This will be a discussion of Walt Simonson’s run on Thor. I’ll be covering issues of Thor from 337-382, as well as the Balder the Brave mini-series.
You need to be a member of Captain Comics to add comments!
This reply was deleted.
This will be a discussion of Walt Simonson’s run on Thor. I’ll be covering issues of Thor from 337-382, as well as the Balder the Brave mini-series.
You need to be a member of Captain Comics to add comments!
Replies
Thor #370 was a fill-in issue by James Owsley, John Buscema and Craig Russell. It introduced a character called "Sundance" but I have no memory of this story whatsoever.
THOR #371:
SUMMARY: Balder is crowned Ruler of Asgard, but he modestly refuses to sit on Odin's throne. He holds Odin's scepter and spear in trust, but had craftsmen fashion another seat for him until Odin's fate can be determined for certain. All of the main characters say their goodbyes before going their separate ways. Thor and Sif have a private conversation, not revealed to readers.
Back on Midgard, Thug Thatcher, threatening the lives of Rudy's two sons, forces her to deliver a small package to a particular inmate held in the Skraggmore Penitentiary just outside Chicago. Pretending to be the con's sister, she affixes a small package to the underside of a table, to later be retrieved by a trusty and dropped into the cell of one Brad Wolfe. Inside the package is a small nose filter, which Wolfe wears in the exercise yard the next day. A helicopter fires knock-out gas and facilitates Wolfe's escape.
In New York City, a cop from the future arrives on a flying motorcycle, and the first thing he does is fire upon a group of jaywalkers, altering their DNA to make them incapable of jaywalking ever again. This is Justice Peace. Thjor arrives on the scene and they fight, but Justice Peace is able to temporarily subdue him with a restraining device, allowing Justice Peace to pursue his mission, whatever that is. In Hel, Hela observes and continues to plot her revenge against Thor.
Meanwhile, Wolfe arrives at Rudy's house. One of Thug Thatcher's men removes the restraining device which had been suppressing his powers from Wolfe's hands, and he transforms into Zaniac (see Thor #319). Thatcher's plan had been to send Zaniac to kill Jane Foster because he knows it will bring Thor pain.
Ruby enters the room and Zaniac kills her with one of the knives he generates when his powers aren't supressed. Thug's man Kellen then shoots Wolfe dead, but dozens of rats and slug-like creatures burst from his dead body. One of them catches Thug thatcher and chews into the back of his neck, transforming him into the new Zaniac, who is obsessed with the idea of killing Jane Foster.
COMMENTARY: "Justice Peace" is obviously Marvel/Simonson's version of Judge Dredd, which I have never read. I always wanted too, but I could never find a good "jumping on point."
THOR #372:
SUMMARY: Thug Thatcher's Zaniac is more like a "Mr. Hyde" type than the version from #319 was. He locates Kellen, his pilot, and forces him to fly them both the Jane Foster's home in Highland Park, Illinois. Justice Peace has tracked Zanic to Ruby's house and thor has tracked Justice Peace. They tussle, but eventually come to terms and agree to proceed as allies. Justice Peace tells Thor how, in the future, Zaniac is responsible fr Worl War VII. Evidence suggests that "Zaniac" may have even been Jack the Ripper, but records from before the "NSC Interrugnum of 1997" are spotty. The earliest confirmed appearance of Zaniac is from Thor #319, when he took his name. Justice Peace is here to kill them, thus ultimately preventing World War VII. He also mentions the T.V.A. (the "Time Variance Authority") and the impregnable fifteen year "loop" which exists just after the turn of the century. Just then, Ruby's twin boys, Mick and Kevin, awaken, but before they can see their mother's dead body lying on the kitchen floor, Thor uses his little-used power to induce sleep in children to put them out until morning.
In Asgard, Beta Ray Bill takes his leave, leaving Sif behind.
