Galactus levitates in the air above Asgard, looking up with fear at the immense shadowy figure of Infinity. He cannot believe his eyes.

“That power,” Galactus utters, looking up with a sense of dread. “I have never been in the presence of such immense power. I do not understand how this could be. I did not sense his power when I scanned this system. Odin is asleep, and Thor has only recently returned, but this being…so much power…”

“You know NOTHING about power,” Infinity's voice booms out. “You are nothing but a cosmic leach, seeking to suck power from beings and planets far more powerful…and important than yourself.” So saying, Infinity reaches out, his hand grabbing Galactus around the waist, even as Galactus struggles to resist Infinity's superior power, the way that an endless array of alien beings have resisted his power over the years that he has been marauding the universe and consuming those planets, eliminating the lives of those beings, creating genocide on a cosmic scale.

“No,” Galactus manages, though he is finding it increasingly difficult to breathe under the squeezing now being administered by the being called Infinity. “I am Galactus. I must survive!”

“What utter nonsense,” Infinity proclaims, his voice booming, heard by all, who look up with interest at the scene taking place above their heads. “It is astounding that you have fooled the ignorant humans, and some others. In fact, there are those who seem to have a cult to you. But, your lies do not impress me. I know well who you are…a maggot who seeks only to drain energy, and lives away from races of beings. I could care less that you do these things, but do not lie to me about who you are. I am INFINITY, and your cloak of lies is broken in my presence. Your importance is only to your own survival. And, it ends here.” As Infinity says these words, he continues to crush the surprisingly small Galactus in his unbreakable grasp, even as energy and blood seeps out of his now destroyed armor.

“Ahhh!” Galactus screams in painful agony. “The pain…I have never experienced such pain!”

“You could continue on, leeching power from various worlds…I would not care,” Infinity continues, even as Galactus looks up, helpless in Infinity's powerful grasp. “But you have chosen to come here…to Asgard. You are interfering with my territory, and this I cannot allow. You should have continued to fill your fix by eliminating lesser worlds, worlds that could not fight back. It was a deadly mistake to come here, where your power is but a flicker of light compared to a super nova. You are a mere flea, Galactus, and fleas are meant to be swatted.” So saying, Infinity throws an injured Galactus through the dark sky, rocketing the world-devourer towards a glowing world in the far distance! The cosmic cannibal rockets, unable to control his descent, and slams into the world, causing a large crater to develop, as a large chunk of the planet is literally ripped off the surface of the planet!

Morg looks around, suddenly very concerned that he is in a world with no allies. Thor throws his hammer at Morg, and Mjolnir slams into Morg's face, jerking his head violently to the right, as blood spurts from his nostrils and mouth. Morg falls to his knees on the rainbow bridge, struggling to retain his consciousness.

“Thou and thine master hath dared to sully Asgard by thy vile presence,” Thor proclaims, reaching his hand out, as the hammer obediently returns to his outstretched hand. “I thought thy master learned his lesson the last time we clashed*, and that he dared not attack Asgard after I rescued him, after Ego humiliated him so thoroughly**. ‘'Twould seem that the world-devourer hath not learned his lesson yet.”

[*Which took place in Thor #161]

[**Which was related in the classic Thor #225-227]

“Galactus is no longer my master, thunder god!” Morg responds, fighting off unconsciousness and returning to his feet. He raises his battle axe, prepared to fight Thor, as the thunder god levitates downward, landing directly in front of Morg. Even as Thor lands in front of him, Morg wastes not time in attacking Odin's son, striking him across the mid-section with his battleaxe, which surges with cosmic energy!

“Thy cowardly attack doth surprise me not,” Thor comments, blocking the next attack from Morg with his hammer, as their two powerful weapons CLANG together with terrific force! Thor kicks Morg in the stomach, doubling him over with the power of his kick!

Thor then delivers a punishing blow to Morg's jaw…a devastating upper-cut that sends Morg plummeting over the edge of the rainbow, disappearing quickly into the darkness beneath the Rainbow Bridge.

