Thor
has been buried alive under the rocks of the city street by Ego-Prime. He is
separated from his hammer Mjolnir and neither Sif nor Balder can pick it up to
take to him. Ego-Prime boasts of having bested Fandral, Hogun, and Hildegarde,
turned human bystanders into monsters, and he is well on his way to cleansing
Earth of its population. Thor was the only threat and now he has been defeated.
Suddenly, Thor, separated from his hammer for sixty seconds, transforms back
into Dr. Donald Blake and the energy burst has shattered the rocks trapping
him. Don picks up his cane and turns back into Thor, attacking the foe once
more….
Meanwhile,
Heimdall and Kamorr, having located Jason Kimball, take him back to the yacht
where he meets the first two members of the group, Chinese pearl diver Chi Lo
and Israeli soldier Carter Dyam. Heimdall explains that three have been brought
together by order of Odin….
In
Asgard, Karnilla the Norn Queen bursts into the throne room and demands Odin
tell her what he has done with Balder. The Grand Vizier follows her,
apologizing but fearful that Odin is playing “the Game.” Odin, touched by
Karnilla’s tears, agrees to show her what he is doing. He opens a portal to
watch Thor, Balder, and Sif taking on Ego-Prime with Thor barely holding his
own in the battle. While the giant is crushing Thor in his hand, Balder stabs
Ego-Prime in the back weakening him….
In
a couple of asides, we see Silas Grant protecting Tana Nile from the marauding
monsters despite her being responsible for the destruction of his home
Blackworld at the hands of Ego-Prime. And Volstagg is guarding the little girl
he rescued in an alley when there is an ominous silence. Heimdall has arrived
with his three charges, Jason Kimball, Carter Dyam, and Chi Lo. Impatient,
Ego-Prime marshals all of his power and unleashes a massive energy blast upon them
but with a shock, Ego-Prime is drained of all of his energy and slowly fades
into nothingness. The three youngsters stand revealed in a new divine glory,
transformed by the villain’s power. Odin reveals himself and explains that this
was the goal of his elaborate plan: creating a new race of young gods. The
three ascend a path of light into the heavens and are seen no more. But Thor
throws a fit, resentful of Odin’s threatening the end of Earth and his use of
the heroes as pawns in a big game, asking whether Odin was certain his pawns
would survive or if he even cared. And Odin grows angry….