Thor Odinson, God of Thunder Appreciation 2019

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Thor #409 Nov 1989
"Doom Is Only Sixty Seconds Away"
Thor stops two jewel thieves who have been given high tech equipment by Dr Doom;
He has a plan that involves Thor in regaining control of Latveria;
Doom sends the Timebot to attack Thor and Hercules;


Hercules begins to fear for some reason, while Thor has another dizzy spell;
During the battle, Doom succeeds in his plan to steal Mjolnir.

Script by Ron Frenz (plot) and Tom DeFalco (plot and script), pencils by Ron Frenz (layouts), inks by Joe Sinnott (finished art)

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Tales of Asgard back-up
"To Fight The Unbeatable Foe"

Thor attacks Uroc with a blast from Mjolnir, but the demon only redirects it;

Thor taunts Uroc, causing him to strike and fall into the bottomless Chasm of Eternal Sorrow.

Script by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Mike Mignola, inks by Bob Wiacek

[charliehustle415]

Holy crap, Mignola on a Thor story!? Hot damn, does anyone know where this is collected?

[Panic]

Thor WAS an egotiscal jerk. He was honorable and noble sometimes too... But it's tough to come up with a character who spends as much time bragging about how awesome and powerful he is more than Thor. All those big Shakespearean monologues about how now you have to face the Prince of Asgard… the unmatched power of Thor... Now None can match the power of the God of Thunder.... There's some distinct 'full of himself' gong on there.

None of that makes him a jerk. That's Thor's game-face, same as Spidey mocks his villains to mess with their heads in a fight. Thor is proud, and Stan loved those big, gassy speeches when dealing with epic cosmic forces, but you were never supposed to look at him and think "Thor's a jerk." I honestly don't know where the idea that he's a jerk comes from - I don't remember him being one in Lee/Kirby or Simonson years.

[Intothevoid]

where is that at? the interview?

She said on twitter.

[Frontier]

None of that makes him a jerk. That's Thor's game-face, same as Spidey mocks his villains to mess with their heads in a fight. Thor is proud, and Stan loved those big, gassy speeches when dealing with epic cosmic forces, but you were never supposed to look at him and think "Thor's a jerk." I honestly don't know where the idea that he's a jerk comes from - I don't remember him being one in Lee/Kirby or Simonson years.

The only way I can make sense of it is thinking Cates is basing his interpretation off Aaron's Thor who was extremely flawed, boorish, arrogant, and put all his self-worth into a hammer to the point of losing his dignity and composure.

Not to mention those "dalliances."

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

Holy crap, Mignola on a Thor story!? Hot damn, does anyone know where this is collected?

Tom Defalco's Thor Is criminally underrated.

[Electricmastro]

Tom Defalco's Thor Is criminally underrated.

I suppose it doesn't help for comparison that his run comes after Simonson's, though he definitely had some good stuff to offer, like the Black Galaxy Saga.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

I suppose it doesn't help for comparison that his run comes after Simonson's, though he definitely had some good stuff to offer, like the Black Galaxy Saga.

I have to admit, i used to have some fondness for Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz's run on the Mighty Thor series when i was a kid. I say it is as good as Simonson's even, but for different reasons. I had a few random issues from earlier, but I picked up #400 when it came out (back when giant-sized anniversary issues contained actually worthwhile bonus goodies; and the same time as Cap 350 and Avengers 300- what an intro pack period!). Eventually I had everything DeFalco and Frenz Thor-related, annuals and all. I've said before Wally West and Kyle Rayner under certain creators were DC's Peter Parker, but Defalco run of Thor felt like Marvel's Superman. And I know DeFalco isn't for everyone, even back then, he aped the stories of Lee and Kirby to the point of having a cheesy dramatic narration about the ''threat'' of carjacking, but I liked how in his reign as Ed in Cheese the FF and Thor were off limits, because they were his.

