Issue(s): Thor #426
Cover Date: Nov 90
Title: "Aftermath! / Here a giant abides!"
Credits:
Tom DeFalco - Script
Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz / Tom DeFalco - Plot
Ron Frenz / Herb Trimpe - Penciler
Joe Sinnott & Dan Panosian / Herb Trimpe - Inker
Michael Heisler - Assistant Editor
Ralph Macchio - Editor

Review/plot:
This is an interlude issue, although you'll note that there are a staggering number of characters and a few significant things actually happen.

The first is that old man Odin is tired, and he needs some Odinsleep. So he needs someone else to take charge of the kingdom for a while. I love Thor's gleeful expression as he pushes Balder in front of him.

But Odin has someone else in mind this time. He'd like Heimdall to grasp his sacred scepter so that the Odin-power can flow into him.

Heimdall's first official act is to restore the Rainbow Bridge. The Warriors Three get Heimdall's old job of guarding it.

The next godly order of business is the fact that Sif pledged herself to the Celtic god Leir if he helped her leave Asgard to get Thor, which he did. So now she gets to pick a champion to fight Leir, and if the champion loses, she has to marry him. Leir and Thor both assume that Thor is the champion, but Sif isn't so old fashioned; she chooses herself.

She kicks Leir's butt.

There is also stuff going on back on Earth. Namely, the Wrecking Crew is on another rampage.

But a new police unit, Code Blue, is called in to deal with them.

Code Blue is specifically designed to deal with super-powered criminals that regular police or SWAT teams aren't equipped for. It's a very logical concept. It's also a good move to keep them grounded so they do basically look like an unorthodox SWAT team as opposed to, say, a bunch of people in Guardsman armor. The goal is to not turn them into a de facto super-hero team. There's a necessary balancing act between showing a realistic response amongst the police to the constant threat of super-villains and retaining Marvel's the "world outside your window" concept. It's handled very well here.

If Code Blue had actually managed to defeat and capture the Wrecking Crew on their own, i'd probably have some complaints (and it does sort of bring into question the fact that it's in Thor's book, of all places, that this concept is introduced). But they manage to rescue the hostage and drive the Wrecking Crew away, and the story is presented as if just surviving is a big accomplishment. That's the right attitude; keep your goals realistic.

The Wrecking Crew are really just interested in tracking down Ulik anyway. He's with the mysterious crimelord that we saw police Lt. Marcus Stone, who now leads Code Blue, talking to a few issues back.

I mentioned in the previous Thor entry that the Tales of Asgard back-ups were going on hiatus. But before that, there's one final back-up, with art by Herb Trimpe. It's not a Tale of Asgard; instead, surprisingly, it's a solo story about Earth-Lord of Earth Force. There's not much to the story. In his civilian identity, Earth-Lord is a police officer. He isn't sure if he even still has his powers, but when his partner is shot by a drug gang, he transforms into Earth-Lord and lectures them about video game violence.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 4 - first Code Blue. Rainbow Bridge restored.

Chronological Placement Considerations: Thor has been in Asgard between last issue and this one.

References:

• No footnote, but Balder was the previous surrogate ruler of Asgard from Thor #371 until Odin's return circa Thor #400.
  
• Earth Force were created by Seth in Thor #395.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A