Comic Browser:

Thor #496

Mar 1996

William Messner-Loebs, Mike Deodato Jr.

Story Name:

Doin' the Zodiac Rag

Synopsis

Thor #496 synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Rating:

Story continued from CAPTAIN AMERICA #449.

Manhattan has been enclosed in a dome which is draining all power in the city while Zodiac goons are terrorizing the streets. Captain America has just fought his way across town to Enchantresses' apartment to find Thor who he learns has lost his divine powers. A horde of Zodiac thugs invades; the equally powerless Amora presses a few button and automatic weapons fire takes down the invaders. It turns out the bullets are rubber and filled with a heart relaxant so the thugs aren't dead. But the guns shut down too soon, indicating they are also losing power. Questioning the captive crooks, Amora learns they entered New York through a dimensional portal located ten blocks away; Thor gives her a passionate goodbye kiss and he and Cap head out. In the street they are mobbed by an army of baddies; powerless but still strong Thor borrows Cap's shield and smashes his way through but loses the shield when it lands on a rooftop. So Cap and Thor pull off a frontal assault on the building, recover the shield, lay out all of this group of bad guys and continue over the rooftops. They encounter a burning building with a family trapped inside; they choose to delay their mission in order to save lives. As they continue through the streets, civilization erodes, with them having to battle thieves, looters, gangs, snipers, and killers. They reach the final blocks to find a neighborhood suspiciously peaceful; it's not a trap but a street where the inhabitants of a home for the blind have fought off the enemy. Their leader, Lorna Nichols, directs them to an underground path to the Zodiac-controlled subway station. They enter and demand the Zodiac gang surrender—and they do. (“There is an advantage to having a decent reputation” says Cap.) As they ponder how to destroy the portal, another one appears....

Story continues in IRON MAN #326.

Review / Commentaries

Thor #496 Review by Peter Silvestro (May 6, 2019)

Review: Wall-to-wall action scenes shore up a thin plot (think about it: the story for this installment can be summed up as “Thor and Cap walk ten blocks”) which is good up to a point. Unfortunately, the art is that typical 90s mess with grotesquely bulked up bodies with flying hair that leaves me wondering why Thor's pecs don't hurt.

Comments: Part two of a crossover story arc in the wake of THE CROSSING event; collected in AVENGERS/IRON MAN: FIRST SIGN.

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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

William Messner-Loebs

Mike Deodato Jr.

Marie Javins

Mike Deodato Jr. (Cover Penciler)
Mike Deodato Jr. (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Captain America
(Steven Rogers)

Enchantress
(Amora)

Thor
(Odinson)

Plus: Zodiac.

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Thor #496

Doin' the Zodiac Rag

Synopsis

Review / Commentaries