High above them, Infinity starts walking in the darkness of space, making his way towards the glimmering city of Asgard. Beneath him, on the Rainbow Bridge, bordering the gates of Asgard, stand Heimdall, the Destroyer, and the Warriors Three—all prepared to fight, but hesitant to do so.

“Stand thee back, Infinity!” Heimdall warns, cautiously, his two-handed sword held in front of his face, glowing with cosmic energy. “I cannot let thee do harm to the Golden Realm.”

“You could not stop me, you mean,” Infinity corrects him. “It is not my intention to trade threats with any of you. I would sooner destroy you all than debate with you.” So saying, Infinity releases a trail of energy from his fingertips. The energy splits into five strings of energy, each striking the heroes who are collected on the Rainbow Bridge, driving them back with terrific force. It is obvious, however, that this was merely a small sampling of his power.

Heimdall and the Destroyer get to their feet, while the Warriors Three lie unconscious on the Rainbow Bridge, alive but unmoving.

Heimdall rushes forward, his sword glowing with energy, even as the Destroyer leaps upwards. Infinity sends a blast of energy at Heimdall, driving him back, even as the Destroyer leaps at Infinity, hitting him in the face with a powerful blow—a blow that would destroy an entire mountain range. Infinity, however, does not lose his footing. Instead, he sends out a blast of energy that strikes the Destroyer, sending the powerful creation of Odin back with the impact of the blast.

Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, rushes over to Morg (who has just returned from the abyss, and is standing atop the Rainbow Bridge, his eyes trained on Thor), who turns to face him, brandishing his battle axe. “You're a little bigger than that pantywaist Silver Surfer,” Creel observes, “but I ain't impressed!” 

So saying, Creel swings the chain on his ball and chain, causing the ball to strike Morg squarely across the face, before the former herald of Galactus can utter an intelligible response. The blow jerks Morg's head back violently, and sends him flying through the air with tremendous velocity. His stiff body rockets over the city of Asgard, as a trail of cosmic energy creates a clear trail behind him, landing behind the golden gates on the other side of the city, where it creates a massive crater at the bottom of a large mountain, nestled among a dense forest!  

Morg slowly climbs out of the crater, which is several feet deep. As he does so, his hands tremble from the pain of the impact with the Absorbing Man's ball—a force that has been used to battle the Hulk and Thor in the past. As he climbs to the top of the crater, his hands grip the side, as he tries to keep himself from slipping back down into the crater below. 

When Morg gets to the surface, he throws his leg onto the side of the crater, and drags himself up, away from the crater. His eyes burn with rage, even as he picks up his battle axe. “The impudence!” he remarks arrogantly. “A mere human seeks to battle Morg?!” 

“This ‘mere' human is going to do worse than that!” Absorbing Man responds sharply, swinging his ball and chain again, slamming it this time into Morg's waist, doubling him over, as the former herald reels with pain from the point of impact! “I don't want to hit you in the face…yet! I ain't in the mood to jump after you again.” 

Desperately, Morg (who is on his knees, recovering from the impact of Creel's blow) puts up his battle axe defensively, blocking the next swing of Creel's ball and chain. “You will not strike me again, fool,” Morg counters. So saying, Morg then sends out a blast of energy towards the Absorbing Man, striking him squarely in the chest. The impact knocks Creel back slightly, before he starts being bathed in the cosmic energy, absorbing it as his own. As he absorbs this energy, his body (and his ball and chain) glow with Morg's cosmic energy, which has now been added to his own power. 

“I would thank ya for giving me more power,” Absorbing Man comments, kicking Morg in the face, and driving him slamming back into the side of the mountain, where he hits his head against ungiving rock. “But I ain't noticed much difference!” 

“You will notice much more, foolish human!” Morg remarks, enraged at Creel's casual attitude towards him. He is not accustomed to being treated in this way, and is not accustomed to having anyone—much less a human—not fear him. Morg summons his strength, leaping forward towards the Absorbing Man, tackling him around the waist and driving him back down the side of the mountain, where they both roll downwards, landing near the crater where Morg had landed mere moments earlier. 

Before Creel can recover, Morg slams his foot into Creel's face, jerking his head to the side. “It is time for me to resume my role as executioner,” Morg proclaims, even as he gets to his feet, with the help of his large battle axe. He stands over Creel, who is even now getting to his feet. “I will begin with your death!” 

