Comes To Hel... The Destroyer!

 

Many of you no doubt recall the sharp change in direction which several of Marvel's titles took in 1986--stories which collectively became unofficially known as the "mutant massacre" plot, where no mutant, Morlock, or even Thunder God was safe. Yet during this time there was another plot forming in Hel, where the death goddess Hela prepared to take her vengeance on Thor for past transgressions--the effects of which became clear when he sustained an injury from Blockbuster of the Marauders which shattered the bones of one of his arms.

Depending on how you felt about the spike in a more graphic portrayal of violence displayed during the mutant massacre events, it's arguably to Marvel's credit that it pushed ahead to mainstream this new direction and cross over to other titles rather than take an isolationist approach and having the affected characters appear elsewhere untouched and unaffected by what these attacks entailed (along with a well-placed editor's note to smooth over the discrepancy). For Thor, those effects became more pronounced with injuries sustained in further battles, to the point of having to don a custom suit of armor which literally held him together as his wounds and injuries became more severe.

In Thor's own title, Hela's curse takes eight issues to play out before a reckoning. By that time, however, he had engaged in a battle to the death with Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, prophesied to be the instrument of his demise--their final clash reducing Thor's body to little more than a bloodied, barely recognizable corpse within his armor (thankfully Marvel established some boundaries as to how much graphic realism to portray), even as Hela's curse kept him alive and, it goes without saying, in unbelievable agony at this point. Yet in the Mephisto vs. limited series, the title character found even a battle with Thor's still-indomitable spirit to be fruitless as far as obtaining the son of Odin's soul.

Still, on a startling cover which preceded Thor's 300th anniversary issue, we would see an indication that Hela should have heeded Mephisto's parting words, as the armored threat known as the Destroyer, garbed in familiar raiment and wielding the hammer of Thor, advances toward a confrontation with the Goddess of Death that will leave no doubt as to the purpose behind his dreaded name.

As to how such a development came to be, we must look back a bit to the same group of frost giants who unknowingly sicced Jormungand on Thor in the first place, and who now gather around like jackals to take delight in the fate of the Thunder God. But their brutal treatment of Thor's still-living form is being observed by one who has his own accounts to settle with both parties.

Having retrieved the form of the Destroyer, Loki arranges for it to take on the life force of one of the giants, Siggorth--at which point even frost giants realize that their lives hang by a thread in the face of such power.

Slaughtering the remaining giants to a man (er, to a giant), the Destroyer turns its attention to the only life remaining to be destroyed--that of Thor, whom the Destroyer, despite its best efforts, cannot harm. That works out just fine for Loki, who has his own pent-up revenge against Thor to satisfy; yet for the Destroyer, who inexplicably now displays a mind of its own, the acquisition of Thor's life force presents an opportunity not to be passed up.

For whatever reason (well, maybe so as not to dampen the celebration of a 300th anniversary issue), Thor's life essence is not suppressed as others have been in animating the Destroyer. Instead, given how things look when the dust settles, the result is all that could be hoped for by a warrior who now has the means to take his fight to the one responsible for the pain and humiliation he has suffered in this affair.

As for the Goddess of Death herself, she is prepared for Thor's arrival (though not in his current form), and has even reserved a bit of humiliation for her own father: Loki, who has always failed to achieve total victory over Thor and has been summoned to observe Hela's triumph. Yet had she observed the ease at which her enemy had breached the entrance to Hel (a delightful sequence I wouldn't dream of spoiling for you here), she might have had less faith than she does in the horde of the dead that she hurls against him--though even when she finally learns the true nature of her foe, her desire for revenge persists.

But even the haughtiness of Hela has its limits.

So far, Thor has done an admirable job of giving Hela the impression that, as in prior instances, it is the Destroyer she faces here, its life essence being supplied by Thor but suppressed and kept in check by the Destroyer as it carries out its deadly, single-minded directive. And that tactic comes in handy when Hela has only one gambit left to her as a means to save her life: transporting Thor's body (within the protective crystal casing supplied by the Destroyer) to block the Destroyer's disintegrator beam, and then making a desperate effort to touch that form and render it lifeless, thereby ending the Destroyer's threat.

With the attempt's failure, things go from bad to worse as Hela discovers that not even Loki is willing to step in as the Destroyer bears down on her once more, for the final time. (Though Loki feels obliged to taunt Hela with the sting of her own arrogant words.)

And so, again, Hela races to the prone form of Thor's body--but this time, the Destroyer's words have sunk in as to how misguided she has been in this affair, which at last comes to an end. (Thanks in part to, of all people, Loki, reminding Hela (as Thor does) that it's in her own best interest, and that of her realm, to concede to Thor.)

With their conflict at last settled between them, Thor and Hela come to terms, particularly in regard to Hela's deigned purpose which she has all too often ignored in order to achieve her own ends as well as to expand her role (and her borders). It's an important scene, as Thor makes his case calmly and rationally--not as a conqueror, but as one god to another, with words that to Hela serve as reminder as well as edict.

Thor's return to Asgard is a timely one, with the realm stricken by an unknown malady and under siege by a band of Jotunheim frost giants led by Utgard-Loki. Following its resolution, Thor then has words with his evil half-brother, making it clear in no uncertain terms to "never confuse [Thor's] forebearance with weakness." All things considered, a most satisfying ending to this forty-page 300th issue.

Mighty Thor #382 (with scenes from #381) Script: Walt Simonson Pencils and Inks: Sal Buscema Letterer: John Workman