Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber
Artist: Jack Kirby
"The Stone Men from Saturn"
The creative team of Stan Lee, Larry Lieber (Stan's brother), and Jack Kirby unite again to bring us another new character: the Mighty Thor. Well, maybe not a new character, but a new interpretation of a norse mythological god.
It was interesting to read this issue following Incredible Hulk 2, which also featured men from space as the villains.
This introduction to Thor begins with the adventures of Dr. Donald Blake in Norway. The hapless Blake accidentally discovers a small group of the Stone Men who are planning an invasion from space. Blake flees from this group when found. He seeks shelter in a cave where he finds a wooden cane. Quite by accident, Blake learns that when the cane is struck upon the ground, he is instantly transformed into the Mighty Thor.
And here my questions begin. These early issues do not detail anything about the god Thor, only the mortal Donald Blake. There is no mention of whether or not Blake is truly Thor or only becomes Thor when the cane is struck. Does Thor exist when Blake is human? The creative team offers no insight and it's likely best to not think about, I suppose. I should say that these are not questions that struck me at first, but in future issues when we visit Asgard, the background starts to fall apart.
We learn a few other interesting bits in this story:
1. If Thor and Mjolnir are separated for 60 seconds, he reverts to Blake
2. If the handle of Mjolnir is wrapped twice upon the ground, a storm appears which Thor can command.
3. Stamp the handle three times to end the storm.
4. If Mjolnir is thrown, it will return.
5. A single strike of the handle will change Thor back into Blake.
The Thor story in this issue is 13 pages long. It was fun and action-packed. The team of Lee and Kirby really excel on this title. Of these first four comics that I have read on this Avengers journey, this was my favorite.
Oh, Thor defeats the Stone Men from Saturn.
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