Thor #320 — Nick Peron

Sep 28

Sep 28 Thor #320

Blake’s Menagerie

In fabled Asgard, Odin observes a battle between two warring tribes in the forests of his kingdom. Weary of the constant battles in his domain, Odin asks his Grand Vizier about how he should handle this situation. He finds himself divided because one of the warring factions is led by Queen Jolena, whom Odin loved long ago and still has feelings for now. He fears that any direct involvement could be seen as infidelity toward Odin’s current wife, Frigga.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Don Blake is taking to see a Viking exhibit at the local museum. As Thor’s mortal guise, Blake is surprised that the displays don’t make him homesick for Asgard after recently relocating to Chicago. Shawna notices that Don is somewhat disinterested in the exhibit and figures it’s likely because Don is anxious to get his practice going. As the pair depart, they pass by a silver chalice. As they pass, the images of strange humanoid animals briefly appear. Those who see it dismiss these apparitions as a trick of the eye.

Soon, Don Blake arrives at his new office located in Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile”. As a pair of movers bring in his furniture, Don interviews a prospective nurse. Nurse Stevens is in the middle of giving Don her credentials when suddenly she becomes encased in ice which transforms Stevens into a voluptuous mermaid named Fairgold. Shocked by this sudden transformation, Don quickly hides Fairgold in the therapeutic whirlpool in the office’s private room. That’s when Shawna arrives with one of Don’s first patients, a man named Thorne Kirby. Like Nurse Stevens, both Shawna and Kirby are similarly transformed. Shawan becomes an avian woman named Kyrie and the meek Thorne Kirby is transformed into a massive bull-man named Grult. While trying to figure out what to do about these two new additions, the movers return with more stuff and they are also transformed into strange creatures as well. One is turned into a reptilian Slithgarn while the other into a bear-like creature named Brona.

Soon both Brona and Grult get into a brawl which threatens to trash the whole office. When someone begin banging on the door, Don ushers the so-called Menagerie into the back room to deal with this new visitor. This turns out to be Don’s new landlord who already has a complaint from the dentist who operates below Blake’s office who has complained about water dripping into his practice. Don realizes he didn’t shut off the water when he dumped Fairgold in the bath and profusely apologizes for the problem and promises to remedy the issue right away. Mister Lynx is unimpressed and warns the doctor that he will be evicted if he’s not careful. Blake is relieved when Lynx doesn’t undergo a similar transformation as the others.

With his landlord dealt with, Don returns to the Menagerie and tells them that they cannot stay and must relinquish control of their human hosts immediately. Unfortunately, the creatures are not willing to give up their existence after centuries of dormancy. Still, the Menagerie appear to have the memories of their hosts and insist that they are improving the lives of the individuals they possess. To prove this, Kyrie leaps out the window to show off her ability of flight. Fearing for her safety, Blake transforms into Thor and goes out to rescue her only to realize that he didn’t need to do so. The thunder god puts aside any fears that he may have compromised his secret identity and begins trying to figure out how this transformation happened and how to reverse it. Unfortunately, Thor has to revert back to Don Blake to accept a package. Getting thirsty, Blake has a drink of water unaware that it has been drugged by one of Fairgold’s golden scales. When Blake passes out, he is left in the care of Fairgold while the others go out and explore the world outside.

The Menagerie are not used to present day world they have found themselves in. After Grult flips a taxi cab that almost ran him down, the Menagerie ducks into a nearby bar called the El Dorado. There, Grault is insulted when the patrons of this country-western bar suggest he ride the mechanical bull and this leads to a full on bar brawl.

When Don Blake finally wakes up and learns that most of the Menagerie have taken off, he changes into Thor and quickly tracks them down. Having had enough he demands to know how the animals took over the bodies of their human hosts. Kyrie explains that their spirits were trapped within the silver chalice at the Viking exhibit and that they were freed when the cup was gazed upon by a favorable god. Thor sends the Menagerie to the museum while he goes to collect Fairgold so he can free their captive hosts. At the museum, Kyrie explains that they were trapped in the chalice by their master an Asgardian named Rimthursar. He had collected the Menagerie to use them against Odin himself. But when they refused to serve him, Rimthursar slaughtered them all and after squeezing their blood into the chalice, their souls ended up trapped inside. Rimthursar then discarded the cup on Midgard where the Menagerie ended up prisoners for centuries until Thor freed them.

When they approach the chalice, Thor attempts to use the magic from Mjolnir to try and return the Menagerie from their prison. Unfortunately, all this does is put Brona in a fit of rage. Thor knocks out the massive bear man. In the aftermath of the battle, Kyrie notes that the sorcery around the chalice is gone. When they try to figure out why, Thor begins to suspect that this is all an act of trickery caused by his half-brother, Loki.