There are good and bad comics in every decade, but it’s become so popular to bash ’90s comics that many modern fans – new & old – seem to have written the decade off completely. There are plenty of gems scattered throughout ’90s mainstream comics. Sadly, the ‘Blood and Thunder’ event isn’t one of them. Repetitive and overlong, the story could have worked better as a six-parter.
Thor has only recently been restored to his body restored after being trapped in Eric Masterson‘s subconsciousness for some time while Masterson himself passed himself off as the God of Thunder. But Thor’s behaviour has been a little off-balance since his return, which is spurred on even further by a dark Valkyrie only he can see. Sif has begun to believe he may be afflicted with the incurable Warriors’ Madness. Unaware of this, Odin has sent Thor to the stars to find himself again. But if he learns of his son’s true affliction, he’ll banish him from Asgard forever.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Adam Warlock‘s Infinity Watch have recently triumphed over the physical embodiment of Warlock’s ‘good’ side, the Goddess (during THE INFINITY CRUSADE, 1993). And the team have welcomed new member Maxam to their ranks. Now Warlock seeks allies for an event on the horizon that only he seems to be aware of. Maybe ‘fixing’ Thor will win him some favour with the Asgardians…
Major Crossover: With 13 chapters jumping between four titles, Blood and Thunder can be considered a major event.
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- THE WARRIORS’ MADNESS (1993) – The Valkyrie first appears to Thor
- THE INFINITY CRUSADE (1993) – Mad Thor joins the Goddess to oppose Warlock
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- Thor #468
- Silver Surfer #86
- Warlock Chronicles #6
- Warlock and the Infinity Watch #23
- Thor #469
- Silver Surfer #87
- Warlock Chronicles #7
- Warlock and the Infinity Watch #24
- Thor #470
- Silver Surfer #88
- Warlock Chronicles #8
- Warlock and the Infinity Watch #25
- Thor #471
| Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| Thor #468 (pp.1-4) In Asgard, Odin misses his son who he’s sent to the stars to calm his angst-riddled spirit following his recent return to physical form. Little does Odin realise, Thor is afflicted with the Warriors Madness and is hallucinating… |
| Warlock Chronicles #6 (pp.1-14) On Monster Isle, Adam Warlock and Moondragon fail to access the missing memories of the mysterious Maxam who recently joined the team, despite Gamora‘s visions of Maxam standing over Warlock’s corpse. Eternity appears to Warlock, asking him to find a way to cure Thor’s madness, earning a debt that will allow Warlock to call upon Asgard for assistance in the future. Gamora finds out Pip the Troll has taken Maxam to a bar in New York… |
| Thor #468 (pp.5-20) A Valkyrie that only Thor can see fuels his anger and resentment towards Asgard and the friends and family, convincing him they’ve betrayed him. Sif and Beta Ray Bill approach Thor in the depths of space, hoping to calm his madness before Odin can learn of it and banish him from Asgard for all eternity. Thor turns against them both, forcing Sif to flee and find more allies. Thor almost beats Beta Ray Bill to death… |
| Silver Surfer #86 (pp.1-2) The Silver Surfer follows up on his recent encounter with Beta Ray Bill who told him of Thor’s mania and finds the Thunder God standing ready to kill Bill… |
| Thor #468 (pp.21) The Surfer warns Thor not to deliver the killing blow! |
| Silver Surfer #86 (pp.3-16) The Surfer quickly finds himself on the losing side of a struggle with the mad Thunder God and it’s Beta Ray Bill who ends up saving him. They manage to subdue him together, but the Valkyrie encourages Thor to rise and renew his assault. The Surfer’s board takes the unconscious Beta Ray Bill to safety, giving Sif the chance to teleport him back to Asgard… |
| Warlock Chronicles #6 (pp.14-21) Some of the patrons in the New York bar take issue with Maxam’s skin colour. After a brawl which Maxam wins, Warlock orders them to return to Monster Isle so that Pip can take Warlock to Thor… |
| Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| Silver Surfer #86 (pp.17-21) Thor’s rage gives him the edge over the Surfer, but again Thor’s killing blow is interrupted, this time by Adam Warlock and Pip the Troll! |
| Warlock Chronicles #6 (p.22) Thor orders Adam Warlock to leave him to kill the Silver Surfer. |
