Thor takes his leave of his fellow Avengers (Captain America,
Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, Gilgamesh) to search out whether he has a home
on Earth any longer. He is suddenly struck with a wave of nausea which quickly
passes….
In Asgard, Balder tries to apologize to Odin for allowing
the realm to be invaded by the forces of Seth (issues #396-400) but Odin’s real
concern is why Thor did not take the throne in his absence. Then Odin is
overcome with a sudden bout of sickness and summons the Grand Vizier….
Elsewhere is Asgard, Amora the Enchantress is distraught,
fearing her wounded sister Lorelei may die. Then Skurge the Executioner appears
before her—despite his being dead….
In a New York sewer, Mongoose is trying to persuade
Quicksand to team up with him against Thor; as an incentive, he demonstrates
that his employers can cure her of her condition with a simple device that
makes her human again. She is delighted and Mongoose is surprised to learn she
is Asian (Vietnamese, specifically) but the change wears off all too quickly;
Mongoose suggests his employers can effect a permanent cure. As she sets out
after the God of Thunder, Mongoose meets with his liaison, an armored man (later
revealed to be Tagar) whose master wants tissue samples from Thor….
Thor returns to the construction site in his Sigurd Jarlson
guise, just in time for disgruntled ex-employee Brute Benhurst to come after
Jerry Sapristi; after a scuffle, Sigurd easily overpowers him and the cops take
Benhurst away, shouting revenge against Sigurd. Eric Masterson, roughed up in
the incident, is okay as is his son Kevin. When the police depart, Quicksand
sees her chance….
In Asgard, Hela, Goddess of Death arrives to claim Lorelei;
Amora pleads with Skurge to fight her. Skurge reveals that the only way for Lorelei
to be saved will be for Amora to volunteer to take her place—and so she and
Skurge can be together again for eternity. But Amora balks at that whole death
thing and Hela takes Lorelei. Skurge is disappointed and Amora guilty as the Executioner
fades away….
At the construction site, Quicksand attacks Jerry Sapristi,
knowing he is a friend of Thor’s. Sigurd sneaks off to return as Thor and give
battle. There is a lot of property damage as the two spar but then Thor is
summoned back to Asgard by the Grand Vizier on Odin’s orders; Thor must refuse as
people are in danger so the Vizier hurries off to inform Odin….
In Asgard, Amora says farewell to the sleeping Heimdall and
sets out to find a champion willing to sacrifice his life that she may live
forever….
“The Golden Hair of Glimda”
Writer: Tom DeFalco. Art: Tom Morgan. Colors: Evelyn Stein.
Letters: Mike Heisler.
Synopsis: Glimda is the beauty of Asgard because of her lush
and flowing red hair. The jealous young Loki stealthily cuts off her hair one
night and she is devastated. Odin seeks to punish Loki but young Thor pleads
for him to make reparations; Thor takes Loki in search of the Nidalvellir, the
home of the Dwarves. There, Thor asks them to spin new hair for Glimda out of his
golden belt. With her new (literally) golden hair, Glimda is the sensation of
Asgard. Odin relents of the punishment he was going to give Loki and he takes
Thor to replace the belt he “misplaced.” And Loki is angry because his theft of
Glimda’s hair was part of a bigger scheme Thor has unwittingly foiled.