Alan Kistler's History of Thor - Part 1
Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 01:16PM This is Part 1 of my History of Thor, covering his early years and the whole Stan Lee run. You may also go to Part 2, which covers the Post-Lee/Kirby era all the way up to the destruction of Asgard, or you can skip ahead to Part 3, which covers the recent return of Thor in his latest series.
OUR HERO IN A NUTSHELL
Some super-heroes are characters given powers by gods or god-like beings. Some have an inherent angelic quality about them. It's rare then to find a super-hero who literally is a god.
In the other-dimensional realm of Asgard, there lived a race of men and women who possessed great physical power and life-spans that cover centuries. Many years ago, these Asgardians were worshiped as gods by the Norse people. Eventually, they decided to remove themselves from Earth, but one Asgardian would still occasionally interact with humanity: the thunder god Thor. A master fighter with incredible strength and resiliency, Thor wieled the magic uru hammer Mjolnir, which could emit lightning, control the weather and could only be lifted by one who was worthy of its power.
Over the centuries, Thor grew dangerously arrogant. To teach him humility, his father Odin turned the thunder god into a mortal called Don Blake, a man with no memory of his true nature and who couldn't use one of his legs. Don became a doctor and learned great compassion for humanity while developing humble fortitude from having to overcome a disability.
Soon after the modern day super-heroes began to appear, Odin felt his son had learned his lesson and allowed him to reclaim his birthright. Once again possessing his mystical hammer Mjolnir, Don was able to transform back into Thor and used his power to protect the people of Earth, whom he now felt a direct connection to after having lived as one of them. Thor became a founding member of the super-hero team the Avengers and faced many super-villains and would-be world conquerors over the years (including his evil foster brother Loki).
Recently, Asgard was destroyed and everything seemingly with it. But Don Blake and Thor were reborn many months later and the thunder god brought his people and his home back to reality. With Asgard now floating over Oklahoma, Thor looks after his fellow Asgardians as their king. But the world changed during Thor's absence. After the recent Super-Human Registration Act, the U.S. doesn't like people of superhuman abilities who don't fall in line. And time will tell how long they're going to tolerate having Thor and the Asgardians living in a city that floats just above U.S. soil.
So now you're up to date and can jump into the comics if you want. But if you still require more detail, hey, just keep reading. Let's explore the history of Marvel's god of thunder, the mighty Thor!
LET THERE BE THOR!
Stan Lee had a problem. It was the early 1960s. He'd just revolutionized Marvel Comics, along with artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck, by creating a wave of new heroes who were all gaining popularity. And his publisher Martin Goodman wanted yet another hero added to the mix. But what could Stan do now? He already had a teenager with spider abilities. He had a family of four explorers with fantastic powers. He had a guy who turned into a hulking monster that was stronger than anything on Earth. He even had a man who could shrink and speak to ants. What next?
Stan felt like having a hero who could top his others in terms of raw power. But the Hulk had already been established as the strongest man on Earth. Who could be more powerful than a man like that? The answer was simple enough: a god.
Mythology had often been used in super-hero comics. Superman had fought Hercules, Samson and Atlas on different occasions. Wonder Woman had been given abilities by the Greek gods and often fought Ares. Captain Marvel was a boy given abilities by various Greek and Roman mythological figures. And the goddess Venus herself had starred in her own comic where she went around fighting crime and being beautiful.
Stan Lee got together with artist Jack Kirby and they agreed on making a modern-myth hero. As Lee said, they realized that although Roman and Greek figures had been used several times, "no one had done anything with the Norse gods." In their research, they gravitated towards Thor because not only was he the most famous of his pantheon, but in many tales he was regarded as a hero fo the people.
It is interesting that they chose Norse myth as opposed to the more famous Greek gods. Lee prided himself on creating and working on flawed characters and the Norse stories were quite clear that these gods were more vulnerable and human than Greek and Roman deities. For instance, the god-king Odin sacrificed his own eye for wisdom and it was part of Norse mythology that all their gods were fated to die in a huge all-out war called Ragnarok. Such a cast of characters was perfect considering Stan Lee.
THE MYTH BEHIND THE COMIC
Thor (also called Donar or Donner) was the strongest of the gods of Norse mythology, who were known as the "Aesir." The Aesir lived in Asgard, a realm that rested high in the heavens and could be reached by the rainbow bridge called Bigfrost. From here, the gods watched over Earth below (which they called "Midgard"), though occasionally they were busy having their own adventures in their own godly lands. Part of the Norse myth was the knowledge that eventually the forces of evil and good would have a final battle called "Ragnarok", the "twilight of the gods." In the end, everyone would be killed and Asgard itself would fall.
The Vikings mainly worshipped the one-eyed Odin (also known as Woden and Wotan), king of the gods and Thor's father, known for his cunning, as well as his harsh yet wise nature. The Icelandic colonists and lower class citizens preferred Thor, who was said to have a more honest, genial and straightforward nature. He was a frequent ally of the common man and a frequent enemy to frost giants (the Norse equivalent of demons).
Thor's name meant "thunder" and he was armed with a mystical hammer named Mjolnir (also spelled as
"Mjollnir" or "Mjolner"), the name of which has been said to mean either "mealer" or "lightning", depending on your source. And while we're speaking about language: the German word for "thunder" is "Donnerschlag" which basically means "Thor's strike" or "thunderstrike"; Thursday is named after Thor, just as Wednesday is derived from his dad Odin (referencing his other name Woden); the German word for Thursday is "Donnerstag", literally meaning "Day of Thunder."
With his enchanted weapon, Thor could summon lightning and control the weather. Some stories said he wore special gauntlets to hold his hammer because the handle was always red hot. In some legends, it was said that the hammer would grow in size if Thor rubbed it, which is hilarious for all you Freudians out there, I'm sure. Whenever the thunder god threw his mystic hammer at a target, its aim would be true. What’s more, it would always return to his hand afterwards (sort of like a magic boomerang that could kill and demolish, which is really cool if you think about it).
Thor was often described as having a fiery red hair and a full beard. Although he was already incredibly strong, he sometimes also wore a magic belt that doubled his power. Some legends said that it was only with this belt that he was even able to lift his enchanted hammer. It was said that during a thunderstorm, Thor rode a chariot across the skies that was pulled by two mighty goats named Tooth-Grinder and Tooth-Gnasher. The sounds of their hooves against the sky were heard as thunder by the people below.
Thor often palled around with Loki, god of mischief and fire, who was also considered Odin's blood-brother. Loki was the son of two frost giants and so he was predisposed towards doing increasingly mean-spirited things as he got older. For his own amusement, he would sometimes get Thor and others of the Aesir into dangerous situations, yet half the time it was also his own skill and cunning that would get them out in the end.
Eventually, Loki became less a god of mischief and more a god of evil. Despite his former friendship with Thor, it was said that during Ragnarok, Loki would raise an army of Frost giants against Asgard. In this final battle, the trickster god would be killed by Heimdall, the watchman who stood between Bifrost and the gates of Asgard. Meanwhile, Thor would be killed by the enormous Midgard Serpent, one of Loki's sons.
