MRL - Journey into Mystery (1951) #83-90

Journey into Mystery (1952) #83-90 - Stan Lee/Larry Lieber/Jack Kirby

The Introduction of another classic Marvel character, Thor the Mighty, also know from Norse mythology. The idea of having Thor as a superhero came about because Stan Lee wanted someone stronger than the Hulk, and who’s stronger than a God?

However, the story starts with Donald Blake, an American tourist in Norway who goes to investigate the sighting of weird rock creatures - they’re from Saturn, they look like mini-Things, except for their conic heads, and they want to invade the Earth.

Donald has to hide in a cave, the exit trapped by a boulder and his cane broken. Things look bleak, but the wall starts moving and he finds a walking stick. He can’t use it to move the boulder, but when he hits it on the ground, it transforms into the hammer Mjolnir, which grants him the powers of Thor. As in, he transforms into Thor in appearance, but remains Donald mentally.

He quickly discovers the powers of Mjolnir: creating storms, returning to hand, can be used to fly; but, if he drops it, he’ll return to his normal form in about 60 seconds.

Anyway, Donald uses his powers to stop the alien invasion and disappears before anyone realizes Thor was there.

His adventures continue, with Thor fighting gangsters and communists, aiding the American military in bomb testing, and sending Loki back to Asgard twice. He has to protect his identity from everyone, by order of Odin, which complicates his love life. Donald is sweet on his nurse, Jane Foster, and she kinda likes him, until Thor shows up.

So, it’s interesting to see where the mythological side of the Marvel Universe got started, but I’m not sure I’ll stick with this one. It didn’t grab me, at least for the moment.

MRL - The Incredible Hulk (1962)

The Incredible Hulk (1962) #1-6 - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko

Another iconic Marvel character, although, I have to be honest and say I never really cared about the Hulk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

According to Stan Lee, the main inspirations for the Hulk were Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.

We start in the desert, where a Gamma bomb, designed by famous scientist Bruce Banner, is being tested. General Ross is not happy about the delays and Banner’s colleague is not happy about his secrecy - he’s right about how someone else should have checked Banner’s numbers, but he turns out to be a Russian spy…

Security at the site turns out not to be great, because, just as the test is about to start, a teenager drives by. Banner races to stop him, leaving the spy in charge, who continues the test.

Banner manages to throw the teenager, Rick Jones, into a protective trench, but he gets the full blast of radiation. Everything seems fine at first, but, as evening comes, Banner is transformed into the Hulk.

The Hulk is the opposite of Bruce Banner in every way: strong, not very intelligent, more concerned with power than anything else. He causes destruction around him and is quickly being persecuted by the US army.

Grateful that Banner would save his life - no one else ever really cared for him - Rick Jones stays by both Banner’s and Hulk’s side, despite the latter’s protests that he doesn’t need a friend. Rick is capable of calming the Hulk, so maybe he protests a little too much.

The series was cancelled after 6 issues, but the character of the Hulk proved popular enough to guest star in other books and would get another series a year later.