Appearing in "The Way It Was!"
Featured Characters:
- Thor (Main story and flashback)
- Dr. Don Blake
Antagonists:
- Stone Men from Saturn (Only in recap)
- Gorr (Only in recap)
- Korg (Only in recap)
- Margus (Only in recap)
- Ard (Only in recap)
- Mechano-Monster (Only in recap)
- Loki (Only in recap)
- Cobra (Klaus) (Only in recap)
- Executioner (Only in recap)
- Ulik (Only in recap)
- Rock Trolls (Only in recap)
Other Characters:
- Heimdall (Only in recap)
- Odin (Only in recap)
- Karnilla (Only in recap)
- Destroyer (Only in recap)
- Balder (Only in recap)
- Warriors Three (Only in recap)
- Hercules (Only in recap)
- Jane Foster (Only in recap)
- Sif (Only in recap)
Realities:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "The Way It Was!"
Following the victory against Mangog, Thor returns to Earth where he resumes his Earth identity of Dr. Donald Blake. In both the form of Thor and Donald Blake, the Thunder God ponders the paradox of his life, that of being both a mortal and a God, and begins to recount the events that led to how Donald Blake came to become Thor:
This issue then reprints Thor's debut appearance in Journey Into Mystery #83..
Donald Blake, a doctor from the United States, is visiting Norway. At the same time, a ship from Saturn lands nearby as advance scouts for a planned invasion. A local fisherman spots them and alerts the villagers, but they dismiss him. Blake overhears and goes to look for himself. When he steps on a twig, the aliens notice him. He flees into the hills, where he loses his cane. He runs into a cave, but the other entrance is blocked by a giant boulder. A secret door opens, revealing a chamber where Blake finds a walking stick. He tries to move the boulder with the stick but is unable to get the leverage. Frustrated, he hits the boulder with the stick, and in a flash of light, the stick transforms into a hammer, and Blake transforms into Thor, the mythical Norse God of Thunder.
Thor easily lifts the boulder and leaves the cave. He verifies that the hammer has all the powers of Mjolnir, Thor's legendary weapon. Meanwhile, the alien armada shows up on Earth's radar screens. When fighter jets scramble to meet them, they project an image of a huge dragon and frighten away the pilots. When the ground forces fire missiles, they explode harmlessly the ships' force fields. Thor speeds to the defense of the Earth.
When Thor attacks the aliens they drop a cage over him but he tears the bars open. They aim their disintegration beams at him, but his hammer smashes their guns. They unleash their Mechano-Monster, but he smashes it to bits. The aliens return to their ships and give up their invasion. Thor changes back to Dr. Blake, whom the soldiers ignore when they come to look for the invaders.
Following this recounting, Donald Blake begins to think about his further adventures and how they eventually brought him to the fabled realm of Asgard, where his life would never be the same again. He recalls his meeting with Odin, the All-Father, and meeting his allies Balder, Hercules and the Warriors Three, and also recalls his battles against such foes as Loki, Karnilla, the Destroyer, Pluto, Cobra and Ulik.
Finally, Blake thinks back of the two loves in his life, his lost and former love Jane Foster, the nurse who worked for him in the early days of his career as Thor, and his new lover the goddess Sif. With his recollections over with, Blake begins to wonder who he really is: Donald Blake or Thor? And if he is really Donald Blake, a mere mortal granted with the power of the Thunder God, what happened to the original?
This story is continued next issue...Appearing in "The Answer at Last!"
Featured Characters:
- Thor (Origin revealed)
- Dr. Don Blake (Origin revealed)
Supporting Characters:
- Odin
- Heimdall
- Balder (Only in flashback)
- Warriors Three (Only in flashback)
Antagonists:
- Loki
- Storm Giants (Only in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Gondolff (First appearance)
Realities:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "The Answer at Last!"
After completing a surgery successfully, Dr. Donald Blake returns to his apartment where he begins to ponder about the secrets of his double identity. Namely, is he really Thor or Donald Blake? And if he is the latter, what happened to the original Thor? Drifting to sleep, he dreams about going to Asgard in his godly form and asking Odin for the answers that have been plaguing him. Hearing this request from Asgard, Odin decrees that Blake shall be told the truth, and when Blake awakens, Odin appears before him and tells him the fate of what happened to Thor many years ago:
Odin tells of a time when Thor was brash, arrogant, and reckless. One day while chasing a birdbeast, the Thunder God trespassed into Niffelheim, violating a truce between Odin and the giants that lived there. This led to a confrontation between Thor and an army of giants. Balder would be called in to pull Thor from the fight, citing that the Thunder God was at fault for the conflict.
Returning to Asgard, Thor would go to a local tavern with the Warriors Three and engage in an arm wrestling competition with one of the other patrons. This would end in Thor winning, and the other patron accusing Thor of cheating. This leads to a huge bar brawl that is eventually broken up by Odin who summons Thor to his side.
Meeting Odin on a mountain where Odin berates his son, telling him that he lacks humility and is sorely needing a lesson on the subject. He turns Thor's attention to Earth, and decrees that he is going to send Thor there to live the life of a frail mortal so that he might learn his lesson and someday regain his godly identity. Odin would banish Thor to Earth, and turn him into Donald Blake, with no memory of his past as the Thunder God.
With the story done, Odin explains that he had placed Thor's mystic hammer where he might find it after he had learned humility, and that changing him into a form with a handicap and giving him a profession that made him heal the sick and frail was all part of this lesson.
With the explanation done, Odin departs leaving Blake to consider everything he learned. The doctor realizes that his romance with Jane Foster was doomed to failure from the start, and he never would renounce his godly heritage because he was indeed, truly Thor. As a final acceptance of these revelations, Blake taps his cane on the ground changing into Thor where he proudly embraces his true heritage.Appearing in "Tales from Asgard: Banished from Asgard!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Arkin the Weak (First appearance)
- Queen Knorda (First appearance)
- Various unnamed Mountain Giants (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Numerous unnamed Asgardians
Races and Species:
- Asgardians
- Frost Giants (Referenced)
- Mountain Giants (First appearance)
- Horses
Locations:
- Prime Marvel Universe
- Asgard
- Asgard (City)
- Unnamed canyon
- Asgard
Synopsis for "Tales from Asgard: Banished from Asgard!"
—OdinEven the son of Odin may not disobey an imperial command! And so I order you to be...banished from Asgard!
For being involved in a duel against Odin's wishes, Thor is banished from Asgard, much to the protest of the warriors of Asgard, who need Thor's strength in their continuing battle against the Mountain Giants. Learning this, Arkin the Weak, cousin of Loki, travels to a mountain ridge to inform Queen Knorda of the Mountain Giants (in an attempt to win her favor). Knorda and Arkin plan to attack Thor while in his exile from Asgard.
Later, while traveling in the mountains, Thor is attacked by the army of the Mountain Giants, led by Knorda and Arkin. Thor tricks them into traveling into a box canyon and escapes through a cave which the Giants cannot fit in. Traveling up to the top of the canyon, Thor is reunited with Odin and the warriors of Asgard. As it turns out, Odin banishing Thor from Asgard was all part of a plan to ferret out the traitor leaking information to the Mountain Giants, and trap their foes. Arkin finally gets his wish to be with Knorda for the rest of time, only trapped in the canyon. Meanwhile the warriors of Asgard ride back home, victorious.