Thunderstrike #18
The Armageddon Agenda!
After being defeated by Seth, Bloodaxe has called in their enemy Thunderstrike for help. When the pair return to Seth’s underground Armageddon Complex, he welcomes them into his humble aboard and offers to take them on a tour of his operations.
Seth tells them that the purpose of this operation is to grow an army of loyal soldiers — his Serpent’s Teeth — by manipulating human DNA to create new life. He is training them to be an army that he will use to conquer the surface world. As he gives this tour, one of Seth’s soldiers accidentally bumps into him. The minion quickly apologizes for the insult, to which Seth responds by levitating him into the air and blowing him up. He tells Thunderstrike and Bloodaxe that oblivion such as this is the very gift he wishes to give to all of humanity.
Bloodaxe refuses to allow this to happen and foolishly tries to attack Seth on their own. The death god easily overpowers them and casts Bloodaxe aside for the second time. Thunderstrike then races in to save his unlikely ally but Seth overpowers him too. However, rather than just tossing Thunderstrike aside as he did Bloodaxe, he burns his mark on Thunderstrike’s chest saying that his time is numbered. That’s when Stellaris arrives to pull Eric’s ass out of the fire again. When Seth grabs hold of her, he determines that she’s not even organic.[1] Stellaris manages to break free by activating her jet boots, lighting her foe on fire.
Rejoining Thunderstrike, Stellaris helps him onto his feet as Seth puts out the flames around him with the wave of a hand. Seeing that Seth is far too dangerous, Thunderstrike orders Stellaris to get Bloodaxe to safety. Stellaris doesn’t like this and reminds Eric of his promise to her and teleports away with Bloodaxe.
Seth tells Thunderstrike that his opposition is futile as the mark on his chest means that his days are numbered. Even though Seth is more powerful than he is, Thunderstrike refuses to give up with out a fight. First, however, he needs to stop Seth’s operations and uses his enchanted mace to blast a hole through the ceiling of the Armageddon Complex. The sudden flood of water in from the Hudson River ends up shorting out all of Seth’s equipment destroying his machines that were creating his Serpent’s Teeth army. Furious, Seth charges at Thunderstrike vowing to kill the hero. Eric tells him he better hurry just as the ceiling collapses on top of both of them.
Recurring Characters
Thunderstrike, Bloodaxe, Stellaris, Seth
Continuity Notes
Stellaris’ true nature has been hinted at since Thunderstrike #16. However, as of this writing in November, 2022, it has yet to be fully explained.
The Heart of a Hero!
In fabled Asgard, Fandral the Dashing has angered the patrons of the bar after hitting on a fair maiden. This leads to one of the Warrior Three’s usual bar brawls which they win with ease. After an evening of drinking with the fair maiden, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg decide to call it a night. However, Fandral suddenly changes his tone from his usual happy-go-lucky self to one of sorrow before heading off.
The following morning, Fandral sends summons to his fellow Warriors Three as well as Sif, Balder, and Heimdall. He has summoned them all so he can tell them a story of his past, as it will explain his sudden bout of sadness.
This was many years ago before Fandral joined up with the Warriors Three and he was but a carefree adventurer. One day he wandered into the domain of Garldoff the Gargantuan One the giant gave him chase. Fandral was about to make his escape when he stepped into some kind of portal and found himself transported to Midgard.
He happened to appear in a small village where he spotted some soldiers roughing up a villager over unpaid taxes. Fandral didn’t like the sight of it and came to the villager’s rescue. That’s when a horse drawn carriage pulled up and the woman riding inside came out to scold Fandral for attacking the government’s tax collectors. The woman’s name was Marion and the two instantly fell in love with one another and eventually they were married. However, Fandral is getting ahead of himself. First, Fandral made a home in the nearby forest where he formed a band of merry warriors to fight against the corrupt sheriff who had usurped power during the king’s absence. He then led these warriors in battle against the sheriff and won the way. When the king returned, Fandral and his band were proclaimed heroes of the land and the king himself married Fandral and Marion.
However, as with all mortals, Marion began to grow old. Despite this, Fandral remained by her side and they soon retired to the forest to live out the rest of her life in solitude. Fandral remained by the side until the very end and buried her when Marion passed away. He was devastated by her the loss.[1] However, when Fandral returned to Asgard he put on a face of a dashing rogue to hide his hurt for many years to come.