| Warlock and the Infinity Watch #23 Warlock orders Pip to teleport back to Monster Isle and get the Infinity Watch ready to await his signal. His Soul Gem allows him to see the Valkyrie, but not disperse her as she has no soul of her own. His attempt to reason with Thor soon devolves into all-out battle when the Valkyrie orders Thor to kill Adam Warlock. The Silver Surfer joins the fray, but they can’t match Thor’s unfettered power and retreat as Warlock uses his ability to summon the Surfer’s board to escape. Elsewhere, Count Abyss orders a gigantic creature called the Dreamer to give him a potion that will allow him to claim Warlock’s Soul Gem… |
| Thor #469 Pip the Troll interprets Warlock’s orders as a request to immediately summon the Infinity Watch to face Thor. They initially refuse to fight the mad Asgardian, but the mention of Thor enrages Drax the Destroyer (inspired by their previous fight during THE INFINITY CRUSADE, 1993) who leaps on Pip who, in turn, teleports the entire team to Thor’s location. While the Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock are making their way to Earth, the Infinity Watch find Thor. Moondragon tries to use the Mind Gem to exorcise the Valkyrie from Thor’s mind which only ends up giving her physical form. Together they make short work of the Infinity Watch, their battle ending with Thor winding Drax who regurgitates the Power Gem. The Watch teleport to safety as Thor places the Power Gem on his forehead and prepares to destroy Asgard… |
| Silver Surfer #87 Warlock and the Silver Surfer arrive on Earth and enter the home of Doctor Strange, encountering all manner of bizarre magical creatures, doorways to other dimensions and battling the house’s defenses in their search for the sorcerer. When Strange emerges, they update him on Thor’s mental state and scry on him as he journeys to Asgard with the now-corporeal Valkyrie. The Infinity Watch teleport to Strange’s home. Doctor Strange prepares to join the Silver Surfer, Warlock and the Infinity Watch on a mission to Asgard, where Sif and Beta Ray Bill prepare to hold the line against Thor and keep his madness secret from Odin… |
| Warlock Chronicles #7 The heroes arrive on Asgard and are shocked by Beta Ray Bill’s unprompted attack on them. He takes down Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer but Maxam and Drax are able to defeat Bill in his weakened state. Meanwhile, Sif antagonises Geirrodur and his army of Rock Trolls and leads them to the Infinity Watch who are overpowered and taken prisoner. Sensing something in the cosmos is amiss, Odin heads to the All-Seeing Crystal… |
| Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| Warlock and the Infinity Watch #24 The Infinity Watch are to be sacrificed to the gigantic Borgeddon, but the Troll Witch insists that Pip is given right to trial-by-combat to fight for his life as he’s technically a troll. Unable to choose Gamora to fight on his behalf, he selects Adam Warlock who faces Olik the Widow Maker (Ulik‘s brother) in the arena. Warlock appears to play by the rules against Olik – buying Pip the time to free the Infinity Watch, Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer – until he finishes the creature off with a karmic blast. The heroes escape and continue their mission. |
| Thor #470 Thor and the Valkyrie arrive on Asgard, landing in the ruins of Nidgar on the outskirts. The Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange and the Infinity Watch make one last bid to stop Thor’s rampage, despite his increased power. Warlock and Strange combine their abilities, but it’s no use. Thor buries the defeated heroes in rubble, except for Pip the Troll and the Surfer who teleport Thor to the one person who may be able to stop him: Thanos! |
| Silver Surfer #88 Despite his anger at Pip for bringing the Thunder God to his home uninvited, Thanos relishes the fight with Thor. When the fight begins to bore him, he uses a weapon that traps Thor in a block of pure force. The Surfer defeats the Valkyrie. Doctor Strange and the Infinity Watch arrive by the time it’s all over. Now they need to act fast to save Thor before he can break out of the force block. |
| Warlock Chronicles #8 Thanos has a brief dispute with Warlock over his reasons for wanting to cure Thor’s madness, but there’s also a danger that the Warriors’ Madness could be contagious. To prevent its spread and save Thor, Thanos uses his technology and the abilities of those presents to merge the Valkyrie – the personification of Thor’s mania – back into him. The merge is successful, but the madness prevails. Thor must be taken to Odin! |
