Worlds Will Fall To... The World Beyond!

Having spent nine years (!) writing the continuous adventures of Thor in Journey Into Mystery, Mighty Thor, fifteen issues of The Avengers, and numerous guest appearances, Stan Lee would relinquish the reins on Thor's solo series by recycling a previous plot of Loki getting his hands on the Odin-ring (you'd think Odin would learn to avoid leaving his you-can-rule-Asgard-with-this-ring jewelry just lying around) into a new story that would be wrapped up by Gerry Conway. Yet just before reaching that point, at the beginning of 1971, Lee and artist John Buscema would turn in some noteworthy work on a five-part epic that featured a well-conceived plot that appeared to have everything a Thor reader could ask: a looming and ominous threat to the entire universe... a seemingly hopeless cause... the Goddess of Death... a mysterious new character... the approaching doom of Ragnarok... a siege on Asgard from Loki... a surprising twist on the story's main villain... and the end of life on planet Earth--all for the bargain price of 15¢ a copy, which worked out to 75¢ for the entire story. Think of what you're paying today for a single issue, and the budding Bronze Age of comics publishing looked pretty good, eh?

As for the nature of this threat--Thor, summoned back to Asgard, receives the grim news from Odin himself of the danger which the realm now suddenly faces. Harbingers of doom which appear to emanate from an indistinct... region? place? planet? ... known as the World Beyond.

(You may have noticed that Thor doesn't look so "unarmed" here. What's Mr. Caption up to?)

And there's more news that further muddies the waters: Thor's comrades Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg, dispatched to probe the World Beyond, have failed to return--while Odin has ruled out Galactus, Mangog, and even Loki as possible culprits of the disturbance that spreads across the stars. (It's not often that you hear the words "Loki" and "innocent" spoken by anyone in Asgard.)

Yet there is one other enigma to be scrutinized as one which might hold the key to this entire mystery--a figure which Thor isn't willing to let stand idly by when answers are needed.

And so where does this leave the Asgardians? A threat to the realm--to the universe--which demands a response, but a threat which even a warrior race has come to dread as if Ragnarok can't be far behind. Where do you go from here? If you're the God of Thunder, who craves action and who seems the best choice to be tapped to confront the danger of the World Beyond, you can't help but be shocked by the decision your liege comes to without any apparent deliberation, or explanation--particularly after meeting an intruder known only as the Silent One.

Keeping in mind that this is a five-part story (though at this point the reader turning the pages in 1971 has no way of knowing that), Lee likely wishes to explore the mystery of the World Beyond in stages; and if Thor is left to guard the realm, that implies that Thor, the title character of this book, will be occupied doing just that. Which brings us to none other than Loki, who has noted Odin's departure and who now seizes the opportunity to return from exile and gather sufficient forces to storm the gates of Asgard.

The upside is that Buscema, as you might imagine, does a little storming of his own with his first all-out Asgardian battle scenes.

How curious that, with the exception of Sif, no other Asgardians have joined Thor in battle here, an omission which stands out like a sore thumb. Would Sif and Balder (along with Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg, if they were present) be the only Asgardians drawing their swords in this battle? Are all the rest cowering in darkened corners at the thought of the World Beyond, even with hordes of known enemies at Asgard's very door? Nor does it occur to either Lee or Buscema to have Thor rally them to his side. Though if Thor's prowess here is any indication, all of the other warriors who opted out of defending their realm might as well consider themselves "dunsels."

The crisis passed (this crisis, at least), those warriors who are present are witness to a chilling omen of things to come.

It would be several years, of course, before the word "Infinity" would achieve wider recognition in comics fiction. For now, though, it remains another piece of the puzzle of the World Beyond, and, more directly, whatever force(s) that Odin is facing. This time, Thor is adamant about his course of action, and he immediately sets off to join his father's side.

But Thor's search for Odin is not without impediment, as the Thunder God learns when he is approached and attacked on sight by a sentry which allows no one to pass unbidden--a foe that will not go down to defeat as easily as an army of battle-hardened trolls or storm giants. But even this "Guardian" must fear the master he serves--a being whose resounding name reveals him to be the enemy whose dark hand reaches out to engulf the universe.

With that, Infinity withdraws, leaving Thor understandably slack-jawed. Yet he is soon approached by the Silent One--and silent he still remains, despite Thor's attempts to again force him to reveal his secrets, the most important of all to Thor at the moment being the whereabouts of his father. But the Silent One does reveal crucial information regarding Infinity--a portent of what may eventually befall Odin should Thor not reach him in time.

For what it's worth, it's something of a relief to discover that Infinity isn't destroying the worlds it "crushes" so much as the will of their collective inhabitants--cold comfort to them, of course, and obviously just as distressing to Thor, but it does provide the Thunder God with a measure of time in which to act without the prospect of imminent death befalling the people of other worlds still in Infinity's path.

And speaking of enslaved wills, Thor at last learns, to his dismay, the fate of his three comrades who also came to this place to learn more of its threat.

And what of Odin? It appears he's gone head to head with Infinity, and still fights on--with the Silent One, once more at his side, eerily maintaining his presence within sight of the lord of Asgard.

Yet though this conflict is yet far from man or god, the effects of Infinity's literal grab for power are being felt by both Earth and Asgard, which reel from the approaching cataclysm in their own way. For Earth, the planet's weather is causing severe flooding--while on Asgard, the Odin-sword slowly but ever so steadily pulls itself from its scabbard, a sure indication of the approaching end of the world.

It would seem that the power of Thor is needed more than ever--but with his hammer crossing the void in order to deliver its godly trio to Asgard, the elapsed time before it can return to its master's hand has become too great to prevent a transformation which will leave the Thunder God helpless in a hostile environment, and in sight of an enemy that rises once again to destroy him.

So that's where Mr. Caption was going. Well played, sir. Well played.

NEXT:

"Worlds At War!"? Catchy, but what worlds? The ones blinking out of existence?