Sif #1

[Somebody]

SIF #1
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art: Ryan Stegman

"I am the Lady Sif"

Cast:
SIF
SPOONER, MRS.
BETA RAY BILL
TI ASHA RA
SKUTTLEBUTT

"Dave" (barman)
"Luke" (drunk)

"Salvation Contagion"/"Great Liberator" leader & infectees.

Summary:

pg1-3
"Broxton, Oklahoma" [Night, Sif's boarding room, Sooner Hotel]
App: Sif, Mrs. Sooner.

In the bath, Sif catalogues various scars, trying to reassure herself, but jumps at a sound, imagining it to be Loki come from her again, and almost stabs Mrs. Sooner with a broken plunger handle before she realises who it actually is.

pg4-8 + 9:1:1
[Night, The Okio Doke Bar]
App: Sif, Beta Ray Bill, Ti Asha Ra, "Dave", "Luke", various extras

Sif, in civvies, works at getting drunk until BRB charges in, looking for Thor. After cattily glancing at his girlfriend, she asks him to explain why he needs Thor.

He explains that Skuttlebutt has been possessed by a biomechanical virus, and won't let any Korbinites on board. She replies that "Thor's aid cannot be had at present", and offers her aid in his stead.

pg9:1-9:2 + 9:3:1
[Shuttle en route to Skuttlebutt]
App: Sif, BRB, TAR, Skuttlebutt

They approach Skuttlebutt. Sif is now in-costume.

pg9:4-10:5
[Aboard the possessed Skuttlebutt]
App: Skuttlebutt, "Salvation Contagion" leader, and infectees [none named]

The "Salvation Contagion" leader plots to use Skuttlebutt to learn how to infect machines, and infect the shuttle remotely.

pg10:5:2 + 11-20
[Airlock, into Skuttlebutt; cutting to and from BRB & TAR in the shuttle]
App: Sif, Skuttlebutt, BRB, TAR, "Salvation Contagion" leader, and infectees [none named]

Sif charges through until she confronts the leader, and he infects her. She almost gives in, until she starts seeing the leader as Loki. She runs him through and madly slashes at the pods filled with the infection.

pg21
[Later, in Skuttlebutt's sick bay]
App: Sif, BRB, TAR
, Skuttlebutt

Sif wakes up in a medical bed hooked up to scanners, a drip and with a tube up her nose to find all is generally well, but she needs to rest and recover for a bit. She wishes BRB & TAR "great happiness", and TAR wishes her peace in return.

pg22
[Later still, Night.]
App: Sif, Skuttlebutt

Sif watches Skuttlebutt depart, then turns and strides forward purposefully, sword over her shoulder, swearing to have vengeance on Loki.

Continuity notes:

• Sif cameos in T 606, in the Marko Djurdgevic costume she appeared in T 602-603 & T:GSF in.
• Sif has a new costume in this issue, more closely based on her old ones than the MD one, but with huge, furry shoulder pads.
• "Weeks" pass between T 606 and SIEGE, per SIEGE: LOKI.

SIF almost certaintly takes place during this time (although it isn't out of the question that it "leaks" into the Siege timeframe, since I haven't seen her in anything set then) - and Thor's absence during this issue may be accounted for by T@2 1, which I couldn't place at the time of publication or for a long time thereafter (Thor has an intact hammer, and spends three weeks hiding out in a cabin in the woods driving Blake nuts and mourning Bor. The first gap for it is after T 606).

That would give:

SIF
[...]
T 606
SIF 1

BETA RAY BILL
[...]
[S.W.O.R.D.]
SIF 1

TI ASHA RA
[...]
[S.W.O.R.D.]
SIF 1

SKUTTLEBUTT
[...]
[S.W.O.R.D.]
SIF 1

And, for the record...

THOR
[...]
T 606
T@2 1
[...]

BLAKE, DR. DONALD
[...]
T 604 [Blake isn't seen or heard from in 605-606]
T@2 1
[...]

(not a complete listing for T@2 1, just for-the-record)

Calendar notes:

Hard to say how long this takes - no timeframes are specified at any point. The simplest assumption would be:

Day 1, Night: pg1-8
Day 2: pg9-20
Day 3: pg21
Day 4, Night: pg22

But there's room to stretch it out, ESPECIALLY between pg21 & 22, if need be.

[Paul Bourcier]

Thanks, Somebody! Question: what does "9:1:1," "9:3:1," and "10:5:2" mean? A piece of dialog from one scene superimposed on art from the next scene?

[Somebody]

Basically [(10:5:2) is a piece of dialogue superimposed on the previous scene rather than the next, but same principle]. Per the Key:

Used to separate page, panel, and word balloon numbers (if needed) in "split appearances" (see "( )" above). The format is pagenumber:panelnumber:wordballoonnumber. For example, the notation "(5:4 - 6:2:1)" could be translated as "an appearance in the fourth panel of page five, running through the first word balloon in the second panel of page six."

I've been using it that way for a while now .

[Paul Bourcier]

Thanks for the clarification, Somebody.

Now, about Sif's most recent costume. It appears she changes into her new costume in the middle of the freakin' Siege!

You said:

SIF almost certaintly takes place during this time (although it isn't out of the question that it "leaks" into the Siege timeframe, since I haven't seen her in anything set then)

Ah, but she DOES appear in several places during SIEGE --

Page 10 of the flashback in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #32, then
Pages 14-15 of DARK WOLVERINE #82, then
Page 15 of SIEGE #2
All of these are appearances without the big, furry shoulder pads.

Then she appears next in pages 1-2 and page 20 of NEW AVENGERS #63, with the big, furry shoulder pads.

I'm betting that Sif's depictions in A:INIT 32, W3 82, and SIEGE 2 are incorrect and that she was supposed to be wearing the fur. I agree that SIF 1 should be before SIEGE.

[Somebody]

Ah, but she DOES appear in several places during SIEGE --

Ah. I don't get most of those, but I should have spotted her in Siege #2.

I'm betting that Sif's depictions in A:INIT 32, W3 82, and SIEGE 2 are incorrect and that she was supposed to be wearing the fur. I agree that SIF 1 should be before SIEGE.

Just to point out, both costumes have fur - the MD costume actually has more fur, since the whole cape is furry and there's a fur skirt. The SIF 1 costume only has furry shoulder pads (I remarked upon them because that's the biggest change from the previous costumes I mentioned).

The first difference to see, though, is the colour scheme - the MD costume is purple, yellow and gray (and I was careless about checking the T 606 cameo - it's missing the fur, although it shares the MD costume's colour palette). The SIF 1 costume is in Sif's traditional red & white, as well as being closer to her earlier costumes' tiara design, and considerably more complex.

[Paul Bourcier]

Hmm. All the Sif appearances in Siege are in red and white, and aside from the furry shoulder pads in A4 63, appear to be fairly consistent. But there does appear to be a bit of switching going on. Is she changing her name to Sif Van Dyne?

I don't think costuming is going to be the determining factor for Sif's chronology during this time. Agreed?

[Somebody]

I don't think costuming is going to be the determining factor for Sif's chronology during this time. Agreed?

Agreed.

So, after T 606, during the "three weeks" of T@2 1, agreed?

[Paul Bourcier]

Well, like T@2 1, SIF 1 is between T 606 and Siege. Thor is in T@2 1 at least "three weeks" after T 606 and before IM5 19, which occurs shortly before Siege. SIF 1 occurring during those "three weeks" is likely, although it could conceivably occur after T@2 1, provided a calendar allows room for it.