explained in Thor (vol. 3) #12, Loki stole Sif’s body in order to not only appear as a woman, but also to trap Sif in her host body. Sif will eventually be found and freed in Thor #602.

Topical References

• The computer at the nurse’s station at the hospital is depicted as having a CRT monitor. This should be considered a topical reference as this technology is now obsolete.

• Jane states that rumors about Don Blake still being alive began six months prior. If we measure from Fantastic Four #537 (the first story where Don Blake returns, published in June, 2006) and this story (published June, 2008) and match it up with the Sliding Timescale, this actually matches the passage of time. As such, this should be considered a factual reference.