Prologue: Thor muses on the dead worlds he has visited and wonders what he could do to stop those who are destroying it….
In the Antarctic, SHIELD Agent Rosalind Solomon, a rookie with an environmental law degree, pilots an amphibious craft in search of the Japanese underwater whaling fleet which has been preying on endangered whales. Finding a Yashida Industries sub, she challenges it in the name of SHIELD; they respond with torpedoes, wrecking Roz’s craft and forcing her into the water in a diving suit. Suddenly Thor arrives and takes on the Yashida divers, while Roz is called away to a more pressing matter….
In Alaska, the new young Roxxon CEO Dario "The Minotaur" Agger unveils his newest initiative: mining ice from Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, to save Earth’s water supply. Roz Solomon arrives and denounces him for his latest scheme to look environmentally conscious while profiting from savaging Earth’s resources. Then Thor shows up, bearing a massive chunk of ice captured from Jotunheim. Thor departs with a warning while Agger repairs to Roxxon Island, fuming about the billions in lost revenue from Thor’s stunt…and then he starts to change…. Thor suggests talking the matter over with Roz but she puts him off until tomorrow….
The scene then shifts to the far future: King Thor, accompanied by the Goddesses of Thunder, Atli, Ellisiv, and Frigg Wodensdottir, surveys the desolate Midgard, recalling the days when it was blue and lovely. Thor is trying to regrow the Earth’s vegetation but it doesn’t seem to be working. Frigg suggests Thor let Midgard go. Thor thinks she may be right—but then Galactus arrives….