Massive
thunderstorms are covering the Earth and Thor is concerned. The air elemental
Zephyr appears to him, then abruptly vanishes; he recalls his romance with her
a thousand years earlier….
Thor
is summoned by Heimdall to the ruins of Asgard. There, Heimdall informs him
that he has seen the cause of the upheavals: a massive object, the size of a
planet, has emerged from hyperspace to enter Earth’s solar system where it is
affecting the movements of the planets. Thor heads out to meet it….
In
flight, he recalls a day many centuries ago, when he was losing at dice to some
gamblers in a tavern. Out of cash, Thor wagered a magic ruby that had the power
to soften the heart of anyone toward its bearer. Thor rolled the dice and again
lost but the ruby was now gone from the table. The gamblers suspected Thor of
trying to pull a trick on him so Thor called down lightning, hurling them out
of the windows. He then realized the serving wench must have taken the ruby
while refilling their mugs….
In
space, Thor reaches the interloper and recognizes it as Ego the Living Planet.
He descends to the surface with a clash of thunder to attract Ego’s attention
and demands to know why Ego is there. Ego refuses to answer, insisting it is
none of Thor’s business. Thor moves away, planning to hit Ego with a godblast
to render him unconscious—but the Thunder God is interrupted by the cosmic
being called the Stranger. The Stranger warns Thor not to interfere with Ego’s
destiny. Thor asks why the Stranger should care. Stranger replies, “I am his
creator” and blasts Thor out into space….