Journey Into Mystery #83

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Cover Date: August 1962

Plot Overview: The Stone Men from Saturn land on Earth. They demonstrate their great power and superior technology and plot to take over the planet. A local fisherman spots them and reports this back at town. Dr. Don Blake overhears this story and decides to investigate for himself.

The next day he comes across the Stone Men and takes refuge in a cave. Blake discovers another exit but a large boulder is blocking it. He finds a secret room holding an ancient cane. He tries to use the cane to move the boulder but has no luck. In a moment of anger he strikes the boulder with the cane.

Suddenly he becomes the Mighty Thor. He escapes the cave and reviews the powers of Thor and what he can do with his Hammer. He discovers that if he stops holding the hammer he once again becomes Dr. Don Blake.

Meanwhile the U.S. military make a failed attempt at fighting the Stone Men from Saturn. Thor arrives shortly afterwards and overpowers the Stone Men. They trap Thor in a cage but he easily breaks out of it. As a last resort the Stone Men call upon a robot to attack Thor. Thor smashes it with his Hammer and the Stone Men retreat from Earth. Thor becomes Dr. Don Blake and escapes the scene.

My Take: It was nice to see a book with a battle in it. I've been waiting for two issues to see the Hulk fight something. The art for this issue was great. As far as Marvel books at the time go this one probably looks the best.

Thor is really weird at this point. He's very mired in the conventions of how superheroes worked at the time. He has to have weaknesses and a secret identity and it really doesn't work for the character. This issue also read like a manual on Thor and his powers and that was a mixed bag. You come out of the issue with a good idea of what he can do but at the same time it was a little boring. Dr. Don Blake is also fairly bland as a character.

I'd give this issue a **1/2 out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Thor. The concept of Thor takes some time to evolve. Right now, when Blake is Thor he still talks like Blake. Eventually Thor will develop his accent but it takes a few issues. Thor of course has a secret identity as Dr. Don Blake. He has the weakness that he'll change back to Blake if he's away from the Hammer for too long. Another interesting point. Mjolnir is just called the Hammer of Thor in this issue. It'll be interesting to see when it becomes known as Mjolnir.

Thor becomes the main feature for Journey Into Mystery from this point on. He doesn't take up the whole issue so his stories are only 12 or 13 pages at this point. Journey Into Mystery will become the Mighty Thor with issue #126.

The Stone Men of Saturn made their first appearance here. They eventually become known as the Kronans. They won't ever be a big part of the Marvel Universe. Korg from Planet Hulk and World War Hulk is probably the most famous Kronan character.

Next Issue: Amazing Fantasy #15

Posted in: Journey Into Mystery,Kronans,Thor