Pacts of Vengeance

The Egyptian death god known as Seth has entered a pact with Loki, the Asgardian god of mischief. In exchange for a brand new body,[2] Loki has agreed to deal with Thunderstrike who has been a regular thorn in Seth’s side.[3] Loki’s brand new body is physically identical to his original, right down to scars he received as a child. Pleased with the craftsmanship of Seth’s cloning machines, Loki then mystically casts his eyes down upon New York City to search for their mutual enemy.

At that moment, Thunderstrike is meeting up with She-Hulk so he can take her out to dinner to make up for the fiasco with the Absorbing Man and Titania that he got her into.[4] As they enter the restaurant, they pass by Eric Masterson’s friend Jackie Lukas. Eric pretends not to recognize him so he doesn’t blow his secret identity. Jackie notices Thunderstrike and She-Hulk coming in and wonders if they are a couple.

Little do they know that Loki has observed them entering the building from the rooftops. Using his magics, the trickster clouds She-Hulk’s vision so Thunderstrike appears to be her foe Xemnu the Titan.[5] Thinking that she has been tricked by Xemnu’s mental powers she attacks Thunderstrike, who is caught entirely off guard.

Meanwhile, at the Four Freedoms Plaza, War Machine pays a visit to his old friend Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man.[6] He hopes that Lang can help him track down Loki who had recently possessed him and forced War Machine to battle Thor.[7] That’s when they receive a report about She-Hulk’s brawl with Thunderstrike and both decide to head out and see what’s going on. On the scene, Thunderstrike is shielding the bystanders as they flee from She-Hulk’s rampage. When War Machine and Ant-Man arrive they try to convince her to stop fighting, but she believes that they are being mentally controlled by Xemnu. No longer on the defensive, Thunderstrike then uses his enchanted mace to create a bright flash of light that snaps She-Hulk out of it. As they try to figure out who was responsible for tricking her mind, Ant-Man says his ants have located the culprit on a nearby building.

When they confront Loki, the trickster realizes that this is too much like the time he accidentally caused the Avengers to form into a team. Not wishing to repeat the same mistake, Loki teleports away. Once he is gone, Ant-Man floats the idea of forming a brand new team and fighting crime together. After a moments consideration all four heroes decide against the idea.

With the crisis over, Thunderstrike decides to catch up with Jackie Lukas as Eric Masterson and make sure she is ok. Jackie is pleased to see Eric and asks if he wants to go out for dinner that evening. Eric agrees and the two head out unaware that they have been spotted by Stellaris, who is shocked to see Eric going out with Jackie.[8] The evening is delightful and it quickly becomes romantic. Eric and Jackie end the night with a kiss before Masterson heads back home to his apartment.

There he finds a note tacked on his door by Stellaris that tells him to meet her up on the roof of their building. Stellaris is waiting for him and tells Eric that while it’s been swell she has decided that she is leaving Earth. This shocks Masterson and he tries to convince her to stay, reminding her that she once said he had a minimal chance of surviving on his own.[9] Stellaris explains that she needs to learn the truth about his past and she can only find those answers in the stars.[9] She tells Eric that she had a blast on Earth and tells him not to forget her before flying off, hiding the fact that she is crying. That’s when Samantha Joyce comes upstairs after getting her own note from “Leah Princess” announcing her departure. Sam is just happy that she didn’t stiff them on the rent and looks forward to getting an attractive man in the house. Noticing that Eric is crying she says he is acting like he just lost his best friend and he admits that he probably just has.

Recurring Characters

Thunderstrike, She-Hulk, Ant-Man, War Machine, Seth, Loki, Jackie Lukas, Stellaris, Samantha Joyce

Continuity Notes

1. This cover and various plot beats to this story pay homage to Avengers #1.

2. 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.

3. Thunderstrike had prevented Seth from obtaining a sample of Inferno 42 in Thunderstrike #13-14 and trashed his Armageddon Complex in Thunderstrike #17-19.

4. Thunderstrike tried to arrange a fair fight between She-Hulk and Titania. When Stellaris appeared unannounced the entire thing went south. See Thunderstrike #16.

5. She-Hulk had previously fought Xemnu in Sensational She-Hulk #42-43.

6. When War Machine marvels at Ant-Man being a member of the Fantastic Four, Lang corrects him by saying he is just the hired help. Following the apparent death of Mister Fantastic in Fantastic Four #381, the team hired Lang on as their resident scientist in issue #384. He will remain on the team until Reed Richards is found alive and well in Fantastic Four #406-409.