In Highland Park, a pregnant Jane Foster and her husband, Dr. Keith Kincaid, enjoy a quite evening at home. They are interrupted by Zaniac, who kills her. Thor and Justice Peace arrive too late to save her, but Thor has an idea. Justice Peace's "hopsikle" is charged with just enough temporal energy for this one trip, but Thor's hammer used to have the ability to travel in time. Hoping there is any of that residual energy left, Thor uses it to power Justice Peace's hopsickle, giving it just enough temporal energy to go back in time to before Jane Foster was killed. When they arrive in the recent past, thor uses his hammer to open a space warp to take them directly to Ruby's home. Unfortunately, they arrive too late to save Ruby as well.
By the time they arrive, Brad Wolfe has already been killed, and Thug Thatcher and Kellen are fleeing from the things inside his body. Thor and Justice Peace manage to kill all of the things, before they infect Thug Thatcher. Thug's heart cannot stand the strain, however, and he dies of a heart attack on the spot. Thor and Justice Peace depart just before JP's past self arrives. Back in Highland Park, Jane Foster is still alive, and Justice Peace returns to the future. (What ever happened to Jane Foster's pregnancy?) Thor takes the still-sleeping Mick and Kevin and turns them over to Volstagg and Gudrun to raise. (It is unrevealed how the boys feel about this when they wake up.) In Hel, Hela launches her magical revenge against Thor.
This issue also features a pin-up of a beardless Thor with Odin in the background.
COMMENTARY: With this issue, Simonson laid the groundwork for the Time Variance Authority and the "time-locked" loop which he will revisit years later in Avengers and Fantastic Four.
THOR #373:
[The omnibus presents Simonson's cover sans the Romita border.]
SUMMARY: Thor is traveling to Midgard when he is struck by Hela's spell. It temporarily weakens him but, because he doesn't know what happened, he simply continues on his way. He has searched Asgard and Midgard and Hel for Odin, but he hasn't checked Surtur's own realm, Muspelheim. When he attempts to do so, he finds the way there closed. He goes to the apartment he maintains as Sigurd Jarlson, but doesn't feel at home there. Nor does he want to go stay at Avengers mansion at this time. He foils a mugging in Central Park, then decides to pay a visit on his old boss, Jerry Sapristi. It is the end of the work day, so Jerry invites him home for dinner. In addition to his wife, Tina, Jerry has six kids: Ernesto, Pietro, Giovanni, Maria, Rosa and Gabriella. He is welcomed with open arms and is invited to stay the night.
In Asgard, Heimdall has nearly completed the cabbard for Surtur's sword. When he reports back to Balder, asks him to keep an eye on the Realm Eternal while he follows Odin's raven Muninn on a mysterious mission. At Volstagg's house, Mick and Kevin wake up and Volstagg breaks the news to them that their mother is dead. This revelation goes over about as well as one would expect.
On Midgard the next day, Thor takes the six children to Central Park, giving Jerry and Tina some time to themselves. He tells them a story about Thor, when Odin, in disguise, tricked him. Then Puddlegulp and Bugeye arrive. The children are astounded that they seem to be talking with Sigurd. Then they tell him that they have already figured out that he is Thor. Their dad once thought he was Spider-Man, but they know that he is too big for that, and the long blond hair is a dead giveaway. Besides, they sneaked a look in his duffle bag last night and found his hammer. The jig is up, so he admits it and uses Mjolnitr to send them back home while he goes to investigate the situation Puddlegulp and Bugeye told him about. From Hel, Hela is watching and confirms that is was, in fact, her magical bolt which struck him at the beginning of the story.
Thor goes underground to the sewers, finds many Morlocks murdered and the Maurauders torturing the Angel. He chases them away, but before he can render aid to the captured mutant, the Mauraders regroup and return.
COMMENTARY: This is a crossover with the mutant titles' "Mutant Massacre" storyline. After Walt Simonson abdicated the art chores on Thor to Sal Buscema, he went on to drawn X-Factor, which his wife, Louise Jones Simonson, was writing. I read that run, but it never did strike me the way his work on Thor did.
