In the ancient
past, Rhea, wife of Cronus, complains to Gaea of the curse that Cronus would be
killed by his offspring, leading him to devour his children as they are born.
This curse came from Cronus’ father Ouranos as he was slain by his son, doing
the bidding of Gaea. Rhea has hidden her latest child, Zeus, but fears Cronus
finding him still. So Gaea gives Rhea a stone to hand to Cronus in place of her
son and Gea will raise the boy. Rhea fears Gaea as she takes on her hideous
form but Gaea takes the child anyway. Gaea looks deep into his eyes, wondering
if he is the champion she will need but decides Zeus will never have the
necessary wisdom. She shows him the Utgard-Key and marks his face with the Wheel
of Fate….
Now: Thor and
Hercules are in a dark land. Zeus has returned from the dead and is threatening
Thor, whom he considers a pitiful deity from a land of barbarians. Zeus hurls a
thunderbolt at Thor who simply turns it away. Then Nyx, Goddess of Night arrives
to bicker with Zeus, her enemy. She draws the moon down to Earth; Thor and Herc
escape via the Dimensional Winds as the moon crashes down on Zeus….
In the next dimension,
Thor tries to explain to Hercules why Loki is both friend and foe and his
mission to test Thor at the most inopportune times. Loki arrives with Herc’s
sister Athena, announcing that Hercules is now a part of Thor’s trials. He
notes that Thor has passed the first test and regained the sharp axe of his wit.
Now the second is a rune-riddle and then Zeus and Nyx arrives, revealing that
they have worked out their differences and now they shall be married and start
a new race of gods to conquer all. Nyx notes that Loki’s rune traps her in this
land of endless night and asks Zeus to prove his worth by killing Loki. Zeus
casts a thunderbolt and Thor deflects it, challenging Zeus to hurl more (which
Loki responds to with “Oh dear”). Zeus keeps hurling and Thor keeps turning…until
he realizes his mistake, prompted by Herc. Thor seizes Zeus on a close embrace,
where Zeus can bring down the lightning inside of Thor. Meanwhile, Herc
forgives Nyx, startling her. He goes on to point out that they are in a place
of perpetual night which would be the ideal home for her. She agrees and takes
her children with her, sending Hypnos back to Earth with Hercules. Meanwhile,
Thor has taken Zeus’ lighting and thrives on it. He now absorbs all of Zeus’
power, leaving the old man a shrunken husk. Now bearing all of Zeus’ power as
well as Odin’s, Thor’s voice takes on a dark edge and his face now bears the
mark of the Wheel of Fate….