Prologue: At the beginning of all things, Odin and his brothers slew the giant Ymir and created the universe from his body. Then Odin created the race of Dwarves and when he needed a great weapon, he had the dwarf smith Eitri create a mold from the heart of a sun and forged Mjolnir, the mighty hammer. With this weapon, Odin slew the giant Laufey and adopted the giant’s son Loki as his own, raising him as brother to his son Thor. When Thor came of age, Odin gave him Mjolnir and Loki burned with jealousy and plotted revenge. Loki sought out the mold to create another such hammer and Eitri attempted to hide it but the mold and its creator were lost in the great river Vuluspa. Now Loki has finally located his prize….
All the gods of Asgard assemble to attend the funeral of Eitri. Suddenly the Dwarves’ mountain is shaken by the blows of Surtur the Fire Demon forging copies of Mjolnir. The funeral is invaded by Loki and his allies—Fenris the Wolf, Ulik the Troll, and Hyrm the Frost Giant, each armed with a demon-forged hammer—who do battle with the Aesir, killing many. Thor attacks his foes and Mjolnir meets its evil counterparts in a massive explosion that devastates the mountains, leaving a smoking crater. Mjolnir is broken into three pieces. Loki then blasts Thor sending him to the bottom of the sea where, he is attacked by the Midgard Serpent. Despairing that he is the only survivor of Asgard, Thor summons his friends on Earth—Captain America and Iron Man—and is drawn to their world where the waters put out a fire they had been fighting. Thor then mutters the call, "Avengers assemble.…"