Dying Time!

In far off Asgard, All-Father Odin becomes aware of events transpiring on Earth at will require his attention. He tells the Grand Vizier that he must go on a quest and after stripping off his armor, leaves the royal palace alone.

On Earth, Thunderstrike has made the bold choice of claiming the enchanted Bloodaxe for himself to give him the added power to save the Earth from Seth, the Egyptian god of death. This transforms Eric Masterson into an amalgamation of both Thunderstrike and Bloodaxe. Astonished by this transformation are the members of Code: Blue who order him to drop the Bloodaxe. Thunderstrike refuses, saying he needs to kill a snake man. He also warns Marcus Stone not to get in his way. Before teleporting away, Masterson tells them that if they want him stopped they should call in the Avengers for help. Thunderstrike appears on the rooftops elsewhere in the city and uses his enchanted mallet to probe around the city for any trace of Seth.

Meanwhile, Seth has just set up operations in a brand new hideout. Able to detect Thunderstrike’s efforts to find him, Seth orders his minions to evacuate the building as he will be expecting a guest and wants to fight them alone.

At that same moment, at a secure room at the local hospital, Jackie Lukas is being questioned by Captain Shelly Conklin of Code: Blue. Representing her are her lawyer Samantha Joyce, and Doctor Gary Paretsky. Paretsky is trying to convince Conklin that Lukas is not criminally responsible for the crimes she committed as Bloodaxe as she was under the influence of the enchanted weapon.[1] Jackie doesn’t care about her fate and warns them all about Seth’s Armageddon agenda and that if they don’t do something everyone will die!

Meanwhile, Thunderstrike pinpoints Seth’s location and comes crashing into his base. Rather than fight, Seth is impressed with the heroes transformation and tries to appeal to the rage growing inside of him from the Bloodaxe. He tries to convince Thunderstrike to join him in annihilating all life on Earth. However, Thunderstrike isn’t interested in anything except destroying Seth once and for all and attacks.

While at JFK International Airport, Bobby Steele, his wife Marcy, and his step-son Kevin Masterson are waiting for their flight to California. They are waiting for Eric Masterson to come and say goodbye to his son. With their flight about to board and Masterson a no show, Marcy tries to let down her son gently. However, Kevin knows now knows his father is secretly Thunderstrike and tells his mother that his father is probably out saving the world.[2]

At that same time, the battle between Thunderstrike and Seth rages on with the death god unable to get a single shot in edgewise. Seth warns Thunderstrike that the death mark on his chest will mean his death is fast approaching, but the maddened hero doesn’t care. All he cares about is destroying Seth and making the experience hurt as much as possible.

And in the realm of Valhalla, Odin has come seeking out Skurge the Executioner. Skurge knows why Odin has come and agrees to accompany him to save one man’s soul.[3]

Back on Earth, Seth makes another attempt to lunge at Thunderstrike, but this time the hero unleashes the combined mystical power of both the Thunderstrike mace and the Bloodaxe, annihilating Seth’s body and sending his disembodied spirit fleeing into space.[4]

That’s when the Avengers — Captain America, Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Hercules, the Black Widow, and Crystal — arrive on the scene. Cap orders Thunderstrike to stand down, telling him he went too far killing Seth in cold blood. However, Thunderstrike is too far gone thanks to the madness of the Bloodaxe and he refuses to surrender without a fight and challenges the Avengers to stop him. He quickly takes down Quicksilver, Giant-Man, Crystal, and the Black Widow, before tossing Hercules all the way to New Jersey. Soon all that is standing is Captain America. Seeing Cap in a suit of armor, Thunderstrike mocks him for copying Iron Man, calling him a hypocrite for always treating Masterson as a Thor trainee.[5] Still, Thunderstrike refuses to fight Cap, telling him to call Thor as he is the only one who is a match for him. Captain America decides to prove Thunderstrike wrong, using his fighting skill and ability to turn an opponents momentum against them to keep Thunderstrike off his feet.[6]

This creates a long enough distraction for Thor to finally arrive. Thunderstrike — briefly regaining his sanity — pleads with the thunder god to stop him. Thor promises to do just that and the old friends come to blows. Their battle creates sufficient force that the very ground under their feet cracks open, dropping them underground. Shocked by how strong Thunderstrike has become, Thor realizes that in order to stop his friend he might have to kill him!

Recurring Characters

Thunderstrike, Thor, Odin, Grand Vizier, Code: Blue (Marcus Stone, Rigger Ruiz, Mad Dog Rossitano, Fireworks Feldstein), Executioner, Avengers (Captain America, Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Hercules, Black Widow, Crystal), Seth, Marcy Steele, Bobby Steele, Kevin Masterson, Samantha Joyce, Jackie Lukas, Gary Paretsky, Shelly Conklin

Continuity Notes

1. Jackie Lukas ended up getting possession of the Executioner’s enchanted axe back in Thor #450. From the moment she was transformed into Bloodaxe she became an engine of vengeance, deciding that criminals needed to be killed. Her true identity was just exposed last issue.

2. Bobby and Marcy Steele have been planning to move to California since Thunderstrike #12, which would separate Kevin from his father. Kevin isn’t phased by his father’s no show as Eric revealed that he was Thunderstrike to his son in issue #21.

3. The Executioner used to wield the Bloodaxe for centuries until his death in Thor #362. It ended up in the possession of the Enchantress until it was stolen by Jackie Lukas in issue #450.

4. Seth won’t remain disembodied for long. He’ll be restored in his original form where he will begin targeting the Asgardians exiled on Earth post Thor #491. See Journey into Mystery #503-513.

5. At the time of this story, Captain America’s Super Soldier Serum had started deteriorating in Captain America #425. This would cause his body to become fully incapacitated requiring him to wear a suit of armor to keep moving, as seen in Iron Man #314/Captain America #438. This will remain the status quo until Captain America is cured of his affliction in issue #445 of his own series.

6. Captain America reminds Thunderstrike how he tried to teach him these fighting principals earlier. That was in Thunderstrike #4.

Topical References

• When Seth tries to tempt Thunderstrike into joining his side, Eric quips “‘Come to the dark side’ was already old in the eighties. This is in reference to a scene in the 1980 science fiction film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In the film, protagonist Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hammill) discovered that his foe Darth Vadar (played by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones) was his father. Vadar attempts to convince Luke to join the Empire he represents. The exact quote is “Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save your friends” This wouldn’t be considered a topical reference since Thunderstrike is pointing out how dated the trope is. More over, now that Disney owns both Star Wars and Marvel Comics, this type of brand synergy would no longer be considered topical.

• Kevin Masterson sings the chorus to the song “California, Here I Come” written by 1924 for a musical called Bambo. The song has been covered a few times by famous musicians like Ray Charles, ABBA, and Tom Waites. Still doesn’t explain how a 4th grader would know it. It’s use here should probably be considered topical.

• 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 they were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. They were subsequently replaced with the Freedom Tower.