“Thor!”

“THOR!”

“THOR!”

The fresh-faced lad runs through the Asgardian streets, calling out the name of the crown prince of Asgard, as his legs propel him to move faster and faster towards Thor’s castle. As he runs, he sees the towering twin spheres of the castle in the nearing distance, and he re-doubles his efforts.

Throwing open the doors leading to the outer walls of the castle, the lad rushes into the large courtyard. So intent is he on his mission that he does not notice the beautiful gardens, which the lovely Sif has cultivated to such perfection. Nor does he pay any heed to the two large dogs—each one standing well over four feet in height, as their red eyes initially glare at the youth, getting to their feet and then returning to a sitting position when they are satisfied that the youth offers no threat to their master. They watch the youth rush towards the door leading to Thor’s castle, breathing smoke out of their nostrils.

“THOR!” the lad calls out, as he opens the door to Thor’s home, entering through a dining area, which has in its center a large, round, oak table, with ten finely-stained chairs surrounding it.

The youth stops in his tracks as the door to Thor’s own sleeping quarters is thrown open. Thor steps out, tying a robe around his waist, as he steps out, his eyes fixed with anger and irritation upon this young lad who has disturbed the sanctity of his home.

“What is it, lad?” Thor asks. The young lad takes an involuntary step back, looking up at the large form of the thunder god with a mixture of awe and fear. “What brings thee hither?”

Before the lad can respond, the beautiful Sif comes into the room, her left hand holding a blanket over her beautiful body. The blanket wraps around her breasts and drapes across her lower body, revealing parts of her shapely legs. In her right hand is her sword. “My love, what is it?” she asks. Then, seeing that it is only a child she recognizes, she lowers her sword, as the look of concern changes to one of relief. “Oh, ‘tis only one of Volstagg’s numerous progeny.”

“Indeed, milady,” Thor replies. “Return to our chambers. I will see to this lad anon.”

Sif turns to leave, looking back at Thor, running the back of right hand along Thor’s back. “Aye, my love,” she returns. “I will await thee in our chambers.” Thor nods, watching Sif’s hips sway as she turns to walk away.

As the Lady Sif walks back into the room, closing the door behind her, the young lad looks up at Thor. “Thor,” he offers, “I apologize for disturbing thy…activities.” At this, Thor smiles down at the lad. Despite the inconvenience and the lad’s timing, he cannot help but be mildly amused by the boy’s reaction.

“Yes, lad,” Thor encourages him, motioning for him to continue. “What brings thee here?” He then leans forward, lowering his voice as he continues. “And, lad, thy father is a great friend of mine…”

“Aye,” the boy, who appears perhaps ten years old, responds, nodding his head.

“And, remiss though I would be to anger him,” Thor continues, looking down at the boy with a stern expression, “thou may well be in store for discipline greater than thy father ever gave thee…unless this is very important.” With that, Thor looks back towards the closed door, then back at the young boy.

Volstagg’s son, Kronsgaard, gulps involuntarily, looking back at Thor, who has his arms crossed and is looking down at him with a very serious expression etched on his face. “Aye, Thor,” he responds. “I came here at the bequest of thy father, the Lord Odin.”

Thor’s expression loses some of its seriousness, but he continues to look down at the boy, with his arms crossed. “Aye…?” he asks, urging the young lad to continue with his tale.

“The Starjammer* hath returned from its flight,” Kronsgaard replies, looking up at Thor. “Hogun, Fandral, and my father hath returned. Odin called an audience with thee, concerning what they found.”

[*Long-time Thor readers will remember this cosmic ship, first seen in Thor #255.]

“Know thee the import of this discovery?” Thor asks.

“Nay, Thor,” Kronsgaard replies. “I know only that Odin himself seeks thy audience…and that I was asked to dispatch thee.”

“I see,” Thor replies, placing his hand on the young boy’s shoulder, looking down at him with a smile and a nod. “Thou hath done well. Tell Odin that I shall be dressed and be in his presence shortly.”

“That I will do,” Kronsgaard replies, turning from Thor, and rushing out the door, to return to Odin’s lair and complete his mission.

INTERLUDE 

n another sector of space, the powerful Firelord travels through space, his staff trailing fire in his wake, as he looks around, taking note of the planets in this sector.

“I could sense the death of the devourer**,” Firelord remarks. “I have long wondered how his death would effect my powers, since they came from him. However, I have been un-effected by his demise.” He looks concerned, however, as fire continues to crackle from his eye sockets. “Nevertheless, I must seek out my brethren, the former heralds, and determine if they, too, are thus far uneffected.”

[**A reference to the death of the world-devouring Galactus, which took place at the end of his battle with Infinity. The events were detailed in Thor #9-13.]

Firelord hears a sound that stops him in his tracks. As he turns quickly, he sees that a meteor shower is headed directly at him. “This is not possible,” Firelord comments, instinctively turning his staff outward, and blasting the meteors with his fiery cosmic power. “Meteors cannot change course so quickly, and without warning.”