There are different stories about how Thor got Mjolnir. One said that a giant who built the palace of the gods was given the great hammer as a reward and that Thor later tricked him out of it by dressing up as the 
goddess Freya (obviously Thor knew enough Bugs Bunny cartoons to realize that drag is helpful in many situations). Other stories said that the hammer was made by dwarves and that the handle had been made too short by accident (thanks in part to interference by Loki, who had a wager going with one of the dwarves). The dwarves then presented Thor this hammer, which was considered a great treasure and possibly the best weapon against the frost giants. Many giants later found their heads split open by that hammer during their battles against the thunder god.
Many stories agree that Thor's mother was Jord (or "Fjorgyn"), Odin's wife and the personification of Earth itself. Thus, much like Hercules in Roman myth, Thor had a connection both to the gods of the heavens and to the world of mortals below.
In legend, Thor eventually married the goddess Sif, a girl who originally had dark hair until Loki cut it off, after which she had dwarves make her new blonde hair. Thor and Sif had a daughter named Thrud (who no doubt brought on a lot of name-calling at when she went to school as a young lass). The thunder god also had a mistress named Jarnsaxa, who was a frost giantess (cuz you gotta like a girl whose dangerous). With Jarnsaxa, Thor had a son named Magni. Thor's other children included his sons Modi and Loridi and a step-son named Ullr.
Among Germanic people, Thor's hammer was often worn as an amulet of good luck, strength and fertility. As Christian faith spread through the land, people who did not wish to part with their amulets but also feared persecution as pagans became to reshape the hammer's representation. Often, the Mjolnir amulet would be stamped with a cross and/or its angles would be straightened into 90 degree angles, mimicking the cross.
In more modern times, Thor had become well known again in the public mind because Wagner had used him as a character in one of his operas. Like the classic myths, Wagner had Thor protrayed with red hair and a full red beard.
A warrior who believed in justice for the common man and loyalty to your friends, a god who was connected to the Earth and tried to look at the good in others, even his treacherous and mischievous uncle. It's little wonder how the legend of Thor has continued to remain alive and remembered in the present day.
THE COMIC BOOK SAGA BEGINS
Because publishers weren't just immediately going to trust a character to be popular, very few creations started off in their own comics at this time. Instead, they were first tested out in anthology titles. Spider-Man, for instance, made his first appearance not in Amazing Spider-Man #1 but in Amazing Fantasy #15 several months earlier. Thor would make his debut in Journey Into Mystery #83 (August 1962, the same month Spider-Man debuted). The cover displayed the hero whirling around his famous hammer as he defeated strange stone-like creatures who descended upon Manhattan, with a blur proclaiming that the "Mighty Thor" would be "the most exciting super-hero of all time!!"
Rather than go with the traditional image of Thor, Jack Kirby put a super-hero spin on the hero. His skins and furs were replaced by a primary-colored uniform of cloth and leather, with a flowing red cape and a winged helmet. And rather than give him red hair and a beard, Kirby depicted Thor as clean-shaven with long blonde hair (and at this point in time, it was deemed absurd for a grown man in the U.S. to have long hair). Mjolnir was also slightly altered to look like a simple stone mallet.
Of course, Kirby was hardly alone in taking such artistic license with the character and his weapon. There have been many other paintings over the years that have depicted Thor as lighter-haired and clean-shaven or have given him a weapon more akin to a sledgehammer (despite the fact that most legends say the handle was supposed to be small).
Stan Lee wrote the plot of Thor's origin story but since he was writing most of Marvel's other comics at the 
time, he asked his brother Larry Lieber to handle the actual scripting. It was entitled "The Stone Men from Saturn."
As the tale opened, we were introduced to Doctor Donald Blake, an American physician who was vacationing on the coast of Norway. Dr. Blake seemed a very likeable guy, probably in his late twenties, with short blonde hair and a handsome, honest face. But life wasn't perfect for the guy, as one of his legs was "crippled" and so he relied a cane. It was never explained whether Don was born with this disability or had suffered an accident at some point in his life.
Don was enjoying the beauty of Norway when he overheard an old man claim that he'd seen monsters out in the woods. Most of the town folk thought the man was crazy, but Don decided to check things out. To his amazement, he saw a group of "stone men" with faces akin to the statues on Easter Island.
The Stone Men were enjoying the fact that the environment of Earth made them stronger than on their native Saturn (much like how Earth's weaker gravity and yellow sun make Superman so powerful over in DC Comics). With their new power and their advanced alien weaponry, Earth was going to be pretty easy pickings, which they confirmed after seeing how easy it was for them to destroy some nearby trees (because aliens hate trees, duh).
Don was spotted by the Saturnians and they started chasing the guy, not wishing him to warn Earth's military. After losing his cane in the commotion, Don was pretty certain he wasn't going to make it back to the village. Panicking, he went into a nearby cave, but found himself corner as a giant boulder was blocking the only other entrance. Leaning against the cave wall for support, Don accidentally activated a hidden trigger and suddenly, a secret chamber revealed itself (a chamber that apparently had some kind of internal lighting since Don and the comic book readers could see everything in it just fine). Entering the chamber, Don Blake found a "gnarled wooden stick like an ancient cane" lying on top of a stone table, almost on display as if it were waiting for someone.
Still terrified about the aliens who might discover him at any moment, Don desperately thought that maybe this ancient cane was sturdy enough to give him the leverage he needed to move the boulder and escape through the other entrance. But after a few moments, he still wasn't able to budge it. He was trapped. Angry and freaking out, Don slammed the cane against the boulder in frustration. As soon as the cane made impact, something happened.
There was a flash of lightning and Don felt his body surge with energy. A second later, Don Blake was a new man. He was now over six feet tall, had a hugely muscled body, wore a strange outfit, and even had a different face and voice. The cane itself had also been transformed. Instead of a gnarled stick, it was now a powerful, 
heavy stone mallet (a great metaphor of the character's own transformation, hmmm?).
On the side of the hammer, Don read an inscription:
"Whosoever holds this hammer,
if he be worthy,
shall possess the power of ...
THOR"
Blake concluded that somehow he'd been given the power and physical attributes of Thor, the legendary god of thunder. Amazed by his newfound power, Don reveled as he easily lifted the boulder away and escaped. When he thought he was far enough away, he set his hammer on the ground and took a few moments to consider his situation. What did he remember about the Thor myth? What was he capable of doing now?
To Don's surprise, he transformed back into his human form during this contemplation. He realized that if he were separated from his mystical hammer for more than sixty seconds, its magic would wear off and he'd revert to his normal human state. He quickly turned himself back into Thor and then experimented, finding that striking the bottom of the handle against the ground would turn him back into a human being (and turn the hammer back into a cane). Striking the cane would reverse the process, naturally.
Just like the myth, this magical weapon (referred to as his mighty "uru hammer") gave Don/Thor the ability to control the weather and would always return to him if he threw it (but not if he dropped it or if it were taken from his hand somehow). In later stories, he’d find that people with superhuman strength couldn't lift the hammer on their own. It was a question of worthiness, just as the inscription said (for instance, Captain America would show years later that he was quite capable of lifting the mighty hammer). Another minor change was that whereas the Thor of myth could summon lightning from the sky, the Marvel version of Thor could fire lightning bolts directly from his hammer like a gun.
