On
a rainy night, Thor arrives at a building. Police fill him in on the situation:
Wayne Markley, the villain known as Fusion, has filled an auditorium with
explosives and he is holding fifty hostages, threatening to blow them all to
kingdom come. And Markley has asked for Thor. So Thor goes to see the bad guy
to find out what it is he wants. Markley says he is going to ask a question and
Thor’s answer will determine whether the hostages, and Markley, live or die.
The question: Two years earlier, Markley’s five-year-old son jumped off a roof
to his death so Thor, “Will you bring him back?” A long hush as everyone holds
their breath, then, “I cannot.” The Thunder God claims it may result in more
harm than good, offering to show Markley the two sides to every question….
In
a vision, Thor shows Markley a possible future fifty years in the future of New
York as a flooded wasteland, caused by humanity’s neglect and abuse of the
environment. As Markley’s question was about the interference of Asgard in
human affairs, Thor tells him that the gods are not there to help or stop
mankind and goes on to describe several measures mankind can take to prevent
the future disaster which would result in a sustainable future. Thor’s
conclusion is that humanity’s future lies in the hands of mortals, not gods. Markley
is unsatisfied as Thor has not told him why he cannot bring his son back. So
Thor reveals the secret: if the gods interfered every time mankind stumbled,
humans would become puppets. If Thor gave people what they want, it would not
be what they need as it would erase free will. Markley orders all of the
hostages out. He then asks if Thor is going to stop him; Thor tells him he does
not have to die. Markley says he cannot forgive himself—and detonates the
bombs.