el. Its name is synonymous with death and despair, and feared throughout the nine worlds. The air is arid, burning like the insides of a furnace, making it difficult to even draw breath. Loki looks around, noting that twin volcanoes in the distance send lava flowing into a blood-red river, which emits fumes and steam that re-enforces the already intense heat in this place. If any of this bothers Loki, flanked on both sides by his two wolves, he shows no sign of it.

The two wolves breathe steam out of their nostrils, even as they watch for signs of movement around them. Dammerung, a gray wolf with white and black patches, stands to Loki’s left, his head reaching well past Loki’s waist. To his right is Mittnacht, a jet-black wolf that likewise rises above Loki’s waist. His dark eyes fix on the sight of a troll that starts to approach Loki. The wolf takes a step forward, but Loki stretches out his arm in front of the wolf’s head, stopping him in his tracks.

“My queen will see you in a moment,” the troll offers, a sneer etched on his hideous face. “She has had a difficult day.”

“I doubt it not,” Loki returns, eyeing the troll with contempt. “Were I capable of it, I might e’en pity her, for the useless servants that populate her realm. ‘'Tis no wonder that her disposition suffers as a result.”

The troll looks over at Loki, anger in his eyes. However, Loki merely returns his gaze with contempt, as his lip curls into a contemptuous sneer, and his two wolves eye the troll for any sign of movement, their nostrils flaring intermittently with flames and smoke, as low, guttural growls emit from their mouths. The troll takes an involuntary step back, and then turns, disappearing through a portal leading down into the lower depths.

“Loki,” Hela remarks, as she walks through an energy portal that suddenly appears before Loki. She strides towards him. “I am certain that you came here not to insult my servants, but I know not why you did come?”

“Hela,” Loki returns with mock interest. “Can I not come and visit my dear daughter? Am I not welcome here in my daughter’s own realm?” Loki’s smile shows his own cunning nature, as his mind continues to plan his next words carefully.

“Thy tongue may weave lies well with others, dear father,” Hela returns, “but I know well thy tricks.”

“Tricks indeed,” Loki returns, his face reflecting a sly smile. “How well doth thou know me, ‘tis true. But I hath no need to deceive thee, my dear. I hath come here to discuss matters of mutual benefit.”

“Mutual benefit?” Hela responds, her eyebrow rising slightly with curiosity, despite her misgivings. “So thou may say. It hath been my experience, though, that when matters were of ‘mutual benefit’ with thee, I found myself without benefit.”

Loki laughs, nodding his head. “Aye,” Loki returns. “’Tis true that we hath both suffered setbacks in the past, but that situation will soon change…perhaps for both of us.”

“I am listening,” Hela responds, her hands on her hips, as she looks over at the cunning Loki. “But I would first learn…what thou doth require from me in this endeavor?”

“Thy role is a subtle one, actually,” Loki responds. “It requires no direct involvement. I merely need to borrow two of the denizens from thy realm.”

“Thou doth ask for two people to return from Hel?” she asks, surprised by Loki’s audacity. “To what end?!” Behind Hela, Loki notices that a large dragon’s head has surfaced from the molten river in the distance. The dragon breathes fire, even as unfortunate denizens of this realm find the flesh burnt from their bodies, only to have it re-appear moments later. Loki smiles to himself, pleased by this tantalizing punishment and his daughter’s own ingenuity.

“For a very important mission,” Loki responds. “I hath need of their services. With them in place, ‘twill make my scheme that much easier to accomplish.”

“Thou doth know well my policy, Loki,” Hela responds firmly. “No one leaves my realm. I cannot allow that precedent to be reached. ‘Tis the very nature of Hel that no one can return from death’s grip. Thou can understand well the import of this.”

“Aye,” Loki replies. “Of course. But, when I hath accomplished my objectives, thy realm will near o’erflow with new residents…and ones that hath previously eluded thy touch.”

Once again, Hela raises her eyebrow. “Thy words do intrigue me, Loki. Who doth thou seek?”

“Just two, my dear,” Loki returns. “The Executioner and Lorelei.”

END OF PROLOGUE

ven as Loki works towards a deal with Hela, we now turn our attention upward, outside the walls of Asgard, where a massive battle is raging between the brave Asgardian warriors and the villainous for that is sworn to the destruction of Odin and Asgard itself...Mangog!

The towering, hideous Mangog stretches out his right arm in a sweeping motion, casually brushing aside three Asgardian warriors, as ten others rush him from the front, their spears and maces trained on their foe. Flying overhead is Thor, who is likewise rushing towards the powerful Mangog!

“Thor!” Mangog calls out, as he steps forward, crushing the life out of two more Asgardian warriors, their spears falling forward on the ground, as their hands rapidly loose their grip on their weapons. “I have been awaiting your return! With all of the destruction I have been causing, I am surprised it took you this long to accompany me!”

