Prologue: Brunnhilde (the later Valkyrie) enjoys an idyllic moment with her lover Sigmund while they are supposed to be training in weapons….
Now Valkyrie delivers the broken pieces of the Hammer of Nul to Tolor the dwarf craftsman to see what he can do. The dwarf is highly concerned that the breaking of the hammer by the Hulk may have released the essence of Nul into the world (which it did—see DEFENDERS (2011) #1). Val feels put upon and used but Tolor assures her she has been given a great responsibility by Odin. He then offers to teach her the tricks she will need to spot secret entrances and breach impregnable fortresses—while DOA’s spidery tracker escapes unseen into the room….
At the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Sin and Crossbones are diving in search of the Hammer of Nerkkod (wielded by Attuma). DOA’s magic reveals that it had been placed in the stomach of a giant shark by the Atlanteans for safekeeping—so the villains blow the shark apart with high-tech explosives and recover their toy. The destruction, however, attracts the attention of Namor, the Sub-Mariner, who is determined to not let them get away with it. Sin uses ancient sorcery to summon the world-threatening Devourers to distract Namor while they escape….
Elsewhere, Valkyrie suits up for her next mission and flies to the Baxter Building to recover the Hammer of Angrir, once held by the Thing. She enters the building easily—so easily in fact that she suspects a trap and locates the hammer inside an interdimensional vault. And behind her stands Ben Grimm himself—the mighty Thing….