Firelord fixes his gaze on the meteors, which continue to surge forward, gaining altitude, as they threaten to pummel him. “They are changing course mid-stream, as if they are consciously seeking to avoid my cosmic blasts,” Firelord comments, as he continues to fire at the meteors, shattering them and forcing them back. However, they continue to come, a seemingly endless barrage of debris.

“This is impossible!” Firelord exclaims, as he continues to unleash his cosmic powers on the meteors, but they continue to swarm towards him threateningly. “Meteors cannot act this way…not on their own!”

“Precisely.”

“What?!” Firelord is distracted by the voice, which seems to echo from all around him, but all he can see are darkened planets.

From one of the darkened worlds, two parallel thin, red beams shoot outward, striking Firelord in the chest and driving him back. He collapses into space, unconscious.

End of Interlude

hor and Sif walk into the palace of Odin, ruler of Asgard. As they walk into the large meeting room, they see Odin sitting upon his throne, his twin birds resting on his shoulders. Standing beside Odin is Loki, who looks over at Thor, having difficulty disguising his contempt for his half-brother, as he glares across the room at Thor.

Fandral rushes out, a smile on his face, as he looks at Thor, and Sif. His eyes fix on Sif, who is wearing her short white dress, which he silently notes showcase her shapely legs. Turning his attention back to Thor, he heartily shakes his hand. “Thor!” he remarks, smiling broadly. “Tis good indeed to see thee again!”

“Aye,” Volstagg remarks, walking forward. “The journey was long, and frought with much danger. Fortunately, I was there to watch over my friends,” he continues, as he reaches out, grabbing Fandral and Hogun by the shoulders, bringing them towards himself. Hogun looks on, his eyes rolling towards Volstagg, a silent warning that he is not amused by Volstagg’s antics.

“’Tis true!” Fandral remarks, extricating himself from Volstagg’s grasp, brushing off his shoulder in the process. “But it was an enjoyable, and profitable venture.” He looks over at Thor. “I did not realize that the universe was inhabited by so many beautiful women.”

“Aye,” Volstagg bellows, walking over to Thor. “But little in the way of sustenance…and nothing to compare to my wife’s fine cuisine.”

“Perhaps not,” Fandral remarks, rolling his eyes. “But many are the worlds who will need to work tirelessly for eons to replace the food consumed by thee during thy brief stay on their worlds.”

“I think not,” Volstagg counters. “Thou do not understand the ways of these cutures as I do, Fandral. ‘Twould be a great offense to them to not eat heartily what they put before us.”

“Then, there is little doubt,” Fandral responds,  “that thou hast spread much diplomacy across the cosmos in thy wake.”

Sif is amused by Fandral’s comments, and smiles at the truth behind his comments. She has tried to cook for Volstagg before, but realized that it is much like trying to fill in the ocean with thimbles of sand.

The Grand Vizier steps forward, walking between the Warrior’s Three, and coming up to Thor. Volstagg and Fandral step aside, letting him pass.

“As you know, Thor,” the Vizier offers. “We were asked by Lord Odin to embark on a quest, using Starjammer, to explore the extent of Infinity’s damage, and to report back to Odin any damage that he had not repaired.”

“Aye, I recall as much,” Thor returns.

“In addition,” the Grand Vizier continues, “we were to seek out Galactus’ ship and any remnants of his power, so that they would not fall into the wrong hands. Though the universe is much better free from his cosmic hunger, and there are many races who would otherwise be extinguished by the monster, still we do not want to risk such power being found by another.”

“Yes,” Thor replies. “I know of thy mission.” Although Thor likes the Grand Vizier, he has often been annoyed by the mage’s habit of not getting to the point as quickly as he would like to see him do. “What did transpire during thy journey that requires my attention?”

Grand Vizier smiles inwardly. Thor, being a man of action, has never had much patience, in Grand Vizier’s opinion, but he has learned to tolerate this trait in the thunder god, who he has watched grow since his birth, many years ago. “We could not find Galactus’ ship,” the Vizier explains, “and this does trouble us greatly, because of the things that are undoubtedly contained within it.”

“’Tis true,” Thor replies. “Korvac, who once called himself Michael, once gained information from the devourer’s ship. He did use this information, and technology, to greatly increase his own power. It did take the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galazy—from the distant future—to overcome the fiend.”***

[***This story was told in Avengers #168-177.]

“Aye,” the Grand Vizier responds, nodding. “This is well known.”

“Yes,” Thor replies. “Although many of his boasts were nothing but empty threats. Although powerful he was, still did he not reckon with the power found in Asgard and Olympus.”

“This is true,” the Vizier responds. “I know, for instance, that he claimed he could seal off Asgard and Olympus from Earth****, making the gods helpless to intervene with his schemes. This was nothing more than misinformation he received from purusing Galactus’ own computers…which were filled with the devourer’s own arrogant, and unfounded, beliefs.”

[****A claim he made in Avengers #276, in fact.]

“Aye, Galactus was filled with his own conceit,” Loki intervenes. “Which is why he foolishly sought to consume Asgard. A fatal error on his part.” He looks over at Vizier, clearly anxious to learn Vizier’s secrets himself. “Yet, though hath called upon us to wait for Thor to come before thou did tell us what thou hath found.”

