Thor #398
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThor #398 is the pivotal fourth chapter of Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz's six-part 'War of Gods' arc, delivering two of the storyline's most consequential revelations in a single issue: the first full appearance of Bes, the Egyptian god of luck whose captivity has been secretly powering Seth's conquest, and the shocking discovery that Odin himself is Seth's prisoner inside the Black Pyramid. The issue also marks the first appearance of Caber, the Celtic warrior who would go on to play a recurring role in Asgardian mythology within the Marvel Universe. By engineering a multi-pantheon alliance — Asgardians, Heliopolitans, and the Celtic gods of Avalon converging against a single threat — DeFalco and Frenz pushed Marvel's mythological world-building to a scale rarely attempted in a monthly ongoing title, treating each pantheon as a fully realized civilization with its own geopolitical stakes. The issue's emotional high point, Amora the Enchantress's grief-stricken cry over the gravely wounded Heimdall reaching across the cosmos to summon Leir and the Celtic gods, remains one of the more inventive bits of cross-pantheon storytelling in the DeFalco run.
In "The Prisoners of the Black Pyramid!", Thor teams up with the Black Knight and Hogun of the Warriors Three to infiltrate the sinister Black Pyramid, where they free the ancient entity Bes—only to uncover a shocking truth: Odin himself is imprisoned by the dark sorcerer Seth. Meanwhile, on Asgard, the tide turns as the mysterious Celtic gods of Avalon arrive to bolster the Asgardian defense against Seth’s relentless assault. Written by Tom DeFalco and brought to life by Ron Frenz’s dynamic art—inked by Don Heck and colored by Greg Wright—this 1988 Marvel classic blends mythic stakes with high-octane action, all wrapped in a cover by Ron Frenz and Al Milgrom.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
By late 1988, writer Tom DeFalco and penciler Ron Frenz had been the regular creative team on Thor for over two years, guided throughout by editor Ralph Macchio. The 'War of Gods' event grew organically from seeds DeFalco and Frenz had planted as far back as Thor #386 (December 1987), where Leir and the Celtic pantheon were first introduced, allowing #398 to pay off a year's worth of inter-mythological setup. Interior inking duties on this issue were handled by Don Heck — a veteran of Marvel's Silver Age — rather than the series' usual inker Brett Breeding, giving the issue a slightly different visual texture during its most crowded battle sequences. The entire six-issue arc (Thor #395–400) was later collected in the trade paperback Thor vs. Seth, the Serpent God, preserving the storyline for readers outside the original monthly run.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Story title: 'The Prisoners of the Black Pyramid!' — Part 4 of 6 in the 'War of Gods' arc (Thor #395–400), published December 1988.
- Creative team: Written by Tom DeFalco, penciled by Ron Frenz, inked by Don Heck (interior), cover inked by Al Milgrom; colored by Gregory Wright; lettered by John Workman Jr.; edited by Ralph Macchio.
- First full appearance of Bes, the Heliopolitan (Egyptian) god of luck — depicted as a dwarf whose probability-manipulation powers have been exploited by Seth to ensure his conquest of Asgard; Bes had previously appeared only in shadow in earlier issues of the arc.
- First appearance of Caber, a Celtic warrior-god of Avalon who accompanies Leir into battle and becomes a recurring figure in subsequent Thor storylines.
- Key plot revelation: Thor and his allies (including the Black Knight, Hogun, and Earth Force) discover that Bes is the secret source of Seth's seemingly unbeatable power; freeing Bes leads directly to the discovery of Odin held captive in chains at the top of the Black Pyramid.
- Leir, Lord of Lightning — introduced in Thor #386 (December 1987) — arrives at Asgard with an army of Celtic gods in response to the Enchantress's anguished cry over Heimdall's mortal wounding, fulfilling the debt of honor he owed Thor from their earlier encounter.
- Heimdall is grievously wounded in battle during this issue; the Enchantress's emotional breakdown upon learning of his fate is a character-defining moment for Amora, showing her capacity for genuine anguish beyond her usual villainy.
- The full 'War of Gods' arc, including this issue, was collected in the trade paperback Thor vs. Seth, the Serpent God (Marvel, 2010), making it readily accessible to modern readers.
Cast · 14 characters
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Reprinted in Thor #13 (1990), Superaventuras Marvel #124 (1992), Thor vs. Seth, the Serpent-God #[nn] (2010), Thor Epic Collection #16 (2013), Thor #38
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