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Thor #398: Review

Dec 1988
Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz

Story Name:

The Prisoners of the Black Pyramid

Review & Comments

Rating:
3 stars

Thor #398 Review by (February 9, 2021)

Review: More excitement in the Lee and Kirby vein with Black Knight finally doing something interesting, Enchantress turning superhero on us, Fandral displaying some spectacular mid-air moves against the Harpies, the advent of the God of Luck who seems to have been created with Peter Dinklage in mind, Loki sneaks around in the corners, the arrival of the tough-looking Celtic gods, a lame introduction for the Egyptian gods, and the discovery of Odin who has been out of the comic for a while. And things get better next issue!    

Comments: Part four of six parts. First (full) appearance of Bes, God of Luck. One of the letters in the letter column is by Hurricane Heeran, future contributor to Alter Ego, Roy Thomas’ fanzine.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Thor #398 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

In the Black Pyramid, Thor and his allies are fighting the Death legions; Hogun concerned about the Sign of Death Seth marked him with; Earth Lord and Skyhawk worry that their lives will end when Seth is defeated; Black Knight suffering under a blood curse that is fusing his body to his armor. But all keep fighting. The villainous Grog the God-Crusher turns out to be a coward, offering to show them the secret of Seth’s power in exchange for his life….

In Asgard, the defenders are being pressed back by the forces of Seth; Balder orders them to fall back to the Inner City as Seth calls out the Harpies of Doom. Heimdall is grievously wounded and Fandral offers to take on the harpies singlehandedly while Balder and Sif take Heimdall to safety. Atop a narrow crag, the dashing Fandral battles the Harpies until he is joined by Volstagg, determined to die for Asgard if necessary….

In the Black Pyramid, the heroes fight their way to the command chamber; Grog seizes the opportunity to escape in the confusion. Thor and company discover a prisoner inside a huge glass globe and free him. It is a dwarf, who turns out to be Bes, God of Luck; with him in Seth’s power, every possibility works in Seth’s favor. Bes tells Thor his destiny is not to return to Asgard but he is not able to explain this. The invisible Loki, concerned for his own safety, imparts to the powerless Thor half of his own strength to defeat Seth….

Outside the Black Pyramid, Wind Warrior has joined the Lost Ones: Horus and the other Egyptian gods defeated in Seth’s rise to power….

In Asgard, Amora the Enchantress learns that Heimdall is near death; her rage and helplessness result in a cry that crosses time and space alerting the gods of every pantheon to the events in the Golden Realm. Amora flies like a shining missile directly for the enemy and explodes—but when the smoke clears, Seth still stands….

A portal opens up in the sky and the Celtic Gods of Avalon arrive, led by Leir, Lord of Lightning, coming to pay back a debt of gratitude to Thor….

Thor and company fight to reach the top of the Black Pyramid and smash down the last door to find…Odin in chains….        


Preview Pages
Click sample interior pages to enlarge them:




Ron Frenz
Don Heck
Greg Wright
Ron Frenz (Cover Penciler)
Al Milgrom (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Balder
Balder

(Balder the Brave)
Black Knight
Black Knight

(Dane Whitman)
Hogun
Hogun

(Hogun the Grim)
Loki
Loki

(Loki Laufeyson)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)

Plus: Bes (God of Luck), Earth Lord (Kyle Brock), Grog the God-Crusher (Grog), Horus, Leir (Lord of Lightning), Seth (Serpent God), Skyhawk (Winston Manchester), Wind Warrior (Pamela Shaw).

> Thor: Book info and issue index

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