The Cycles Of Ragnarok!

The final months of 2004 saw the Avengers decimated by the events of Marvel's DISASSEMBLED story arc--bringing an end to the book as well as several of its characters, even as the crisis trickled down to both Captain America and the Falcon and Invincible Iron Man. The elephant in the room, however--or, rather, not in the room--was the God of Thunder, Thor, the one Avenger you'd think would have been at the forefront of the charge as the Avengers faced their deadliest hour; but Thor would have to be classified as M.I.A., since he was hardly spared Marvel's "scorched Earth" approach that swept through its flagship titles during this time. On the contrary, the Thunder God's entire existence was being disassembled, as Asgard faced the cataclysm of Ragnarok--the Ragnarok, the definitive holocaust of the gods from which this time there would be no escape.

There have been several Ragnarok "false alarms" in the pages of Mighty Thor, among them the story by Roy Thomas that staved off Ragnarok by fulfilling it to a certain extent. (Which, granted, sounds a little like curing the disease by killing the patient.) But this time, in a six-part story that closes out the Thor title, the end of days for the gods actually arrives, though there would be some important differences from the original prophecy divulged by the Asgardian known as Volla. The most important difference is that Odin will not be present, having met his own end three years prior while joining Thor and the Designate (a/k/a Thor Girl) in battle against Surtur.  Volla didn't say anything about a Thor Girl, did she?

Following Odin's death, Thor becomes ruler of Asgard and holder of the Odin-power, eventually coming into conflict with both Cap and Iron Man when he presumes to assert Asgard's will in the affairs of Earth. But when the days of Asgard become numbered, Thor's comrades are by his side to witness the beginning of the end, at least to a point.

The appearance of Iron Man and Cap in Thor fulfills the obligatory tie-in with the Disassembled event, though it's really only the timing of Ragnarok that connects the two since none of the characters make reference to the crisis that occurs in The Avengers. But it's a satisfactory lead-in to this arc, since it makes clear that even Thor feels the end has come, and he understandably doesn't want the Avengers to become collateral damage.

And there's certainly enough of that to go around, as Loki and his forces have destroyed the cream of Asgard's finest while even innocents are cut down in their rage. The forces of Asgard now amount to a large group of refugees, attempting to regroup and continue the struggle even knowing their likely fate--while Thor finds that he no longer possesses the Odin-power, with which he could turn the tide in a heartbeat. (Debatable, since the Odin-power didn't do Odin much good in Volla's prophecy.) It's a much deeper look into Ragnarok by writers Michael Oeming and Daniel Berman and artist Andrea DiVito than we've typically been given by previous creative teams, as we see various parts of this vast kingdom succumb to death and destruction in brutal skirmishes that offer no real hope.

Nevertheless, Thor rallies his forces and spurs them on, in a repeating cycle of triumphs and tragedies that see a number of characters previously featured in Thor appear once more to take part in this final fight. It's one of the finest Thor stories in the title's history, and a six-issue page-turner by any measure.

Eventually, Thor leaves Beta Ray Bill briefly in charge so that he may "seek the wisdom of Odin" in solitude. In doing so, he's visited by the personification of the Odin-power, which leads him on a path that puts his entire life in perspective--a path that takes him to Yggdrasil, the world-tree, and the ritual that Odin once undertook to gain wisdom. After an encounter with the spirit of Odin, he finds himself standing before Those Who Sit Above In Shadow, as the perfidy of the cycle of Ragnarok is at last revealed.

To accomplish what he vows, Thor realizes that Ragnarok must indeed occur. To that end, he bargains with Surtur: the repair of his damaged hammer, Mjolnir, in exchange for Thor's word that he will not interfere in the final death and destruction which Surtur will mete. Surtur, as Thor expects, is delighted to accommodate him--and when Thor uses Mjolnir to blast a path for Surtur to Vanaheim, the final clash soon begins.

Bill, while eager to join his friends in their struggle, is removed from the battle by Thor, for the same reasons he turned down the help of Cap and Iron Man--only it stands to reason that Thor also didn't wish for Bill's power to possibly stem the offensive of Surtur and thus hold off what must come to pass. It's a sad farewell between the two "oath-brothers," and signals to the reader that the end is imminent.

With the forces of Asgard falling to Surtur and his demons, Thor, with the glowing form of the Odin-power and the disembodied head of Loki in tow, appears in the realm of the Fates, in sight of a tapestry that has included all the cycles of Ragnarok to date. Only to achieve what he must, Thor knows that there must be no further weaving--and no further cycles.

With his hammer's strike, the key thread is severed and Yggdrasil is rent asunder, while the celestial beings known as Those Who Sit Above In Shadow are destroyed, having no further cycles of Ragnarok to sustain them.

Curiously, no mention is made of Earth in this tale, the fate of which has always been speculated to be tied to Ragnarok; in addition, the door is left open for Thor's return, whom we know would eventually be joined by the other Asgardians. Not to disparage the grand intent of this fine tale, but that sounds an awful lot like another cycle to me.