Doctor Strange sits at home, detecting a ripple in the
cosmic ether signaling a shift in the balance between Good and Evil. Wong then
admits a frantic Eric Masterson asking for help in recovering Mjolnir which as
stolen by Mephisto…
...who has returned to his own dark realm and stands before the
Soul Shroud containing Thor Odinson and mocking the hero. He plants the cane in
the living rock so Thor can see it forever and despair….
Eric insists on journeying alone into the Mephisto’s realm, Strange
prepares him for his adventure: he gives him an amulet, a talisman that can
change shape, in Eric’s hands it looks like a handgun, and a ring that will
enable him to find his way to his goal. Strange also warns him that he can
maintain the spell that keeps him in the dark realm only as long as the Brazier
of Bom’Galiath burns. The mystic vapors send Eric into the enemy’s realm where
he discovers that the amulet renders him invisible to the demons. He crosses a
fiery chasm by inching along a rope but loses the amulet, bringing him to the
attention of Mephisto. The bad guy expels Strange from the realm so Strange
seeks the aid of a powerful ally in space….
Eric runs through the realm pursued by demons. He fires the
gun which at times gives forth a stream of ice, at others electric rays. Eric
then faces Mephisto and appears doomed but then the Silver Surfer arrives,
answering Strange’s summons. As the two immortal enemies clash in epic terms,
while discoursing on the nature and fate of mankind, Eric fights off demons and
discovers the Soul Shroud. He is overpowered and held down by demons until a
glowing indistinct figure attacks the demons with blasts from his hand. Eric wonders
if it could be Thor and the figure indicates the cane and vanishes into the
Shroud. Eric takes the cane, strikes it on the ground, and becomes Thor. Now feeling
confident to tackle Mephisto, his time runs out. As Strange’s spell fails, the
Silver Surfer vanishes and Eric, unable to take the Soul Shroud, is transported
back to Strange’s home. There, he pleads to go back but Strange is not up to
casting the spell again, especially now that Mephisto will be prepared for them
this time. Eric asks the Surfer who warns that seeing Thor could have been a
product of the enemy’s deception….
Eric, occupied with uncertainly but knowing he was able to
act the hero without the Thor powers, returns to his apartment to find an
eviction notice….