One thing that Larry Leiber mentioned in the story was that Thor had to specifically tap the hammer twice in order to summon a storm. Even in human form, Don Blake could summon storms by tapping his cane twice. To end the storm, Thor/Don had to tap his weapon three times on the ground. Stan Lee and later writers dropped this however, preferring to have the thunder god summon storms just by gesturing with his mallet and willing them into being. They also stopped showing Don as being able to control the weather in his human form.
After some experimentation, Thor discovered that by hurling his hammer into the air and grabbing onto its leather thong, he was actually able to fly. This was a change from the original mythical character but was certainly in keeping with the 1960's Marvel general practice of only giving capes to characters who could actually fly. This twist on flight was also one of Stan Lee's personal favorite additions to the character. Lee had often criticized characters who were able to fly without any understandable means of propulsion. Thus, his heroes Iron Man and the Angel flew through very explainable methods (one had a suit with rockets built into it and the other had functional wings). So the fact that Thor's hammer was enchanted and that it basically pulled the thunder god through the air "like the tail of a rocket" was in keeping with this philosophy. It also added a limitation to the hero since, without his weapon, Thor was as grounded as any mere mortal.
Now, here's something fun and important to notice. In the first several years of Thor's comic, his hammer is not referred to as Mjolnir. Neither Stan Lee nor Larry Leiber could remember what Thor's hammer had been named in mythology, so they made up a term and called it his "uru hammer." When comic scribe Roy Thomas (a trivia nut) came onto the comic years later, he spent some time trying to find the phrase "uru hammer" in Norse mythology. When Larry Lieber told him "uru" was a made-up word, Roy Thomas was stunned and insisted that from then on writers use the proper name of Mjolnir instead. To satisfy any readers worried about continuity, Roy Thomas wrote in his own scripts that Mjonlir had been forged from a "mystical ore" native to Asgard called "uru." Problem solved.
Back to the origin story. Finding the Saturnian invaders, Thor made pretty short work of them, tossing lightning bolts around and smashing weapons with his huge friggin’ hammer. The Saturnians realized Thor was pretty damn powerful and were suddenly afraid that there might be a good thousand or so people like him scattered across the planet. So they basically figured "Screw this!" and turned tail, not to be seen again for many years.
Some fun trivia: When they were later reintroduced, more details were revealed about them in order to make them more plausible to a comic book audience that was becoming increasingly better-educated and more mature and would know full well that there could not be humanoid life hanging out on Saturn (a gas planet). It was said that the Stone Men were actually a race of people called Kronans and that they were from a planet named Ria. A group of them had been stationed at a base orbiting Saturn and it was this group that had later tried to invade Earth. Don't you love a good retcon?
Satisfied that the alien invaders were gone, Thor reverted to his true identity of Dr. Donald Blake. But if ever there was danger again that normal humans couldn't fight, he knew he would be ready to call on his new thunder god powers and defend them once again. After all, the simple gnarled cane he held was, in his mind, actually the greatest weapon on Earth (a phrase Neil Gaiman later referenced in one of his Marvel stories).
DON AND JANE
And so Marvel had its newest super-hero. For the next several issues Stan Lee continued writing the basic plots while Larry Lieber (and later R. Berns) did the actual script work. The next issue started with a quick one-page recap of who Thor was and showed us Don vowing to use the mystic cane and the power it brought him only for the cause of justice. After that, we started getting a better idea of just who Don Blake was. We saw that he was a very amiable and well-respected physician, good at his job and loved by the patients who felt safe in his care.
But as the narration explained, "Yes, Don Blake is a successful physician! But in ANOTHER area, he’s somewhat LESS successful ..."
Nope, they weren't talking about golfing. It seemed that Don was nursing a serious crush on his nurse Jane Foster. So why didn't the handsome blonde doctor ask her out? Because he was so self-conscious about his lame leg that he was convinced Jane would never date or marry someone who was so obviously weak. What’s more, if he took a chance and told her how he felt and she didn't return his feelings, Jane might feel compelled to find a new job rather than continue working with him. Don didn't want to consider the idea of not being able to see her again so he kept his feelings to himself. This had the effect of convincing Jane that he was a bit of a jerk who was "too stuffy to ever be romantic", which was a big problem with her since she actually had a huge crush on the guy herself.
See what happens when you play games, foolish mortals? Teenagers, you seriously need to learn to just 
say, "Hey, I like you. Wanna grab dinner?" It'll make everything easier, folks. Honestly.
In a later adventure, Don and Jane went to San Diablo. Possibly the worst name for a fictional town I've ever heard, since it translates to "Saint Devil" and what God-fearing Spanish folk are gonna name a place that? Anyway, a communist revolutionary struck and Thor had to save the day, impressing Jane Foster even as she became very disillusioned with Don Blake who apparently ran off to hide as soon as the action started. Thor was definitely developing a Superman/Lois-like relationship with Jane, in that the nurse was becoming more enamored with his super-heroic alter ego and more dismissive of the human doctor.
Two issues later, Don got a shock when he found out that he wasn't the only man from Asgard walking the Earth (by the way, Marvel
called them "Asgardians" now instead of "the Aesir"). Loki, god of mischief, showed up in New York ready to plague the hero. But unlike Donald Blake, this wasn't another human being who'd somehow been given the powers and form of a mythical figure. This was the genuine article, Loki himself, armed with magic and cunning.
Loki proclaimed he would have vengeance on Thor for having imprisoned him for many years, a prison he'd only just now escaped, but Thor, of course, had no idea what he was talking about. All he knew was the legends of Loki from Norse mythology and that this guy was someone he had to be wary of.
The two fought as Loki attempted to draw Thor out by attacking innocents in the crowd, transforming them into "negative" versions of themselves (which made them look like photo negatives and no doubt would have been made their lives pretty inconvenient if they'd stayed that way). Thor was able to cure the people by whirling his hammer, creating helpful "anti-matter particles" that washed over the victims and made them all nice and positive again (dude, it's Asgardian magic, don't question how it works!).
Thor finally defeated Loki and took the now tied-up villain to the top of the Empire State Building. He then attached the trickster to his hammer and tossed it into the sky. The mystical Mjolnir transported itself to Asgard, showing readers for the first time that the hammer was capable of crossing dimensions. As the hammer swung around, it dropped off Loki at the gates of Asgard in front of several Norse gods who couldn't help but laugh at the sight. The mallet then returned to Thor just in time before he changed back into Donald Blake (good thing too, becuase no way Don would have survived catching that huge hammer coming at that speed).
If there is a more humiliating way to defeat Loki than throwing him off the Empire State Building like a baseball and dropping him off gift-wrapped on the road in front of a crowd of people that dislike him, I can't think of it.
In Thor's next adventure, he fought the time traveling would-be conqueror Zarrko, the self-styled "Tomorrow Man." When Zarrko seemed to escape, Thor was determined to follow him into the future. Summoning a storm, Thor summoned Odin, father of the Thor of legend.