7. Loki — while still a disembodied spirit — possessed War Machine and forced him to fight Thor in Thor #484.

8. This is because issue #19 Stellaris discovered that Jackie is secretly Bloodaxe, one of Thunderstrike’s greatest foes. We won’t learn this until next issue.

9. Stellaris started tagging along with Thunderstrike back in issue #1 in secret then openly in issue #6. At the time, she said she was doing it to keep him alive since he was way out of his depth.

10. All we know about Stellaris is from her first few appearances in Thor #419-424, where she claimed her species was wiped out by the Celestials. In Thunderstrike #15 through 18 we discovered that Stellaris might not even be organic and that she remembers nothing about her past. Following her departure here we’ll see Stellaris again in Annihilation: Ronan #1-2. However, as of this writing in November, 2022, her true origins have yet to be revealed.

Topical References

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. They have subsequently been replaced with the Freedom Tower.

• Samantha specifically states that she hopes to find a roommate that is as handsome as Denzel Washington. Washington is an actor who was at the height of his popularity at the time this comic book was published. This should be considered a topical reference as mention of the actor can be easily replaced with a more contemporary example.

The Legacy Part Two

With his son sleeping over for the night, Eric Masterson has decided to entertain the boy with a bed time story regarding one of Thor’s past adventures a few thousand years ago.[1] Posing as a mortal named Sigurd, Thor had gone to check in on Cedaric the son of his mortal friend, the late Baldric.[1] The thunder god had just discovered that the boy had grown up a pacifist at a time when his village was about to be raided by the Vandals. Thor attempted to train the boy to fight, but he refused to take up his father’s sword as it went against the ways taught to him by his mother.

When the town was finally attacked by the Vandals, Thor was there to drive them off. Once they fled, he used Mjolnir to create a storm to put out the fires as he helped those endangered from the flames. When the villagers later mistake Sigurd for one of the Vandals, Cedaric comes to his defense and convinces them all he is their ally.

Meanwhile, the Vandals have regrouped on a nearby ridge with their leader, Garmund. As it turned out, Garmund targeted this village to get revenge against his old enemy Baldric. Thinking that Baldric was responsible for driving back his forces, Garmund enters the town and demands that his old foe reveal himself and fight him to the death. When Baldric doesn’t show, Garmund orders his men to unleash their dragon upon the town. This “dragon” is merely a crude catipult device in the shape of a dragon that can spit balls of fire onto the town.

As Thor aids the villagers he spots Cedaric fleeing the scene and fears that the boy might truly be a coward. Not worrying about that now, the thunder god then gathered an army to follow Garmund back to his camp and confront him there. The villain then tries to use the “dragon” against the enemy army by the weapon suddenly explodes. That’s when Cedaric emerges from the woods and reveals that he sneaked into their camp and sabotaged their weapon. Furious, Garmond grabs the boy and threatens to kill him. Fearless, Cedaric says he will not raise a hand to fight back and promises that if Garmund kills him, he will die soon after and die an ignoble death at that, denying him a place in Valhalla. Realizing the young man is correct, Garmund lets him go and spits at his feet before ordering his fellow Vandals to retreat.

When Thor went to congratulate the boy for his victory, Cedric swatted his hand away. He tells “Sigurd” that if they had done things his way their village could have prevented a lot of collateral damage to their homes. With that, the villagers cheer Cedric and carry him home. The thunder god was then pleased that Cedric had become a brave man worthy of his father.

As Eric Masterson finishes his tale, Kevin understands the lesson it was trying to tell: Even the most well intended people — even a hero like Thor — can make mistakes. Eric tells his son that imparting this message to him was important for what he is about to show him next. After telling Kevin that he never intended to cause him any harm, Masterson taps his enchanted walking stick on the ground, triggering his transformation into Thunderstrike.[3] Kevin is speechless for a moment and once it sets in that his father is a superhero, Kevin things it’s cool and rushes to hug his father.

Recurring Characters

Thunderstrike, Kevin Masterson (in flashback) Thor, Cedaric

Continuity Notes

1. 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.

2. The story of Thor’s encounter with Baldric was originally told in Thor #401.

3. The reason why Eric is reluctant to reveal his double identity to Kevin is because of an incident where Kevin’s step-father Bobby Steele locked himself and Kevin in a room and refused to leave. Worried that Steele might harm his son and with nobody willing to confront Steele, Eric turned into Thunderstrike and forced his way into the room. Although he freed Kevin, the boy accused him of being a bully. See Thunderstrike #8.