Creel, however, has other ideas. He leans on his palms, and shifts his body forward, his legs sweeping Morg off his feet, where he lands back against the side of the mountain again! “Yeah, yeah,” Creel replies, obviously less than impressed. “I've heard it all before. Look, clown, I've been threatened by people a lot more dangerous than you! Unless you're going to borrow someone else's power, you'd better not make any more idle threats!” Before Morg can respond, Creel leans forward and delivers a punishing upper-cut that sends Morg flying back through the air, where he lands on the other side of the mountain that he and Creel are currently doing battle on. “Another loud-mouthed herald!” Creel mutters, as he leaps into the air, preparing to carry the battle onward. 

As he leaps downward, over the mountaintop and towards where he had knocked Morg, he is blasted by twins beams of cosmic energy, which strike him in the chest and face. Morg's attack slams the Absorbing Man hard against the mountain, which he rams into, and bounces against, all the way down to the bottom.

Morg walks over to the Absorbing Man. On Morg's face is a large gash just under his right eye, which is leaking blood. There is a bruise around his left eye, which is partially shut from the blows that Crusher Creel has administered thus far in their battle. He walks, somewhat unsteady on his feet, towards Crusher Creel, who is lying face-down on the foot of the mountain. Morg's hands glow with cosmic energy. He bends over, picking up his cosmic battle axe, as he advances on Creel. Creel does not move, and his right hand lies motionless atop his chain.

“Your race is arrogant to its core,” Morg comments, walking towards Creel, until he is standing above Creel's motionless form. “You think yourself important, but you are nothing more than irritants to the rest of the universe. Where is your bravado now, human? Where is your promise to destroy me? Where are your taunts?” He raises the battle axe, as he has raised it so many times before, on his own world, and moves forward, preparing to impale the Absorbing Man  with his deadly weapon.

Absorbing Man, however, turns over, grabbing the chain in his right hand as he does so. He swings it forward, and the ball slams into Morg's mouth, dislodging several teeth, as the former executioner and herald spits out teeth and blood, falling backward against the cold, hard ground at their feet. “Right here, you cosmic windbag!” Creel returns.

As Creel gets to his feet, a sinister smile crosses his lips. He reaches forward, touching the mountainside, as Morg gets to his hands and knees, struggling to rise to his feet, but unable to do so. He manages to get one foot out, and the other knee on the ground, as he watches Creel start to turn a metallic gray. “But, I thought…” Morg utters, even as blood continues to flow from his lips.

“Yeah, I know what you thought!” Creel responds. “And it don't matter, ‘cause you were wrong. That's the problem with you and your master…neither of ya think you can be wrong because ya think you're greater than everyone around you. You know where you are?” Morg looks back, uncertain of what Creel is talking about. “No, of course not, ‘cause you never been here, but I have. I even fought Odin once. This is the uru mountains.”

“Uru?” Morg asks, then grows more desperate to get to his feet, reaching out for his battle axe, a mere few feet in front of him. It might as well be miles away, because Creel steps forward, stepping on it, and shoving it away with his foot.

“Yeah, uru!” Creel responds, kicking Morg in the face, as the evil former herald falls back, his head slamming against the ground again. “You've heard of it, right? I mean you and your master know everything, right?” Creel grabs Morg off the ground and spins around, slamming his body against the uru mountain, causing his foe's back to slam hard into the side of the mountain, as he screams with pain! Creel slams his left fist into Morg's face, dislodging more teeth, as Morg struggles to remain conscious, despite the beating that the Absorbing Man is giving him. “You know what,” Creel continues, slamming his knee into Morg's stomach, doubling him over, as Morg's body shutters involuntarily. “ The FF never bothered to call me when your planet-eatin' pharaoh was running around, threatening to eat the Earth. But, I grew up there too, and I would've been glad to put him in his place.”

“You arrogant fool!” Morg responds, spitting out blood, even as he utters those words. “He would kill you.” Morg falls to the ground, released by Creel, who stands over him, looking down with disgust.

