Journey into Mystery #115
April 1965
"The Vengeance of the Thunder God"
Thor is attacking Loki in Asgard! He's charging up a lovely vine-covered battlement, and he's got his war face on! Loki has just finished playing Journey into Mystery's favorite game, GET JANE FOSTER! And he seems to have done very well because he's GOT JANE FOSTER! She's right there, cowering at Loki's side, and wondering what she ever did to get abducted by a Norse god of chaos and transported to Asgard!
Frank Giacoia is inking Kirby in this issue. It's delightful! I think Colletta did some good work on Thor, but sometimes he's better than he is at other times. It's really a shame that Giacoia didn't ink a few more issues, even just four or five! Because this single Giacoia issue is really nice!
Loki and Thor whack on each other for a few pages, but then Odin shows up. Loki tells the All-Father that Thor is defying Odin's wishes again and has brought Jane Foster to Asgard. Thor doesn't even try to defend himself. Why waste your energy on trying to tell Odin anything when you know he's going to make a bad decision no matter what you say?
Odin mulls it over for a few minutes and decides there must be a TRIAL OF THE GODS! Loki and Thor will fight each other because I guess this is how the Asgardian legal system works. Loki has accused Thor of bringing Jane to Asgard. The thunder god and his accuser will have to face each in a combat ritual to decide if Thor is guilty or innocent.
Loki feels very confident because is already planning how he's going to cheat. Thor asks Odin for a court recess while he returns Jane to Earth and takes care of the little matter of Crusher Creel rampaging through the countryside and demanding dinner of suburban housewives. Loki gets all whingey but Odin says "sure" and Thor heads to Earth.
Meanwhile back on Earth, the police are combing the countryside, looking for the Absorbing Man. Instead they come across Harris Hobbs, action news-service journalist who works for the Affiliated Press. The cops and Hobbs discuss what's going on for the benefit of the readers of the previous issue. Hobbs warns the police that they may not understand exactly what they are looking for. He urges caution. (And he knows what he's talking about, though he doesn't mention that he ran out of dynamite in the previous issue.)
The Absorbing Man has sought refuge in a very nice house in the suburbs. (I'm going to say it's New Rochelle, but I would love to hear some guesses from any CCF New Yorkers who actually live in the region and would have a much better idea than I do about where this house is.) Crusher starts throwing his weight around, demanding dinner and making himself at home. The man of house gets in his face about his behavior. It seems that demanding dinner on the table NOW is his job, not Crusher's! He starts pushing the guy around and the harassed housewife throws a glass at him. Crusher has had ENOUGH of these people! So he demonstrates his powers, turning to glass and silk and bronze. And he tells them they better hop to it and do whatever he says!
Thor meets up with the cops and Hobbs and there's a bit of a discussion about tactics. The cops say that Thor can help but they are still responsible for apprehending Crusher Creel. Thor tries to warn them about how dangerous Creel is. The cops aren't exactly dismissive, but they are very adamant about it because it's their job.
Well, Thor doesn't want anybody to get hurt. Hobbs asks Thor exactly what he plans to do the next time he fights this guy that can absorb Thor's power and be just as strong as him. Thor kinda shrugs. He's pretty sure he'll think of something.
By the time they locate Crusher, Hobbs and Thor have worked out a little plan to get Creel out of the house so Thor can confront him without putting anybody in danger. (Except Hobbs. But he thrives on this stuff!) Hobbs goes into the house and taunts Crusher. "The cops are outside! You're surrounded! And everybody knows your powers are a pathetic trick! Neener neener neener!" (I may have paraphrased a bit.)
Say what you will about Harris Hobbs, you really has some BALLS in this issue! It's too bad that he ran out of dynamite in the previous issue. I hope he learned his lesson! You can never have too much dynamite!
