Valhalla is the resting place of the great heroes of Asgard, an eternal party where the greatest warriors of Asgardian lore spend their afterlives drinking, fighting (just for laughs), and feasting.
But in November 22's Avengers, Inc. #3, one of the greatest dead heroes of Marvel's version of Asgard gives up his place in Valhalla to stand at the side of Thor, for whom ominous tidings seem to lay on the horizon.
Spoilers ahead for Avengers, Inc. #3
In Avengers, Inc. #3 by writer Al Ewing, artists Leonard Kirk and Belardino Brabo, color artist Alex Sinclair, and letterer Cory Petit, Janet Van Dyne and Victor Shade are called to Valhalla by Jane Foster, the current Valkyrie, to solve the apparent murder of Skurge by his own ax, wielded by an invisible force.
How can a soul who is bound to Valhalla "die?" That's the puzzle at the heart of the mystery which Janet and Victor must unravel in the midst of a riot in Valhalla itself. However it happened, Skurge has disappeared from the realm of the dead entirely, leaving only questions behind.
Now, we won't spoil all the twists and turns in the solution of the case. But we will get into the why of it all, which seems to spell potential upcoming disaster for Thor.
As it turns out, Odin himself is wrapped up in the murder of Skurge, who has nobly sacrificed his place in Valhalla after having a vision of Thor's imminent death, fighting till his last breath on a bridge - not unlike how Skurge himself died way back in 1985's Thor #362.
The end result is that Skurge is now resurrected, presumably back on Asgard, but with his place in Valhalla no longer guaranteed, and perhaps sacrificed forever. But Thor will have some forewarning of what may be coming for him, and even a capable ally at his side to weather it.
This isn't the first time in recent memory that Thor's death has been foretold. One of the biggest unresolved plotlines in the Marvel Universe right now is a premonition that Thor had of his own death at the hands of Thanos which has been referenced off and on over the last few years.
Are these premonitions one and the same? Perhaps we'll find out in the pages of Avengers, Inc. writer Al Ewing's ongoing Immortal Thor title.
Avengers, Inc. #4 goes on sale December 27.
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