Ulik rises from the sewer, seeking revenge against Thor….
At the hospital, Eric Masterson is still confused and feeling
unworthy after having the power of Thor transferred to him last issue. He is permitted
to visit Susan Austin in the ICU even though she is still in a coma; he realizes
how much she means to him. In the waiting room, Eric meets Jerry Sapristi who
introduces him to Susan’s sexy roommate, Leena Moran (who is really the
Enchantress). Eric then spots what is happening outside: Ulik rising from the
sewers to battle Marcus Stone and the cops of Code: Blue. Eric turns into Thor
and races to the scene, where the cops have placed a trio of transmitters
around Ulik and, activating them, have trapped the monster in an electrified
stasis shield. But Thor arrives on the scene and overzealously leaps on Ulik,
shorting out the stasis field, freeing him. Ulik’s sense of smell tells him
this is not the usual Thor and he batters the rookie Thunder God around and
escapes into the subway tunnels below. The battered Thor gets an alert from
Captain America and, not wanting Cap to see the unfamiliar face, tells him that
Thor is out to lunch. Yes and even he realizes how stupid that sounds. Stone approaches
Thor who flies away to avoid embarrassing questions, and crashes down on a
rooftop. Cursing himself for a clumsy, amateurish fool, he returns to his
apartment and vows to try harder; first thing is designing a new costume for Thor….
A few days later, Eric has picked up his new suit from the
tailor (while a gorgeous clerk flirts with him) and arrives at a meatpacking
plant where Code: Blue has cornered Ulik, who had smashed his way in seeking
food. Thor battles Ulik, surprising both the villain and the police by fighting
dirty, eventually beating the Troll to a pulp. As the police take Ulik away, Eric
introduces himself to Marcus Stone as the new Thor and his next mission will be
finding out what happened to the old Thor. With a tap of Mjolnir he stops the
rain and takes off….