Thor #402
Even an Asgardian Can Die!
After a meeting of the newly reformed Avengers, Thor bids his teammates farewell, telling them that he will fight by their side whenever they call.[1] However, he doesn’t tell Captain America and the others how to reach him since Thor hasn’t re-established himself since returning to Earth. As he flies across the city, the thunder god suddenly feels dizzy and just barely prevents himself from falling to the ground below.[2]
Meanwhile, in Asgard, Balder comes to Odin to take responsibility for Seth’s failed invasion of the kingdom as it happened on his watch.[3] Odin tells Balder that it is not his fault, but wonders why Thor did not take up leadership. When Odin suddenly feels weak he brushes it off as nothing more than fatigue from the recent war, but suspects that there is a great evil coming and that Thor will need to be summoned back to his home.
In another part of the palace, the Enchantress pleads with the Grand Vizier to save her sister, Lorelei, who was seriously wounded in the battle against Seth. The Vizier promises to do whatever possible, but tells her that Lorelei might be beyond help. This deeply upsets the Enchantress who cannot accept the idea that an immortal can die. She is then visited by the spirit of the Executioner who has come from Valhalla to be with Amora in her time of need.[4]
Back on Earth, Quicksand meets with Mongoose in the sewers. He had called upon her due to her rivalry with Thor and to make her an offer. If she agrees to help him against Thor his masters will help her regain her human form. As a show of goodwill, Mongoose uses a device that temporarily reverts Quicksand back to normal. Wanting nothing more than to be human once again, Quicksand agrees to help. After she leaves, Mongoose is visited by his master and assures him that they have no intention of helping Quicksand once they have achieved their goal of collecting a tissue sample from Thor so they can create a new race of gods.[5]
Meanwhile, Thor — in his Sigurd Jarlson disguise — returns to the construction site overseen by Jerry Sapristi to get some work and money to establish himself on Earth. There he is reintroduced to architect Eric Masterson and his son Kevin. Kevin has become a big fan of Thor after the thunder god saved his father’s life on two different occasions.[6] The conversation is interrupted when Brute Benhurst — a former employee who was fired for being drunk on the job — comes back to get revenge against Jerry. Sigurd gets between Brute and his former boss and easily subdues him until the police arrive to make an arrest. As he is being dragged away, Brute promises to get revenge against them all.[7] While not far away, Quicksand waits for the police to leave so she can attack.
Back in Asgard, the Executioner tells the Enchantress that she can save Lorelei’s life by giving up her own to Hela so that they can live together for all eternity in Valhalla. The Enchantress, fearing her own mortality, cannot bring herself to do it no matter how much Skurge loves her and watches in horror as Hela arrives to usher Lorelei into the afterlife.[8] This angers Skruge and he denounces his love for her before departing back to Valhalla, leaving his enchanted ax behind.
By this time, Quicksand attacks the construction site in order to draw out Thor, prompting the thunder god to slip away and change out of his Sigurd Jarlson disguise. As Thor battles his foe, Odin determines that his weakness has come about because he is overdue to enter the Odinsleep and restore his power. However, he does not want to leave Asgard undefended and wants Thor to return home to defend the kingdom while he sleeps. This is something that needs to be done right away as the path between Earth and Asgard is growing so much that travel between the two realms will be nearly impossible.[8] The Grand Vizier goes off to contact Thor and call him back home, however the thunder god is still in the middle of his battle against Quicksand and refuses to leave. This troubles the Vizier who wonders how he will break this news to Odin.
Meanwhile, the Enchantress has decided that she needs to find a new champion that will be devoted entirely to her and prepares to head to Midgard with the Executioner’s ax. She cannot bring herself to make Heimdall — whom she had been romancing of late — to fill this role and, as he continues to recover from his injuries sustained in the battle against Seth, the Enchantress kisses him farewell before departing on her quest.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Mongoose, Quicksand, Odin, Balder, Grand Vizier, Enchantress, Lorelei, Executioner, Heimdall, Avengers (Captain America, Gilgamesh, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman), Count Tagar (unidentified), Hela, Loki, Eric Masterson, Kevin Masterson, Jerry Sapristi, Brute Benhurst
Continuity Notes
At the time of this story, the Avengers had briefly disbanded in issue #297 of their own series. Captain America had just reformed the team in Avengers #300.
This dizzy spell is due to a link between Thor and Loki that was created when the trickster gave Thor a portion of his power in Thor #398. Thor will not learn the truth until issue #413.
After Odin seemingly perished in a battle with Surtur in Thor #353, Thor named Balder as the new leader of Asgard in issue #367-369. Seth’s attack on Asgard and Odin’s return and restoration as Asgardian ruler happened in the pages of Thor #395-400.
The Executioner sacrificed his life so that Thor and his allies could escape from Hel. See Thor #360-362.
Mongoose’s master is revealed to be Count Tagar of the New Men in Thor #406.
Thor saved Eric during an attack by both Mongoose and Quicksand in Thor #391 and 392-393 respectively. Here, Jerry Sapristi recounts how he knows that “Sigurd Jarlson” is secretly Thor. This is something Jerry has known since his children found out circa Thor #373.
Death does not put an end to Lorelei as she will scheme to return to the land of the living in Thor #438-441, 476, 485-485 until Seth resurrects her in Journey into Mystery #503.
Asgard became unmoored from its cosmic axis after Surtur destroyed the Bifrost Bridge in Thor #351. It will not be repaired until issue #426.
Topical References
In this story, the Mongoose refers to Quicksand as an “oriental” when seeing her in her human form. This is a dated reference used to describe people who live in Eastern Asia and is considered by some to be racist. It’s usage here should be considered topical.
The Golden Hair of Glimda
The goddess known as Glimda is the envy of everyone in the Asgard and is considered the most beautiful due to her golden hair. This earns the ire of Loki who wishes to be the most fair of the gods. That evening, Thor wakes up to find Loki has sneaked out of their room in the middle of the evening.
The trickster has traveled to Glimda’s home where he cuts off all of her hair. When she wakes up in the morning the goddess is horrified to discover what has happened. The news quickly spreads across the kingdom and Odin instantly knows that Loki had a hand in it. However, before the All-Father can punish his step-son, Thor steps up and asks for the chance to make things right.
Odin agrees, and so Thor and Loki travel to Nidalvellir where Thor exchanges his golden belt — a gift from his father — to the dwarven sons of Ivaldi so it can be spun into a new head of hair for Glimda. The goddess’ new golden hair becomes the talk all around Asgard. Odin then commends Loki for doing the right thing. That’s when the All-Father notices that Thor is not wearing his belt and asks what happened to it. Thor tells his father that he misplaced it and Odin at first acts to punish the boy. However, he knows what Thor had really done with his present and takes him off to get a replacement belt, much to Loki’s ire.[1]
Recurring Characters
Thor, Odin, Loki
Continuity Notes
If you’re reading this story and going “Hey, this story is nearly the same as the story of how Sif ended up with black hair” then you’d be right. In the Marvel Universe — as in Norse mythology — the nearly identical thing happened to Sif, first chronicled in Thor Annual #11. The odd thing here is that Glimda is a made up character without a counterpart in Norse mythology. Couldn’t tell you why writer Tom DeFalco wrote this story, but I’ll theorize about it in the notes for next issue.