Odin appeared as a giant face in the sky. He asked why he'd been summoned (I guess he'd been napping or watching Asgardian football or something) and Thor explained, "I ask of my father, Lord of Asgard, the power to journey into the future …"
Odin said sure, use the damn hammer since it already had the mystical ability to let Thor travel through time by using its energies to create chronal displacement. Silly little thunder god still didn't know all his hammer's tricks? Idiot.
So, using a piece of metal Zarrko had left behind as a homing device, Thor created a mini-tornado of time displacement that hurled him through the timestream so he could go defeat the guy.
Loki later returned to Earth after discovering that Thor now had a human guise and thus had an exploitable weakness. He was defeated again, but this story had a couple of significant things in it. First, we finally saw Asgard in more detail and some readers were surprised to see Odin refer to Loki as his son. It was Stan Lee’s idea to enhance the relationship between Thor and Loki by making them not only old friend who became enemies but that they were also raised as siblings. In the Stan Lee version of Asgardian history, Loki was found as a child after Odin slew his father the frost giant Laufey. Taking pity on the child, Odin took him in and raised him as his own. But Loki had always felt the outsider due to his blood lineage and due to the fact that the handsome, good-natured Thor was obviously more popular growing up.
Some writers in later years would refer to Loki as Thor’s "half-brother" or as his "brother" but it is important to note that there is no blood relation between them whatsoever. They were both raised by Odin but that's it.
This new element of brotherhood added a bit more pathos to their rivalry. In the original mythology, 
they were simply two men who looked at the world with different philosophies and could affectionately look at each other as uncle and nephew due to Loki and Odin being "blood-brothers." But the Marvel versions could be seen as dark reflections. Loki resented Thor for being the hero that perhaps he believed he could have become if people had treated him better and had he been born with greater strength or more handsome features rather than the magical skills many distrusted.
And maybe Thor himself was disturbed by Loki's deeds because he could understand how he himself might have become just as misguided if he hadn't felt his father's love growing up or if he'd been surrounded by suspicion instead of by friends who admired his strength, spirit and skill. Deep down, Thor wanted his brother to become a friend again, while Loki seemed only motivated to prove to Thor that he was the superior, despite what everyone had thought when they were younger.
In Journey Into Mystery #94, Loki proved what a threat he could be when he took mental command of Thor and caused the thunder god to wreak havoc across the entire world, forcing many to submit rather than suffer more destruction. In the end, Odin himself, along with some other Asgardians, had to come to Earth and take care of Loki, freeing Thor's mind and will once more. Thor apologized to the U.N. and to Earth, saying that he and the Asgardians would do their best to repair the damage that had been done. Odin though, perhaps knowing how hard it can be to get away from bad P.R., then added that he would make sure no mortals on Earth maintained their memories of these events having happened and that Thor had turned against them. This manipulative streak would show up again and again over the years.
HERE COME THE BADDIES
Loki was true to his trickster roots and didn't just combat Thor directly. With his magicks, he became responsible in one way or another for several other villains.
First, Loki gave former boxer "Crusher" Creel the ability to alter his body to mimic the properties of any
substance he held, making him an "Absorbing Man." Titanium steel, concrete, stone, any of these things let him transform himself into a superhumanly strong and near invulnerable enemy. For instance, once, when his body was stone, his arm was cut off by the mutant Wolverine. The Absorbing Man then simply picked up his dismembered stone limb and held it back in place just before he shifted his body back to flesh and blood. It hurt like Hell, but he arm was intact without so much as a scar or a bruise. Over the years, the Absorbing Man would fight Thor and various other heroes such as Spider-Man and the Hulk, often armed not only with his powers but with an iron ball and chain.
Other than the Absorbing Man, Loki also used a suit of enchanted armor known as the Destroyer (originally created by Odin) as his agent of destruction. Though lifeless, the Destroyer can be mentally inhabited by another or by a spirit who could then control it. The Destroyer nearly killed Thor a few times and also fought the Hulk in later years.
And there were other villains thanks to the god of mischief and evil. A mishap between Loki and the Norn Queen Karnilla led to the villain known as the Wrecker gaining his superhuman strength, stamina and invulnerability (the crowbar he'd been holding was also enchanted and became a formidable weapon). The Wrecker later wound up transferring some of his power into three other villains who became his "Wrecking Crew."
And there were other Asgardians who came to plague Thor. There was Ulik the troll, a vicious beast who enjoyed bloodshed and violence and could go toe-to-toe with the thunder god.
There was also Amora the Enchantress, a witch who suffered from near-perpetual boredom and a major crush on our heroic hammer-weilder (and make sure you don't confuse her with the DC Comics character called Enchantress).
Though not
an actual goddess from Norse myth, some believe she was based on the myth of Freya. Amora was a beautiful woman who was fully aware of her own sexuality and was not above using her wiles and seductive words to trick men around her into doing her bidding. And if that didn't work, she had hypnotic potions, mental illusions and magical force bolts to force people to obey her commands. Half of her schemes were intended to either force Thor into her will or convince him to love her, believing his affections were a prize to be taken, and she didn't mind if a few people got hurt or endangered along the way.
The Enchantress often teamed up with an Asgardian named Skurge the Executioner (another original creation 
rather than one based on actual myth). Skurge was in loved with Amora and she often used this to manipulate him into helping her cause havoc on Earth or attempt to conquer Asgard (both of which were really meant, in the end, to gain her the respect and love of Thor of course). Skurge was a master warrior, as adept with a mace and axe as he was with modern day automatic weapons. He was a brutal man but also operated by his own code of honor, making him more than just a henchman for Amora.
Of course, not all villains who fought Thor had a connection to Asgard. In China, nuclear physicist Chen Lu turned himself into the Radioactive Man in order to combat Thor (he was later sometimes called "R-Man", possibly to avoid confusion with the later-created Simpsons charater.) There was also Cobra (later renamed King Cobra so as not to be confused with the terrorist Kobra who was featured in DC Comics). King Cobra could slither on walls, had great strength and used venom on his enemies. Later, he would become the sometimes leader of the Serpent Society. And there was the Grey Gargoyle, a French chemist whose hand of living stone could turn people into immobile statues for an hour at a time and could transform his own body into living granite.
Oh, and a lame super-villain with a suggestive name: Bi-Beast! Bi-Beast was an alien android that often attacked the Hulk. He had a head with two faces, some funky hands and feet, a lot of strength, and a magnificent ability to argue with himself. Cuz you know, when you're a very cool race of aliens, you want to create a android with two heads and two personas just to make sure they argue during key moments in a battle.
And speaking of suggestive names for villains, here’s another one: The Growing Man. You know Kang the Conqueror, that evil time traveling despot that often fights the Avengers? Turns out he’s got this doll-sized android that can grow to ten stories tall and has super-strength called ... The Growing Man. I guess I can't completely blame them since the names Goliath, Giant-Man and even Atlas I’m pretty sure were all taken by that time ... But still!