“If he has you and the Surfer runnin' interference for him, I ain't impressed,” Creel replies. “But I'm getting' bored of fightin' you.” He then kicks Morg in the chin, brutally jerking Morg's head back, as he falls once again against the mountain, his head badly bruised from the impact. Creel leans down, hammering his uru-powered hands into Morg's bloody face. Soon, Morg lays a crumpled heap at Creel's feet. Creel's hands are dripping with Morg's blood, as he shakes his head. “Another loud-mouthed herald who needed a lesson.” Creel observes. He throws the lifeless body of Morg over his shoulder and leaps back over the mountain, towards the battle beyond. “Now, let me see if I can find somebody worth fighting.”

Thor puts up his hammer, as Infinity blasts his energy outwards, towards him and the Destroyer. The hammer blocks the blasts of energy, but the force of the discharge causes Thor to step back, even as he struggles against the power of Infinity.

“Verily, Infinity's power is back to what it was when last we did fight,” Thor comments, as his uru hammer stands firm, protecting him from Infinity's energy attacks. “But I must stop him, ‘else he will lay waste to the golden realm…and perhaps the universe entire!”

Absorbing Man lands on Bifrost, tossing the still form of Morg onto the Rainbow Bridge like a sack of rotten potatoes. He turns to Thor, then back to Infinity, even as Infinity unleashes energy at Crusher Creel as well. Creel spins his ball and chain, deflecting much of the energy with his weapon.

“I gotta admit,” Creel comments, as he strives to hold off Infinity's attack as well. “This feels weird, fighting with you.”

“Aye, it does,” Thor admits. “But thy aid here, when Asgard is in dire peril, will not be forgotten!”

“Just don't expect it to be a regular thing, goldie,” Creel comments. Then, looking at Thor, the two nod.

As they do so, they both leap towards Infinity, slamming their own powerful bodies into Infinity's dark form, knocking him back through space! Creel swings his ball and chain, slamming the ball into Infinity, even as Thor sends out his hammer, striking Infinity's mid-section! Their attack carries extreme power, and Infinity is stunned by their attack, being driven back by their combined power!

However, he is only momentarily stunned. He raises his hands, sending out powerful blasts of energy that stun both Thor and the Absorbing Man, sending them flying back through space by the impact of the attack!

“You are both quite powerful, by normal standards,” Infinity remarks. “But your power does not match my own.”

Galactus, meanwhile, stands on the world, where Infinity had knocked him. The world, once seething with power, is now but a lifeless husk, its energy sucked out of it like a leech sucks blood from a dying person.

“I have never felt such power!” Galactus exclaims, his body glowing with energy. “Never has my hunger been so fully sated. But, I must consume even more power. With my power fully restored—and more—I will consume Asgard, even if I must…”

“Go through me?” Infinity asks, appearing in the outer orbit of the lifeless world. “Let us end this farce, then, Galactus.”

To be continued…

THE HAMMER STRIKES!

Welcome to Thor #12. In this title, I have sought to once again display Thor in the proper power level—that he possessed in the 60s, but a power level that has been largely ignored or under-rated by many writers since that time. What you are seeing here, not just with Thor, but also with Asgardian characters, is borne out with legitimate continuity. Anyone who respects Thor, and Thor's power level, should enjoy this series. For now, though, onto the letters from previous issues…

Thor #5: Page 1: Good to see Emmu again. He's an interesting character. Curious to see how the Watchers will handle Kraktu.

Page 2: Seeing Jake Olsen blown away will certainly be happy news for his cousin in Metropolis, Jimmy. Page 3: It was good to see the Absorbing Man…almost as good as it was to have Jake Olsen riddled with bullets, but not quite.

Page 4: The woman in the Plymouth, with the perpetual grimace on her face, the one grievously injured, is having a bad day too, it seems. Creel doesn't like being amidst the clouds, it seems.

Page 5: Odin certainly didn't think very highly of Jake Olsen, but then who did? Page 6: Loki's pleasure at finding Creel was well done. Loki rolling his eyes at Creel's tough-guy rhetoric was also well-done, maestro (not to be confused with the idiotic “pappa smurf” version of the geritol-taking PAD “Hulk” with the silly bald head and giant age warts).

