Seth again sought to destroy them in their weakened states, but the gods slowly rediscovered their true identities and banded together to defeat him.
After Odin's apparent death battling Surtur, Thor became Asgard's new monarch and moved Asgard to Earth above Broxton, Oklahoma. Heimdall sensed catastrophes on Earth for Thor to remedy until Thor was shown the error of this approach and restored Asgard to its proper place. Soon after, Loki assembled Asgard's enemies and brought Ragnarok to the realm, shattering the Bifrost and killing Heimdall in their first assault.
Asgard was destroyed in the subsequent war, and the Asgardians exiled to mortal forms; Heimdall became New Orleans native Ezra. After Thor returned to life from a limbo-like dimension, he found Ezra and used his hammer to free Heimdall, who guided Thor to other dormant Asgardians.
When Thor was later exiled for inadvertently killing his grandfather Bor, Balder became Asgard's monarch and moved the Asgardians to Victor von Doom's Latveria at Loki's suggestion. It soon came to light that Doom was vivisecting Asgardians in his experiments, and Heimdall joined Asgard's forces to oppose him. The returning Thor forced Doom's retreat, and the Asgardians returned to Oklahoma.
After that, Norman Osborn led H.A.M.M.E.R., the Initiative, and his Dark Avengers in a siege on Asgard, which severely wounded Heimdall. The Avengers and Thor arrested Osborn and routed his forces, but Asgard's landmass was destroyed in the struggle. Heimdall subsequently recovered from his wounds and remains a valued warrior.