Loki, disguised as Odin, realizes that Mephisto has betrayed
him, revealing his true identity to his enemies. Now he joins with Karnilla the
Norn Queen to prepare for the coming of the heroes, namely…
…Thor (Eric Masterson), the Lady Sif, and Balder the Brave.
Mephisto asks repayment for his aid; Sif proclaims that they are first going to
restore Odin to his throne—which, enigmatically, is what Mephisto wants. Sif’s
plan requires Thor to be the first one to return to Asgard. He does and Loki/Odin
immediately confronts him and brutally beats him up. Sif and Balder return to
the palace by means of the Norn Stones but are intercepted by Karnilla who
raises living roots from the floor to entangle them. Enchantress arrives, with
the Warriors Three and Arko, and she challenges the villainess while Hogun, Fandral,
and Volstagg try to cut Balder and Sif loose. Meanwhile, Loki/Odin has wrested
Mjolnir away from Thor and beats him with it. After sixty seconds away from the
hammer, Thor transforms back to Eric Masterson but then the Warriors Three come
to his aid. Karnilla, locked in deadly battle with Amora, demands that her
beloved Balder use the Norn Stones to help her; Balder instead uses them
against her and the Norn Queen is defeated….
Odin uses Mjolnir to deliver a beating to Hogun, Fandral, and
Volstagg; Sif arrives and while Loki is distracted, Eric touches Mjolnir,
transforms back into Thor, seizes his hammer, and clobbers the phony Odin. Sif
opens the Soul Shroud, freeing Odin’s spirit and it reclaims his body, defeating
Loki’s and sending the God of Evil into the Shroud. Mephisto then arrives and claims
Loki, which was what he wanted all along. The weakened Odin allows the demon to
take Loki but warns him that Odin expects his return when it suits him. Mephisto
takes his leave. Sif begs Odin to bring back Thor but Odin says he is trapped
in a prison they cannot reach. Only Eric Thor can rescue the Thunder God but it
will be at the cost of his own life….
“Strange Encounter”
Writer: Tom DeFalco. Pencils: Geof Isherwood. Inks: Hector
Collazo. Colors: Ariane Lenshoek. Letters: Rick Parker.
Synopsis: At his Sanctum, Doctor Strange detects an otherworldly
power and sends his astral form to find it. The power comes from Bloodaxe who,
curious about his mighty axe, decides that, since “he” [spoiler: it’s Jackie
Lukus] found the axe in Susan Austin’s apartment (issue #449), maybe she knows something
about it. On Susan’s rooftop, Bloodaxe spies Strange’s astral form, confusing
the sorcerer as no one should be able to see him. The villain uses the axe to
blast Strange out into space. Strange returns to Earth and there is a battle
between the two mystical beings. Susan hears the commotion and comes up to
investigate and is suddenly trapped between them…