Ultimate Thor #1 (2010)

Asgard is in flames. The home of the gods is under attack by an army of frost giants and humans. This, Thor observes as he and the Warriors Three face the oncoming horde, is the end. In the here and now, James Braddock reports on the mental condition of one of the European Super Soldier Initiative's test subjects, and their continuing mental degradation. Having exhausted all their own resources, the ESS has called in outside help, as his son, Brian Braddock, has come to report. The two Braddocks talk on the subject. The ESS is too behind the American efforts to give up, to say nothing of the fact they don't know what caused the breakdown. Was it something wrong with the man, or something with the technology? This is what they hope their guest, Doctor Donald Blake, can help them with. The two men lead Blake to the patient, filling him in on the way. For the last few days he's been writing something. On a whim, Brian examined it, to find rather than being gibberish, it was in fact poetry. The Prose Edda, which Blake notes is Norse mythology. Inside the cell, Thorlief Golmen is writing on the floor. Blake approaches, and Thorlief tells the man that he is not delusional. He is the god of thunder. Blake examines the strange circular writing Thor is working on, and notes it looks incomplete, not to mention ominous. Thorlief is taken aback that Blake can read his work, and in similar fashion to an Asgard, Blake quotes the last line. "There is a storm coming." Germany, 1939. Heinrich Himmler talks with a subordinate, Baron Zemo, and his request for one hundred thousand men, for a so-called secret mission. Himmler refuses to sign off, until Zemo shows him a box, and its contents. Stones, marked with runes similar. The stuff of legends. Himmler notes they are said to be useless without something dubbed an access point. And Zemo has found one. Immediately, Himmler grants Zemo his men. Asgard, long ago Thor and Loki rush through thick snow, to reach Balder, who fights an incursion of Frost Giants alone. The giants swarm, only for Thor and Loki to arrive, apologizing for their tardiness, having been carousing with the people of Folkvangr. During the fight, one giant grabs Loki, reminding him of his mother's sorrow at his absence, and threatens to kill him. Loki instead stabs his attacker, and goes to help Thor with his fight. When Thor thanks Loki for his assistance, Loki glumly tells him he has too much faith in things, that one day, Ragnarok will come. Loki's grim tidings are interrupted by a snowball from Balder, who proclaims victory, but Loki's mood is not lifted, as he wonders whether the war between Asgard and Jotunn will ever end. Balder tells of a secret held by Odin. In Ulik the Dwarve's forge, the smith works at Odin's command to build the perfect weapon: Mjolnir. Niebull, Germany, 1939 Zemo's forces have set a camp, as the Baron has found the access point. He asks his lieutenant, Helmutt, to tell what he has learn. There are twenty-four stones, and on the control pillar three spaces. In order to activate the device, one must know the secret work, which Zemo does. At his command, many more pillars burst from the ground, forming the Rainbow Gate. Zemo continues. The gate can reach any of the seven other realms, but any stone can only work with two others in the same sequence. Using the Edda, he can determine which sequence is used to take them to Asgard. But first, he uses a different sequence. After all, while the plan is to raid Asgard, mere men cannot take it alone. That is why Zemo has summoned a company of Frost Giants.