Journey Into Mystery #99

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: Thor heads off to Asgard in front of an astonished crowd. One member of the crowd isn't as impressed and that's Mr. Hyde. He plans to get revenge on Don Blake. Hyde thinks back to when he was Calvin Zabo. He tried to get a job with Blake, and rob him but Blake had heard of him. Zabo vowed revenge. He then researched and discovered the Hyde serum and became Mister Hyde.

Meanwhile, Thor again petitions Odin again to allow him to marry Jane Foster. Odin again denies his pleas because an immortal can not marry a mortal. Thor then asks for Odin to make Jane an immortal. Odin initially denies the idea but changes his mind and says that he would consider it if she proved herself worthy.

A hopeful Thor returns to Blake's office just as Mr. Hyde breaks in. Thor becomes Blake just as Hyde breaks in. Blake goes for his walking stick and Hyde throws him out of the window. Blake manages to tap his stick on the side of the building and once again becomes Thor. Thor returns to the office and finds Hyde gone. He tells Jane that he saved Blake and she thanks him.

The papers report that Blake was saved by Thor and this enrages Mr. Hyde. Hyde robs a bank disguised as Thor and the authorities start planning to capture Thor as the issue comes to an end. The end of the issue promises a face off between Thor and Mister Hyde in issue 100.

In the backup, Odin defeats the Trolls and then Surtur. Surtur's defeat creates the moon and Odin creates the rotation of the Earth to keep Surtur trapped in the core. Surtur sends Odin a winged horse as a gift to try and get released from the core of the Earth as the story comes to a close.

My Take: I enjoyed the Thor story quite a bit. There was no battle but it did a really good job of making you want to see Thor and Mister Hyde duke it out. It's also interesting to note that Marvel hadn't done any 2 part stories in the anthology books and did one in Tales to Astonish #50 and this issue this month. I hope it leads to some bigger stories being told and a greater sense of continuity.

It's interesting to note that Thor has been trying to convince Odin to allow him to marry Jane Foster. It's added some good tension between the two characters. Jane also is returning the feelings of Don Blake and now there's a chance they could be together. Jane will get a chance at some point to prove her worth but who knows if she'll be successful or not.

I usually don't mention much about the Asgard backup but they've been a fun little side story. It's a nice bit of history to read every month and those stories are always interesting. The writing style is also a little different. It's trying to mimic more of a mythology feel and I think it's largely successful at that.

I'm looking forward to the fight between Mister Hyde and Thor. Foes with great strength have been a little more rare as opponents for Thor. I'm hoping for a big huge issue long brawl in #100. It could be one of the better fights that Marvel has had in a book thus far.

The art was surprisingly good in this issue. Don Heck brought his A game this issue and it looked great. Mister Hyde was ugly and sinister looking. You really got a creepy feeling everytime you saw him and that's the perfect way to approach him. Heck can be a little hit and miss on these issues but he really hit the ball out of the park on this one.

I give this ***1/2 out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of Mister Hyde. Mister Hyde later becomes a member of the Masters of Evil and plays a big role in one of the more memorable Avengers tales ever told. He's a solid C list villain who's had some big moments in the Marvel Universe. He will continue to be a factor, though minor most of the time, until the current stuff.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #115

Journey Into Mystery #97

Cover Date: October 1963

Plot Overview: Thor saves a pilot from a plane as the issue opens. The media swarms him after the daring rescue and Thor takes off. Thor muses that he must not let anyone near him for they might find out his secret identity as Dr. Don Blake.

Thor once again becomes Don Blake while on the streets a rumor of a Lava Man are being reported. Blake enters his office and tells Jane Foster that he has something to tell her. Blake changes his mind and Foster bemoans the fact that Blake is such a coward.

After Jane leaves, Blake becomes Thor and asks Odin's permission to marry Jane. Odin denies his claim. Thor sulks as rumors spread further of a Lava Man sighting. Loki is also watching from above realizes that he's the one that created the Lava Man.

Jane tells Don  Blake the next day that she is taking a job with another doctor. She reveals that she knows Blake's feelings for her but she can't marry such a coward. Blake cannot stop her due to Odin's decree and Jane Foster walks out of his office.

The Lava Man enters the city and claims it for his people. Thor appears on the scene and declares that his heart is ready for battle. The Lava Man goes underground and starts creating small eruptions but Thor throws his hammer under ground and forces the Lava Man back to the surface. The Lava Man traps Thor in a pillar of dried lava but Thor manages to break free. The Lava Man turns himself into a giant rock but Thor creates a giant whirlwind and uses it to throw the Lava Man back into the volcano. Thor seals off the volcano and ends the threat for this issue.

Don Blake returns to his office and finds Jane Foster and her new employer Dr. Bruce Andrews there. Blake makes a final plea but Jane rejects his offer and leaves. Dr. Don Blake and Thor stand defeated as the issue comes to a close.

This issue also features an Asgard backup. It briefly tells of the Frost Giants and how Odin's family came about. It promises to tell more stories of Asgard in future issues.

My Take: What can I say, this was a great issue of Journey Into Mystery. It felt like they finally figured out how to make the character interesting in his own right. They really played up the duality of being a human and a god of Asgard in this issue and it really worked. They also went and made a major change in the dynamic by having Jane Foster quit and they stuck with that change at the end of the issue. It was really interesting to read something from the Silver Age and see a big status quo shift like that.

This issue did read very different from the previous issues of Journey Into Mystery. Thor and Blake have distinct personalities from each other for the first time. When Thor is out, he talks more like Thor now. Before, he always sounded like Don Blake. Both Thor and Blake seem to have better embraced their ties to Asgard in this issue. Before, there always seemed to be some level of distance between the two. Jane Foster also felt to be written a little differently in this. Before, I would say she had maybe a passing interesting in Blake but she seemed to share his feelings in this issue. I know they did that for dramatic tension so it isn't a huge deal.

These older comics tend to be a clunky read but you really felt for Blake/Thor in this issue. They really communicated his feelings of hopelessness and helplessness in this issue. He goes out and defeats a super powerful foe and then a few minutes later can't stop the woman he loves from walking out of his life. There have been some solid issues in these early Marvel tales but I really feel like Stan Lee captured a brief moment of magic with this issue. There was just an emotional power to this issue that made it something more than most of it's counter-parts from this era.

The Thor comics haven't been my favorite of this project so far. I feel like I've gone through the motions with some of them. This one really caught me by surprise in a good way. It's the first time since Journey Into Mystery #83 that I've been eager to get to the next issue and see what happens next. I really want to see where they go next with the Blake/Foster relationship.

Jack Kirby also made his return for this issue and the art looked really good. Molto the Lava Man was really cool looking and the battle with Thor was nicely drawn as well. His art really added to the emotion of the various scenes throughout the book as well.

I give this **** out of *****.

Notes: There were a lot of first appearances in this issue thanks to the Asgard backup. The most important introduction in this issue is Surtur. He'll be a villain for Thor as the years progress and a nasty one by the looks of him. This issue also features the first appearance of Molto the Lava Man. He's not an important character moving forward. I know he appears in Avengers down the road and he might make a handful of future appearances in Thor. But I'm pretty sure he'll be done as a recurring character as the 70s open up. This book also featured the first appearance of Asgardians Bor, Buri, Ve and Vili. None of them are very important characters. The Frost Giant Ymir also makes his debut here and he's also not very important going forward.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #113