Death To The Son Of Loki!

 

In the pages of Mighty Thor, we've twice seen the fulfilling of prophecy regarding the appearance of Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent--the final foe to burst forth on the dreaded day of Ragnarok, and the creature who is fated to bring about the death of Thor and precede the final, monumental explosion which causes the end of Asgard and all who dwell within. In addition, Jormungand arrived on cue during Odin's plan to fulfill the prophecy's signs himself, so that the conditions of Ragnarok were met but in a way which did not bring about the devastating climax.

As a prelude to that particular story arc, we learn of a time in Thor's past when the Thunder God decided to try to cheat fate (or, in this case, the Norn Fates) by taking on the Serpent earlier than the prophecy foretold--yet Hymir, the giant who accommodates his request to bait a creature without having full knowledge of what Thor intended, doesn't share his passenger's desire for an early confrontation of the Serpent, and certainly not an early death.

And yet, Jormungand, the offspring of Loki (I can't even imagine the mechanics involved in that delivery), is not present when Ragnarok finally does occur. To understand why, we have to turn to artist/writer Walt Simonson's take on the final battle between the Serpent and the God of Thunder which took place in mid-1987--fittingly, near the end of Simonson's run on the title. But as we see, there appears to be another monstrous, tailed, snorting form involved in that story--that of Fin Fang Foom, who has received a good deal of exposure of late in the PPC and whom we've learned Jormungand used as a disguise during his meeting with an unknown warrior that he'd hoped would lead him to Thor. And Thor played along, to a point--but when misconceptions turned to shocking revelations, the die was cast.

Which brings us to the final, destined meeting between Thunder God and Serpent--its unscheduled, flying-in-the-face-of-prophecy nature serving to heighten the tension between both combatants while making this bout a page-turner in more ways than one.

At this point in time, Thor still suffers from a curse inflicted on him by Hela, the Goddess of Death, which rendered his body vulnerable to serious injury and forced him to adopt a suit of armor to protect himself, a suit which now literally holds him together. Whether or not it will be proof against this final clash with the Midgard Serpent remains to be seen--but whatever the result, you'll find no punches pulled here, and no excuses made for whatever the outcome may be.

Readers at the time may have felt a certain familiarity regarding Simonson's decision to render the issue with full-page art nearly throughout (the final page being the exception), coming on the heels as it does of artist John Byrne's similar treatment of an issue of Marvel Fanfare just a few months prior. Here, of course, the stakes are considerably higher--and if Thor indeed has no chance of prevailing against this final threat to his existence, you won't find any indication of it in the bludgeoning scenes that Simonson provides which promise a glorious struggle at the very least.

Another treat here is that Simonson's work is being inked by none other than Sal Buscema, who has done extensive work with Simonson on Thor as both penciller and inker but who here renders some of the finest finishing I've seen from the man. There seems to be some question as to whether Simonson handled full pencils on this issue, despite the story's credits indicating otherwise; apparently the first issue of Rough Stuff (a mag spun off from Back Issue) clarifies that Buscema's contribution was limited strictly to inks. (I made every effort to include the relevant text, but not having the issue of RS at hand made that impossible. If anyone knowledgeable on the subject can shed light on the matter, do chime in.)

However the credits balance out, one can't deny the outstanding results.

It's astonishing how a well-plotted, well-written story can achieve such momentum when limited to full-page scenes without the benefit of continuous panels that would help to set the pace and a feeling of anticipation in building toward the story's final page. Yet here we are, sitting riveted ringside as both parties gird themselves for a final strike which will decide the battle, and their fate. Jormungand appears confident that he will be the one left standi... er, slithering, knowing the role he plays in prophecy and the disadvantage Thor faces in his current state. And Thor? Well, there's no question which of them radiates the most glory, and the greater sense of purpose in facing the moment.

Though it's no small accomplishment dispatching the Midgard Serpent, perhaps it's a pyrrhic victory for the son of Odin given that he nevertheless appears to succumb to the hand that fate dealt him regardless of the absence of Ragnarok itself. But despite Jormungand's thoughts on Thor not surviving his strike, there are wheels turning here that he wasn't privy to in regard to Thor's condition and the hand that Hela dealt him--and we would see the true outcome in Thor's final and successful confrontation of Hela (after a short diversion in the Mephisto vs. the Avengers segment of the demon's limited series).