“I hath been busy elsewhere, villain!” Thor returns, as he flies forward, sticking Mangog in the side of the face with his hammer. Mangog takes a step back, as his head jerks to the other side from the impact of the powerful blow. “There was a cosmic menace that did need my attention.”

“Not Thanos, I hope,” Mangog responds, as he lashes out with a blow—the speed of which defies his bulky size. He strikes Thor in the mid-section, doubling him over and sending him flying back…landing on the ground below, where he skids, bouncing on the ground three times before he rises once more to his feet. “I have learned that the overblown fool made numerous slanderous remarks about me, claiming that I have served as his slave. I would certainly hate to be deprived of the opportunity of granting him his fondest desire…after I have finished here.”

“Nay, villain,” Thor responds, leaping into the air, his hammer spinning in his right hand, even as his eyes fix on his foe, “’Twas not Thanos who I fought recently. Nor doth thy tale surprise me. Thanos hath made many such claims—and numerous others—over the years. Surely, no one believes his lies.”

“It will not matter much longer, Thor,” Mangog responds, his leg sweeping out, as he kicks aside five more Asgardian warriors, as if they were merely debris in his path. They fly backwards, landing in the midst of ten other warriors, who have to turn aside their shields to avert certain disaster. “When I find Thanos, he will surely die.”

“Thy fight with Thanos concerns me not,” Thor responds, as he directs his hammer at his foe, sending out waves of energy at Mangog, striking him in the face with such force that the powerful Mangog staggers backwards, his hands rising to protect his face from the energy attack. “However, if thou wouldst settle thy matter with the death-worshipper, thou should have done so prior to coming here!” Thor continues to levitate in the air, his hammer directed at his foe. “By coming here, thou did not but insure that thou will not be meeting with Thanos!”

Mangog continues to stagger back, his massive hand slamming into the side of a mountain, causing boulders to fly outward, causing the warriors on the ground to raise their shields in their defense. Many large stones start to roll down the side of the mountain. Those warriors who were close to Mangog start to move out of the way quickly, while trying to keep their eyes on their foe.

Thor looks away from Mangog for a moment, distracted by seeing the brave Asgardian warriors in danger. He starts to spin his hammer, creating a vortex that draws in the large boulders, lifting them up into the air, safely away from the warriors before they could be buried under them!

When the large stones are safely removed from the area, and the warriors are free to resume their attack on their foe, Thor returns his attention to Mangog, who has now recovered from his earlier attack. He picks up a large boulder, much larger in size than Thor, and throws it at the thunder god. Thor notices the large boulder, weighing thousands of tons, immediately prior to being struck with it! The boulder slams into Thor, who raises his hammer just in time to use it to shield a direct hit from the large boulder. However, the impact of the boulder sends Thor flying back towards the ground below.

Even as he flies backwards through the air, moved by the impact of the boulder which still pushes him further back, Thor moves the hammer between his palms, twisting it back and forth with increasing rapidity in his grip. As a result, the hammer creates rapidly-increasing friction, which catches the boulder on fire, and starts to burn a vertical line down the center of the boulder. Thor then moves his hammer aside, and raises his elbow, striking the boulder at precisely that point, cracking it down the center, as both sides of the boulder fall down beneath his feet, even as warriors scatter on the ground below.

Before Thor has the opportunity to fully recover, however, Mangog is upon him. He grabs Thor’s leg in his grip, and slams Thor to the ground, striking his head against the boulder that fell mere seconds earlier!

“Very good, Thor!” the villain remarks, a contemptuous grin etched on his bestial face. “It will avail you nothing, though! You will still die at my hands…today!”

orth Sahara, Africa. An earthquake rips a giant hole across the sand, deep into the earth below. Out of the rip in the earth, a series of shattered rocks can be seen. These rocks, incredibly, start to move, slowly at first. However, over time, it is clear that they are making their way towards the surface.

Within moments, a large scattering of rocks lies on the surface, at the very edge of the chasm created by the earthquake mere minutes earlier. The rocks continue to move, soon piling themselves into a small hill of broken rocks and other debris of solid stone.

“Amazing,” a voice comments, as a shape hovers above the ground, casting a shadow on the earth below. “By sheer force of will, he has managed to return his form to the surface—even after being lost under the surface for so long.”

Energy shoots downward from the form, striking the rocks, irradiating them in its energy sphere. The effect of the energy blast is immediate, and the rocks move from their pile, levitating upward. The rocks continue to move forward, until they are hovering thirty to forty feet into the air, creating a cloud of rock and dust debris that starts to take humanoid form.