“’Tis true,” Odin remarks, getting from his throne. “The time hath come to bring my sons up to date on what thou hath discovered, so that we can work together to decifer its meaning.”

“Aye, lord Odin,” the Grand Vizier replies, as he turns, motioning for the others to follow. They walk past the throne, through a door leading to an anteroom on the other side of the wall behind the throne. “As you know, Galactus has had a number of heralds, whose job it was to lead the power hungry monster to worlds which he would then devour.”

“Yes,” Thor replies. “Yet another example of his arrogance, having a herald to announce also his arrival to those he sought to destroy.”

“We have discovered that there are still some of his former heralds alive,” Vizier remarks. “During the course of our journey, we came across one who you will remember well.” So saying, Vizier throws a switch on the wall, illuminating the room.

As Thor and the others pile into the room, they see a familiar form lying unconscious on a padded slab before them. It is a raised surface, which serves as a bed for…

“The Silver Surfer!” Thor exclaims. “Yet, he looks so still, so unmoving…!”

“He is not dead, Thor,” Vizier replies. “Yet, when we found him, he was as you see him now, grevioiusly injured and delirious. He fell back into a deep slumber and has not awakened since that time.”

“The Surfer?” Loki asks contemptuously. “Of what concern is it to us that this cosmic lightweight hath been injured?” Loki sneers down on the unconscious form of the Surfer, remembering silently his own history with the Surfer. “I once thought that this fool could dispatch Thor…and even gave him a portion of my own power, making him more powerful than he had ever envisioned himself, even offering to free him from his prison on Earth. Yet, he could do nothing to my brother, who would not even sully his hands in combat with the weakling. Although his power was increased exponentially, he was still no match for Thor, and of no use to me.”*****

[*****Loki’s way of looking at the events of Silver Surfer (volume 1) #4.]

“He hath not come to Asgard for some time,” Fandral remarks. “His first trip here, still unexplained******, brought him in combat with thee, Thor.”

[******Another reference to Silver Surfer #4. Although Loki did bring the Surfer to Asgard to fight Thor, his scheme was never revealed to Loki, who sent him away before he could reveal who sent him to Asgard.]

“’Tis true that he once came here as an enemy,” Odin comments with an authority in his voice that brings the attention of all those present to turn their attention his way. “He hath later shown himself to be a friend of Thor. That is sufficient cause for me.” So saying, he turns to Loki, as if answering his question.

“Where did you find him?” Thor asks the Vizier.

“We found him in another sector of space,” the Vizier responds. “We know not why he was there, but the Surfer has been known to travel the cosmos. He was lying prone in space, having recently been attacked by a meteor shower. The debris was still present around him. When we found him, he was barely conscious. We placed him in our ship, and he tried to speak, but none of his words bore any reason.”

“Too many stone objects to the brain, no doubt,” Volstagg remarks.

“Once objects get past his force field, even his metallic skin has its limits,” Thor explains. “His force field hath kept him alive in battles with foes like the Hulk, but without it, he hath had difficulty with the likes of Spider-Man and Dracula.”

“Thor?” the Surfer’s voice groans, seeking to find itself, as he rolls on the slab, trying to turn towards the thunder god, as pain wracks his frail form.

“Look!” Sif comments, pointing at the Surfer. “He awakens!”

“Aye, but barely,” Thor replies, walking over to the Surfer. He helps the Surfer into a sitting position, as the Surfer’s eyes scan the room, making sure that he is indeed among friends, and that this was no trick by his attacker. “Come, friend Surfer,” Thor urges him. “Who did this to thee?”

“A villain of great power,” Surfer manages. “One who brought my former master to his knees…but he is only one. There are others. The one who did this to me…” As he tries to speak the name of his attacker, he is wracked with pain, which causes him to throw his head back, and he falls from the slab, caught quickly by Thor.

“He is unconscious,” Thor comments. “But, if the villain is who I believe it to be, we must prepare to meet a grave threat!”

NEXT ISSUE: Who is Thor talking about? And what’s this all about? Find out this and more next issue!

THE HAMMER STRIKES!

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Welcome, everyone to a long-overdue issue of Thor. I think one of the coolest things about this character is that he works well in various different arenas. He is well-known on Earth, and has fought with Earthly heroes, most notably the Avengers. He certainly is at home in Asgard, with his friends and family. Yet, one of the most interesting times in Thor’s history (IMO) are those when he takes on cosmic quests.

We’ve seen those cosmic storylines, in Thor during the 160s, 250s-260s, and various other, shorter storylines. I think those storylines really allow an opportunity to showcase Thor’s power in ways that Earthly storylines really don’t allow.

In this storyline, I intend to bring in some really heavyweights, and show what has occurred in the wake of Galactus’ death. Certainly, I’ve never bought into the more recent nonsense that Galactus plays an important (and indispensable) role in the universe, but I think it’s logical that his death would have an impact on his former heralds. I think it would also create opportunities for other characters. This is the approach I’m taking here, and I hope you’ll find it enjoyable.

Your comments, suggestions, and questions are always very welcome and appreciated. I can be reached at earth2jsa@yahoo.com.

Jeff Melton