There was also Professor Zabo, a man who was so convinced that there was more truth and insight to Robert Louis Stevenson’s story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that he conducted experiments on himself to unleash his own dark side as a separate persona. Problem was, Zabo was a bastard to begin with so becoming Mr. Hyde didn’t turn him into a different person (such as the Hulk’s transformation), it just made him nastier and gave him a body with superhuman strength. Mr. Hyde would give both Thor and the Hulk a good fight on a number of occasions. What made him an interesting as a foe for the thunder god was that Zabo hated not only Thor but also Donald Blake, who turned him into the police the first time they met. In some ways, Zabo hated Donald Blake more because the villain couldn't grasp how such a pathetic handicapped person could cause him trouble.
And like any good super-hero, Thor had to (at least once) fight an evil version of himself. In Journey Into Mystery #95, an evil scientist named Zaxton built a machine that would duplicate any living thing but with the side-effect being that the duplicate would be opposite in nature and personality (i.e. if you were good, it would be EVIL!!).
Wanting to have an evil version of Thor under his own control, Zaxton used his beam to create an evil duplicate of the thunder god, dressed in an identical costume (cuz you know, duplication rays always make sure to create clothing out of thin air for modesty’s sake). Zaxton, wishing to show up our boy, then gave the duplicate two hammers (that bastard!). But later, Zaxton himself was caught in the beam and a good version of him was created who was able to help Thor save the day. Thor then realized this duplicate couldn’t withstand a direct blow from his hammer because its magic would sense that this other Thor was a fake and “not worthy” of its power. So the duplicate was destroyed and the original evil Zaxton was later accidentally killed.
Kind of a shame though, because an evil Thor could be cool and threatening if you gave him a new outfit and name (maybe something like "Ragnarok") and made him somewhat more unnerving. I mean, couldn't you, I don’t know, say he was a cyborg-clone of Thor whose programming went wrong? Just a thought. What's that? That's already happening. Shoot.
This story of "The Demon Duplicators" was strangely reminiscent of the DC Comics story in which Superboy encountered a machine that could only make "imperfect" duplicates of living matter and then accidentally got caught in its path, creating the imperfect duplicate named Bizarro who in later years would become a twisted villain. But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence (hey, even Shakespeare stole plots, dammit).
"FOR WE ARE ... THE AVENGERS!"
After a while, one of Loki's schemes backfired in an interesting and very fortunate way. In Avengers #1, Loki decided to trick Thor and the Hulk into fighting each other. After ensuring that the Hulk was blamed for some wanton destruction, Loki saw the green goliath's teenage friend Rick Jones calling for help over a radio set. Rick Jones had intended to summon the aid of the Fantastic Four, the only super-hero team around at that time. Loki used his magic to alter the path of the radio signals and send it away from the Fantastic Four's HQ and towards a local radio signal instead that Dr. Don Blake was listening to. Don turned into Thor and leapt into action to face the Hulk. But Loki's manipulation had also allowed for the heroes Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp to hear this cry for help as well over their own radios.
The different heroes met up and soon realized Loki’s part in the whole scheme. Although the god of mischief
escaped, the heroes were impressed with how they had all fought together. The Wasp and Ant-Man proposed that together they could all form a team, a club that would get together on a regular basis and would join up as a unit whenever there was an enemy too powerful for one hero to face alone. The Wasp suggested the name "Avengers" and it stuck.
Proud to be part of such a team of champions, Thor lifted his hammer to the sky and proclaimed, "We'll never be BEATEN! For we are … THE AVENGERS!"
Over the years, Thor would occasionally leave the team for long periods of time, but he would often find himself drawn back to the group. Originally, he and Iron Man clashed a few times, since Iron Man was a scientist and a pragmatist who found talk of magic and gods to be quite frustrating (in a later story written by Joe Casey, Iron Man said he originally thought Thor was just a superhuman over-playing a part or was possibly delusional). Thor also found Iron Man's focus on politics and P.R. to be a bit aggravating, as he saw no need to explain his nobility and warrior ways to police officers and government officials. Despite these differences, he and Iron Man later gained a high respect for each other.
When the WW II soldier-turned-hero called Captain America joined the team soon after its formation. Cap even became leader of the team on more than one occasion. Thor found he felt a kinship with this fellow warrior. He also admired and was humbled by Captain America's courage and leadership. As Frank Miller once put it, Cap was quite obviously "a soldier with a voice that can command a god."
As time went on, the friendship between Iron Man, Thor and Captain America grew and they were soon regarded by comic fans as being the "Big Three" of the Avengers. Furthermore, many fans came to believe that the Avengers line-up just felt wrong if the Big Three wasn't involved.
And as if Thor didn't have respect for Cap to begin with, the star-spangled Avenger later proved himself to Thor in a whole different way many years. In the 1980's, Cap was going through a difficult time. The government had told him that if he wanted to keep operating as a free agent, he couldn't keep wearing the costume of Captain America, as they considered that U.S. govt. property. They took the uniform back and Cap was forced to work under a new costume, calling himself simply "The Captain", while a new guy who was mentally unstable took his place and did missions for Uncle Sam.
When Thor returned to Earth after spending some time away doing other things in other realms, he found out about this and flew into a rage, ready to war directly on the American government for the insult they had shown his brother-in-arms.
Cap calmed him down though. When Thor then asked about Iron Man, Cap said that he and the armored Avenger weren't on the best of terms right now. Iron Man had become a fugitive, attacking anyone who had armor and tech based on his own designs and destroying it, including government employees. Cap knew Iron Man simply didn't want his technology being used by those he didn't trust, but didn't agree with the man's methods. Thor wondered now who to put his faith in. He knew Iron Man was a faithful warrior and this story didn't ring true. Had Cap perhaps become mentally unsound since last they saw each other? Was that the real reason the government had taken his uniform? Yet the Captain seemed sound and sane and calm. Perhaps Iron Man had lost his way.
Before Thor could ponder the matter further, they were attacked. During the battle, Thor was separated from his mallet. Cap saw Mjolnir lying nearby. Knowing his friend could use it to end this battle more quickly, he reached for the uru hammer, hoping that perhaps he could drag the thing closer to the thunder god.
But that wasn't necessary. To everyone's amazement, Captain America lifted the hammer without difficulty and was able to use it against the enemies that surrounded him. Cap was stunned by the power he felt emanating from the hammer and quickly tossed it to Thor, knowing the thunder god would know how to use it more effectively and fearing what further effect it might have on him.
When the fight was over, Thor spoke to the Captain about how significant it was that he, a human being without super-powers, had been able to lift Mjolnir and that he would not have been able to do so if he'd lost his reason or his heart wasn't true. The two now shared a deeper bond than ever before and Thor considered Captain America a blood brother from then on.
STAN LEE STEPS UP TO BAT
At last, Stan Lee took over the reigns of Journey Into Mystery, which a few years later was finally re-titled as The Mighty Thor. When Stan Lee took over directly scripting the character, noticeable changes began to occur. During Leiber and Berns' stories, it had never been a question really that Don Blake and Thor were indistinguishable. It was the same person housed in a different body, that was all.
But Stan Lee believed that a god and his kin needed to speak more poetically, as if they were just a notch or too away from Shakespeare. Don Blake’s dialog remained the same, but now when he transformed into Thor he began speaking more regally. So instead of saying "Stop right there! Or you'll have to go through ME!", he was now more likely to say "Ho, enemy! Stop your rampage at once, lest you face the wrath of THOR, son of Odin!" As this continued, it seemed almost as if Thor and Don Blake were two aspects of the same personality rather than one simple persona.