So Crusher chases Hobbs out of the house, giving Thor the chance to swoop in and face the villain without destroying the house. They mix it up for a few pages. Crusher absorbs Thor's powers and so there's not much Thor can do against him. The cops hit Crusher with a bomb that knocks him down and the shock of the explosion turns him back to human form. (I guess he has to concentrate to maintain the powers he's absorbed.) So he just starts absorbing the Earth! He turns into a giant of wood and rock and metal. And Thor uses a heretofore unknown power of his hammer to turn Crusher into helium, and he floats away into space.
That's a bit of a cheat, but I ran it by the Silver Age referees and they will allow it because it has been another awesome issue and it's so beautifully rendered artwise.
Thor checks on Jane to make sure she is alright and then he departs for Asgard where he will face the Trial of the Gods like a god. Or something.
Commentary: Get used to this. It's going to be awesome for the next two years or so.
I hadn't noticed that Harris Hobbs is not your average comic-book journalist. He's not a reporter for a newspaper and he doesn't work for a TV station. He works for a wire service! I guess the Affiliated Press is a stand-in for the Associated Press. Also, he brings dynamite, just in case. I could just imagine a panel at a Journalism conference. The theme is Action Journalism, and you got Hobbs, Jimmy Olsen and Peter Parker. Somebody in the audience asks the panel about the role of dynamite in journalism. Everybody in the audience is grateful that Jimmy has to shut up for a few minutes.
Hobbs will be back in a few issues but he wasn't a major presence in the comics. He's in a few more issues of Thor in the Silver Age and he returns for a major storyline in the Bronze Age. And it's too bad! Hobbs could have been made into a very interesting character, working for the Affiliated Press, showing up to try to interview the Wasp or the X-Men or Dr. Doom and getting involved in ADVENTURES! (There really should be a sequence with Hobbs interviewing Tana Nile. It could be very amusing.) He's very brave! He'll do what it takes to help the heroes because it's good copy! And you can always count on him to have some dynamite! Just in case! Unless he already used it all in the previous issue and hasn't had a chance to stop by the Personal Defense Department at the Affiliated Press to get some more.
Another thing I love about this issue is Crusher making himself at home in the giant house in the suburbs. He really unlearned any manners he ever had while he was in prison, didn't he?
Crusher will be back very soon, and Mr. Trombone and I will have a lot to say about him.
Tales of Asgard: "A Viper in Our Midst!": This is the third part of the origin of Loki. The first two parts were in JIM #112 and #113. Then they skipped an issue BECAUSE REASONS!
Thor and Loki are now grown but they are still very young gods. They are on an expedition with a group of Asgardians to stop Ghan, a storm giant, he who is (for this issue only) the most dangerous of the storm giants. He is about to attack Asgard BY HIMSELF. He must be very powerful indeed if they need this many Asgardians (including Thor and Loki) to challenge him.
He attacks the group head-on and they manage to fight him off. But they can't leave him running around in the woods so close to Asgard. So they begin an extensive search of the area.
Loki is sulking, as usual. He is very jealous of Thor, and he feels that he should be leading the expedition. He has no love for Ghan, but he starts to think of a way to ruin Thor's mission.
It's very hard for Ghan to hide because he's thirty or forty feet high. Well, maybe only twenty. So they find him and lob a gas grenade at him from a catapult. They scan the area, certain that they are going to find him unconscious from the fumes. But he's not there! What could have happened? How did Ghan get away?
Thor suspects sorcery but doesn't pursue the matter.
After they have given up the search, Loki hangs around a while and summons an eagle to his side. The eagle is Ghan, and Loki returns him to his giant form. Ghan is thankful. He doesn't know why Loki betrayed his own kind but, he is glad for the help. And now Ghan owes him. He tells Loki to call on him if he ever needs a favor.
Ghan walks away as Loki, looking quite satisfied with himself, silently gloats about aiding the forces of evil.
This is one of the better Tales of Asgard stories. I'm wondering how Ghan repaid his debt to Loki. As far as I know, it was never mentioned again. It certainly seems like something that Roy Thomas or Walt Simonson would have dredged up at some point. But if they did, I'm not aware of it.
A sequel to this story, how Ghan repaid his debt to Loki, could be pretty cool!
