Featuring: Thor
Release: January 3, 1967
Cover: March 1967
12 cents
Garnished with grandeur by Stan (The Man) Lee and Jack (King) Kirby
Inked by: Vince (The Prince) Colletta
Lettered by: Artie (The Smartie) Simek
16 pages
| Previous | #560 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Thor #137, Story B | Reading order | Thor #138, Story B |
| Thor #137, Story B | Thor | Thor #138, Story B |
To thine avenging master, eternal Mjolnir!
While they get a different nickname every issue, these nicknames we’ve seen several times and they are the nicknames which will endure. Stan The Man Lee. And Jack King Kirby.
An army of Trolls attacks Asgard, while Ulik attacks Manhattan. Thor has chosen to confront Ulik to save Sif and Midgard.
Thor thinks it’s important to avoid detection by becoming Dr. Don Blake. Doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. And it unsurprisingly backfires, allowing Thor to be captured in his weaker form.
War rages in Asgard. A mysterious figure called Orikal is the Trolls’ secret weapon.
Orikal is a traveller from another universe who has been captured by Geirrodur, and exploited for information and strategy ideas. His power is a rival even for that of mighty Odin.
Orikal is as pure Kirby a concept as you can get. We’ve seen somewhat similar character concepts from him with these godlike aliens such as the Watcher or the Stranger, but those characters looked basically human, whereas Orikal lets him cut loose on design. This character seems to presage his later godlike creations, the Celestials.
I think Thor was pretty dumb for getting captured. The Trolls are even dumber for letting him escape. But we get another good brawl out of it. Thor vs. Ulik, round 2.
Thor defeats Ulik, but loses his favorite hammer.
And Asgard remains in deadly peril.
Note he only has 60 seconds before transforming back into Don Blake. He gets a lot of moaning and speechifying out in that time.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 58/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Characters:
- Thor/Dr. Don Blake
- Ulik
- Sif
- Geirrodur/Gierrodur
- Orikal
- Odin
Story notes:
- Immortals can detect other immortal auras; Thor can do this even in Don’s form.
- Trolls think Orikal will make the difference in the war on Asgard; he may be even more powerful than Ulik.
- Ulik does not answer to Geirrodur.
- Trolls use Molecule Disperser to get Blake into their underground lair.
- Some rivalry between Ulik and Orikal.
- Trolls capture Don’s cane, but cannot work its enchantment.
- Blake tricks Troll into striking floor with cane as he grabs it, to become Thor.
- Meanwhile, battle rages in Asgard and Trolls fight outnumbered warriors wherever their defenses are weakest. Orikal’s strategy guides them.
- Nothing can break the grip of a Troll.
- Orikal is a prisoner of Geirrodur. He had appeared from another universe.
- Orikal posseses the Infinite Eye, which can see all that happens, and a mind that can nullify Odin’s power by penetrating the eternal timestream.
- Orikal imprisoned in Sea of Flame, which Trolls control.
- Ulik goes for the wrist, so Thor will drop his hammer.
- Sif is helpless within a transparent sphere (which is not a sphere).
- Orb or Orikal contains Mjolnir.
- Trolls and Ulik retreat into Dimension Tunnel with Uru Hammer.
- Odin prepares to join warriors.
- Asgard is losing; Odin faces a power unprecedented, the weapons of Orikal; and Thor has no hammer and will soon be helpless Don Blake.
| Previous | #560 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Thor #137, Story B | Reading order | Thor #138, Story B |
| Thor #137, Story B | Thor | Thor #138, Story B |