THOR #374:
Thor braces for the Mauraurders' attack. They are Blockbuster, Harpoon and Vertigo, and are easily driven away by Thor. The Angel seems familiar to him, but Thor doesn't quite recognize him. The Angel regains consciousness momentarily and asks about someone named "Artie," then he slips back into unconsciousness again. "While worlds away in the realm of Asgard, on the very borders of fantasy," Odin's raven Muninn guides Balder into the Endless Desert. Suddenly, up from the ground appears a giant "sandworm," which then transforms into Wyrd, one of the three Fates. She already knows why he has come, and gives him a vial of water from the Well of Life. When Muninn returned from the depths of Muspelheim he was alone, but he carried a feather of his brother, Hugninn. Balder applies the Water of Life to the feather, and Hugninn is magically restored to life.
In the sewers beneath Manhattan, Harpoon and Blockbuster tell Sabertooth of their defeat by Thor. Sabertooth mocks Blockbuster, insinuating that the Morlocks' strongman was not up to the job, causing Blockbuster to slink off in search of a rematch. Meanwhile, Thor has found a little Morlock boy he assumes is Artie. Artie is mute, but is a low-level telepath able to project images into people's minds. As soon as they have introduced themselves, Thor is blindsided by Blackbuster, who breaks Thor's arm. Angel awakens and attacks Blockbuster, but is not match for him in his weakened state and soon lapses back into unconsciousness. His attack was distraction enough, however, to allow Thor to slay Blockbuster with Mjolnir. Artie then projects an image of Cyclops and Marvel Girl into Thor's mind. Again, they seem familiar to him but he doesn't quite remember who they are. Artie seems to know where they are, however, and Artie begins to lead thor to them.
Meanwhile in Asgard, Volstagg greets Kevin and Mick in their bedroom as they awaken, and takes them down to breakfast with the family, where they become the center of attention. Back in the sewers beneath Manhattan, Thor and Artie (and the Angel) soon find Cyclops and Marvel Girl. At this point, Thor remembers who they are. Cyclops makes a makeshift splint out of materials at hand, and the four mutants head back to the surface, leaving thor behind to give the slaughtered Morlocks a Viking's funeral. His thoughts turn to Hela, and suddenly she appears. She tells him of the spell she cast on him. His bones are now "as brittle as those of an old woman and when they break, they will not heal!" What's more, she has cast him out of Hel granting him life eternal "until his waking every desire shall be to die!"
She takes her leave and, in his anger, Thor calls down the lightning, which turns to fire and immolates the bodies of the Morlocks. The issue ends with a passage from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death."
THOR #375:
Wow, that cover takes ya back, don't it?
SUMMARY: Loki, unseen in our sagas since #368, sits alone in his castle and broods. His reference to Lorelei's "statuesque beauty" and that his garden will benefit from it more than he will suggests that he has turned her to stone. He uses his magic to look in on Thor who has gone to Anthony Stark seeking a device which will not only allow him to use his broken arm, but also to protect it from further damage. When Loki learns of Hela's curse, he decides to pay her a visit. (I think this is the first time in Marvel Comics that Hela is identified as Loki's daughter.) He proposes an alliance and she accepts.
Meanwhile, Thor encounters the High Evolutionary's Man-Beast. After a brief but fierce battle, the Man-Beast falls and reverts to a mortal, an old man. Yet one of the bystanders recognizes him as Howie Bridger, the milkman, who is only 24 years old. Back in Asgard, Mick and Kevin play with their foster siblings, but Earth children are no match for Asgardians ones. However, Fandral and Hogun arrive and take the mortals children under their wing. Elsewhere, Heimdall pays a visit on the Enchantress and drags her bodily from her chambers in an effort to get her out of her funk. They come upon Balder, who asks Amora if she is in need of any assistance ("no.") and informs Heimb=dall that it is almost time to sheath Surtur's sword.
Back on Midgard, Thor next encounters the Wrecker. Although he suspects this may be some sort of doppleganger as well, he has no way to tell for certain. After another brief but fierce battle, the "Wrecker" falls dead, another old man. By this time, Thor suspects Loki. Speaking of whom, Loki is at tghis moment forging an alliance with the former Frost Giants, now shrunk to the size of rodents since the Balder the Brave mini-series. He is, in fact, responsible for the faux Man-Beast and Wrecker but, when Thor encounters the Absorbing Man, he has no way of knowing that this is the real deal. Thor will be holding back in the belief that his opponent is another ensorcelled mortal, but the Absorbing Man will be going all out.
