Thor #357
A New Deal From the Old Deck or the Credit Card Warriors
Asgard
Thor is escorting Frigga and the children of Asgard back to the city from the mountains. Along the way, the playing children are ambushed by some Storm-Giants who decide to kidnap the children for a meal. However, they quickly realize their mistake when Thor appears and drives them off. Although Thor is ready to slay the giants, Frigga stays his hand, telling him that there has been enough death recently.[1]
New York
Sif and Beta Ray Bill are exploring Manhattan while the armies of Asgard wait for a means of getting back home. Bill is taking things too seriously and Sif tries to lighten the mood by having him wear a pair of gag glasses, complete with fake nose and bushy mustache.
While a few blocks away, an innocuous looking street sweeper dumps a bunch of yellow cards in a garbage can. As he wanders off he turns a hidden switch on his broom handle and the cards suddenly transform into members of the mercenary group known as the Green Liberation Front. The heavily armed mercenaries then attack a nearby bank. Hearing the gunshots a block away, Bill transforms into his warrior form and races in to stop the robbery. The mercenaries can’t make sense of who Beta Ray Bill is since their computers don’t have an entry on him. However, they make the mistake of dismissing him as nothing more than an imitation Thor. Bill and Sif prove more than capable of dealing with the GLF, who decide to flee the scene. Flying around a corner, the mercenaries change back into card form and are swept up by the street sweeper. When Beta Ray Bill comes around the corner after them, he is surprised that the mercs managed to disappear without a trace.
Elsewhere in the city, the Warriors Three are also touring the city. Volstagg is really enjoying his time but longs for battle, boasting about how he has managed to slay thousands of giants in the past. This conversation is overheard by the Power children: Alex, Katie, Julie and Jack. When Jack dismisses Volstagg’s story as being made up, Hogun warns the boy to watch his tone lest he anger Volstagg. Jack naturally cowers at the sight of grim Hogun who then leaves to rejoin his friends.
Sometime later, Bill and Sif have gone to the observation deck at the World Trade Center. Bill has attuned Stormbreaker to the GLF’s energy signature so he will get a warning if they make another appearance. With some quiet time together, the couple talk about their feelings for one another. Sif points out that Bill had once said he was incapable of feelings due to his transformation into a cybernetic defender of his people, something that she points out is patently false. She also has discovered what it’s like to have feelings for a mortal, and now understands Thor’s past infatuation with Jane Foster.[2]
Asgard
Loki has called a meeting with Lorelei to discuss their ongoing plans to bend Thor’s will. Lorelei is fed up with trying to seduce the thunder god because none of her attempts to woo him have worked.[3] She is also bitterly frustraited that he did not return to her side after the war with Surtur. Still, Loki wants her to continue trying in order to remove him as a potential rival for the throne of Asgard. To facilitate this, Loki gives Lorelei a vial of perfume created by Lofn, the goddess of passion, and tells Lorelei that the scent will make her irresistible to any man who smells it.
That evening, Lorelei’s sister the Enchantress, teleports into the ruins of Asgard from Earth. This proved to be difficult due to the destruction of the Bifrost bridge.[4] She is shocked to see the city in ruins. When she finds Odin’s scepter she suspects that Loki will seek it out. Knowing that he is responsible for Lorelei’s attempts to win Thor’s heart, the Enchantress casts a spell on the scepter and leaves it on the ground where she found it.
The following morning, Thor, Frigga, and the children continue their trek back to Asgard. Thor allows the children to stop to have a snowball fight so they can burn off some energy. While they wait, Thor talks to his step-mother about Sif’s recent romantic interest in Beta Ray Bill. Thor actually supports the idea because Sif has never seemed more sharp in battle and that he has decided to let her go as doing otherwise might mean losing her forever.
New York
The members of the GLF are contacted by their mysterious benefactor. He is furious that they failed their mission thanks to Beta Ray Bill, something he thought should be impossible thanks to the highly advanced battle suits he provided for them. He orders them to return to target practice before their next meeting.
Ending the call, the GLF’s mysterious backer tells his assistant Sergei — the man who dropped off and picked up the GLF in their card forms — to prepare the screening grid. Sergei insists that it hasn’t been fully tested but his master wants to use it anyway. Sergei is reminded to do as he is told as his parents are still being held hostage. As Sergei agrees to his new set of orders he secretly lets loose a bunch of cockroaches.
Asgard
That evening, Loki is walking through the ruins of the city when he comes upon the Scepter of Power. Picking it up, the trickster feels a strange sensation and dismisses it as the power of the scepter itself. That’s when Heimdall arrives and, surprisingly, Loki turns it over to the former guardian of the rainbow bridge for safe keeping.
The following morning, Thor and his charges arrive in the city. Frigga and the children are upset to see their home in ruins. Frigga decides that the children can stay in the palace with her for the duration and sends them off to gather their things from their homes while she and Thor meet with Heimdall. It is here that Heimdall sorrowfully turns the Scepter of Power over to Frigga until they can determine Asgard’s next ruler.
New York
Sif and Beta Ray Bill have returned to the observation deck of the World Trade Center. There, Sif forces herself to tell Bill that she intends on returning to Asgard with the rest of her people. She realizes that she wants to be there for Thor, who is still dealing with the death of his father. Surprisingly, Bill fully understands and agrees that this is something she must do.
Asgard
After a long day, Thor is looking forward to sleeping in his own bed for the night. As he lays in bed he is visited by Lorelei who shatters the vial of Lofn’s love potion, vowing to make Thor her love slave.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Green Liberation Front, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Sif, Frigga, Heimdall, Enchantress, Loki, Lorelei, Titanium Man, Hrolf, Arngrim, Gunnhild, Power Pack (Gee, Mass Master, Lightspeed, Energizer)
Continuity Notes
She is referring to the apparent demise of Odin who disappeared in the final battle against Surtur in Thor #353. Little does anyone know that Odin survived and will turn up alive again in Thor #398-400.
The footnote here states that this was “a long time ago” because apparently they were too lazy to look it up? Anyway, Thor had a thing for Jane Foster for years starting back in Journey into Mystery #84. It was a forbidden romance by Odin’s decree in issue #90. The pair were eventually forced apart in Thor #136 when Jane failed a test to determine if she was worthy of becoming a goddess. She had been in and out of Thor’s life over the years since but ultimately ended up marrying Keith Kincaid in Thor #336.
Here, Lorelei mentions that Loki once had a wife to which he responds that his marriage is long over. Loki is referring to Sigyn, his hated wife. She was last seen in Thor #321. It’s not entirely clear what he means. Presumably, he just sent her away since she is seen again in Thor Annual #19 and issues #479, and 483-484. The latter appearances it is revealed that she was responsible for creating a construct of Don Blake as part of a complex scheme against Thor to avenge her husband.
The Bifrost bridge was destroyed by Surtur in Thor #351. It will eventually be repaired in Thor #426.
Topical References
This story prominently features the original twin towers of the World Trade Center, with some of the story taking place on the observation deck on the north tower. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and subsequently replaced from the Freedom Tower. As the new tower has an observation deck of its own, modern readers can assume that Sif and Bill have their conversation there instead.
