Thor
and the Godpack return to Wundagore from New York and are met by the High Evolutionary
and by an exuberant Jimmy Kincaid. To Thor’s question, HE responds
that he created the Godpack and the Animutants to battle the New Immortals—but
they are interrupted by an alarm. They are attacked by the Kronans, better
known as the Stone Men of Saturn. HE is taken down by an energy blast so the
Godpack and the Animutants fight back. The invaders unleash a robot warrior
called the Mekkanoid which is decapitated by Anak with a single blow. Telling
Jane Foster to shield her son, Don Blake hurries to see if he can help the HE;
a Kronan is about to kill him when Thor dashes over and smashes it into gravel.
A dragon appears and, at Thor’s direction, Luminor flashes his lights and the
monster dissolves, revealing it was an illusion. Under questioning the captive
Kronans admit they were sent by the New Immortals. HE relates that he had been
contacted by the android known as the Analyzer, warning him that the New
Immortals had a powerful new weapon before communication was cut off. The
heroes board the Wundagore II with Don Blake joining them—and Jane
dashes aboard as well, knowing she had to be with Don. The ship takes off….
“Chapter
2: A Match Made in Asgard”
Writer:
Roy Thomas. Art: Keith Pollard. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: Diana Albers.
Synopsis:
Sif watches via a magic viewer as the Wundagore II journeys through
space, concerned about Thor being with Blitziana and his ex, Jane Foster. She
encounters the new Thor, Red Norvell, who asks if she will ever call him
“Thor;” she says no so he takes her off to continue the conversation they
started in issue #480. They land on a crag which turns out to be a dinosaur,
enchanted to appear as part of the mountain. They defeat it together and he
asks if she will ever love him; she says any feelings she may have for him, or
Eric Masterson, are only because the men are reflections of Thor Odinson, her
one true love. He accepts that and is content to be her friend….
“Chapter
3: The Dark at the Top of the Stairs”
Writer:
Roy Thomas. Pencils: M.C. Wyman. Inks: Mike DeCarlo. Colors: Ovi Hondru.
Letters: Phil Felix.
Synopsis:
As the Wundagore II journeys through space, Jane tells Thor of her
concern that the warning sirens at Wundagore should have gone off much sooner
when the Kronans invaded. They both think it possible that one of the Godpack
is a traitor, working with the New Immortals. The ship jumps through hyperspace
to the constellation of Orion and they discover that the ship is in danger from
a sudden buildup of power in the systems. High Evolutionary orders them to
divide into two groups and board the two escape modules. An explosion hurls
Zefra out of the ship and Thor catches her, boarding the escape module with
Blitziana, Riger, Loga, Jane, and Don Blake. They find the communications
systems are damaged and cannot contact the other ship. Jane confesses her love
for Don and they kiss as Thor watches from across the room. The travelers don’t
see any planet but do detect a space warp; Riger flies them through it. Don
Blake is suddenly in pain like the one he felt when he first transformed into
Thor. His life force is draining and he asks to touch Thor’s hand. There is a
flash of light and Blake stands there alone, stronger and full of energy but
now realizing he is not Don Blake but only carries his memories. The ship
emerges from the other side of the space warp and discovers an asteroid which
grabs them with a tractor beam and pulls them inside….
“Chapter
4: All the Gods at Once”
Writer:
Roy Thomas. Pencils: Stuart Johnson. Inks: Carmine Imperato. Colors: Ovi
Hondru. Letters: Janice Chiang.
Synopsis:
The heroes emerge from the module to fact the New Immortals—Nobilus, Zon, and
Juvan, with Lord Tagar and a squad of New Men. Nobilus calls on the Godpack to
submit to them. Tagar points out the super-weapon called the Deus Ex Machina, an
evolved and upgraded version of the Analyzer, intended to conquer the universe
for the New Immortals with Earth first on the list. As the machine begins its
buildup, the baddies attack the Godpack and there’s a big battle. Thor is out
in space, wondering how he got there and how long he can survive. Jane begs
“Don” to bring Thor back but he doesn’t want to, she reminds him that he may
not be Don but still has Don’s qualities of compassion; he decides to sacrifice
himself and is suddenly replaced by Thor, who joins in the battle. Thor fights
Nobilus but finds him formidable because Nobilus was created not only from
Thor’s cells but also Loki’s, making him more powerful than either of his
forebears. As the battle goes against the good guys, Blitziana tells Thor to
warn the High Evolutionary. Thor flies off into space but not to find the other
module; he has another destination in mind….
“Chapter
5: While Mephisto’s Away…”
Writer:
Roy Thomas. Art: Keith Pollard. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: Diana Albers.
Synopsis:
Loki is a prisoner in Mephisto’s realm, being tortured by the demons Arimanes
and Herlequin. Thor enters, clobbers all of the demons, and frees Loki. The
villain, however, feels no gratitude and refuses to grant Thor a favor save
under certain conditions….
“Chapter
6: The Enemy Within”
Writer:
Roy Thomas. Pencils: M.C. Wyman. Inks: Mike DeCarlo. Colors: Ovi Hondru.
Letters: John Workman.
Synopsis:
Thor returns to the New Immortals’ ship to discover that the second rescue
module has reached there. He is blasted in the back by the traitor in the
Godpack, who is revealed to be Luminor, who wants to join the New Immortals in
their mission of conquest. Blitziana takes down Luminor. The wounded Thor is
revealed to be Loki, under an enchantment. Thor and Loki together defeat
Nobilus with the Thunder God beating him into the floor. The baddies are
defeated and all of the good guys use their weapons together to destroy Deus Ex
Machina. Loki reveals the condition under which he agreed to help Thor: Thor
promised to never again interfere in any of Loki’s plans so long as he didn’t
threaten Earth/Midgard, which seemed a small price to pay. Loki takes himself
away. The Godpack experts have modified the New Immortals’ ship to return to
Earth. Thor is left wondering about the Don Blake Construct….
“As
Shadows Gather…”
Writer:
Glenn Greenberg. Pencils: Robert Walker. Inks: Jim Amash. Colors: Ovi Hondru.
Letters: John Workman.
Synopsis:
Odin commands the Warriors Three, Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral, to take a trip into
the woods to rest up for the impending Ragnarok. The big hurdle is that
Volstagg must explain this to his wife Hildegund, who is already displeased
that her hubby doesn’t spend enough time at home. They ride off into the
wilderness and encounter a giant dragon, one headed for Asgard. They battle the
massive monster but every tactic they try fails. An idea to have Volstagg grab
it by the tail to distract it while the other two attack from the front results
in the doughty warrior being flipped onto a cliff. Fandral and Hogun are
cornered by the dragon against the same cliff so Volstagg drops onto the
monster’s head, knocking it unconscious. They prepare to slay it when Odin
appears and restores the monster to its natural form, a tiny frog. The
All-Father explains that his purpose was to prove his warriors ready for
Ragnarok and they succeeded mightily. They return to Asgard where Odin, sensing
some friction between Volstagg and his wife, tells Hildegund that her husband was
the hero of the day. At the ensuing feast, Volstagg is once again happy to have
a wife.