Stan also began doing more tales that spoke of the Asgardians, making them a real supporting cast. Some of them were based on real mythological characters, such as Sif, Balder and Heimdall. Some were completely new creations, such as the Warriors Three, a trio of heroes based on the Three Musketeers. They were Fandral, the handsome swashbuckler who always enjoyed a joke and a laugh. Hogun, the dark, cynical member of the group who preferred to let his weapons speak for him. And Volstagg, the brave and obese fighter who never backed down from a fight.
Stan Lee often retold Norse myths but then put his own spin on things. It is an old Norse myth that Balder, noblest of the gods, was so beloved that all living things were asked never to harm him (thus making him invulnerable). But the mistletoe was never asked such a request and so, as the story goes, Loki once tricked Balder's own blind uncle into throwing mistletoe at the noble god, killing him outright.
In Stan Lee's version, Marvel's Loki tried a similar trick, attempting to fire an arrow bound in mistletoe at Balder after he had learned the god’s weakness from the Norn queen. But at the last minute, the queen stopped him, saying that although she had been bound to tell Loki this secret due to the trickster’s cunning, she was also bound to protect Balder from harm just as nearly every other living thing was. Thus, in the comics continuity, Balder was still alive to help Thor out on occasion.
Stan Lee also continued the theme of a strained relationship between Thor and Odin. Where other
super-heroes had to deal with obstacles such as a girlfriend they couldn’t confide in or physical limitations or obligations to a job and/or a loved one, Thor had an altogether unique problem. He was under the watchful eye of his father who he dared not disobey.
Unlike some other super-heroes, Thor wanted very much to tell his love interest Jane Foster all about his secret life and to settle down with her. But Odin wouldn’t allow his son to become involved with a mortal woman, believing nothing good or lasting would come of this union. Saddened but obedient, Thor would often concede to his father’s wishes, though he wasn't silent about the grief and frustration it caused him. How many super-heroes have to worry about making sure Dad's happy, huh?
In one Stan Lee tale, Odin finally got fed up that after many, many months of him telling his son "she's not worth it," Thor was still pining for Jane. To punish him and remind him to pay attention to daddy, Odin took away half of Thor's power just as our hero was attacked by Zarrko the Tomorrow Man. Unable to defeat the man now, Thor figured the only way to stop further destruction from their battle was to admit defeat (at least until he had a chance to come up with a new plan). Zarrko said he would only stop menacing the present-day era if Thor came with him into the future and helped him take over. Seeing no alternative at the moment, Thor agreed and journeyed with him. Working together, they took over Earth in the future and Zarrko was set-up as ruler over all.
Recognizing his son's sacrifice, Odin restored Thor's power. And the thunder god then attacked Zarrko, saying he'd only agreed to help him conquer the future, not to allow him to remain in power. Thor defeated the Tomorrow Man and afterwards began making his way back to the present-day.
It's interesting to note though that, even though he later turned on the villain, Thor still helped enslave humanity. A rather scary thought and one which I'd think would keep the man up at night for a while at least.
When King Cobra and Mr. Hyde joined forces, they separated Thor from his hammer, hoping to even the odds. When Thor then turned into Don Blake (unbeknownst to anyone), the villains couldn't understand why they now had a cane instead of an uru mallet. Don told them the cane was actually his and promised he would lead the villains to where Thor was hiding if they gave it back to him. Jane Foster saw this and figured Don was a cowardly traitor, willing to sell out the hero just so he could be more comfortable.
By the way, this was another difference Stan Lee did over Larry Leiber. In Larry’s stories, the hammer only became a cane again when Thor slammed it against the ground. If the hammer was separated from him and he became human, the hammer remained a hammer and touching it would automatically restore Don to his Asgardian body. Not in Stan Lee’s book. If Thor changed back to Don then Mjolnir followed suit, plain and simple, and all future writers followed that example.
In the next issue of Thor, Jane's opinion of Don's cowardice quickly changed when it was the human doctor and not Thor who wound up defeating the criminal Grey Gargoyle. Jane Foster was impressed with Don, even telling Thor later that maybe she’d given the guy a bad rap. Thor then showed up and remarked to the nurse that he too was impressed by the physician, saying there was obviously more to Don than was
apparent. Jane found herself once more watching the physician more closely and admiring his quiet heroism. And Don became a little bit more open in flirting with the girl, even taking her out on the occasional date. But he still kept things light and joking rather than ever seriously telling her he had strong feelings for her.
Because Stan Lee loved crossing over bad guys, it wasn’t too long afterwards that Thor found himself face to face with the mutant terrorist Magneto, arch-enemy of the X-Men. Magneto wanted to recruit Thor, believing him to be a powerful mutant like himself (in Marvel, a "mutant" is specifically a human being born with the "x-gene" which gives them powers and marks them as part of a sub-species of humanity). The two engaged in an all-out brawl and Thor was confounded to find that Magneto’s electro-magnetic shields could block off Mjolnir (though the mutant terrorist couldn’t lift it with this same power). Thor fought Magneto both as himself and as Don Blake and finally the villain was forced to leave when he realized the X-Men were also nearby. It was a fun fight though and really a shame they haven’t really had a one-on-one battle since.
Fans love asking questions and one question that always comes up is "who would beat whom?" and "so who's stronger?" Stan decided to tackle one particular question: "Who's stronger? Thor or the Hulk?"
In Journey Into Mystery #112, Thor overheard some kids discussing this very same question (can anyone hear the fourth wall cracking?). Not having anything pressing to do, the thunder god sat down and told the kids about the time he and the Avengers had fought the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner back in Avengers #4.
Of course, several comic book fans had already read that battle and recalled that Thor and the Hulk scuffled for maybe a few moments before the jade giant and the Sub-Mariner then made their getaway. But here Stan Lee revealed that this had only been part of the battle. The fight had actually gone on much longer than anyone had realized and had been a terrible brawl. In order to combat the Hulk as an equal, with his fists instead of his hammer, Thor begged Odin to allow him a few extra minutes where he could retain his Asgardian form without reverting to Don Blake. Seeing that his son was about to face a worthy opponent, Odin agreed and did so.
Of course, Stan Lee was clever because no matter how impressive the battle was, it still had to end the same way it had ended in Avengers #4 … meaning, the Hulk took off and there was no clear winner. Thor himself had been surprised and stunned by the Hulk’s attacks in this fight and their strength had been too even to really call who might be a bit stronger. But he also told the kids that he now had a measure of the monster’s strength and his fighting technique. If they ever met again, the battle would go differently.
THE DIAL GOES UP TO 11!
After having spent months telling several stand-alone or two-parter stories, Stan Lee was ready to shift gears. The next couple years of Thor stories were epic, grandiose tales that involved gods facings gods and cosmic forces threatening the Earth and all of humanity.
