On a rooftop, Bloodaxe is battling the astral form of Doctor Strange
when Susan Austin comes between them. The two combatants each think the
other is trying to harm Susan and respond by an attempt to protect her but
Susan cannot see Strange in his astral form and believes Bloodaxe is trying to kill
her. Telling Susan his mission is to protect the innocent, Bloodaxe scoops her
up and leaps off the roof, landing on (and totaling) a police car. The officer
sends in a call for Code: Blue to deal with this new menace….
In Asgard, Thor (Eric Masterson) asks Odin how he can find
and restore the missing Thor Odinson; Odin reveals that Thor is closer than he
imagines. He relates how, when Thor was banished, he was imprisoned in Eric’s subconscious
mind, explaining how Eric was able to rise to the occasion of heroism. Odin
also explains that the spell separating Thor from Eric may be fatal to both;
the only hope remains the Gauntlet of the Grim Guardian….
Code: Blue, led by Lt. Marcus Stone, arrives to confront
Bloodaxe, who charges his axe with electromagnetic force and blasts it at the
cops. Officer Kyle Brock, seeing that Code: Blue needs help, uses the device tattooed
on his hand to transform into Earth Lord and summons his fellow heroes of the
Earth Force, Wind Warrior, and Skyhawk….
In Asgard, Eric tells Balder he is returning to Midgard to
think things over and he says farewell but doesn’t think he should face Sif so
he is going quietly….
The three Earth Force heroes attack Bloodaxe while an
officer helps Susan get away, though she doesn’t think the monstrous figure
meant her any harm. Dr. Strange, observing in his astral form, is worried that
the villain is far more powerful than the three heroes suspect but he is
growing too weak to help….
Back in New York, Eric Thor heads to his son’s school and notes
that Kevin seems happy with his mother Marcy Masterson-Steele….
Bloodaxe swings his axe on a chain around him, creating a whirlwind;
Wind Warrior enters it and tries to control it but Dr. Strange, sensing she is weakening,
prods Marcus Stone into ordering the use of explosives. A small bomb explodes
in the center and Bloodaxe is gone, leaving Wind Warrior unharmed. Dr. Strange
returns home to his physical form, hoping that he did the right thing. He
sensed no evil in Bloodaxe and so allowed him to escape to another dimension….
Thor arrives on the scene to discover everything has been
settled though Susan still wonders how Bloodaxe seemed to know her. And so
later, Eric decides that no one will miss him while Thor is a much-needed hero
and so he chooses to return to Asgard to face the Gauntlet and save the real Thor….
“Healing Hands and Poisoned Tongue!”
Writer: Tom DeFalco. Pencils: Geof Isherwood. Inks: Ariane
Lenshoek. Colors: Ariane Lenshoek. Letters: Steve Dutro.
Synopsis: Odin visits Heimdall who is recovering from injuries
sustained in issue #450. Amora the Enchantress rages against Odin, claiming
that all that has befallen Heimdall is Odin’s fault. The All-Father uses his
Odin-Power to heal the wounded guardian and so departs. Amora turns on Heimdall
reminding him that she did all the hard work of saving his skin and yet he
fawns in devotion toward Odin. Heimdall responds that he is pledged to the
honor and glory of Asgard so what would she have him do? She walks out, telling
herself that she wants someone to love her the way Heimdall loves Asgard….