Featuring: Thor
Release: July 1, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Written in the fire of inspiration by: Stan Lee
Drawn in the flame of dedication by: Jack Kirby
Inked in the heat of devotion by: Vince Colletta
Lettered in the other room by: Artie Simek
16 pages
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|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury Annual 1 | Reading order | Journey Into Mystery #120, Story B |
| Journey Into Mystery #119, Story B | Journey Into Mystery | Journey Into Mystery #120, Story B |
There! It is done! My hammer can strike once more!
Continuity. How do these many titles all fit together? At present, Thor is the character making it the most difficult. It’s been over 6 issues since his title has given him a chance to breathe, yet we squeezed his last Avengers adventure in there somehow. We’re going to have to squeeze in a wedding somewhere. By the time of the wedding, his hammer should be intact, and he should have formally resigned from the Avengers.
At present, his hammer is broken and he is not yet aware of the new Avengers.
There will be difficulties and contradictions to come, so just remember where we are. Loki cheated in the Trial of the Gods. Thor must get the Norn Stones to Odin as proof. En route, he encountered the Destroyer, who destroyed his hammer. Loki has been punished and sentenced to serve Ularic for his role in awakening the Destroyer. Prior to the Trial of the Gods, Thor had defeated the Absorbing Man by turning him into helium and sending him drifting into space. Somewhere in all that, he also fought the Viet Cong and joined the Avengers against the Masters of Evil. He has not been in contact with the Avengers since that battle, and much has changed. He has not returned to Asgard since the Trial of the Gods.
We open with Thor at a Pittsburgh factory, repairing his hammer. I would have guessed more mystical means would be needed. With Dwarves or such. Maybe Pittsburgh is more mystical than I think. (I have at least one regular reader from Pittsburgh; perhaps he can tell me.)
We then get one of those panels that combines a photo collage with comic art that Kirby has been experimenting with, imposing his drawing of Thor against the backdrop of a factory photograph.
We get some unusual scenes for this comic. Peaceful images of Thor with bunnies and a robin are more common in a Disney movie than a Marvel superhero comic. A quiet moment for an artist who has immersed Thor in nonstop action for several issues.
Followed by a fateful moment, as a Stone drops from Thor’s pouch, no doubt hinting ominously at a story still to come.
Finally leading us to Thor’s return to Asgard at last, to regain favor with Odin.
Thor delivers the Norn Stones and Odin proclaims his honor restored. Odin will punish Loki, but Thor pleads for clemency for his brother. His temper has cooled, as he was quite ready to do harm to Loki for kidnapping Jane not long ago. I’d declare the saga of the Trial of the Gods and the Norn Stones over, but that one dropped Stone remains as a dangling plot thread. That, and the issue isn’t over, of course.
Thor returns to the office of Dr. Blake to find things in shambles and Jane missing.
He goes to the Avengers for help, but is shocked to learn the Avengers are not the people he knew, and he doesn’t want to ask these newcomers for help, so he takes his leave. We’ll count this as Thor officially quitting the Avengers. (Note it’s possible this scene takes place before Avengers #18, in which Cap notes Thor had quit, though it was published 2 months later.)
This is Thor’s first time meeting Hawkeye, though he seemed to recognize him. He fought Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch once before when they were with Magneto’s Evil Mutants. He is too polite to mention that, I guess.
Loki overcomes Ularic and secretly plots to overthrow Odin. His next move is to return Absorbing Man to Earth to destroy Thor.
We’ll pick up next issue for Thor’s battle with the Absorbing Man. But first this issue’s backup story. The Odinsword Quest continues in Tales of Asgard.
Structurally, this is an interesting issue. We are well past the point where stories fit in a single issue, and even past the point where they can be well delineated within 2 or 3 issues.
Instead of story arcs, there are overlapping story threads. This picks up several threads from the last 6 issues, closes some of them, but also opens up new threads which will carry us through the next several issues. It serves as an epilogue to Thor’s battle with Destroyer and a prologue to his rematch against Absorbing Man. It’s not even close to a self-contained issue, but nor is it really part of a single identifiable story arc. Starting with issue 114, the story of Thor has been an unbroken saga.
While hard to fit into neat boxes, this era of Thor is very exciting. Almost worth sitting through the first 30 Thor issues to get to.
Almost.
Which brings us back to continuity. I need Thor to attend a wedding. This issue is his first breather in a while. I need him to have a break from adventures, but I also need his hammer to be intact and for him to know about the new Avengers. That means the wedding must be after he meets the Avengers in this issue. But by the time he meets the new Avengers, Jane is already missing, and the Absorbing Man is already headed to Earth. So we need to look for the next time Thor has a couple hours to spare.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 56/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor vol. 3.
Characters:
- Thor/Dr. Donald Blake
- Odin
- Ularic
- Loki
- Dr. Blake’s landlord
- Norma Thaxton
- Quicksilver
- Hawkeye
- Scarlet Witch
- Jane Foster
Minor characters:
- Mike (factory worker)
- Harriet (woman in car)
Story notes:
- Thor repairs hammer at Pittsburgh factory.
- Thor inspects the Norn Stones to ensure they are intact.
- Thor delivers Norn Stones to Odin, redeeming his honor.
- Thor pleads for mercy for Loki, who cannot help his nature.
- Loki still sentenced to serve Ularic, the royal warlock, for role in awakening Destroyer.
- Loki creates suspended animation mist to trap Ularic in his Time Vault.
- Norma Thaxton a patient of Dr. Blake’s who has found a new doctor.
- Jane missing.
- Thor meets the new Avengers and finally learns the original team disbanded.
- Issue ends with Thor confronting the Absorbing Man.
| Previous | #392 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury Annual 1 | Reading order | Journey Into Mystery #120, Story B |
| Journey Into Mystery #119, Story B | Journey Into Mystery | Journey Into Mystery #120, Story B |
The only thing mystical about Pittsburgh is how difficult it is to navigate. That, and Primanti Bros’ sandwiches.
Only been to Pittsburgh once. Did eat at Primanti Bros.
“I can almost believe he IS the God of Thunder!”
This is something interesting I noticed in these early comics. Most civilians didn’t believe Thor was a real god, or that Asgard actually existed. They kind of thought he was just a super-powered dude cosplaying an ancient god as his gimmick.
As Captain America said, “There’s only one god and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”
Good note. The word “almost” is key there.
2nd Best Line of the Avengers’ 1st movie! Beaten only by the Hulk’s line of “Puny god,” and he had to precede THAT line with a choreographed dance with Loki!