Journey into Mystery (1952 series) #115

This issue begins with Thor in Asgard climbing the tower where Loki is making his stand, with the captive Jane Foster by his side. The foster brothers battle, with Loki’s magic trickery evening the odds….

Meanwhile on Earth, reporter Harris Hobbs tells the skeptical police about escaped convict Crusher Creel having become the Absorbing Man and a match for Thor. Creel, seeking refuge, has come to an isolated suburban home where he breaks in and holds the owners, a married couple John and Ann, hostage….

In Asgard Thor easily overcomes Loki’s freezing ray and has the trickster at his mercy when Odin arrives to halt the combat between his sons. Quickly Loki accuses Thor of having brought Jane to Asgard hoping to make her immortal. And Odin, like a fool, believes Loki, ordering Thor to appear before the Trial of the Gods. Thor asks for forty-eight hours to finish his business and, when it is granted, he returns Jane to her home, erasing all knowledge of Asgard from her memory. He then heads out in search of the Absorbing Man, soon joining the police dragnet. At the suburban home, John and Ann have had enough of their brutish captor and John socks him, despite knowing of Creel’s powers. As the villain turns to iron to take vengeance, Hobbs rushes in to insult Creel, drawing him outside where Thor can confront him. Again the two antagonists fight to a standstill, with Creel absorbing Uru, then fire, and finally all the elements of the Earth—stone, wood, metal—growing into a giant to challenge Thor. Unafraid, Thor whirls his hammer at cyclotronic speed, transmuting the elements comprising Creel’s body into helium. The villain, now lighter than air, is drawn out of Earth’s atmosphere and into space, where Thor will leave him until his powers have been forgotten. The Thunder God thanks Hobbs for his help, returns to New York for one last look at Jane, and then he is summoned back to Asgard to stand trial….

---

Story #2

A Viper in Our Midst!

Writer: Stan Lee.Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: Vince Colletta. Colorist: Unknown.

Synopsis

Thor leads a task force to battle Ghan, the most deadly of the Storm Giants, before the monster can proceed with his plan to attack Asgard. When they encounter their quarry, the warriors fight, while Loki, jealous of Thor’s prominence, stays far away from the fray. Loki casts a spell to give Ghan the victory to embarrass Thor but the giant is driven away by arrow fire before it can be completed. The Asgardeans fire a missile of sleep fumes at the fleeing giant but when they search he is nowhere to be found. Delighting in Thor’s failure, Loki remains behind ostensibly to search for the missing giant but really to further a wicked scheme of his own. He had magically transformed Ghan into an eagle, and in gratitude, Ghan promises to aid Loki when he calls. Thus Loki makes his first alliance with the forces of evil, someday to conquer Asgard!