Immortal Thor #17 by writer Al Ewing, artist Jan Bazaldua, color artist Matt Hollingsworth, and letterer Joe Sabino reintroduces a long lost Asgardian who could change everything for Thor - including his place as the Marvel Universe's God of Thunder and King of Asgard.
What's more, it's all tied to Thor's old enemy the Enchantress, who is now officially closer to the throne of Asgard than she's ever been. We'll explain it all right now.
Spoilers ahead for Immortal Thor #17
Immortal Thor #17 picks up right where the previous issue left off, with Thor's old enemies Grey Gargoyle, Radioactive Man, Mister Hyde, and Cobra teaming up to take him down at the behest of Dario Agger, and seemingly succeeding with Grey Gargoyle turning him to stone and Hyde smashing him to pieces.
Now, Grey Gargoyle seems to have some remorse at having apparently killed an Asgardian, woefully anticipating the dire consequences for him. But Hyde has no remorse at all, gloating over Thor's shattered body as he waits for the pieces to turn back from stone to flesh.
Still, a shred of Thor's psyche remains conscience in the space between life and death, where he is encountered by the specter of Donald Blake, the simulacrum that once served as Thor's ersatz human anchor on Earth.
Blake tries to overwhelm Thor with his army of demons to ensure he dies, which will in turn release Blake from the void where his unfettered spirit now dwells. At the last minute, however, Thor is rescued and pulled back to the land of the living, where, to the surprise and horror of his enemies, the pieces of his body reassemble and Thor is fully revived.
Unleashing his full might, Thor sends all four villains running back to Dario Agger, while it's revealed that it was in fact the Enchantress who used her magic to reassemble the pieces of Thor's shattered stone body, saving him from death.
As it turns out, she's after a trade - a life for a life. And with Thor now in her debt for having saved him, she demands he return "her son" to life. Thor ultimately agrees, despite the protests of his Asgardian allies. But he first ensures that she intends to bring back her heroic son Iric, and not her villainous son Ove. Enchantress dances around the question, promising only that her plans have nothing to do with Ove.
Thor lends Enchantress a fragment of his All-Power, inherited from his father Odin, the former King of Asgard whose throne and powers are now Thor's, allowing her to bridge the gap between life and death. And indeed, she does not bring back Ove - but there is still a trick up her sleeve as she doesn't revive Iric either.
Instead, she calls forth her third, secret child - a child from an alternate future where the Asgardians had conquered Earth. To Thor's shock, Enchantress summons forth none other than Magni Thorson, her child with Thor himself, created in 2003's Thor #68 by writer Dan Jurgens and artist Scot Eaton as the heir to Thor's hammer and powers, who Thor then greets as "my son."
This could change a lot of things for Thor and Asgard, with the God of Thunder now having a living heir with one of his most treacherous enemies. Magni was first We'll have to see how Magni's return plays out as the story continues in Immortal Thor #18 on December 18.
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