Karnilla frees Loki from a mortal prison while Thor’s mortal form of Jake Olson is suffering third degree burns in the hospital. Destroyer attacks the hospital and Marnot enables the unconscious mortal to turn back into Thor to defend himself.
The battle between Thor and Destroyer ends up being pretty complicated. Uatu explains that the armor must win. It is being controlled by Tarene (Thor Girl), who is under Loki’s thrall, and if she wins then The Reigning event will not happen and the universe will have a blessed future.
The armor gets Thor’s hammer and beats him with it. That’s the last straw for Odin, who interevenes on his son’s behalf–despite Uatu’s warning. He frees Tarene from Loki’s spell, gives Thor her hammer, and Destroyer is taken down.
Meanwhile, in Norway, a fishing vessel finds a magical medallion that brings Surtur to Earth.
The artists change during this story. Immonen is in the first and last issues of it, while Starlin comes in the middle. They both all immensely talented, but it doesn’t serve the tale well to have the visual styles change frequently and radically.