Thunderstrike #10
Hero
An armored truck is making its way across the business traffic in downtown Manhattan when the vehicle is suddenly struck so hard it is split in two. The drivers manage to leap to safety, but when they look up to see who attacked them they are shocked to see that it is none other than the mighty Thor!
Meanwhile, at Avengers Headquarters, Thunderstrike, aka Eric Masterson, is brushing up on his fighting skills by going into a training session with Hercules. His ability to hold his own in a fight has become more important now that he knows that his foe Bloodaxe is somebody close to him. Since he doesn’t know who exactly, he needs to be ready at a moments notice.[1] That’s when Giant-Man calls them to the communications center. Hercules uses this opportunity to teach Eric a lesson on distraction in battle.
When they report to the comm room they join Giant-Man, the Vision, Quicksilver, and Crystal. They are going over the news footage of the armored car heist. This comes as a shock to Thunderstrike particularly since this obvious impostor is wearing his old costume back when he was filling in for Thor.[2] However, the census is that this is neither Masterson or the real Thor.[3] When Giant-Man offers the aid of the Avengers, Thunderstrike insists on dealing with this on his own. The Avengers understand and are willing to give Eric a chance to handle this on his own.
Thunderstrike heads downtown where the phony Thor is keeping the police at bay by firing bolts of electricity from his hammer. When Eric arrives on the scene he tries to reason with the impostor, in the off chance that he might actually be the real god of thunder.[4] He’s not prepared when the fake Thor blasts him with enough force to knock Thunderstrike off his feet. Getting back up again, Masterson engages the faux Thor but finds himself distracted when the crowd of bystanders begin cheering him on. This allows the impostor to strike him with a blow powerful enough to knock him out.
Soon the Avengers arrive on the scene and revive Thunderstrike and inform him that the fake Thor managed to get away. The Avengers then go searching for the fake Thor, however Thunderstrike can’t join them due to the obligations in his personal life. Despite their best efforts, the Avengers are always one step behind the phony Thor. The impostor begins getting bolder with each successful robbery, stealing larger sums of money and even top secret government plans. The whole time, the media is having a field day and Thor’s public perception tanks.[5]
All Eric Masterson can do is follow the story on the news while he works his new job at Rave Architectural and Interior Design. The negative press coverage makes his co-workers start to change their tone about costume vigilantes.[6] Eric can’t really blame the public for turning on the city’s superheroes since they so seldomly get the respect they deserve. Soon Eric heads home to have dinner with his son Kevin and his nanny Susan Austin. As they eat dinner, Eric asks his boy if they’re still on for going to Central Park on Saturday. Kevin is excited to spend time with his father that weekend but changes the subject when Eric suggests they play “super-hero” in the park and rushes off to do his homework. Susan tells him that Kevin has been put off by heroes after the incident where Thunderstrike got involved in Marcy and Bobby’s domestic dispute.[7] Susan has some terse words about it, and Eric finds her words similar to something Bloodaxe has said in the past. Eric begins to suspect that Susan might be Bloodaxe, but pushes it out of his mind. As he goes to throw the dinner scraps in the garbage, he is hurt to see that Kevin has thrown out his toy replica of Mjolnir.
The following day, Thunderstrike returns to Avengers Headquarters with an idea on how to stop the impostor and clear the real Thor’s name. This is on the same day that the Black Widow is going to give a press conference to denounce the phony Thor. To this end, Eric has Jarvis take him down to the storage lockers in the basement. There, he gets access to Thor’s storage where he collects something that’ll help with his plan. When the fake Thor stages another robbery, Thunderstrike is there to stop him. However, Eric has dressed up in Thor’s old enchanted armor so he can pose as the thunder god one more time to clear Thor’s good name.[8] However, Eric is going at it smart this time around, having insulated the costume against the fake Thor’s weapon and fitting the helmet with polarized lenses to protect his eyes from the blinding light. Thunderstrike then pits the power of his mace against the fake Thor’s hammer. Ultimately, Masterson wins out and subdues the phony.
Then, in front of the police, the public, and the media, he rips off the fake Thor’s helmet revealing that he is an impostor. He also smashes open the fake Mjolnir, revealing that the weapon was powered by science, not magic.
