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Welcome back everybody, to another exciting week in Ye Olde School Café! This week, and for the next few, we’ll be taking a look at the Essential Thor vol. 1. Yes, leading up to the release of the movie on May 6th, we will see the origins of this Nordic god, and Odin, Loki, and Jane Foster as well. Get ready to journey across the rainbow bridge and be in awe of one of Marvel’s greatest heroes. Thor was created (the Marvel version) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962 (Journey into Mystery #83).

We begin our tale with Dr. Donald Blake on vacation in Europe, about to make a fantastic discovery. He makes his way around the landscape, but suddenly, a spaceship appears out of the sky and lands nearby. Dr. Blake eventually comes by a town where an old man claims to have seen aliens made of rock. No one believes him of course, but soon enough, while out hiking, Dr. Blake sees the strange creatures, but they also see him as well. He tries to run, but trips and falls to the ground. The only chance he has is to run into a cave. While searching for a way out, he sees a huge stone that blocks his escape. Out of frustration, he grabs a stick and pounds it against the rock. In an instant, he transforms into Thor, the God of Thunder! He feels his body surging with power and then realizes that the simple stick has transformed also, into a mighty hammer. He reads the inscription on the side of the weapon: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor”! Dr. Blake is astonished by the power he now wields, and then easily picks up the huge boulder with one hand.
After he leaves the cave, he sits down to ponder this wild adventure. He drops his hammer, and a few minutes later reverts back into his human form. He then realizes that he must keep in contact with the hammer to remain as Thor. He begins to experiment with his new weapon. He finds out that now he can control the elements with it, and no matter where he throws it, it returns to his hand. He then finds out that if he taps it on the ground, he’ll change back to Dr. Blake. As he is trying to process all this, the aliens begin their invasion of Earth. The military has no chance against the aliens, but Dr. Blake realizes he must act with his new awesome power. He then strikes the ground with his new walking stick, and changes into the God of Thunder.

Thor goes right after the aliens, but they are not without power of their own. They possess technology far beyond that of Earth. First, they try using laser pistols against Thor. He easily shrugs off the blasts and then swings his mighty hammer at them and smashes their weapons. Next, they drop some type of containment unit on him (like the ones the military uses on the Hulk). He bends the metal bars as if they were made of cardboard. Finally, they release their ultimate weapon, a robot, and it lunges right at Thor. Thor can think of only one thing to do. He swings his mighty hammer with all his strength at the metal monster. He smashes it into more pieces than you can count. The aliens basically soil themselves, get back into their ship, and make a hasty retreat. As the army is closing in, Thor taps his hammer on the ground and changes back into Dr. Blake. The military is left wondering why the aliens left in such a hurry. One of the soldiers comments that it certainly wasn’t because of that lame passerby with the cane. And thus began the story of the Mighty Thor!
Well, that’s the first issue of the Mighty Thor and his origins, as far as his time on Earth anyway. Next week we’ll take a look at more of his early adventures, and more of the cast of characters that would be a staple in the world of Thor for his first few years. See you next week!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net