At the Christmas season, Thor spies a gang of young men assaulting
a sidewalk Santa Claus; the Thunder God rescues the old man and confronts the
teens and learns that “Santa” was a drug pusher, responsible for a bad batch of
dope that nearly killed the leader’s brother and they were out for some street
justice. Thor lectures them on vigilantism, destroys their weapons, and
counsels them to avoid drugs in the first place….
Out in the country, in a barn which was once the lair of
Machinesmith, Gabriel the Air Walker, former herald of Galactus, awakens. The
last thing he remembers is a defeat at the hands of Silver Surfer and now he
senses he is a robot which has managed to repair itself. He re-ignites his
cosmic cloak (which look like flames) and attracts the attention of a little
boy in the nearby farmhouse. Young Kevin Matheson hurries over to investigate
and, as a sci-fi buff, he is amazed at the “alien visitor” and offers to be his
friend on this strange new world. The two fly off together, which is witnessed
by Kevin’s horrified mother….
Dr. Donald Blake starts his new job at the Westside Medical
Center, being introduced to the staff and seeing his first patient: a fellow coming
down from a drug high….
Meanwhile, Gabriel and Kevin arrive at the Baxter Building
and he seals the structure with an impassible shield while he confronts the
Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic, Thing, Human Torch), wanting to know where
Galactus is. When they tell him his master is long gone, he demands they
produce the Silver Surfer in one hour or he will destroy the city. To impress
Kevin, Gabriel unleashes a hurricane on the city, though the boy feels sorrier
for his anger than anything. When Don Blake hears of the storm, he changes to
Thor and brings the hurricane to an end. Thor confronts Gabriel who blasts him
out of the sky; Thor, thinking Kevin is a hostage, clobbers his foe, causing
him to drop the boy, whom Thor catches. Ignoring the boy’s protests that
Air Walker is his friend, Thor battles Gabriel in the skies; the hero hurls
Mjolnir and Gabriel catches it, using it to knock Thor out. Kevin pleads with
his friend not to kill Thor so Gabriel drops Thor to the ground. Recovering,
Thor realizes from his catching Mjolnir that Gabriel is some sort of machine
and hurls his hammer through Air Walker’s chest, smashing him to bits. In
tears, Kevin runs to the fallen herald and tells Thor he hates him for killing
his friend. Thor, sensing he’s done something wrong, makes himself scarce.
“The Sorceress and the Sacrifice!”
Writer: Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio. Pencils: Keith Pollard
(breakdowns), Chic Stone. Inks: Chic Stone. Colors: George Roussos.
Synopsis: Rebuffed last issue, Karnilla has come up with
another scheme to win the love of Balder the Brave. She arranges for him to
meet a young maiden named Nanna and prompts the two to fall in love. When this
is accomplished, she teleports the lovers to Nornhelm, the nasty kingdom she rules
over. They travel for hours dodging all sorts of perils until they come to her
palace. When they enter, Karnilla claps Nanna in chains and threatens to kill
her if Balder doesn’t consent to marry Karnilla. Though Nanna is okay with dying,
Balder makes Karnilla change her threat to “if any harm comes to Nanna, the
marriage will be dissolved.” Balder agrees and Karnilla lets out a sinister
laugh, as all good baddies do….
Give that special marvelite a timely gift