Gods vs. Space-Gods vs. Evolutionary Gods...with some Gods on the side.

Over at Marvel.com, I've been reading (or re-reading, in some cases) old Thor comics; the Celestial Saga from around #285 or thereabouts to #300. I have a few scattered issues in there, like today's! But I haven't read it straight through in some time. Partly because it feels like it's a billion issues long and has a cast of everyone. From 1979, Thor #291, "When Gods Have Joined Together!" Written and edited by Roy Thomas, illustrated by Keith Pollard and Chic Stone.

I say it feels like a billion issues long, because the Celestials involved not only tampered with humanity's evolution thousands of years ago, and are also at the start of their planned "fifty-year judgment" of Earth. Thor's been trying to stop the mysterious, giant space-gods; but hasn't made a lot of headway of late. The last couple of issues, Thor was given the business by a Deviant luchador, after he found out he was still exiled from Asgard when Sif used the Destroyer to throw him out. Zuras, leader of the Eternals, had given Thor twenty-four hours to find an alternative, and he failed; so now the Eternals would form the Uni-Mind and confront the Celestials. Thor isn't convinced that's the best idea, but the Eternals form Voltron the Uni-Mind; yet before they reach the Celestials, Lord Odin shows up in the Eternals' city Olympia--with Lord Zeus, and an army of Greek gods and titans! And they start wrecking up the place!

Ikaris and the Eternals take it to the Greeks! Zuras attacks Zeus! Hercules fights the Forgotten One! (You may remember him from a brief, and forgettable, stint as an Avenger.) Odin battles Thor, who can't fathom why his father would kneel to the Celestials, or turn on Earth; but Odin wonders why Thor cares so much about Earth...something Thor may be a little curious about himself. The next few issues would feature the secrets and even origin of Odin, as told by Odin's lost eye. The eye is vindictive and mean; and those issues would be retconned out during Walt Simonson's run, with the gentle admonition, given a choice between trusting your dad, or a talking eyeball with a grudge, the choice should be kinda obvious.

In case you thought I was joking about the post title, too: in a subplot given three panels here, the Warriors Three were about to be murdered by the dragon Fafnir, but they're saved by the Young Gods. Who I'm not sure had been seen in the book for some eighty issues?