Thor #486: Review

May 1995

Roy Thomas, M. C. Wyman

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

Story Name:

The Coming of Kurse!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Thor #486 Review by Peter Silvestro (March 5, 2024)

Review: So who is mightier than Thor? Kurse for one and in this issue Kurse is tricked into believing Thor is his enemy Malekith and there’s a big battle. The opening battle against regular crooks (well-equipped regular crooks but still regular crooks) is rather amusing and Jane Foster manages to sneak in some soap opera stuff. The sight of the Midgard Serpent looming over the sity is one scary image, leading into the next issue’s cover.

Comments: Part two of five parts. Now a good guy, Kurse has been living in Asgard as Heimdall’s houseguest since #381-382. Lorelei is really Malekith in disguise. Nidhogg the dragon was introduced in issue #339, Fafnir the hulking giant first appeared in issue #294 and killed in #298, Forsung the Enchanter lasted from issues #143 to 145, Fafnir the tubby dragon was around longer, appearing first in #134 and dying in 343, Ice Giants are a category as are the Ice Dwarves seen here for the first time. Jon Babcock contributed to the lettering.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Thor #486 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

A trio of bad guys with heavy armor and weapons rob a downtown bank, overwhelming the police. Then Thor arrives, calling on the crooks to surrender; he shrugs off their bullets and Sif chops up their guns with her sword. The last baddie tries to escape in their armored car but Sif leaps in front of it and the car plows into a wall. Witnesses are sure Sif is dead but Thor moves the car and she is there unharmed, apologizing for her foot slipping. The crowd cheers and she and Thor depart, the Thunder God explaining annoying hero worship to Sif. They renew their commitment to one another on Midgard….

On the Rainbow Bridge, Heimdall is assaulted by his houseguest Kurse who beats him brutally and departs, despite Heimdall’s job being to keep people from entering, not leaving. Kurse climbs down the branches of Yggdrasil until he reaches Hel where he seeks Malekith to wreak his vengeance upon. The interloper defeats guard dog Garm and some dead soldiers. Hela takes him on but Kurse can even defeat her, burying her under a pile of rubble [Spoiler: It’s not really Hela]. Kurse then encounters Lorelei who tells him that Malekith is not there, he drew on Kurse’s power to facilitate his own escape to Midgard. [Spoiler: Lorelei here is Malekith in disguise]….

Thor reports to the High Evolutionary by telescreen that the work of repairing HE’s New York lab is completed. Jimmy Kincaid hears this and tells his mother Jane Foster who still sorrows over the realization that she will never be Thor’s beloved….

The ground trembles so Thor and Sif investigate to find Kurse and some dead soldiers wreaking havoc. Thor challenges him but an enchantment makes Kurse see the Thunder God as his enemy Malekith so he attacks him. Thor tries to straighten things out with the mad Kurse while Sif takes on the dead warriors, wrecking the neighborhood. Kurse, twice as strong as Thor, delivers a mighty beating and then his real allies arrive: the Midgard Serpent looms over the city as more arrive, all from the Realm of the Dead: Nidhogg, Fafnir the Giant, Forsung the Enchanter, Fafnir the Dragon, an Ice Giant, and a pair of Ice Dwarves….