DeFalco lost me when he brought in Thunderstrike, but everything before that I loved. The Celestials story, the big Seth storyline with that issue 400 already mentioned and that duel between Giant Thor and Surtur, the Black Galaxy story with Stellaris and the High Evolutionary, Code: Blue, the drama with Eric's family, all the stuff with bonding Thor to Eric a la classic Don Blake stuff, and especially the last few issues pre-Eric fully taking over ("Requiem for a Wrecker" and the huge Thor vs. Loki double-sized "death" issue") were great fun comics.

[Electricmastro]

I have to admit, i used to have some fondness for Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz's run on the Mighty Thor series when i was a kid. I say it is as good as Simonson's even, but for different reasons. I had a few random issues from earlier, but I picked up #400 when it came out (back when giant-sized anniversary issues contained actually worthwhile bonus goodies; and the same time as Cap 350 and Avengers 300- what an intro pack period!). Eventually I had everything DeFalco and Frenz Thor-related, annuals and all. I've said before Wally West and Kyle Rayner under certain creators were DC's Peter Parker, but Defalco run of Thor felt like Marvel's Superman. And I know DeFalco isn't for everyone, even back then, he aped the stories of Lee and Kirby to the point of having a cheesy dramatic narration about the ''threat'' of carjacking, but I liked how in his reign as Ed in Cheese the FF and Thor were off limits, because they were his.

DeFalco lost me when he brought in Thunderstrike, but everything before that I loved. The Celestials story, the big Seth storyline with that issue 400 already mentioned and that duel between Giant Thor and Surtur, the Black Galaxy story with Stellaris and the High Evolutionary, Code: Blue, the drama with Eric's family, all the stuff with bonding Thor to Eric a la classic Don Blake stuff, and especially the last few issues pre-Eric fully taking over ("Requiem for a Wrecker" and the huge Thor vs. Loki double-sized "death" issue") were great fun comics.

I tend to prefer DeFalco more on his Spider-Man material, but I can appreciate his other stuff as well, even if he's not for everyone.

[K7P5V]

I tend to prefer DeFalco more on his Spider-Man material, but I can appreciate his other stuff as well, even if he's not for everyone.

Me too, Electricmastro. The 80's DeFalco/Frenz run on Amazing Spider-Man is a great achievement. But their run on Thor was most enjoyable with many highlights: Thor VS. Annihilus, the introduction of the New Warriors and the formation of Thor Corps are still among my favorites.

[Electricmastro]

[CENTER]Thor #409 Nov 1989
"Doom Is Only Sixty Seconds Away"
Thor stops two jewel thieves who have been given high tech equipment by Dr Doom;
He has a plan that involves Thor in regaining control of Latveria;
Doom sends the Timebot to attack Thor and Hercules;

It feels weird looking at this and realizing it's from 1989. It feels more like it's from the 60s: Panels are simply organized with half a dozen or less blocks, dialogue is very straight to the point, the use of close-ups like how Jack Kirby previously used them instead of using zoomed-out shots, etc.

[Brice]

Speaking of writers, many fans don't have nice things to say about Fraction's run but he knew how to write a powerful, badass Thor.

[phantom1592]

None of that makes him a jerk. That's Thor's game-face, same as Spidey mocks his villains to mess with their heads in a fight. Thor is proud, and Stan loved those big, gassy speeches when dealing with epic cosmic forces, but you were never supposed to look at him and think "Thor's a jerk." I honestly don't know where the idea that he's a jerk comes from - I don't remember him being one in Lee/Kirby or Simonson years.

Depends on where you draw the line. The Definition of 'Jerk' changes from persons to person. I always enjoyed Big Talk Thor.... but If I'm honest... I've known actual people who never talk about anything except how awesome they are.... and I consider them jerks.

So hopefully when whoever it is said he was always 'a jerk', their line is more towards THAT... and not drunken loser Thor. If that ego is all they're talking about... I can roll with it.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

Depends on where you draw the line. The Definition of 'Jerk' changes from persons to person. I always enjoyed Big Talk Thor.... but If I'm honest... I've known actual people who never talk about anything except how awesome they are.... and I consider them jerks.

So hopefully when whoever it is said he was always 'a jerk', their line is more towards THAT... and not drunken loser Thor. If that ego is all they're talking about... I can roll with it.

I pray Odin you are right.