Thor Corps #1
A Gathering of Heroes — !
July 29, 2593[1]
The every day grind of the corporate controlled future is interrupted when a factory is attacked by an army of cavemen from Earth’s prehistoric past. This prompts Dargo Ktor to transform into Thor and stop the rampage. Suddenly, the prehistoric humans suddenly vanish, leaving Dargo to wonder who brought them here and why.
Many floors above, the super-villain known as Demonstaff is the one responsible. Formerly known as Hallan Gorko, the madman has come seeking revenge against his former boss, Dunbar, the COO of Adcorp, a man Garko blames for ruining his life. He forces Dunbar to open a DNA locked safe so that Hallan can obtain the final component he needs for his Demonstaff. That’s when Thor arrives and tries to stop him. Demonstaff uses his trademark weapon to open a portal, unleashing a horde of monsters on the hero. This gives Demonstaff enough time to flee the scene. Moments later the monster disappears.[2]
With the battle over, Thor asks Dunbar what Demonstaff wanted. The COO explains that before becoming a super-villain, Hallan Gorko was a scientist who was working on a means exploring alternate worlds and parallel realities. His experiments were funded by Adcore, but one day one of his experiments went wrong and blew up in his face. This left Hallan horribly scarred and confined to a hospital, devastating his wife Ellene. Also a brilliant scientist, Ellene was convinced by Dunbar to continue her husband’s research. The two worked together until tragedy struck a second time when Ellene was sucked through a dimensional portal and never seen again. When Dunbar gave the news to Hallan it drove him mad, leading him down the path to becoming Demonstaff. Dunbar then tells Thor that the device stat Gorko stole will give his Demonstaff the power to traverse the dimensions and threatens all of reality. As Dargo hears all of this he is unaware that the conversation is being recorded by one of Demonstaff’s eye-ball drones.
With no trail to follow and a busy workday ahead of him in the morning, Thor heads back to his apartment unaware that the drone is following him. Changing back into his mortal form, Dargo arrives home just in time for dinner. As he tries to discuss what happened with his wife, Salla, she reminds him that they agreed never to discuss his other life in their home. Observing Ktor in his home and seeing his happy marriage angers Demonstaff and he decides that he will use Salla in order to force Thor to do his bidding.
The following morning, after Dargo leaves for work, Demonstaff appears in the apartment. Salla grabs Dargo’s walking stick to defend herself, however because she is unworthy she cannot transform it into Mjolnir and she is quickly captured. Later that day, Dargo returns to his apartment to find it in ruins. Waiting for him is a holo-fax which projects a message from Demonstaff. He explains that he has kidnapped Salla to force Thor to help him rescue Ellene from the dimension she was lost in. He also goes on to say that Dunbar didn’t tell him the whole truth about the accident that transformed him into Demonstaff. According to Garko, Dunbar sabotaged his experiment in an effort to get Hallan out of the way so he could make a move on Ellene. Demonstaff goes on to say that Adcorp’s interest in his dimensional technology was to use it to alter people’s sense of reality in order to sell them products. An idea he despites, but still, Hallan took their money anyway.
Dargo has figured out that Demonstaff wants him to venture into this other dimension and save his wife. This assertion is correct, however Demonstaff assures him that he won’t be doing the job alone….
The Present
On the planet Harmony, Beta Ray Bill has returned to his people’s adopted home planet after his recent encounters with Sif, Thor, and the Silver Surfer.[3][4] He arrives just as some of his people are being terrorized by a carnivorous plant. Although they despise Bill, the captive Korbanites plead for rescue. As Bill prepares to strike the plant with Stormbringer he suddenly fades away.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Eric Masterson is out enjoying a rare full day of custody with his son Kevin. Wanting to get some ice cream, Kevin tries crossing the street without looking if it is clear of traffic. Spotting a car speeding toward his son, Eric rushes out to push him out of the way when he too suddenly fades away.
2593
When Masterson materializes in the future he is furious to learn that Dargo Ktor snatched him away. He demands to be returned to Earth so he can rescue his son. Unfortunately, Ktor refuses because there is a much greater danger that they need to stop. Having already been informed about Demonstaff before Eric’s arrival, Beta Ray Bill agrees that Dargo’s mission is one of great urgency. Unhappy with the situation, Masterson resigns to doing the job and transforms into Thunderstrike.[5]
As Dargo gets Thunderstrike up to speed, the trio are unaware that they are being observed by Kargul the Warlord of another dimension called Elsewhen. Having taken Ellene as his consort he refuses to allow the Thors to take her away. In order to thwart their mission before it begins, Kargul casts a spell that banishes the three heroes to another point in time and space….
1942
Caught off guard, the so-called Thor Corps, finds themselves on an American shipyard on during the days of World War II. Mistaken for Nazi saboteurs the trio are then attacked by the Invaders: Captain America, Bucky, the Human Torch, Toro, and the Sub-Mariner!
Recurring Characters
Thor Corps (Beta Ray Bill, Dargo Ktor, Thunderstrike), Demonstaff, Ellene Gorko, Salla Ktor, Warlord Kargul, Kevin Masterson, Invaders (Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, Bucky, Toro)
Continuity Notes
Dargo Ktor’s future timeline exists in Reality-8710 per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3.
Here, Dargo refers to Demonstaff as his “greatest enemy!” Readers previously saw him in Thor #440. At the time, Dargo also refers to Demonstaff as his greatest enemy. However, time of this writing (January, 2023), the story about Dargo’s past battle(s) with Demonstaff remain untold.
Harmony, aka New Korbon, is the adopted world of Beta Ray Bill’s people, the Korbinites. They were exiled when their home world in the Burning Galaxy was destroyed by Surtur back in Thor #337. Their new world was first settled in Thor #442.
Bill recently came to the aid of Sif to help Thor, who was suffering from the Warrior’s Madness at the time. Bill got his ass handed to him then helped out the Silver Surfer before heading back home. See Thor #460-461 and Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #79-82. Thor will eventually be cured of his madness in Thor #471.
Dargo mocks Eric’s new appearance because this is the first time he has seen Masterson as Thunderstrike. Their prior meeting in Thor #438-441 happened during the period in which Eric had temporarily taken over the role of Thor. Masterson was the god of thunder from Thor #432 through 459. When given the enchanted mace known as Stormbreaker, Eric gave his superheroic identity a makeover in Thunderstrike #1.
Topical References
References to the present day taking place in the 20th century should be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time enough that it does not begin until after the start of the 21st century.
