Featuring: Thor
Release: June 1, 1965
Cover: 1965
25 cents
Mighty story by: Stan Lee
Majestic art by: Jack Kirby
Masterful inking by: Vince Colletta
Mostly lettered by: Sam Rosen
15 pages
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Thus, the Thunder God falls.. for time without end.. through a vast void of heavy nothingness… of shimmering energy barriers and mystic space disrupters…
This is the first Thor Annual. Your 25 cents is mostly buying you reprint stories. But you also get a 15 page new Thor story, which is perhaps more properly a Tales of Asgard story, focused as it is on an early adventure of Thor. In those tales, Loki is always scheming to kill him, but Thor seems blissfully unaware.
We’ve reviewed some early history of Hercules and Zeus. Marvel introduced a gigantic superhero named for Hercules then weeks later introduced a comedic hero named Little Hercules. A mythologically-confused version of Hercules gave his powers to Marvel Boy in 1940 and then to another Marvel Boy in 1943. Tommy Tyme witnessed the mythological Hercules’ legendary battle against Antaeus, which bore quite the resemblance to a Thor story we read where he battled Sigurd.
Jupiter was a recurring character in Venus, and the Jupiter of Roman myth is very similar to the Zeus of Greek myth. We saw Zeus unleash a Fury in a 1955 fantasy story. We know Zeus had given Pandora her box from a 1961 Tales of Suspense story. And that Pandora’s Box was later used by the Sorcerer to menace Johnny Storm. In the early days of our reading, we read a weird tale where Zeus came to Earth to prove his power, and was offered movie deals.
But those appearances of Hercules and Zeus are not necessarily part of our canon. This issue represents the proper Marvel Universe introductions of Hercules and Zeus.
And those of you who watched the Thor film last night know how timely this post is.
Thor and Loki have traveled to Jotunheim, land of the Storm Giants. This is only our second visit to Jotunheim, which was last referred to as simply the land of the giants. I think of Jotunheim as the realm of Frost Giants like Ymir. We know Laufey, father of Loki, was a Giant of Jotunheim. And not much else.
Thor finds Storm Giants attempting to sneak into Olympus through a lost passage. Through their battle, Thor finds himself in Olympus.
We see what appears to be a faun and centaur. Could the faun be Pan? We see a woman with a harp.
And of course, we meet the most famous resident of Olympus, Hercules. There remains some myth-confusion here, as Hercules is the Roman name of the Greek god Heracles. But Zeus is the Greek god.
I’m going to say that Jack has done it again with outstanding character design. Perhaps the color scheme could use a bit of work, but he’s adapted the classic Hercules character to the Marvel Universe with a distinctive and enduring look. Where Thor has a hammer, Hercules has a golden mace.
Of course, Thor and Hercules fight.
It’s quite a battle.
It ends in a draw and they depart as friends, having gained a mutual respect.
There’s Zeus.
We then get a map of Asgard.
Rating: ★★★½, 62/100
Signifiance: ★★★★★
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor vol. 3.
Characters:
- Thor
- Hercules
- Loki
- Zeus
Story notes:
- Thor and his half-brother Loki travel to Jotunheim, land of the Storm Giants.
- Loki plots Thor’s death; Thor seems oblivious.
- Storm Giants have discovered the Lost Passage to Olympus, where they were expelled from ages ago.
- Loki abandons Thor to the Storm Giants.
- Thor and Hercules fight over who gets to cross a bridge first.
- Hercules wields a Golden Mace.
- Only Hercules can bend the enchanted Pole of Heroes; but Thor can break it.
- Hercules blinds Thor by smashing rocks into powder.
- Zeus calls it a draw. They shake hands as friends.
- Thor’s memory of Olympus grows dim.
- Loki claims he was searching for help.
- Zeus creates mountain to forever seal off entrance to Olympus from Jotunheim.
- Asgard: Temple of Titans, Yggasdral (Tree of Life) Monument, Warrior’s Walk, Warlock’s Haven, Giant Bust of Odin, Monument to the Unknown Warrior, Museum of Weaponry, Hall of Heroes, Dome of Combat, Shopping Center
| Previous | #376 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Mystic #39, Story B | PRELUDE | |
| Daredevil #9 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #28 |
