Marvel Comics: The Sentinel(Sentry)

The god of Thunder's full-powered strike did not shatter the golden figure standing motionless before him...

Instead, the Sentinel armor, which radiated formidable energy, suddenly dimmed. The power core in its chest disintegrated on its own, and the nanotech suit absorbed the last remnants of energy before exploding from within.

The violent collision of energy and white-hot lightning unleashed devastating force. Amid the deafening blast, shockwaves swept through the rolling dust, leaving the once-proud Thor covered in grime.

"Gone?"

He stood dumbfounded until a massive beam of light descended from the heavens, whisking the exiled Asgardian prince back to his homeland.

At the same time, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, who were still in the small town, were also retrieved by the Bifrost...

....

In the royal palace of Asgard, Odin gazed down at the kneeling Loki, a trace of regret flickering in his heart...

He had always seen Thor as the future king, yet he had given his adopted son too many false hopes. Once the seed of ambition took root, the thirst for power became impossible to suppress.

"You and Thor were both born to be kings. But Asgard can have only one ruler."

Odin's voice carried genuine emotion as he looked at Loki, whose head hung low.

"You are Laufey's son, a Frost Giant. I had hoped, through you, to forge an everlasting peace with Jotunheim..."

"Enough!" Loki's head snapped up, his handsome face flushed with fury, "You let me hope, only to cruelly crush it! From the beginning, you never intended to give me a chance. Thor was always your chosen king!"

Prideful to the core, Loki could not bear what he saw as Odin's hypocritical pity. In his eyes, Thor was nothing more than a reckless warrior, while Asgard needed a wise and cunning ruler.

Seeing his adopted son's unyielding defiance, Odin sighed. Cold light gleamed in his single eye.

The bond between father and son was beyond repair... Loki's heart was now filled with hatred and resentment. The Allfather had no choice but to imprison him in Asgard's dungeons, where perhaps time would cool the fire of his ambition.

Weariness crept onto Odin's aged face. Forced awake from the Odinsleep, having battled Laufey and briefly clashed wills with that mysterious Midgardian, even the Allfather was exhausted. His towering frame swayed slightly.

Seizing the moment, Loki subtly summoned an ancient, azure-hued casket behind his back... the Casket of Ancient Winters.

He would never accept imprisonment, stripped of his status, and being forced to watch Thor ascend the throne amid cheers and glory.

"Forgive me..."

The casket burst open, and its infinite frost unleashed by Loki's Frost Giant bloodline. This legendary artifact, said to be capable of freezing entire worlds, erupted with terrifying power.

Even Odin, caught off guard, was encased in ice. The relentless cold pouring from the casket temporarily immobilized Asgard's mightiest.

With one last glance at the throne, Loki turned away resolutely. The moment he decided to leave Thor stranded on Earth, there had been no turning back.

The handsome prince, adorned with his horned helm and regal robes, fled the palace in an instant, and raced toward the Bifrost, the bridge connecting the Nine Realms.

With Laufey dead, now was the perfect time to incite war between Asgard and Jotunheim.

And while the Frost Giants invaded, Loki would use the Bifrost's power to annihilate Jotunheim once and for all. Why bother with peace treaties when he could eradicate the enemy entirely? Soon, Asgard would see that he was the more worthy successor.

"All I wanted was fairness... You favored him too much, Father. I just wanted to prove I was never inferior to Thor."

At the Bifrost's observatory, even Heimdall, the gatekeeper of Asgard, could not stop Loki. The Casket of Ancient Winters froze him solid.

Gripping the massive sword that controlled the Bifrost, Loki unleashed a dazzling beam of energy, a radiant spear piercing straight into Jotunheim's heart.

On the other end, the beam tore through the Frost Giants' palace.

Loki had once struck a deal with Laufey: once Odin was dead, the Bifrost would open, allowing the Frost Giants to invade Asgard and crown Loki as king.

But Laufey was gone. Loki would twist the plan, lure the Frost Giants into Asgard to distract Odin, then use the Bifrost as a weapon to obliterate their frozen homeland...

...

When Thor returned to Asgard, he found Frost Giants pouring through the Bifrost, clashing with Asgard's warriors...

At the bridge's end, Loki stood at the controls, wielding the Bifrost's energy as a weapon against Jotunheim.

The deep blast of war horns sent the realm into chaos.

Asgard's battle-ready citizens rallied instantly, surging toward the palace. Elite soldiers flooded the Bifrost, meeting the Frost Giants head-on. Ancient enemies needed no words, only blood.

Frost Giants, born with the power to command ice, were towering and formidable, with crimson eyes and blue-gray skin.

Their late king, Laufey, had once taken Odin's eye, marking him as the Allfather's greatest rival. Had he not trusted Loki's lies, he might not have met his end.

"What are you doing, Loki?" Thor ordered the Warriors Three and Sif into the fray before turning on his brother, "You're a master of lies, just for Asgard's throne, you sent the Destroyer to kill me? Now you bring Frost Giants here? What madness is this?"

"I'm ending the threat for good," Loki retorted, his voice trembling with fervor, "Father killed Laufey. The peace between Asgard and Jotunheim is shattered. Why wait for war when we can strike first? You taught me that, dear brother."

His eyes swept over Asgard's splendor and the starlit sky above. The Bifrost's energy beam, like a sword of the gods, carved through Jotunheim's mountains, reducing the Frost Giants' home to rubble.

"Father never gave me a chance. If I can't be king, then I'll give Asgard something to remember me by... the annihilation of Jotunheim!" Loki's voice was thick with bitterness.

He saw through Odin's plan: Thor, wielder of Mjolnir, would rule Asgard, while Loki (Laufey's son) would be sent to Jotunheim as a puppet king. A means to end millennia of bloodshed.

"I could have been better than you! But no one gave me the chance!" Loki's roar was raw with fury.

"You can't do this," Thor pleaded, "Destroying a world will make Asgard the enemy of the Nine Realms!"

The Bifrost's energy expanded, its destructive power growing. Loki stepped away from the controls, and smirked, "It's too late to stop me. Not even Father can intervene now."

On the bridge, Frost Giants and Asgardian warriors fought blindly, unaware their homes were at stake.

Thor charged, Mjolnir in hand, but Loki's illusions deceived him. The god of Mischief materialized behind his brother and thrust his dagger.

The blade pierced Thor's armor, drawing blood.

"Still so gullible–" Loki's taunt was cut short as Thor backhanded him with Mjolnir.

Lightning lashed out, sending Loki crashing through the observatory wall. He tumbled across the Bifrost, disgraced.

Gazing at the rampaging energy beam, Thor knew what had to be done. He raised Mjolnir and brought it down upon the Bifrost with all his might.

The hammer, a divine weapon capable of shattering anything, struck again and again. Cracks spiderwebbed across the bridge, threatening to collapse.

"Why?!" Loki screamed. "You'd spare our enemies?!"

"Your madness would doom Asgard," Thor replied coldly, "Father was right. A true king doesn't seek war."

His exile had taught him more than humility.

With a final thunderous blow, the Bifrost shattered. Light erupted like a supernova, the resulting shockwave shook all of Asgard. Both princes were hurled into the maelstrom.

Odin appeared just in time and seized Thor's red cape. Loki, however, plummeted into the abyss as he was swallowed by the void...

....

Back in New Mexico, Sean gazed at the suddenly clear sky and smiled...

If fate held its course, the lost prince of Asgard would return, leading an alien army of unimaginable scale.

And honestly? He couldn't wait.

Only by facing the universe's most feared tyrant would Sean truly measure his own strength...