Concluding his tale, Fandral tells his friends that he would return to Midgard every year to mourn Marion at her grave. However, as Odin has ordered that Earth remain off limits to the people of Asgard this is the first year that Fandral has not been able to visit her grave.[2] This brings him to why he summoned his friends to his home as he wants them all present as they raise a glass to his beloved’s memory. Touched by his story, the others are more than willing to toast to her memory.
Recurring Characters
Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Heimdall, Balder, Sif
Continuity Notes
This story suggests that Fandral moonlighted as Robin Hood. While Robin Hood is actually a fictional character, he may have existed in the Marvel Universe. There are conflicting accounts regarding this however. They are:
When Tommy Tyme traveled into the past in Young Allies #7, he encountered what appeared to be the real Robin Hood. Tyme’s adventures are considered part of continuity as referenced in the Merlin entry in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #7 lists the wizard’s first appearance as being in the Tommy Tyme story in Young Allies #11.
Knights of Pendragon #1 also states that Robin Hood was real and that he was one of the many individuals endowed with the Pendragon spirit after the fall of Camelot.
In Incredible Hulk #284, the Hulk and the Avengers were sent back in time to the 12th century where they appeared to encounter the real life Robin Hood during his battle against the Black Duke.
In the case of Fandral’s trip back in time, the Warriors Three profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #13 states that Fandral’s trip to the 12th Century inspired the legend of Robin Hood.
Adding to the confusion, there also exists the “Ideaverse” a meta reality where all fictional characters (read: characters in the public domain) exist and relive their adventures in an endless time loop. Among those is a fictionalized version of Robin Hood who has been seen in Tomb of Dracula #49 as well as Fantastic Four: True Story #2-3.
So which is right, which is wrong? See below as I try to suss it out.
Odin decreed that his people would refrain from being active on Earth in Thor #479. Everyone complied except Thor. This will remain the status quo for quite some time until all the people of Asgard were forced to exile themselves to Earth following the events of Thor #491. See Journey into Mystery #503-513.
Theory: Making Sense of the Robin Hood in the Marvel Universe
Keeping in mind that I skimmed the history of Robin Hood on Wikipedia, so I’m not exactly an expert on the subject, so bare with me as I try to make sense of all of this. The thing that I found is that there isn’t really much continuity or order between the various ballads and tales that were written about him in the 13th and 14th century. It wasn’t until we started adapting these tales into long form narratives that a loose continuity was made. Even then, various stories cherry pick different events, make new shit up, or try to tie the tales to real world history of the era in which they were made.
When Tommy Tyme visits Robin Hood it must be early on in his adventures since Tyme teaches them to wear green to better camouflage themselves in the forest, he also teaches them how to build slingshots. Robin also participates in an archery contest much like in the ballad Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow. That story has been adapted many times and you probably know it as the one where he scores a bullseye by splitting another arrow in half.
This is evidence from Incredible Hulk #284 where the Merry Men are duped by Hawkeye into thinking he is Robin Hood. Even though at the end of Clint Barton’s jaunt to this time period we see the real Robin Hood appear mid-battle and kill the Black Duke. So I think since the Merry Men were dumb enough to believe Hawkeye when he claimed to be Robin Hood, proving they aren’t the brightest people on the planet. I am not sure what story this is adapted from as I can find no reference to a character called the Black Duke in any Robin Hood lore.
That said, when you take a look at Fandral’s tale there isn’t a single point where he mentions anyone by name (with the exception of Marion) nor does he call himself Robin Hood when he is telling the story to his friends. The suggestion that Fandral was Robin Hood is only an inference made by the reader. Perhaps Fandral never claimed the identity and perhaps his adventures with the Merry Men got glommed onto the stories of Robin Hood. Fandral’s account of events mirror some of the basic stories that were told in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle and published in 1883.
I have two theories to explain all of this:
Theory 1: Robin Hood was a real guy and he’s the person that Tommy Tyme encountered. He was also the same guy seen when the Hulk and the Avengers went back in time. This was the guy who was endowed with the power of the Pendragon Spirit. The real Robin Hood could have died before meeting Marion and his death preceded Fandral’s arrival in the 12th century. Fandral discovered the Merry Men, likely due to his relationship with Marion and he took over as their leader and he was the one who led them when they defeated the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Theory 2: Rather than going back in time and experiencing the 12th century, both Tommy Tyme and the Avengers actually ended up in the Ideaverse. Rather than experiencing the past they were experiencing the endless story look of Robin Hood. This would make Fandral the “real life” Robin Hood and recipient of the Pandragon Spirit and perhaps he was just unaware of it.
Of the two theories I prefer the first one as it is the least disruptive to established continuity. Your milage may vary.