Thor #480
Blitzkrieg in the Balkans
After a trip to Asgard to learn the real truth behind Don Blake’s miraculous return, Thor is making his way back to Wundagore Mountain to reunite with the Godpack.[1] En route, he is attacked by fighter planes protecting Transian airspace due to an ongoing conflict going on in a neighboring country. Thor is forced to use his power to down the aircraft, forcing the pilot to eject. When he arrives at Wundagore, he is surprised to see the High Evolutionary has erected a holographic projection to further hide his citadel of science from the outside world.
Inside, Thor finds the Godpack are still hard at work setting up the lab. Thor’s frequent departures on personal business, some members of the Godpack — particularly Bellam and Blitziana — who have come to resent his presence. Thor has only returned to inform the High Evolutionary that he’s leaving again for New York so he can inform Don Blake of what he learned in Asgard. The High Evolutionary is unimpressed with this current development because there is still much work to be done and Thor has already been gone for two days. Thor explains how Odin stashed Don below Wundagore Mountain and asks the Evolutionary what he might have known, recounting how Odin had convinced the High Evolutionary to not go into the bowels of the mountain due to some unspecified threat. The geneticist recalls that dream and figured it had something to do with Chthon, the demon who has been trapped in the mountain for centuries.[2]
As this has confirmed Odin’s story, Thor becomes angry about his father’s manipulations all over again. However, before he can wreck anything, Blitziana stops him saying that they can’t have any of their equipment damaged in a temper tantrum. She instead suggests that he take out his frustrations fighting her so she can see how her powers measure up against his. This gets Thor regain his composure and says such a battle being unnecessary.[3] Before leaving for New York again, Thor decides to spend a little time with Jane Foster and her son Jimmy to see how they are doing. The High Evolutionary decides to let the thunder god have this time in light of the horrors that they will face ahead.[4] When Blitziana asks her creator what he means, he doesn’t provide an answer.[5]
Meanwhile, in Asgard, there is a troll uprising outside of the kingdom. Sif, Blader, and Beta Ray Bill are dispatched to quell them. The battle comes to a swift end when Red Norvell — Odin’s chosen to replace Thor — arrives and shuts the trolls down. In the aftermath of the battle, Red asks if he can talk to Sif about his feelings for her. She agrees that there is much to talk about and they soon take off.[6]
Back at Wundagore, Jane Foster takes Thor to see the Animutants who she has been teaching to be civilized. She has been making a great deal of progress and believes that the evolved animals can learn to be functional members of society. She loves her now job as it gives her something to do not that her marriage to Keith Kincaid is over. This prompts her to bring up her past relationship with Thor, however the thunder god abruptly ends their conversation by telling her he needs to find Don Blake. As he leaves, Jimmy notices his mother is crying and asks her what’s wrong. She tells her son that sometimes grown-ups cry when they make a fool out of themselves.
Thor then goes to the High Evolutionary to tell him that he’s finally going. However, he refuses to return until the geneticist finally comes clean about why he really created the Godpack. When the High Evolutionary refuses for the time being, Thor decides to leave for good. This upsets the rest of the Godpack who hoped he’d stay and help train them how to be gods. Blitziana takes this especially hard despite her misgivings about the thunder god and attacks him. When Thor shatters her mace, she discovers that she can fire lightning bolts from her hands now and didn’t actually need the weapon to channel her abilities. As the two fight outside, Luminor decides to see if he too no longer needs a weapon to channel his powers and is surprised when he can create a blade of light that protrudes from his knuckles. When Jimmy asks his mother why Thor and Blitziana are fighting, she explains that she’ll explain it to him when he is older. Monitoring all of this is the High Evolutionary who muses over the skeins of fate he has been weaving this entire time and promises that soon everyone will know the truth.
Outside, the battle between Thor and Blitziana rages on with no sign of letting up. The Godling continues to fight even after a nearby mountain climber is imperiled by their fight, as she doesn’t care. Seeing Thor’s hammer laying on the field of battle, Jimmy races out to get it for him and ends up stumbling over the side of the cliff. Luckily, Thor is able to leap down and grab the boy before he falls to his death. Seeing how she nearly killed a child, Blitziana is horrified and tries to apologize to Jane for what happened. Distraught over what happened, Jane tells them all — Thor included — to keep away from her and her son from now on. Thor assures her that Jane has nothing to fear from him as he is leaving and not coming back.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Balder, Sif, High Evolutionary, Godpack (Anak, Bellam, Blitzaina, Loga, Luminor, Riger, Zefra), Beta Ray Bill, Red Norvell, Urson-Wells, Simbus, Jane Foster, Jimmy Kincaid
Continuity Notes
The issue with Don Blake is insanely complicated. Here’s the break down:
When Thor reappeared in the modern age, circa Journey into Mystery #83, he split his life between being the god of thunder and a mortal doctor named Donald Blake.
Since Thor #159, it was always believed that Blake was merely a construct created by Odin to teach Thor a lesson in humility.
More recently, Thor found a man who appears to be Don Blake in a secret cave hidden in Wundagore Mountain in issue #475.
Odin revealed last issue that Blake was actually a real guy and Thor replaced him the moment of his first transformation all those years ago. Odin then secretly hid the real Blake in a cave and kept it a secret.
However, it’s later revealed that the Blake found in the cave wasn’t the real guy, but a mystical construct created by Sigyn years earlier when she accidentally killed the real deal. This will be revealed in Thor #483.
Chthon was an elder god who became trapped in Wundagore for centuries, as first depicted in Thor Annual #10. The Evolutionary became aware of Chthon’s presence back in the 1950s as detailed in Uncanny X-Men Annual #12.
Here, Blitziana reminds Thor that none of the Godpack remembers their past. As explained in Thor #473, the Godpack were all prisoners who were accidentally killed when the High Evolutionary crash landed on Earth. He then used these cadavers to created his Godpack and the process had apparently wiped all memories regarding their past.
During his time as Don Blake, Thor and Jane Foster fell in love with one another. Eventually, he convinced Odin to test her to see if she was worthy of becoming a goddess and allow them to get married. As seen in Thor #136, Jane failed miserable and was banished from Thor’s life for some time. She eventually married Keith Kincaid in Thor 336. She later became pregnant with Jimmy circa Thor #371. A few years after Jimmy was born, she and Keith separated as explained in Thor #475.
This “horror” the High Evolutionary is alluding to is the eventually battle he must have with his previous creations the New Immortals. This will happen in Thor #482.
Red Norvell had originally usurped the powers of Thor back in Thor #276-278. He was motivated out of an attraction for Sif, unaware that this was all part of a plan by Odin to sacrifice Norvell to prevent Ragnarok. More recently, a new Ragnarok level threat was learned about in Thor #472, however with Thor renouncing Asgard and living on Earth Odin was forced to resurrect Red and make him Thor again, as seen in Thor #478.
Topical References
This conflict is identified as a war happening in the former Yugoslavia. At the time of this publication, Yugoslavia had broken up into other smaller nations and they would war against one another until at least 2017. This should be considered a topical reference.
