Featuring: Thor
Release: April 2, 1964
Cover: June 1964
12 cents
Written by: Happy Stan Lee
Drawn by: Healthy Jack Kirby
Inked by: Husky Chic Stone
Lettered by: Hasty Art Simek
18 pages
I really am excited that Kirby is the regular on Thor, especially when paired with a great inker like Chic Stone. I remain hopeful that the quality of the “Tales of Asgard” backups will soon be reflected in the main stories, turning around what has been Marvel’s worst title so far. Enchantress and Executioner were two good additions to the rogues gallery. And last issue we got a taste of mythic armageddon. Far more interesting than Thor fighting mobsters. I like the direction they’re going. I hope they keep it u–
Oh. Huh. Cobra and Mr. Hyde, eh.
Sigh. Ah well. Teach me to get my hopes up.
Because there are no longer sci/fi backup tales, the entire issue is dedicated to Thor. Which means they have to drag this story over 18 pages. And then they make it a two-parter! 36 pages of Cobra and Mr. Hyde.
The Avengers show up. The costumes they are wearing could be clues to where this story places amidst the Avengers comics and other titles… except they provide inconsistent evidence.
Wasp asks Thor if he has a girlfriend, but Giant-Man reminds her their code is to not pry into each other’s personal lives.
Thor and Cobra battle. For some reason, Cobra is a serious threat to Thor. He escapes and accidentally ends up in the lab of Mr. Hyde. They agree to team up. Note that they meet by pure chance. That’s almost writing.
Teaming up has not yet gone well for supervillains. Doom and Namor were the first to try it, but Namor was ultimately too noble. Hulk and Namor did okay, but did frustrate each other. Wizard and Paste-Pot Pete let their egos get in the way; neither could work for the other. The plans of Enchantress and Executioner were foiled when she turned him into a tree. But I’m sure this new alliance will work great. Best of luck to you both.
Jane goes on a date with some guy Paul in an attempt to make Don jealous and convince him to propose. This is a common plan amongst females in these stories, and invariably backfires.
Mr. Hyde builds an absurdly powerful device which defies explanation, a time reversal ray. It will somehow project the past of any person it’s aimed at. The uses for such a device are endless. They decide to use it to learn where Thor’s hideout is.
They trace Thor to Dr. Blake’s office. Superhero girlfriends basically exist to be damsels in distress, but the writers have to go to great lengths to explain why Thor’s villains always, always attack Dr. Blake’s nurse. This time, the time reversal ray explained it handily.
Dr. Blake is considering giving up being Thor. It’s the only way he’ll be allowed to marry Jane. He knows he just fought both Cobra and Mr. Hyde, and both are still on the loose, so the timing doesn’t seem ideal. I hope he at least called the Avengers to help with the Cobra/Hyde situation. Either way, his plan is to go 24 hours without becoming Thor; his attempt lasts like 5 minutes.
How the cane/hammer thing works has never been quite clear or consistent. We see examples of how it all works in a scene that defies explanation. First, Blake has Mr. Hyde tap his cane for him. This transforms Blake into Thor and the cane into the hammer. I would have assumed that Blake needed to tap the cane himself in order to transform. I would have assumed incorrectly. Thor then makes his hammer fly to him. Sometimes he can do that, and sometimes he can’t.
But the most bewildering part is that none of the three people in the room noticed what just happened. Blake fooled them all into looking out the window, so they didn’t see him change into Thor. They just know that they turned away for a second, and Thor was now standing where Blake had been.
Also, the cane turned into a hammer while Mr. Hyde was holding it! Then Thor summoned the hammer before Mr. Hyde even noticed it, though it had been in his hand. Then Mr. Hyde assumed he dropped the cane out the window despite not having actually done so.
But here’s what kills me. Mr. Hyde is Calvin Zabo. He drinks a potion to change back and forth. He knows a large strong man like Thor could suddenly change into a small meek scientist; he does it all the time himself!
I get that it might not occur to Cobra or Jane that these two very different-looking people might somehow be the same person. But where is your head at, Mr. Hyde/Dr. Zabo?
The final piece of hammer physics we learn is that a person can lift it with the help of a machine. Cobra operates a hydraulic hoist to grab the hammer from Thor. Can Iron Man lift the hammer if his armor is doing the work?
“Two of the worst menaces on Earth.” I’m skeptical of that claim. Lots of menaces out there. The “on Earth” qualifier is probably important. Dr. Doom is lost in space. Loki is in Asgard, like Enchantress and Executioner. Obviously, Magneto could trounce these two. As could Dr. Octopus. These guys are Mandarin/Green Goblin-league menaces at best.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆, 39/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor vol. 2. It is also available in Thor Epic Collection vol. 1: God of Thunder. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Thor/Dr. Don Blake
- Iron Man
- Captain America
- Wasp
- Giant-Man
- Cobra
- Dr. Calvin Zabo/Mr. Hyde
- Jane Foster
Minor characters:
- Paul (Jane’s date)
Story notes:
- Iron Man wearing helmet with rivets down the center as seen in Tales of Suspense #54; Giant-Man wearing “light stripes” look last seen in Tales to Astonish #56 and Avengers #5. Wasp wearing mask last seen in Tales to Astonish #55 and Avengers #5.
- Avengers having regular meeting.
- Thor refers to Wasp as the girl Giant-Man loves.
- Captain America to teach Iron Man some judo holds.
- Thor and Cobra battle. Cobra wins for some reason and escapes. He accidentally hides in the lab of Calvin Zabo, who quickly transforms into Mr. Hyde.
- After a brief battle, Cobra and Mr. Hyde agree to join forces against Thor.
- Some romantic tension between Blake and Foster.
- Mr. Hyde builds time reversal ray, an extremely powerful device that defies explanation.
- Dr. Blake decides to go a whole day without being Thor to test if he can surrender the identity permanently.
- Mr. Hyde tapped Blake’s cane and Blake turned into Thor.
- Heavy machinery show at Colosseum.
- Cobra steals Thor’s hammer with hydraulic hoist.
#208 story in reading order
Next: Journey Into Mystery #105, Story B
Previous: Amazing Spider-Man #14
