Weeks ago in the ruins of Asgardia,
All-Father Odin, brooding over his failures as a god and a father,
ordered his brother Cul Borson to infiltrate the Dark Elves as a way
of redeeming himself; Cul suggested that Odin killing himself would
be the easier option. Odin sent Cul to Svartalfheim but Cul vows that
when he returns he is taking the crown.... Odin goes looking for mead
from the dwarves and Thor arrives in need of replacement hammers.
Against all of his better judgment, Odin picks a fight with Thor,
mocking his love for the doomed Midgard; Thor tries to brush it off
but Odin grabs him, insisting Thor can depart only with Odin's
permission. Thor backhands him across the face, telling him to stay
out of everyone's way; Odin clouts Thor with a hammer of his own. The
two start exchanging blows as well as taunts while the blind Heimdall
weeps....
In Jotunheim, Sir Stonesnow appears
before giant King Laufey seeking justice: Loki has turned Stonesnow's son
into a frog. Loki explains that it was in retaliation for the boy
mocking the throne i.e. Loki, son of the king. Laufey tells Loki that
if he would not be mocked he must stand up for himself and orders him
to kill the frog. Loki refuses so Laufey squashes the frog and
disowns Loki, ordering him out of the court. On his way out, Loki
meets Malekith who tells him to be ready for the War of the Realms;
Loki assures him he will be there. Malekith does not trust Loki (who
does?) and dispatches some of his elves to assassinate the
trickster....
As we see a panorama showing Thor
growing up and his father Odin disdaining him, we return to the
father-son slugging match. Odin is silently recalling his beatings at
the hands of his father Bor, the only time he knew his father cared.
Odin loves Thor but he doesn't know how to tell him. He has always
known that Thor is a better god than he and resented him for it all
these years. Odin tells Thor to go ahead and kill him and then he
will finally be proud of him. Balder pulls Thor away from the old man
and the Thunder God departs, rejecting his father....
Balder goes to New York to meet with
Freyja who knows Thor now needs his mother....
Odin summons Tony Stark to talk to as
someone who knows what rock bottom feels like....
Odin realizes that the only thing he
ever taught his son was “to not be like me.”