First, Thor left Earth and the Avengers for a while, as he was summoned to Asgard to participate in a "trial of the gods" (which was really more of a competition between him and Loki). To make sure Thor was distracted during the trial, Loki had Jane Foster kidnapped. Balder and Odin learned about Loki’s treachery and Balder
went to Earth to save Jane. But the god of mischief was also using the mystical Norn Stones to give himself an edge. It was too late. Thanks to his schemes, Loki won the trial. Then, smart guy that he is, Loki got rid of the evidence by scattering the Norn Stones across Earth. Thor then went on a quest to recover each of the mystic stones in order to prevent them from causing further harm and to prove that Loki had cheated.
Odin eventually saw the evidence of what had happened and banished Loki into servitude for a while. Thor then gathered the magic stones to him and went to Pittsburgh to reform his damaged hammer into a whole weapon again. He didn't go to Asgard, though. Instead, he went to the steel mills of Pittsburgh. That's right, folks. Thor only buys American, dammit!
Having finished the trial and now ending his quest, Thor returned to New York. But everything had changed during his months away. There was now a new team of Avengers, with Captain America acting as the leader/trainer of three former super-villains. Don Blake's apartment was gone, since he hadn't been around to pay rent (a problem Superman never seemed to have). And Jane Foster had left to find new employment and possibly a new love.
Thor later met up with Jane again, who got injured during a battle between the thunder god and the Absorbing Man. Thor changed into Don Blake in order to treat Jane's wounds, but didn't realize someone was watching nearby. A man named Hobbs photographed Thor's transformation and now had proof of his secret identity. Thor later demanded the photo but Hobbs basically said "screw you" and explained that he wasn't afraid because he knew Thor operated by an oath not to kill human beings. Thor said this was true but then transported Hobbs and himself into the prehistoric era of the dinosaurs, saying that if he left Hobbs there and the guy wound up getting eaten then this technically was not Thor breaking his oath. To further impress the guy, Thor then took them both to the far future when humanity had left the planet Earth entirely, saying he could leave Hobbs there as well to fend for himself.
Man, that thunder god really knows how to threaten a guy, huh? This certainly made him stand-out from nicer heroes such as Spider-Man and the Thing. Hobbs, of course, would show up again years later.
Hobbs finally gave in but asked that he be allowed to see Asgard in return for the photograph. Thor agreed. But when they got there, they found that Loki and the Absorbing Man had joined forced to take over the place. Fortunately, villains don't always make good co-workers and the two begin fighting so much over who was really in charge that Odin took advantage of the matter and sent them both literally hurtling through space. During all this, Hobbs's camera was destroyed (along with the film that contained proof of Thor’s identity) and he was returned to Midgard without any memory of his adventure with Thor. However, Thor did mention that every now and then Hobbs might remember some of it in his dreams.
Returning to Jane, Don Blake found out the girl was suffering serious depression and confusion over the fact that Don would vanish for days or weeks at a time without explanation. Not wishing to hurt her further, Don transformed into Thor in front of her. Daddy Odin was not pleased. When Thor was next in Asgard, Odin told 
him he had to now face the "Ritual of Steel" as punishment.
Thor made it through the ritual, fighting his way out of Asgard and back to Earth only to find Jane talking to Hercules of the Greek Pantheon (this was, by the way, the debut of Hercules in Marvel comics). Jane had only run into Hercules, who himself had just arrived on the Earthly plane minutes ago. But deciding to make the thunder god jealous, she made a comment that she was talking to Hercules because she was tired of Thor vanishing constantly. Thor threw a gibe in Herc’s direction and a fight broke out.
Still pissed about Thor's defiance, Odin had half of Thor's power taken away again, allowing Hercules to defeat him. Jane apologized to Thor for trying to make him jealous but Thor just walked away, his pride more hurt than anything else. Seeing this, Odin was shamed. After getting his power restored, Thor was thinking maybe he would just go to his father and renounce his heritage, power and near-immortality.
In the meantime, Hercules was busy having a grand old time on Earth and starring in a movie based on himself. The jovial, hard-drinking, womanizing Herc became an interesting foil for Thor and the two had a lot of great moments together.
Thor met with Odin again, who at last understood that Jane wasn't some passing fancy and agreed he wouldn't stand in Thor’s way if he loved the woman. There would be conditions that had to be met, yes, but otherwise their union was okay with him.
But Jane had troubles of her own, since Stan Lee had decided to toss our hero into a serious sci-fi setting. Jane got kidnapped by alien Rigellians, who also wanted to get Thor’s attention for their own purposes. Something called the Black Galaxy was coming to threaten their world and Earth and they believed Thor had the power to stop it. Teamed up with an alien android called a Recorder, Thor went off and met Ego, the Living Planet, the guy behind it all. After convincing Ego that maybe threatening the universe wasn’t so much a good thing, Thor and the Recorder left, nearly colliding with Galactus the planet-eater.
Arriving back on Earth, Thor traced Jane's location to the mysterious Wundagore Mountain, where he
met the High Evolutionary, a man who'd made himself a god-like being through technology and had genetically engineered a society of genteel humanoid animals, the "New Men" (just think of The Island of Dr. Moreau if it had been done by Jack Kirby). Sadly, since Thor distracted the Evolutionary during an experiment, a wolf who was in the middle of becoming humanoid was not engineered correctly and wound up being the figurative snake in the garden, an evil creature called the "Man-Beast." This villain would became a major thorn in the life of the character Adam Warlock and the High Evolutionary would become a major player in various Marvel stories over the years.
After leaving Wundagore, Jane and Thor finally went to talk to Odin. The king of the Asgardians gave Jane a goddess-like nature and the ability to fly. But Jane faltered when she found herself doubting if this was real. Odin then tested her by putting her in a room with an entity called the Unknown. Jane was horrified by the experience and told Thor she refused to stay this insane place of chaos and magic. Odin decided that Earth was indeed the best place for her and sent Jane back home with no memory of having known Thor or Don Blake at all.
Distraught that Jane had proven unworthy of godhood and had rejected Asgard, Thor then found himself visited by Sif, an old love from his youth. The two were glad to see each other after so many years and after Sif saved Thor's life from an enemy, the two walked off hand-in-hand (just as Odin had intended).
Cunning little bastard, that Odin, ain't he? And kind of a jerk. But this relationship is, again, part of what made Thor really stand out from other Marvel characters. How many super-heroes have to worry about what their manipulative dad might be up to (especially in the 60's)?
Thor spent some time on Asgard with the lady Sif. But eventually, he found himself drawn back to Earth. To him, that was as much a home as Asgard. Sif did not return with him, having no real connection to Earth and feeling no strong desire to place herself in a world whose people she didn't truly understand. This attitude towards Earth would come up again and again, keeping the two lovers from ever fully being happy with each other. And so, when Thor later returned to Earth, he was alone.
Exploring, Thor found that Jane Foster was now working for a new guy (and possibly a new love) Dr. Keith Kincaid (who was later re-named Jim North for some reason) and Thor decided she was better off finding love with a human who didn’t have to constantly abandon her or subject her to horrors only gods could fight, so he left her alone. There were a few minor stories here and there, including one where Thor temporarily lost his powers and earned a living as a circus strong man. Then finally, Loki showed up to shake things up again.