COMMENTARY: I have come to realize that I am rereading these post-Balder the Brave issues of Thor for the first time since they were originally released.
Thor #275 (1978) has Loki discuss Ragnarok's prophecies. In that context he says that "some have called (Hela his) daughter".
Strangely non-commital; apparently it was only about a year ago that Torunn Grønbekk established that Loki is indeed Hela's adoptive father.
Thanks, Luis.
THOR #376:
As the Absorbing Man attacks Thor, Titania appears. Thor deals her a glancing blow, which snaps her neck. Crusher Creel lives up to his name, hitting Thor with his ball and chain and crushing some ribs. Thor beats a strategic retreat. Loki and the Frost Giants watch from Asgard. Elsewere in Asgard, Balder oversees Surtur's sword placed in its new scabbard. Back on Midgard, Creel Man uses his powers so expertly, Thor deduces that he is, in fact, the real Absorbing Man. Loki prepares his fianl assault on Asgard. At the ruins of the Rainbow Bridge, the Enchantress seeks comfort from Heimdall, but he rebuffs her on the grounds that she "is a stranger to the power that binds two soulds together." In anger, she turns him into a tree, but he uses the power of his Uru sword Guard to overcome her spell. He asks if she ever told the Executioner that she loved him, and she melts into his arms.
In the city itself, Hogun walks beside Mick, Kevin and Hildy. The boys are bruised and battered from their rough play with Volstagg's other children. Hogun produces one of Idunn's apples from the Tree of Life (see "Tales of Asgard") and cuts off a single slice for each of the boys. Sif arrives and at first rebukes him, but then changes her mind. The boys' brusises are immediately healed, but a single slice at a time is all their mortal systems can tolerate.
Back on Earth, now that Thor has figured out the Absorbing Man is real, he begins to suspect that "Titanis" is one of Loki's dopplegangers. Thor creates a whirlwind, which Crusher aborbs, then he absorbs the power of the uru hammer itself. Thor breaks more bones and no longer has the strength to go on the offensive, and reluctantly creates a dimensional vortex to flee. The Absorbing Man mistakenly thinks Thor is creating another whirlwind and tries to absorb it, but ends up being tranported to some faraway realm instead. The fairweather bystanders flock to Thor, but he knows he was attempting to run away even if they don't. The news media are particularly being jackels, peppering him with biased questions until his passes out. In Asgard, Loki releases a flock of demons to destroy Asgard once and for all.
THOR #377:
After paramedics take Thor to the hospital and the doctor there patches him up as best he can, Thor, in a clear tribute to Journey Into Mystery #120, uses the Wagerian Rhinegold to take over the foundry he once used to repair Mjolnir for an entire week.
The project he is working on is not revealed (although one might easily guess), and the repercussions of forging Asgardian steel are felt as far away as Svartalfheim the realm of the Dark Elves. In order to cobat this threat, they summon the legendary Grendall to attack Thor. Meanwhile, in Asgard, Heimdall and the Enchantress are having another heart-to-heart talk when Amora is stricken by some mysterious malady. Elsewhere in Asgard, Hogun, Fandrall and Sif are busy training Kevin and Mick, when Fandrall and Sif are similarly stricken. From his castle, Loki sends a "translucent spheroid" to X-Factor's headquarters on Midgard and abducts Bobby Drake, the Iceman, whom he uses to power a device to restore the Frost Giants to full size and strength. His plan works, but they plan to betray him anyway.
By this time, Grendall has located Thor and they begin to fight. Due to Thor's brittle bones, the fight does not go well for him. As Grendell is about to deliver the killing blow, Thor rolls away but Grendall's mace breaks his leg. Thor rallies and summons Mjolnir to him, striking Grendell on its way. Grendell agains gains the upper hand but, watching from afar, Loki teleports Thor away for reasons of his own. Thor is unconscious and so is Iceman, stopping the "cold ray" empowering the Frost Giants, who now attack Loki's castle to gain control of the source of the ray which rejuvenated them.
