Thor #276
Mine — This Hammer!
In order to prevent Ragnarok, Odin has greatly drained his power to create an “Odinshield” around Balder, keeping the mortally wounded god hovering between life and death. Thor and Sif then help walk Odin back to his throne. The other gods view this grimly because they are hanging on by a threat as long as the Odinshield remains up. Also watching this are Harris Hobbs and his sound-guy, Joey. Although they are unsure if Ragnarok will also destroy the Earth, Harris intends to document everything and sends Joey to find their cameraman, Red Norvill. When Odin is put back on the throne, Thor places Draupnir — a mystical self-replicating arm-ring — to give his father more strength. Although this will boost Odin’s natural power, it is only a stop-gap measure since the All-Father will need to replenish the power of the Odinshield once his strength has been restored.
Elsewhere, Loki is held in shackles waiting for trial for his part in trying to trigger Ragnarok. With him is Red Norvill who had been handed Thor’s Belt of Strength. Learning that Red is attracted to Sif, Loki convinces Norvell to put on the Belt of Strength. Miraculously, Red survives the sudden surge of energy, Loki tells the mortal that he could gain the power of Thor and win the heart of his beloved. Interested, Red is instructed to go to Bilskirnir — Thor’s castle — and recover the iron gloves Thor used to wear to wield Mjolnir as a child and then bath himself in the flames of Geirrodur.[1] Not long after Red has departed, Loki is taken from his cell to stand trial for his past crimes. Before Odin and a jury of his peers, Loki’s crimes are read out by Thor. The trial is brief and Loki is found guilty.[2] Loki regrets nothing and vows to be free just in time to see Ragnarok consume them all. Among those watching the trial is Harris Hobbs, whose continued presence angers Odin who then orders Thor to bring the mortals back to Earth. As they wonder what happened to colleagues that came with Harris, Loki sends his astral projection to check in on Red.
Red has made it into Bilskirnir but is too afraid to grab the iron gloves which are in the flames of Geirrodur. That’s when Bobby arrives to tell Red not to listen to Loki. Unfortunately, the trickster god has convinced Red to dive into the flames to gain great power.
Back at the palace, Harris is trying to convince Thor to let him and his crew stay a little longer when suddenly Red come crashing through the wall. Dressed in viking garb, the newly empowered mortal has come to defeat Thor and battle and claim his title as the god of thunder. Thor takes on Red’s challenge and as they fight it out, Sif races to the throne room tell tell Odin of what is going on. Unfortunately, there is nothing Odin can do as he must focus all of his power on maintaining the Odinshield. As the battle rages, Thor is shocked when Red is not only able to stop a blow from Mjolnir, but also pull the weapon from his hands. This convinces Red that he has every right to calling himself Thor. However, the true god of thunder refuses to give up without a fight. Believing that he can defeat Thor with his bare hands, Red tucks Mjolnir under his belt and attacks.
When Thor refuses to surrender, Norvell comes to the conclusion that he must kill Thor. However, before he can blast the thunder god with a magical bolt from Mjolnir, Bobby rushes between them and is killed instead. Seeing Bobby die horrifies Harris Hobbs who can’t believe Red would resort to murder. Red doesn’t care and threatens to kill Thor next if Sif doesn’t surrender to him. Seeing no other choice, Sif throws down her sword and leaves with Red Norvell. Red’s departure is seen by Odin who can do nothing for his son as he must focus on keeping the Odinshield going.[3] At that moment, the shield itself begins to flicker, threatening to push the suspended form of Balder over the tipping point to death, thus triggering Ragnarok.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Odin, Sif, Frigga, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Sigyn, Harris Hobbs, Red Norvell, Joey Burnett, Loki, Hermod, Geri, Freki, Hugin, Munin
Continuity Notes
Reference is made to the fact that Bilskirnir was last seen in Thor Annual #5. Here, Loki states that Thor’s hammer was made in the flames of Geirrodeur. This is not entirely accurate as Thor Annual #11 states that it was actually made by Eitri, a dwarf. One could chalk up Loki’s mix-up on two things: the fact that Asgardians go through cycles of rebirth and death where they relive similar but slightly different lives, thus muddling their history. Or, the fact that the Asgardian brain has a limited capacity for memory and due to their near immortality, old memories are forgotten or made dim with the progress of time. See Thor #293 and Thor: God of Thunder #3
Thor mentions the many times that Loki had attempted a coup of Asgard or tried to destroy it. The times referenced are:
The time he tricked the Silver Surfer into attacking Asgard in Silver Surfer #4.
The time he took over Asgard by claiming the Odinring. This actually happened twice in Thor #175-177 and again in Thor #190-194.
Also brought up is the time that Loki unleashed Mangog upon Asgard. This happened in Thor #195-198.
Lastly, when Loki more recently unleashed the Destroyer upon Asgard. See Thor #264-266.
Red recalls that Norse mythology depicts Thor as having red hair and wonders why the real Thor is a blonde. The answer to this that the Asgardians go through cycles of death and rebirth. Each time, they relive their lives in mostly similar ways. Some events happen differently and sometimes individuals appear slightly different than in past iterations. In one such cycle, Thor indeed had red hair as seen in Thor #293.