The god of mischief, having stolen magical energy from the witch Karnilla, was finally able to do the impossible. He was able to lift Thor's hammer, overriding the enchantments that would have otherwise ensured such an unworthy person couldn't do it. Once again, the guy proved how wrong it is to underestimate a villain just because he wears a silly hat.
Thor eventually got his hammer back, just in time to face off against the creature Mangog who wanted control of the all-powerful Odinsword, a giant sword Odin created that, if freed, could cause Ragnarok to start early. Fortunately for all of Asgard, he won.
AT LAST! THE TRUE ORIGIN OF THOR!
When the dust had settled and the battles were won, Stan Lee wrote a very special issue that would change the way folks looked at the character. Don Blake had failed to maintain interest or grow as a character, whereas on the flip side people loved hearing about the Asgardian legends of old and about the occasional tale of young Thor.
So, in Thor #158 and #159, a secret was finally revealed. It started off when we say that Don Blake was beginning to seriously question his origins. For some time now, he'd believed he was a human being who'd somehow been bonded/merged with the essence of the legendary Thor. Yet why couldn't he remember his own human childhood clearly? Why couldn't he remember the accident that had taken away the use of one of his legs?
He hadn't thought of these questions before, as if he weren't meant to, but now they pressed on him. Finally, Odin revealed the truth. The mortal "Donald Blake" was an aspect of Thor. The thunder god was the true man.
Thor had been born centuries ago, raised in Asgard and making occasional journeys to Earth. But eventually, he grew arrogant and careless and aloof to the concerns of others. Believing his son needed to be taught humility, Odin transformed him into a human being and buried his true memories. To further show Thor the humble determination that one must sometimes develop as a human being, he caused one of his legs to be lame. Then he left him at the medical school with the belief that his name was Donald Blake, a new student. He hoped to see his son learn what it meant to dedicate yourself to helping others and to overcome a handicap in order to live as an ordinary man rather than merely reveling in your own power and glory.
Odin further explained that it was he who implanted in Don's mind the desire to journey to Norway and it was he who had guided the physician to that special cave (the same cave where Thor had been born) so that he could reconnect with his birthright, now as a wiser man. Of course, it had taken time for Thor's true memories to return and re-assert themselves, which is why in his first few adventures our hero didn't recognize Loki nor spoke as a true Asgardian.
This retcon made a lot of sense to many readers. Since Blake was now seen as only an aspect of Thor, practically a non-entity, it also allowed the comic to go for several issues at a time just focusing on Thor and his adventures without even mentioning Don at all, who seemed to have outstayed his welcome.
I personally really like the idea of a warrior god who spends half his time as a healer with an overt physical weakness, but I understand how after years of not really knowing what to do with his character, this seemed like the best and most respectful way to push Don aside.
Thor went back to his adventures after that and once again they were on a cosmic level. He journeyed deep into space, learning the origin of Galactus, devourer of worlds. He traded fists with the artificially-created man called Him, who in later years would assume the name "Adam Warlock."
Thor later returned to more familiar, mythical ground and fought against great demonic forces. There was the fire giant Surtur, whose might was rivaled only by Odin himself and whose sword could cleave down entire armies. He fought the manipulative demon lord Mephisto, Stan Lee's answer to the Christian Devil, who wanted to corrupt the soul of the noble thunder god as much as he wanted to simply destroy him. And he clashed swords with Hades of the Greek Pantheon. In many of these adventures, Thor was joined by Sif, Balder and/or the Warriors Three, giving the adventures a sense of classic sword and sorcery tales.
And then, finally, Thor died.
Well, almost. See, after defeating the cosmic entity called Infinity, Odin found himself beyond the grasp of Hela, the green-and-black garbed goddess who acts as a mistress of death for the Asgardians. Failing to
capture him, Hela turned her attentions towards Thor. Rather than see his son die, Odin killed Hela but then found the Earth suddenly overwhelmed with life now that no insect, fish, land animal, bird or human being was capable of dying.
Thor pleaded with Odin to restore Hela and re-establish the balance of life and death and the god-king did so. But Hela, being true to her nature, then began draining Thor of his life force. Sif then asked Hela to stop, saying that she would willingly take Thor's place. Suprisingly, Hela was moved by this act of love and restored Thor to full health. She then left, letting the matter drop for the time being.
About a year later, Thor was about to be killed by the Roman god Pluto when suddenly the Norns stepped in. Knowing the prophecy of Ragnarok (that Thor is supposed to die during the twilight of the gods in a battle with the Midgard Serpent), the Norns saved the thunder god from Pluto in order that he not die until the proper time came. Seems our boy was more immortal than even his own myth claimed.
The encounter with Pluto was Stan Lee's last adventure. After he left, the book went through different writers including Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. Although some of these stories were fun and entertaining, they didn't hit the note of cosmic drama that Lee and Kirby had made the book known for. It was a while before things started getting very interesting again.
And this concludes Part 1.
You may go to Part 2, which covers the Post-Lee/Kirby era all the way up to the destruction of Asgard, or you can skip ahead to Part 3, which covers the recent return of Thor in his latest series.
Reader Comments (16)
Do you have any more planned--aside from the ones already listed on the main page for this?
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
Upcoming history essays include Iron Man, Captain Marvel (DC version), Starman and Supergirl.
Please allow me to be nitpicky, though ;)
Your German translation of "thunderstrike/Thor's strike" is generally correct, but "Donnerschlag" is spelled with a "c" and with a capital "D", since it's a noun.
Our word for Thursday by the way follows the same example as the English one: "Donnerstag", meaning literally "Day of Thunder".
Looking forward to the second part and the other articles.
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
Terribly sorry for the mispelling there. Thanks for the information. :-)
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
Glad to hear it, Jake. Hope you enjoy the next part just as much. :-)
"...so I said to her, 'I am Thor!' and she said, 'you're Thor? I'm tho thore I can hardly pith"
Anyway, love the article as always. Never knew how the transition from Donald Blake to the modern Thor took place.
BTW: Is there anyway for you to do a 'cut' on your blog, so we can click a "Read More" link. It's tough to navigate when all of your topics are thousands of words long. Not crucial, but would be prefered.
Cheers!
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
Done and done.
Thanks for reading!
-In the original myths, Loki and Thor were related in a way: Odin and Loki had exchanged oaths of blood brotherhood.
-There was a seductive blonde enchantress in the original Norse myths although, other than that, she didn't have much in common with Amora.
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
What's worse is I actually knew that about Odin and Loki and somehow completely forgot about it when I was typing this up. D'OH!
oh oh oh uncle say one more thing, i'm having a problem reading some of the other articles (superman pt 3). it keeps telling me I need to log in, just i see no where to log in.Can you help?
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
I intended to post it up earlier but sadly got delayed by meetings. :-P
The Third Part of Superman will be completely revised and uploaded by Sunday night, at which point you will be able to access it.
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
This week. :-D
KISTLER'S RESPONSE:
Apologies. I wound up having to go on an unexpected bussiness trip and then my grandfather recently died. I'm posting up the article today.
"...The encounter with Pluto was Stan Lee's last adventure. After he left, the book went through different writers including Gerry Ordway and Roy Thomas..."
I think it was not Gerry ORDway, but Gerry CONway.