To Save The Future, The Thunder God Must Die!

 

As we've already seen to a certain extent, the circumstances in which the mighty Thor and the Shi'ar warrior known as Gladiator have met in battle are somewhat tricky to navigate through, given that in two of those instances, one of these warriors happens to exist in another time. In their first meeting, Thor (along with Iron Man and the Fantastic Four) has travelled to the year 2020, thirty years into the future; in another, it's Gladiator who is sent back several centuries to Thor's present (in 2001). Only in 1992 did Thor and Gladiator meet in the same time period (i.e., our own), during the events of Operation: Galactic Storm; yet Thor's identity during that time had been assumed by the mortal Eric Masterson, which technically made this clash their first.

Still with me so far? Well, we'll fix that:

And so, when Thor and Gladiator meet for a third time, in 2001, this would actually be only their second meeting, since this time it would be the genuine Thor showing up and not Masterson; and because Gladiator is traveling back from what would become an alternate time period (the storyline in Thor's book known as the Reigning), you could say that they're meeting for the first time in 2001, even though this Gladiator almost certainly recalls their meeting from 2020 (just as Thor does).

How we all kept sane during our years of comic book reading is beyond me.

Regardless, we now come to the third second! aw heck, third battle between Thor and Gladiator--and just for kicks, why don't we add Thor Girl to the mix while we're at it?

 

As for why Gladiator, centuries removed from his own time, has come seeking Thor in 2001, we'll have to take things step by step, starting with his efforts upon his arrival to "flush out" Thor--currently in his third human guise of Jake Olson, who would have the misfortune of getting clipped by Gladiator's heat vision while trying to protect Amanda, the daughter of a close friend. Gladiator could have done himself a favor by leaving the girl out of their altercation--but the man's arrogance knows no bounds, which gives Olson the opportunity to bring in his better half.

A brutal battle thus far, with Gladiator having issued only a vague accusation as to his reason for coming after Thor. Naturally, until Gladiator is more forthcoming, Thor by no means intends to simply take the punishment that his foe dishes out--but due to Gladiator's power, and the fact that he appears to be strongly motivated in destroying Thor, the Thunder God finds himself caught up in the momentum of Gladiator's attack all too swiftly.

With Olson once more ablaze, I suppose that puts to rest the supposition that any injuries suffered by Thor's human form vanish once the change is made to Thor, though if memory serves there's evidence to the contrary in prior issues of Thor's title--perhaps a moot point, with Olson being incinerated before our eyes.

Meanwhile, look who we find monitoring the battle in the future--none other than Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man, who has sent Gladiator back on his mission of murder and who is so excited to admit to it that he misspells his own last name.

But what of Olson? Thinking quickly, Amanda manages to save his life--but was it only to see him lose his life at the hand of Gladiator, along with perhaps her own? Not if Thor Girl has anything to say about it!

We would learn the full story behind Tarene, the Designate, when Asgard is threatened by the god-killer named Desak. All that the Asgardians realize for now is that the Designate has a sacred fate awaiting her, and thus must be kept safe from harm. Tarene, however, being young and testing her boundaries, isn't really interested in being kept on the sidelines--but in Gladiator, she faces a determined foe, who can't afford to stray from his mission.

Meanwhile, one of Olson's paramedic friends has removed him from the battle scene. However, unknown to anyone, her appearance is a facade--and instead of heading to a hospital, we learn that she is well aware of exactly what Olson needs to regain the ability to defend himself against his would-be murderer. But, hard on her heels, that killer is only moments from striking, and the transformation she seeks to trigger cannot come an instant too soon.

For his part, Gladiator is convinced that he has no other recourse here; whatever it is he's seen of Thor's actions in the far future has made him desperate to kill Thor in the here and now so that he'll be unable to make that future come to pass. For Thor, however, his choice is clear: Stop Gladiator's rampage and save those mortals he has endangered in the course of his mission.

Clearly it's fair to wonder at this point if Tarene has any boundaries.

However, another crisis has erupted, this one in Asgard during Thor's absence, as Ulik and his hordes have invaded with the intention of slaying Odin while undergoing his Odin-sleep--and so the lady Sif has journeyed to Earth to plead for Thor's return. Yet both Sif and Thor are then surprised by the arrival of Odin himself, who has secured Asgard and begins to assess the current situation--one which has its share of shocking surprises, and, unfortunately, all-too-predictable behavior.

As usual, Odin shoots from the hip in his rash treatment of Thor, whose death from severe burns is imminent now that he can no longer transform into Thor. Don't look now, Gladiator, but Odin may have just guaranteed your mission's success.