The shadow continues to cast downward on the irradiated energy, which continues to form the rocks into a solid form. Soon, a large being stands, formed of solid stone. It is gray, and has a large ridge at the top of its skull, which vaguely resembles a Mohawk. The figure stands, looking around, even as it stretches out its massive arms, towering over the shifting desert sands beneath its cold feet.

“It has been years since I was whole!*” the being, called the Colossus, utters in a gravelly voice. “But now…the Colossus roams the world again!”

[*Since Incredible Hulk #145 in fact.]

“Yes,” the voice remarks. “You are…thanks to my efforts.”

“What?!” the Colossus comments, looking around beneath him before turning his eyes upwards, where he sees a hovering form above him. “You look…familiar. Are you responsible for my return from the ground, where the Hulk left me, thinking me vanquished?”

“Yes,” the voice returns. “But I am here to do much more than that.”

“To do what?” the Colossus asks, its eyes flickering with energy.

“I am offering you to leave this world, and to roam the vast reaches of space, where you belong,” the voice remarks. “You have been stranded on Earth for some time. It is time for you to return to the stars.”

The Colossus nods thoughtfully. “Yes,” he utters, nodding in understanding. “I would like that…and perhaps return to my people.”

“That is possible,” the voice returns. “If you do what I require of you.”

“Then let us be off,” the Colossus responds. “I am eager to leave this world, and take care of my own business. It has been too long.”

END OF INTERLUDE

angog, still holding Thor by his right leg, slams him into the ground with great ferocity, even as he fixes his eyes on his foe with growing hatred. Thor twists in Mangog’s death grip, turning his body so that he is facing his foe, who slams him into the ground once again!

As Mangog lifts Thor from the ground again, Thor turns around and directs energy from his hammer once more! This time, the energy strikes Mangog in the pit of his stomach, doubling him over. Thor, his body still aching from his foe’s attack, continues to direct the energy towards Mangog, who steps back, reeling from the blow, but still maintaining his grip on Thor’s waist.

Even as Thor is struggling to free himself, the warriors of Asgard renew their attacks, launching spears and arrows at Mangog. Most of the arrows and spears merely bounce harmlessly off his invulnerable body.

Watching the scene with concern, Balder directs some of the warriors to load the energy cannons. “Our conventional weapons have availed us not!” he directs, rushing over to where those warriors are standing, urging them to prepare their weapons. “Ready the energy cannons. Mangog must be defeated!”

The warriors do not question Balder’s commands, and prepare to go about their work. Balder starts to make adjustments on the firing mechanisms of the cannons. “At the moment, we cannot fire,” Balder remarks, “because of Thor’s position. When we hath an opening, we must take it!”

Volstagg rushes forward, striking Mangog’s shin with his own mace, even as the ground shakes under his charge. “Prepare for thy demise, villain!” Volstagg proclaims. “Naught that lives can long stand Volstagg’s might!” However, Mangog kicks him aside, even as he tries to stay on his feet.

Noticing that Volstagg was charging, Thor turns, directing his attack against Mangog’s large hand. He slams his hammer down onto the hand once, then again, and again! Striking a nerve, Mangog drops Thor, who falls the great distance to the ground!

Mangog quick turns and kicks his foot forward, sending five warriors flying across the ground, where they head directly towards Thor. Thor has no choice but to use his own speed to catch them, helping them to the ground. Mangog uses the opportunity to recover from Thor’s attack.

Thor quickly throws his hammer towards Mangog, who has turned to strike again. The hammer slams into Mangog’s mouth, striking the side of his mouth with great force, even as it completes its arc to return to Thor’s waiting hand.

Mangog, however, kicks out his foot, slamming into Thor a second before his hammer arrived at his hand, causing Thor to be knocked out of the way of the approaching hammer, which slams into the ground at his feet. Mangog smiles, even as he approaches Thor.

“You have given me the time I needed to recover from your attack,” Mangog comments, as he slams his foot into Thor’s face, driving him into the dirt. “And now, I will renew my attack!’

Mangog stomps Thor in his head and chest with tremendous force. Nearby, the warriors are scattered, trying to keep their footing even as the ground around them shakes with fury at the power of Mangog’s blows. Thor looks to his side, reaching for his hammer, mere feet away, but barely out of his grasp.

Balder looks on, waiting for the opening he needs to fire the energy cannons, but still concerned about Thor’s welfare. He nods, as another wave of Asgardian warriors launch an attack against Mangog.

Stepping down on Thor, Mangog lowers his upper body, striking the wave of Asgardian warriors with his claw-like hand, sending them scattering back in all directions, crushing up against additional warriors, trees, and other objects as they fly backwards.

Mangog looks down at Thor, who is still held fast under his foot. “And now, Thor…Hela awaits!”

NEXT ISSUE: Will Thor survive Mangog? And, if so, how can he defeat him? Who is the mysterious figure assembling villains? And what is Loki up to? Find out in THOR #26!