Thor #222 — Nick Peron

May 2

May 2 Thor #222

Before the Gates of Hell!

21 21 05 02 %h 53 20 mxalf.png — Credits

Although the have agreed to work together to rescue Krista from Pluto, Thor and Hercules have gone to a tavern in Olympus to arm-wrestle over who gets to fight the death god. However, the two are equally matched and the table gives out under them before a victor can be decided. The two then start coming to blows again until they are broken up by Zeus, who reminds them that they need to work together. Once again reaffirming their alliance, Thor and Hercules then begin their rescue mission.

While in the nearby forest, Ares pauses his travels to drink from a pond. There he is greeted by one of the demons of Pluto. It tells him that the thunder god and Hercules are on their way. Ares sends the demon back to inform Pluto that he will await the heroes arrival at the gates of Hades.

Meanwhile, in Asgard, events are being observed by Odin, Sif, and Hildegard through Odin’s mystical globe. Seeing Thor allying himself with Hercules, whom incorrectly believe had kidnapped Krista with Pluto, wonder why the thunder god would ally himself with an enemy. Still, Odin tells the two women to have faith in Thor’s actions. Sif and Hildegard decide to trust Thor for now and depart. Once they are gone, Odin admits to his vizier he hopes that the love he has for his son has not clouded his judgement.

While back in Olympus, Thor and Hercules have entered the forest to seek out Chaga, an elderly prophet who may shed light on what is going on. They are ambushed by an army of minions of Pluto. Althogh they are outnumbered, the two gods make short work of them. Thor then flies them the rest of the distance with the help of Mjolnir. Arriving at Chaga’s hut, the old crone will only give the answers they seek after they bring her up to date on what has gone on in the outside world. Eventually, she uses her clairvoyant powers to reveal that the man who helped Pluto kidnap Krista was none other than Ares the God of War, and that magic was used to make him briefly appear to resemble Hercules.

Satisfied with this revelation, the pair then head to the gates of Hades itself. There they find Ares waiting for them. Thor insists on fighting Ares alone and he quickly discovers that Pluto has trippled the war god’s strength. Still, Thor manages to defeat Ares, sending him crashing into a nearby rock formation and burying him under tons of rock. With Ares defeat, the pair then head into Hades to face Pluto himself.