Marvel has a tendency to routinely feature villains that threaten the entirety of the Multiverse. For Dargo Ktor, the Thor of Earth-8710 in the year 2587, the villain Demonstaff was another such villain that nearly brought ruin to the endless Multiverse. Cast through time and space by Demonstaff, Dargo found himself allied with three other incarnations of the Mighty Thor, their combined power barely enough to foil Demonstaff’s plan and save the Marvel Multiverse.
1993’s Thor Corps (by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Patrick Olliffe) was a four-issue mini-series set within the dystopian future of Earth-8710. Ruled entirely by The Corps, Earth is one gigantic industrial wasteland, people’s lives dominated by mass-production and consumerism. It was in this alternate Earth that the villain Demonstaff was created, a byproduct of a disastrous science experiment gone wrong. The rage that consumed Demonstaff fueled his desire to destroy all reality.
A Villain From The 26th Century Pulled Multiple Versions of Thor Together
Demonstaff was convinced that his true calling was to destroy the foundations of all realities in response to the misfortune he suffered. Wielding a staff imbued with catastrophically potent power, Demonstaff was able to tear holes in the very fabric of reality with but a single swing of his weapon. Sensing the immense danger he presented, Dargo Ktor attempted to stop Demonstaff only to be thrust into the interplanar maelstrom of the Marvel Multiverse.
Dargo Ktor wasn’t the only individual to find himself cast adrift due to Demonstaff. Beta Ray Bill of Earth-616 found himself teleported moments away from saving innocent people from a dangerous synthetic plant; Eric Masterson, a.k.a. Thunderstrike, also of Earth-616, was teleported away from his son just as he reached to save him from being hit by a speeding car. Finding themselves together, the three Thor avatar’s became irate and confused as to why they were pulled from their worlds.
The plot thickened considerably when Demonstaff’s true motivations were brought to light involving his estranged ex-wife, a high fantasy world of warriors and monsters, and even the appearance of the true Odinson himself. Facing the final machination of Demonstaff at the epicenter of realities, the four Thor’s realized it would take the combined power of all of their hammers to mend the dimensional rift Demonstaff had opened. It was at the very last possible moment that Demonstaff realized the error of his ways and sacrificed himself in order to cease the destruction of all realities.
The Multiverse Was Saved – But not by the Power of Thor
Even Marvel icon Stan Lee stated that Thor is the most powerful hero in the Marvel Universe. The fact that it took four different incarnations of the Asgardian Avenger is proof of how powerful Demonstaff was. What’s also terrifying about the Thor’s adventure is that their combined powers were still insufficient to quell the danger. It was the combination of their powers and weapons and that of Demonstaff himself that brought the multiversal upheaval to an end. The most striking aspect of Thor Corps is its finale. The comic is replete with all the gigantic multiversal shenanigans and popcorn action that Marvel is famous for, but it’s the redemption of Demonstaff that sets Thor Corps apart from its contemporaries.
Demonstaff, for all intents and purposes, is a one-note villain and a representation of excessive 1990s comic book tropes. Clad in his obligatory duster jacket from that era and constantly spewing lines about how proud he was of his mental illness, Demonstaff was not a deep character. But rather than being killed by Thor or his wife, or being swept into some energy vortex of his own making, Demonstaff found reason and personal responsibility. While he was still punished for his actions, Demonstaff saw true reason and accepted the consequences of his actions. This is incredibly rare for supervillains, especially for those of his caliber, and it’s something that endcaps Thor Corps well. It’s doubtful any of the Thor’s involved would care to give Demonstaff any shred of respect, but it’s undeniable that he stepped up and did the right thing. Redemption arcs, when done well, can lead to true moments of introspection and growth and it was refreshing to watch Demonstaff experience that.
