Thor (1966 series) #433

Ulik rises from the sewer, seeking revenge against Thor….

At the hospital, Eric Masterson is still confused and feeling unworthy after having the power of Thor transferred to him last issue. He is permitted to visit Susan Austin in the ICU even though she is still in a coma; he realizes how much she means to him. In the waiting room, Eric meets Jerry Sapristi who introduces him to Susan’s sexy roommate, Leena Moran (who is really the Enchantress). Eric then spots what is happening outside: Ulik rising from the sewers to battle Marcus Stone and the cops of Code: Blue. Eric turns into Thor and races to the scene, where the cops have placed a trio of transmitters around Ulik and, activating them, have trapped the monster in an electrified stasis shield. But Thor arrives on the scene and overzealously leaps on Ulik, shorting out the stasis field, freeing him. Ulik’s sense of smell tells him this is not the usual Thor and he batters the rookie Thunder God around and escapes into the subway tunnels below. The battered Thor gets an alert from Captain America and, not wanting Cap to see the unfamiliar face, tells him that Thor is out to lunch. Yes and even he realizes how stupid that sounds. Stone approaches Thor who flies away to avoid embarrassing questions, and crashes down on a rooftop. Cursing himself for a clumsy, amateurish fool, he returns to his apartment and vows to try harder; first thing is designing a new costume for Thor….

A few days later, Eric has picked up his new suit from the tailor (while a gorgeous clerk flirts with him) and arrives at a meatpacking plant where Code: Blue has cornered Ulik, who had smashed his way in seeking food. Thor battles Ulik, surprising both the villain and the police by fighting dirty, eventually beating the Troll to a pulp. As the police take Ulik away, Eric introduces himself to Marcus Stone as the new Thor and his next mission will be finding out what happened to the old Thor. With a tap of Mjolnir he stops the rain and takes off….