Story #2Odin Battles Ymir, King of the Ice Giants
Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: Don Heck. Colorist: Matt Milla.
Synopsis
In ancient days the
Ice Giants attacked
Asgard, and
Odin joined the battle in his chariot drawn by winged stallions, hurling meteor bolts down on them. The giants responded with a titanic gust of frozen wind, blowing away the chariot and leaving Odin stranded on a mountain. Odin used his sword to cleave the mountain in two, dropping the Ice Giants into the chasm.
Ymir, the last of the enemies, pursued Odin until the Master of the Gods lured him to a dormant volcano. Striking the ground with his sword, Odin unleashed a ring of fire, trapping the ice giant forever.
Story #3Surtur the Fire Demon!
Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: George Roussos. Colorist: Matt Milla.
Synopsis
Hearing that the
trolls have joined
Surtur to rebel against
Asgard,
Odin journeys to the land of the trolls, scattering them with a blast of power. The defeated trolls tell Odin where to find the fire demon Surtur, and the great Odin travels to the
Sea of Flame where he comes face-to-face with his enormous enemy. Surtur threatens Odin by transforming his giant fingers into deadly serpents but Odin calls frozen debris from space to crush the demon’s hand. Surtur then departs for Earth, burrowing deep into the planet’s center, with the dislodged rock becoming the Moon. Odin causes the Earth to rotate which traps the Demon King at its center forever. As a bribe, he gives Odin a winged horse as a steed then sits back to wait for the day he can escape.
Story #4The Storm Giants
Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: Paul Reinman. Colorist: Matt Milla.
Synopsis
Two sons of the
Storm Giant have stolen the
Golden Apples of the goddess
Iduna, and young
Thor and
Loki set out to recover them. Sneaking into the giant’s dining room, Loki pushes Thor out into the open where the giants see him. Thor, drawing on his dignity as one of the
Aesir, demands the return of the Golden Apples. The giants respond by trying to drown Thor in an enormous bowl of broth. Thor fights back, chopping a leg off the kitchen table and hurling a giant pepper shaker into their faces. Thor is captured though, so Loki throws wet leaves on the fire, filling the room with smoke. The two Aesir find the Golden Apples with the imprisoned
Agnar, king of the Eagles. Loki plans to abandon Thor and ride the giant bird to safety but the young Thunder God cuts the rope holding the eagle and rides off on its leg. Back in Asgard,
Odin knows who the real hero is; Loki is disgruntled and Thor lifts the
Uru hammer a little higher than before. When he can lift it all the way, it will be his….
Story #5The Invasion of Asgard!
Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: George Roussos. Colorist: Matt Milla.
Synopsis
Hearing that the forces of evil are about to attack
Asgard, young
Thor volunteers to stand at the
Rainbow Bridge alongside
Heimdall in defense. The guardian sends him away as too young.
Loki suggests that Thor can earn honor by guarding a hole he discovered in a remote part of Asgard’s defenses. What Loki does not mention is that he made the hole—and alerted the enemy to its existence in order to destroy Thor. As Thor stands guard alone, he suddenly faces a cabal of enemies: the
Norn Hag riding
Ulfrin the Dragon, the
Wolf Gods Skoll and Hati, the
Rime Giants, the last of the
Ice Giants, and
Geirrodur the Troll. Thor battles valiantly but is eventually overwhelmed by the superior forces A Rime Giant casts a spells slowly turning Thor into a tree but quickly
Odin and his warriors arrive and drive off the enemy. Thor confesses that he failed, in that he would have been defeated. The other warriors hail him as a hero for holding the breach long enough for reinforcements to come. Thor is rewarded with additional strength and is able to lift the
Uru hammer a little higher, while Loki stands in the shadows, plotting vengeance….
Story #6'Death’ Comes to Thor!
Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: Paul Reinman. Colorist: Matt Milla.
Synopsis
Thor quests to find the
Three Fates to learn if he shall ever be awarded
Odin’s magic hammer. The Fates tell him he will—but he must meet
Death first. Rather than accepting his doom, Thor determines to wield the hammer. He returns to Odin’s palace and tries lifting the hammer once again…but
Balder, staggering from wounds, enters to tell him his sister
Sif has been carried off by the
Storm Giants. Without thinking, Thor raises the hammer over his head and rides out to rescue the warrior maiden. Arriving at the Giants’ lair, he destroys the road to it, burying the guards, and enters to confront
Rugga the Storm Giant king. Rugga explains that
Hel, Goddess of Death, promised him immortality if he would deliver Sif to her. Thor forces the giant king to direct him to Hela’s realm and soon he is face-to-face with the Goddess of Death. He offers himself in Sif’s place and Hela is so moved by the noble sacrifice that she grants Sif her freedom. And it is not until days later that Thor realizes he now possesses the Uru hammer.
Story #7Thor’s Mission to Mirmir!
Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: Chic Stone. Colorist: Matt Milla.
Synopsis
Thor visits the land of the
Dwarfs and asks to be taken to their king,
Sindri. He requests that the monarch furnish him with a magic vessel,
Skipbladnir, which can shrink to pocket size or grow to carry an army, and travel to any place in the universe. Thor commands the ship to grow and, boarding, commands it to take him to the land of
Mirmir. Arriving at that distant land, Thor battles
Skord, the flying dragon, and
Gullin the Boar God to reach the palace of King Mirmir. There, he presents the king with a branch from
Yggdrasil, the
Tree of Life, and asks Mirmir to fulfill his pledge to Odin. Mirmir places the branch into the enchanted fountain, the water overflow and run down to
Midgard where they form to figures
Aske and
Embla, the first humans. His mission accomplished, Thor returns home to Asgard.
Story #8Heimdall, Guardian of the Mystic Rainbow Bridge!
Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Jack Kirby. Inker: Don Heck. Colorist: Matt Milla.
Synopsis
The warrior
Heimdall is summoned to appear before
Odin, who tells him that the
Rainbow Bridge of
Asgard needs a sentry and he has chosen Heimdall to be one of the three candidates for the honor. Odin assembles the three warriors and asks them to tell why they think they should be chosen as the guardian of the Bridge. The first,
Agnar the Fierce, claims his massive chest gives him the power to blow the loudest warning on the enchanted
Dragon Horn to summon aid. The second,
Gotron the Agile, cites his ability to fight off a multitude of foes. And Heimdall the Faithful mentions his sensitive hearing—which detects the tiniest plant growing in the heart of the
Hidden Hills. Scouts dispatched to that area do indeed find a small plant sprouting in that desolate land. Heimdall then mentions his sharp eyesight which even now spies a band of
Storm Giants two days away and heading for the Rainbow Bridge. A war party is sent out and finds the enemy where Heimdall said they were and defeats them and Heimndall is named guardian of the Rainbow Bridge.