Rick Powell

I'm glad you enjoyed the issue. The Watchers handled the menace of Kraktu by having someone else deal with it, naturally. Jake Olsen riddled with bullets certainly is a good sight, but I doubt that Jimmy would claim any kinship with the idiot. Yes, Peter David did do a poor Hulk, I agree. I hope you enjoy the way I'm handling Creel in these pages. He is a formidable foe, certainly.

Thor #11: Galactus, a cosmic maggot, slithers across the universe, to “get a new hit!” Brilliant, and the true way to depict the pathetic Galactus creature. Remember, Kirby and Lee did a 70s Surfer special and established Galactus hears voices (the Master of Guile came from his diseased brain, perhaps a carryover of the plague that wiped his people out…and what is Galactus but a cosmic plague that destroys worlds).

I loved seeing Heimdall refuse to back down to the arrogant Galactus.

“Cosmic cannibal”…how I laughed when I heard those familiar words! Before Marvel pandered to the pathetic Galactus-worshipping cultists by excusing/rationalizing his murders, Johnny Storm and Ben would refer to him that way.

The Destroyer, eh? I think a certain cosmic cannibal is about to eat some FIST for a change.

Seeing Thor and the Recorder pass by a destroyed world called Marv-Wolf was very amusing, since Marv Wolfman himself is one of the absolute worst writers in comics history, and his destructive Crisis ruined DC!

Heimdall did well against Galactus. The Destroyer beats Galactus' face in, knocking his helmet off? Well-done scene! Galactus has had a cosmic butt-kicking overdue since the last few times he had one!

Morg's cowardly attack against the Destroyer reminds me of how much I dislike this character. A character who makes you miss Terrax is a terrible character indeed! Hopefully, Heimdall will behead Morg and spare us his insufferable presence.

Absorbing Man vs. Morg? Get out the body bag for Morg! Creel's comment about pantywaist heralds not impressing him because he has fought Thor and the Hulk was a GREAT line because it's so true!

It's great seeing the cosmic power levels being corrected back to their original levels again! Thor beat Galactus in the 60's, and a brick defeated the overrated Surfer! That was Lee and Kirby, and that's that!

Galactus' selfish motives are totally in keeping with his slime-encrusted character.

GREAT scene where Thor reveals Galactus to be a liar and manipulator of minds. Also, the disturbing existence of Galactus cultists shows that mental illness causes “pitiful minds to be numbed alike”, to paraphrase the old saying for these wretches.

Thor takes apart Galactus' pathetic excuses like a sane man wins a debate with a self-deluded lunatic. In the case of Galactus, he's always had other deluded lunatics to excuse the genocidal monster, such as the ‘mad writer' you mentioned. When I found out that the mad writer in question was an atheist, it explained a great deal. Glad to see Odin's outrageous appearance at the trial of Galactus explained away. Thor really put Galactus in his proper place, and sanity now reigns in the cosmic hierarchy once again. Well done!

Rick Powell

I'm glad that you're enjoying the series, particularly in relation to Galactus. I certainly agree that he has been extremely over-rated by many writers, particularly in relation to characters like Thor, who has defeated him in the past (as you so aptly pointed out). He is a genocidal villain, and any other characterization of him is really pretty ridiculous. There is no excusing mass murder on such a scale. You're right about the Surfer special from I believe 1978, where Galactus' madness was touched upon. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that his solar system was destroyed by the plague, as explained in Thor #168-169. He is, however, able to cloud the minds of many, such as the Surfer and apparently Lilandra. Obviously, he merely made them believe that it was Odin at that trial. Odin certainly knew better.

I certainly agree with you concerning Crisis. Any series that lays ruin to an entire company of characters is a mistake from the beginning. Hopefully, you're enjoying the battles in this issue, and this series as a whole, including the Absorbing Man/Morg battle from this issue. Feel free to let me know.

Everyone's comments are welcome, and reviews are always appreciated. I can be contacted at jx2melton@hotmail.com.

NEXT ISSUE: Galactus vs. Infinity! Will Asgard survive? Find out in Thor #13!