| Warlock and the Infinity Watch #25 Odin assumes the arrival of Thanos, the Infinity Watch, the Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange on Asgard is an attack, so he orders every one of his Asgardian warriors against them. Thanos hangs back to monitor the encased Thor until his allies fall, inspiring him to tag out with Maxam and retaliate against the gods. With his armies defeated, Odin faces Thanos in a one-on-one battle that almost levels fabled Asgard! Thanos refuses to relent and it’s only the arrival of Sif and Beta Ray Bill that ends Odin’s fight with the Mad Titan. Warlock, Strange and the Surfer explain to Odin that his efforts to teach Thor nobility by grafting Donald Blake to his soul (among other such moves by the All-Father) have imbalanced his soul. The madness is Odin’s fault. Odin fails to cure Thor’s insanity and, with no options left and fearing it may spread, he declares that his son must die. Elsewhere, Count Abyss prepares to use his potion against Adam Warlock. |
| Thor #471 Warlock convinces Odin to unlock Thor’s imprisoned sanity rather than hammer away at his madness, encouraging the All-Father to enter his son’s mind. There, Odin frees Thor from his metaphorical chains, but the Valkyrie emerges and refuses to let go, hoping to become real once more. Odin fights her for his son’s sanity, but holds back for fear that harming her may do Thor’s soul more damage. But Thor himself refuses to live as her prisoner and takes his chance to save himself by destroying Valkyrie. Waking and free from the madness, Thor thanks his friends, telling them he’s in their debt. Elsewhere, Loki plans his escape from below Asgard. |
| Must Reads | Issues & Fallout | Event/Crossover |
| ✔ | Warlock and the Infinity Watch #26-33 (1994) Drax embeds the Power Gem in his belt; Count Abyss sends Maya to convince Adam Warlock to drink the love potion which affects her as well (becoming the one Eternity predicted would touch Warlock’s heart); Count Abyss uses the situation to claim Warlock’s Soul Gem, but Maya betrays the Count due to her newfound love for Warlock, enabling him to retain the gem; Warlock uses the virtuous soul of Kray-Tor as a weapon against Abyss (possibly making Kray-Torr the being Eternity predicted Warlock would betray, though Darklore could also be considered the one Warlock betrays); the Zalkor‘s origins are revealed. | |
| Avengers Annual #23 (1994) Loki is revealed to have escaped imprisonment. | STRANGERS ON AN ASTRAL PLANE | |
| ✔ | Thor #475 (1994) Thor is reunited with ‘Donald Blake‘. | |
| ✔ | Thor #477-479 (1994) Odin reveals that he actually merged Thor with Donald Blake to save his life due to Volla‘s vision that Thor would die. | MYTH CONCEPTIONS |
| ✔ | Thor #482-483 (1995) ‘Donald Blake’ is revealed to be a mystic creation of Sigyn who accidentally killed the real Donald Blake and tried to cover up her mistake. | ARMAGEDDON COMPLEX |
| Warlock and the Infinity Watch #34 (1994) Maya marries Darklore to save Egolix-7, breaking Warlock’s heart as well as her own. | ||
| Cosmic Powers Unlimited #1 (1995) The Silver Surfer reluctantly turns to Thanos as an ally against Death. | ||
| ✔ | Warlock and the Infinity Watch #40 (1995) Maxam comes into direct contact with the Time Gem, restoring his lost memories; Drax the Destroyer’s memories are also restored. | THE WATCH IS BROKEN |
| ✔ | Warlock and the Infinity Watch #41-42 (1995) It’s revealed that Maxam was sent from the future to kill Warlock before he could become the Magus; Warlock battles Maxam until Moondragon telepathically convinces Maxam that Warlock is dead, allowing him to return to his own time; the Infinity Gems are stolen by Rune of the Ultraverse, ending the need for an Infinity Watch and, subsequently, Warlock’s need to gather allies. | ATLANTIS RISING THE WATCH IS BROKEN |
| ✔ | Cosmic Powers Unlimited #4 (1996) Moondragon fully restores Drax the Destroyer’s mind, intelligence and full memories (including her role as his daughter and the moment when she killed him, destroying his mind in the first place); Drax forgives Moondragon and gives up some of his strength to restore her broken body. | THE LEGACY OF CAPTAIN MARVEL |
| ✔ | What If? #107 (1998) Uatu the Watcher reveals an alternate reality (Earth-983107) in which Thor never succumbed to the Warrior’s Madness and became ruler of Asgard. | |
| Thor #1-2 (2007) Dr Donald Blake returns, allowing Thor to be reborn following Ragnarok. |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Thor: Blood and Thunder | Silver Surfer #86-88 Thor #468-471 Warlock and the Infinity Watch #23-25 Warlock Chronicles #6-8 |
| Thor Epic Collection: Blood and Thunder (vol.21) | Silver Surfer #86-88 Thor #468-475 Warlock and the Infinity Watch #23-25 Warlock Chronicles #6-8 |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| Infinity Watch vol.2 | Warlock Chronicles #6 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2025
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