Writer: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber
Artist: Jack Kirby
"Trapped by Loki, God of Mischief"
Much to my delight, Stan and Jack did not waste much time before they introduced more Asgardians. With this issue, we are introduced to Loki, Heimdall and Odin (the last very briefly).
The story begins with Loki trapped within a tree (a predicament that he has been in for 'ages'). Loki finally escapes by tricking Heimdall into breaking the curse. Loki immediately vows vengeance upon Thor.
Loki travels to midgard, takes on a disguise and draws Thor out into public by turning some innocent bystanders into negative images (seriously). Thor attempts to engage Loki in battle, but the trickster god hypnotizes Thor with his own hammer, through a complicated maneuver in which the sun glints off of the hammer at just the right angle and frequency. Loki convinces the hypnotized Thor to give up his hammer.
Convinced that Thor is harmless, Loki turns his back. Unfortunately for Loki, it has been sixty seconds since Thor lost the hammer - which means that he reverts to Dr. Donald Blake. Blake himself is not under hypnosis. Blake regains the hammer (and subsequently the power of Thor) and gives Loki chase through the city.
After a lengthy battle throughout the city, Thor defeats Loki atop the tallest skyscraper in the city (they still don't place this in New York, but it seems pretty obvious that this is the Empire State Building). Thor spins the defeated Loki around and hurls him into space, whereupon Loki lands back upon Asgard (somehow).
I don't have much more to add to this story. The introduction of Loki and Asgard feels a bit like Stan and Jack slowly dipping into that pool of Norse mythology. In issues to come, they dive in wholeheartedly. When the backup stories of young Thor in Asgard begin, this series really takes off.
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