WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Thor #2 by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matt Wilson and VC's Joe Sabino, on sale now.
Thor's pal Beta Ray Bill has never been lacking when it comes to either weirdness. As one of Thor's most trusted allies, Bill has always been a welcome addition to the cast of any God of Thunder comic run. But with Thor rubbing elbows with Galactus in his latest issues, it looks like Bill has competition for the title of Thor's weirdest friend. And he's ready to fight over it.
Admittedly, calling Galactus Thor's friend is a bit of an exaggeration. Currently, the two are more grudging allies than anything else, uniting forces as the universe is imperiled against a threat only the Devourer of Worlds has the potential to counter. In order to tap into that potential, Galactus needs to gather the essence of five specific planets that only Thor can lead him to, and thus Thor became not only the God of Thunder but the Herald of Thunder.
Though their alliance is strained as Thor holds Galactus off from feeding on the first planet while he evacuates its population, the tension breaks altogether when the Devourer of Worlds can't control himself during the feeding. He cracks the planet open like an egg, dashing any chance the world's population had of ever returning to it, and it appears that Galactus prepares to turn his drunken power on Thor himself.
That's where Beta Ray Bill intervenes. Staggered by the force of explosions unleashed against the starry background, Thor turns to find the source of the attack is none other than Beta Ray Bill and his intergalactic dreadnaught Scuttlebutt. Bill pleads with his old friend to allow him to pass and speak with Galactus directly but makes it clear he'll go through the Thunder God if necessary.
The shock of the reveal is amplified by the two different elements in the last page's contents. One is the survival of Scuttlebutt itself, last seen releasing its self-detonated explosion that destroyed everything in the space of a light-year. Scuttlebutt has always been known to have nanotechnology that could repair it where needed, but its jaw-dropping that the ship could even rejuvenate from utter annihilation. The other reveal is, of course, Bill himself.
Beta Ray sports a new look that modifies his classic Thor costume. With a helmet that seems more Trojan than Nordic and blinged-out head-to-toe in gold it would seem that Bill may be more powerful than ever. There are certainly worse ways to communicate such a power amp than to fly onto panel after blasting the daylights out of Galactus. There's no telling just what this new Beta Ray Bill may want, but with enhanced powers and Scuttlebutt back at his side there's no telling if anyone could stop him from getting what he wants.