“I care not for thy empty threats, for I be the god of Thunder!”
Appearing in "In the Grip of Infinity!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Warriors Three
- Sif (Only in flashback)
- Grand Vizier
- Odin
- Don Blake
Antagonists:
- The Guardian (First appearance)
- Infinity
Other Characters:
- The Silent One
- Loki (Only in flashback) (Cameo)
- Storm Giants (Only in flashback)
- Cosgrave
- Dr. Brunner
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "In the Grip of Infinity!"
With Odin in peril in the World Beyond, Thor decides to abandon his post guarding Asgard to venture into the realm itself and rescue his father. As he travels into the void of the World Beyond he reflects on the events that led him to this point.
Arriving in this mystical realm, Thor is confronted by its guardian, a strange four-armed creature with strength and magical abilities that rival that of Thor's. As Thor battles on, he soon finds himself overpowered by the creature, however before defeat can be had, Thor demands to know who Infinity is. This rouses Infinity, which appears a massive black void in the shape of a hand. Feeling its guardian had failed in its appointed task, it strikes the creature dead and then shows Thor its incalculable power by consuming another world from Thor's universe before disappearing again.
Venturing further, Thor spots the Silent One standing on a misty cliff, and rushes toward the him demanding answers. Like before, Thor is unable to cause the Silent One any harm, and the Silent One imparts no answers at all. The Silent One shows Thor yet another world being consumed by Infinity. Thor watches helplessly as the world is consumed and brought into the World Beyond, and its people are put into Infinity's thrall. The Silent One then brings Thor to the Warriors Three, who have also been put under Infinity's spell. The Warriors Three attack Thor, however the Thunder God easily overpowers them and then transports them back to Asgard.
There, Sif and the Grand Vizier watch over the Odinsword, which continues its slow progression out of its scabbard, which would signal the end of the universe. While back in the World Beyond, Odin continues his battle against Infinity, while the Silent One watches on. The resulting backlash is also causing unstable weather conditions on the Earth and across the universe.
The upheaval eventually knocks Thor around in a giant wind, and he is eventually knocked unconscious. When he revives he finds that he has been knocked away from his hammer for more than 60 seconds and has reverted back into the form of Donald Blake. To make matters worse, the Guardian is suddenly resurrected, spotting Blake and inching forward to make him his next victim.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- This issue contains a letters page, The Hammer Strikes. Letters are published from Gregory Pasternak, Rob Pattullo, Charles Meyerson, Lonnie Smathers, and Beverly Gliemimi.
Trivia
- The Thor image from the page one Splash Page was used for marketing purposes, particularly for the Thunder god's 1975 Slurpee (7-11) Cup.
- There is an advertisement in the letters section for the first appearance of King Kull in the latest issue of Tower of Shadows. However, Tower of Shadows changed its name after Tower of Shadows #9, and became Creatures on the Loose with Creatures on the Loose #10. Subsequently, Kull's 1st appearance was actually in Creatures on the Loose.