That weekend, Thunderstrike is observing from the bushes as his son Kevin plays with a friend in Central Park. He is pleased that his son idolizes Thor once more, but is insulted when his friend calls Thunderstrike a loser. As Thunderstrike heads for home he is stopped by the real Thor who has heard about how Eric posed as him once more.[9] At first, there is a tense moment when Thunderstrike isn’t sure if Thor is going to attack him. He is relieved when the thunder god commends him for defending his good name. Eric is happy to see his old friend and looks forward to having some time to talk because he has so many questions to ask. As they walk off into the distance, Eric sarcastically compliments Thor’s new costume before having to explain that he was kidding.
Recurring Characters
Thunderstrike, Avengers (Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Vision, Hercules, Crystal), Susan Austin, Kevin Masterson, Marty Dennis, Chandra O’Keef, Edwin Jarvis, Thor
Continuity Notes
Thunderstrike learned that Bloodaxe was someone who knows him personally last issue. Their identity will remain a secret until Thunderstrike #22 when they are revealed to be Jackie Lukas.
Eric Masterson spent some time as a replacement for the true god of thunder when Thor was banished from Thor #432 through 459. The impostor is wearing is a replica of the one that Masterson wore at the time.
At the time of this story, Thor had decided to leave Earth, circa Thor #459. This was about the last time Eric or any of the other Avengers had seen the thunder god. What they don’t know is that Thor has been back on Earth since issue #472 and is working with the High Evolutionary and his Godpack.
Here, Eric mentions how he had heard that Thor had been going through an identity crisis of late. He’s not wrong but is unaware that Thor had long gotten over it by this point. For that whole complicated affair see Thor #460-471, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #86-88, Warlock Chronicles #6-8, and Warlock and the Infinity Watch #23-25.
An eye witness interviewed at one of the crime scenes complains that the city is over run by “super-freaks and muties” referring specifically to Quicksilver. At the time, everyone (including Pietro himself) believed Quicksilver was a mutant. However, years later, it is revealed that this is not the case. As a baby he was experimented upon by the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his work, he made it so future genetic testing would have Pietro register as a mutant. See Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5.
When discussing which superheroes they trust, Marty Dennis says he doesn’t trust the “new” Daredevil, calling him a psycho. At the time of this story, Matt Murdock’s secret identity was exposed so he faked his death and made it appear that somebody new was in the costume as seen in Daredevil #319-325. This was a more violent version of Daredevil who went off his tit for a bit before the status quo was re-established in Daredevil #348.
Bobby had losing control of his temper due to steroid abuse. This led to him hitting Marcy and then running out on the family for a few days. Growing increasingly paranoid he started fearing that Eric Masterson was trying to steal his ex-wife and son back form Bobby. It came to a foot when Bobby locked himself in Kevin’s room. When Marcy refused to let Eric deal with it, he forced his way in as Thunderstrike. However, rather than being seen as a hero Kevin accused Thunderstrike of being a bully, because everyone in this family are idiots. See Thunderstrike #1-8 for all the family drama.
This armor was first created back in Thor #378 during a period where a curse made the thunder god’s bones brittle and incapable of healing. Although the curse was eventually lifted in Thor #382, he would continue to wear it on occasion. Such as Thor #386-389 and 408-409.
Thor mentions that he has recently changed his costume. Thor has been wearing this hideous costume since Thor #475 and will continue doing so until issue #491.
Topical References
The Vision states that the fake Thor has stolen over $100,000 in bearer bonds. Which is not a lot of money by today’s standard. Adjusting for inflation that would be worth twice as much in 2022 money.
The TV at Eric’s office is depicted as a CRT model. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.
The taxi driver who picks up Eric after work begins spouting a conspiracy theory that Thor is “tied in with Bubba and Whitwater.” This is in reference to the Whitewater controversy that was happening at the time. Then President Bill Clinton (whose nickname was Bubba), his wife Hillary, and some of their colleagues were being investigated over their involvement in the Whitewater Development Corporation. The company was to build vacation properties in Arkansas. There were some shady dealings and the Clinton’s involvement was brought up when Bill ran for president in 1992. Clinton was investigated in 1994 for potential conflict of interest as well. It’s a whole thing that is way too complicated for me to care to explain.
