Thunderstrike #20
Spawn
Thunderstrike has been called on a mission with the Black Widow and the Black Panther to investigate why a SHIELD outpost in the Antarctic has gone silent. The station is vital to monitoring activity in the nearby Savage Land. The three Avengers have been sent out to find out what happened to the crew that staffed it.
Once they get inside they discover that the power has been cut to the facility. Using his enhanced senses, the Black Panther is able to detect life hidden behind a massive storage locker. Pulling the heavy object out of their path, Thunderstrike uncovers most of the crew who have been hiding for days from a monster that has slaughtered some of their people. The Black Widow decides to take this crew back to their Quinjet and orders Thunderstrike and the Panther to search for this monster as well as any other survivors that might be hiding elsewhere.
The Black Panther picks up the monster’s scent and finds it familiar. As the two look around, Thunderstrike briefly loses T’Challa in the darkness. However, the Panther is tossed into him by the creature in question. When Thunderstrike shines his light on it he sees a massive humanoid lizard whom the Black Panther identifies as Stegron the Dinosaur Man. This creature was once Vincent Stegron until he mutated himself into a humanoid dinosaur. Since then he has sought to revive the dinosaurs as Earth’s dominant lifeform.[1] As they fight the monster, Stegron explains that all he wants is to return to his “home” in the Savage Land so he can continue his mission. That’s when the Black Widow radios them to warn that a storm is coming in and they only have a narrow window to escape before they are stuck in it.
Meanwhile, in a submarine below New York Harbor, the Egyptian death god Seth welcomes the disembodied spirit of Loki aboard his vessel. Loki wants access to Seth’s machines to create a new physical body for himself.[2] In exchange for this, Loki promises that he will deal with Thunderstrike.
Back in Antarctica, the battle with Stegron rages on. As the two heroes struggle with the monster, the Black Panther remembers that Stegron is vulnerable to cold. Relaying this to Thunderstrike, the hero uses his enchanted mace to blow a hole in the wall of the outpost. This causes the cold Antarctic winds and snow to come blowing in. His strength getting sapped by the freezing weather, Stegron races out side and tries to make a run for the Savage Land. Thunderstrike and the Black Panther follow after him. Luckily, the cold proves too much for Stegron and he collapses to the ground at one of the guideposts that leads into the Savage Land.[3] With the monster defeated Thunderstrike and the Panther head back to the Quinjet so they can leave.
Recurring Characters
Thunderstrike, Black Panther, Black Widow, Stegron, Seth, Loki
Continuity Notes
The Black Panther first encountered Stegron back in Marvel Team-Up #20. That encounter was expanded upon in Code of Honor #1.
At the time of this story Loki’s physical body had been destroyed back in Thor #432. This was all part of an intricate plot to take possession of Odin’s body and rule Asgard in secret. This was exposed in Thor #453-455. Since then, Loki has been without a physical body. He will have a new one made for him next issue.
This isn’t the end of Stegron. The creature will make his return in Sensational Spider-Man #13-15.
Topical References
When Thunderstrike makes a bad joke, the Black Widow says he’s no Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry Seinfeld is a stand-up comedian who was at the height of his popularity at the time this comic book was published thanks in part to the popularity of his sitcom Seinfeld which ran from 1989 to 1998. This should be considered a topical reference as Seinfeld’s name could be replaced with any number of more contemporary stand-up comedians.
When Stegron tells Thunderstrike he will pay for his attack, Eric quips “hope you take Visa!” This should be considered a topical reference as Visa is a real world credit card company.
The Legacy
Eric Masterson has his son Kevin staying over for the evening and when it’s time for bed, Eric decides to tell his son a story about Thor from the ancient past.[1] He talks about how many thousands of years ago that Thor had gone to Earth in the mortal guise of Sigurd. He went on a voyage with some Vikings where he befriended a warrior named Baldric. Baldric died at the hands of Loki, but died a hero.[2]
Eric tells his son about how Thor returned to Baldric’s homeland a few years later to see how his family was getting on. He was troubled to see that Baldric’s son Cedaric was a pacifist who allowed himself to get bullied by the locals. Finding the boy later, “Sigurd” tried to tell the young man about his father’s exploits. However, Cedaric had no interest as he blamed his father’s adventuring for orphaning him and making his mother a widow.
Over the next few days, Thor watched Cedaric in secret and saw that he was a man of compassion who helped out the people in his village, he was eager to learn, and was a skilled blacksmith.
A few weeks later, a scout returned to the village to warn everyone that the Vandals were coming to loot their town. Sigurd and the other warriors all agreed to prepare for the coming invasion. Every able bodied man volunteered to undergo training in preparation for the Vandals. All except for Cedaric who was more interested in reading about King Solomon than fighting. He tries to convince the others to flee town and let the Vandals pass through unopposed, but his pacific solution is ignored and Cedaric is branded a coward by his people.
However, Thor once again approaches Cedaric and convinces him that learning the way of a warrior doesn’t always mean using violence to solve a problem and offers to personally train the boy. Cedaric, curious about the type of man his father was, agrees to “Sigurd’s” training juggernaut. Once Cedaric’s finished his training, Thor gifts him with his father’s sword Skullcrusher. However, Cedaric cannot accept the weapon because it goes against everything his mother had taught him.
The following day, Thor decides to go out on a scouting mission to make sure the region is prepared for the coming Vandals. Unfortunately, the plunderers arrive in the village early and begin terrorizing the townspeople, prompting Thor to race in to rescue them.
It’s here that Eric Masterson pauses his tale for dramatic effect. Enrapt with the story, Kevin asks his father what happened next…
Recurring Characters
Eric Masterson, Kevin Masterson, (in flashback) Thor, Cedaric
Continuity Notes
Eric Masterson would know these stories about Thor’s past due to the fact that the pair were merged together for an extended period of time between Thor #408 and 457.
The story of Thor’s encounter with Baldric was originally told in Thor #401.
Topical References
Kevin says he’d rather play Mortal Combat (misspelled with a C instead of a K) than hear a story. Mortal Kombat is an arcade fighting game that was at the height of its popularity when this comic was published. The game was infamous for having blood and gore with each character being able to execute a special “finishing move” to kill their opponents in a gruesome way. This led to a great deal of outrage, particularly when the came was being ported to home consoles. It is one of the reasons why the video game industry adopted by the ESRB. The whole witch hunt about violent video games sickly mirrors the imposition of the Comic Book Code Authority exactly 40 years earlier because humans don’t learn shit.
