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Thor Annual #16: Review

Jan 1991
Tom DeFalco, Alex Trimpe

Story Name:

The Future Dies Now

Review & Comments

Rating:
3 stars

Thor Annual #16 Review by (March 31, 2015)
Comments: Of all the wielders of Mjolnir throughout the years, I like Dargo Ktor the least. That said, this crossover issue was handled better than the “Atlantis Attacks” crossover from Thor Annual #14. At least this issue can be enjoyed without reading the entire series. Also, I always liked the original Guardians of the Galaxy, and they were well utilized in this story. However, there are a lot of sci fi clichés of the evil-corporations-are-the-future variety in this issue, and the overall quality of the story and art is pretty low. Unlike Dargo Ktor, however, I love Beta Ray Bill, and his short story here really does a lot to redeem the issue for me.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Thor Annual #16 Synopsis by Seahammer

Credits:

Plot: Tom DeFalco
Script: Len Kaminski
Layouts: Alex Trimpe
Inks: Fred Fredricks
Letters: Gary Fields and Chris Eliopoulos
Colors: Ed Lazellari

Characters: Dargo Ktor, Yondu, Martinex, Starhawk, Charlie-27, Vance Astro, Nikki, Varley, Salla

Synopsis:

            This story is the second chapter of The Korvac Quest.  It follows Fantastic Four Annual #4.

            In the year 2591, giant corporations have replaced governments as the ruling bodies on Earth.  One citizen, Dargo Ktor, has fought back against the abusive corporations by wielding Mjolnir and the power of Thor (as told in THOR #384).  Now, Dargo Ktor and his wife Salla live a normal life as employees of the corporation, while secretly fights as the 26th Century Thor.

            Meanwhile, the 31st Century Guardians of the Galaxy have been travelling through time tracking the power of Korvac.  It has fled the 20th Century, and the Guardians have followed it to the 26thMartinex explains that the power will seek out one of Korvac’s ancestors in this era, and it is their mission to contain or diffuse the energy before it can return to Korvac in the 31st Century.

            At that moment, Varley, a disgruntled employee of the corporation and co-worker of Dargo’s, is sorting through the mail in the corporate mailroom when he suddenly gains immense power.  He uses that power to overthrow the chairman of the corporation and take control.  The Guardians sense the appearance of Korvac’s power and descend on Varley, but he defeats them.  Varley then goes on the 26th Century equivalent of TV and reveals that he has take control of the corporation.  He shows the captured Guardians of the Galaxy as proof of their power.  Dargo sees this, and goes to fight Varley.

            Dargo frees the Guardians and together they fight against Varley.  However, Varley continuously proves himself to be too powerful for them, and they flee.  Eventually, Dargo comes up with a plan.  When Varley fires a beam of energy at Dargo, he captures it in a dimensional rift, and redirects it back at Varley.  When it hits him, Varley is reduced to ashes: the only power strong enough to defeat him was his own.  Dargo volunteers to go with the Guardians as they continue to track the power of Korvac across time, but they tell him that he must stay and protect his own time.

            This story is continued in Silver Surfer Annual #4.

 

Title: “Fly Like a Skyhawk

Credits:
Plot: Tom DeFalco
Art: Herb Trimpe
Letters: Jade Moede
Colors: Nel Yomtov

Characters: Skyhawk, Lawrence Covey

Synopsis:

            After saving Lawrence Covey from a suicide attempt, Skyhawk demands that he explain why he tried to kill himself.  Covey tells the story of how he engaged in corporate espionage to destroy his longtime friend and business rival, “Billy Boy.”  This eventually led Billy to massive heart attack that nearly killed him.  Afterwards, Covey lost his edge and couldn’t live with the guilt of what he did.  Then, Skyhawk flew the cynical Covey around the city to show him all the beautiful aspects of life, warning him not to waste his second chance at life.  At the end, it is revealed to the reader that Skyhawk’s secret identity is actually Covey’s friend and rival, Winston “Billy Boy” Manchester.

 

Title: “Child’s Play

Credits:
Plot: Tom DeFalco
Art: Herb Trimpe
Letters: Jade Moede
Colors: Nel Yomtov

Characters: Wind-Warrior, Earth Lord, Silver Sable

Synopsis:

            When Pamela Shaw witnesses the kidnapping of a baby in the park, she transforms into Wind-Warrior and pursues the kidnappers.  She disarms two of them, but the third—the one carrying the baby—makes his way to a waiting limousine.  Wind-Warrior’s ally, Earth Lord, shows up, just as Silver Sable steps out of the limo.  She holds a gun up to the baby’s head and demands that Wind-Warrior stop.  Then, she reveals that the baby’s mother—who has custody of the baby—is her client, and Silver Sable is retrieving the baby from its mob-boss father.  Silver Sable then reveals that the gun is not real, and invites Wind-Warrior into her limo to discuss some freelance work.

 

Title: “World Gone Mad

Credits:
Writer: Michael Heisler
Penciler: Kevin West
Inker: Bob Petrecca
Letterer: Darren Auck
Colorist: Suzanne Del’Orto

Characters: Beta Ray Bill, Skuttlebutt, Ego the Living Planet

Synopsis:

            Skuttlebutt awakens Beta Ray Bill from his coldsleep to reveal that 75% of their fleet has been pulled into orbit around a nearby planet.  Bill goes to investigate, and is greeted by Ego the Living Planet.  As the fleet fights back against the planet, Bill realizes that Ego’s strongest weapon is control over gravity.  Bill lands on a calm spot on Ego’s surface and creates a magnetic field with an opposite polarity of Ego’s own, which begins to release Ego’s energy into space.  Bill stops, in exchange for Ego releasing his fleet.

            Then, Ego relates the story of THOR #133, and how he was nearly destroyed by Galactus.  Even though Ego survived, Galactus affixed a giant engine to Ego’s south pole that propelled him through space, away from his original home.  The propulsion unit also sapped a great deal of energy from Ego.  After what seemed to Ego like eons of wandering through space, he was forced to consume small planets and passing ships for energy.  Bill and his people agreed to destroy the propulsion unit in return for Ego’s promise not to destroy any other ships.

            However, as soon as the unit was destroyed and Ego’s full power returned, he demanded that Bill and his people live on his surface.  When Bill declined, Ego once again attacked Bill’s fleet, not wanting to be abandoned.  This time, Bill defeated Ego by opening a portal in space through which Ego’s gravitational pull drew a comet, which painfully struck his surface.  When Ego called Bill “triumphant,” Bill lamented that he lost so many ships and people from his fleet in the battle that he could not consider it a triumph.  Bill and his fleet then depart, leaving Ego to once again wander alone through space.



Story #2

World Gone Mad

Writer: Michael Heisler. Penciler: Kevin West. Inker: Bob Petrecca. Colorist: Suzanne Delorto. Letterer: Darren Auck.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

By None


Preview Pages
Click sample interior pages to enlarge them:




Alex Trimpe
Fred Fredericks
Ed Lazarelli
Al Milgrom (Cover Penciler)
Al Milgrom (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Thor
Thor

(Odinson)



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