THOR #378:
SUMMARY: The Frost Giants break down the doors to Loki's castle. Loki retreats, leaving the unconscious Thor to their mercies. Loki then goes into the room in which Iceman is powering the cols-generating machine and discovers that Bobby is awake and is consciously trying to overloadload it, which is partially what has driven the Frost Giants insane. The giants' attention is drawn from Thor by the intense cold being generated from that room, and they rush to investigate. Thor awakens and is impressed by Loki's courage at facing them alone. He knocks down the wall, causing the giants to retreat and saving Loki's life.
In Asgard, Ularic and one of Balder's guards succumb to the malady afflicting Asgardians. Heimdall arrives bearing the body of the unconscious Enchanteress, then he, too, falls victim, then Balder. Elsewhere in Asgard, Hogun, Fandrall and Sif are all similarly afflicted, as is Hildy. Kevin and Mick are okay, though, and the six of them make their way to Hildy's house where they find Volstagg's entire family sick. Back in Loki's castle, Thor finds Iceman and they talk briefly before Bobby loses consciousness. Thor finds Loki's matter transmission device and trains it on the steel mill in Pittsburgh where he had been working on his secret project, which was a suit of armor made from Asgardian steel. He transports it to him, and is ready for the Frost Giants' assault when they return. He drives them off, but they resolve to contact Loki's offspring, Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent.
COMMENTARY: I think this story holds up after all these years, but it comes at an unfortunate time when Marvel's creativity seemed to lie in making cosmetic changes to their characters' costumes. I don't know if that was an editorial edict or simply a coincidence, but none of the changes lasted.
THOR #379:
SUMMARY: Loki awakens in his castle confused as to why is still alive. He casts a spell to reveal what happened and incensed to learn that it was Thor who saved his life. Then he checks in of the Frost Giants and discovers that they are oin Midgard seeking his son, Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. He is hopeful that their plan will succeed, but then sends his astral self to the high plains of the Andes Mountains to set in motion his plan for revenge against the Frost Giants for betraying him.
Ever since the defeat of Malekith the dark Elf, Kurse has sat silently in te Great Halls of Volstagg where Heimdall left him. He was not moved by the laughter of Volstagg's children, but he is now moved by the crying of Mick and Kevin for their Asgardian friends and foster-family. Somthing about their plight reminds him of his previous life, and he picks up Mick and Kevin, presumably to carry them to Balder the Brave, "President" of Asgard.
On Midgard, thor returns Iceman to X-Factor headquarters, then goes to the Brooklyn apartment he keeps as Siguard Jarlson. Elsewhere, the Frost Giants carve a boat from the ice of a glacier off the far nothern coast of Morway and send one of their number underwater to find Jormungand. Instead, they "hook" Fin Fang Foom, who pretty much acts as if he were, in fact, the Midgard Serpent. When Fin Fang Foom hears of Thor's plight, he flies off to find Thor. "And in faraway Asgard at that moment," Kurse delivers Kevin and Mick to Balder's Great Hall. Just before lapsing into unconsciousness, Balder directs his ravens to take the vial from his pocket and give it to the boys, but they don't know what to do with it.
By this time, Thor has moved to a small park in the Bay ridge section of Brooklyn, which is where Fin Fang Foom finds him. But the dragon does not recognize him witha beard and wearing his new armor. They have a talk and Thor tells him that he is a super-hero who must oppose him if he endangers Midgard. Fin Fang Foom makes him an offer: that if thor can move his foot, he will accompany him somewhere out of the way where they can fight. Thor tries and succeeds, and the dragon flies themboth to some remote spot, at which point "Fin Fang Foom" sheds his skin and reveals that he is, in fact, Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. thor dons his hemet and reveals his true identity, and the two prepare to battle.
COMMENTARY: A Fin Fang Foom story never fails to entertain. I have been a fan since the first Fin Fang Foom story I ever read, back in 1973. Fin Fang Foom has a long and interesting backstory, but I had been confused as to how Thor #379 fits in until I read it today for the first time in 37 years. Actually, this is cleary not the "real" Fin Fang Foom. Nevertheless this issue definitely belongs to the character's folklore.
-
9
-
10
-
11
-
12
-
13
of 13 Next