Thor #226

Aug 1974

Gerry Conway, John Buscema

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

Story Name:

The Battle Beyond!

Synopsis

Thor #226 synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Rating:

To the consternation of Thor and Hercules, Firelord sends the signal into space, summoning his master Galactus. The two heroes attack him but he states that he is only following orders and with a show of disdain, he takes off into the sky. A reporter from the Daily Bugle has overheard this and he races back to the office with the scoop. Thor and Herc return to the hospital where Thor turns back into Don Blake. There is a commotion and they discover that TV news is reporting the imminent return of Galactus, striking fear in the hearts of the staff. Don fills Herc (and the late-coming reader) in on Galactus’ first arrival on Earth as well as Thor’s previous encounter with him…

…and then Galactus arrives on Earth again, flying a car over the streets where he is met by Thor and Hercules. The World-Devourer explains he is not there to devour the world but to ask their help. He explains that he had tried to feed on Ego the Living Planet but that world was too strong for him and they fought and Galactus realized they were too evenly matched so he departed until he could find someone or something to give him an edge. And now he asks Thor and Herc to aid him and they take off in Galactus’ ship with Firelord joining them, to the heroes’ dismay. Thor theorizes that Tana Nile’s removal of a sample from Ego (which became Ego-Prime, issue #199-203) may have driven the Living Planet insane. They arrive and Ego attacks their ship, filling it with humanoid antibodies that overwhelm the heroes but are easily driven back to where Firelord can use his Cosmic Staff to immolate them. And they await Ego’s next move….

Quotes

Interesting passages found in this comic book.

"Yon shadow belongs to him who hath defeated thee!"
~ THOR

Review / Commentaries

Thor #226 Review by Peter Silvestro (May 10, 2023)

Review: Something about that cover makes me think Galactus is being forced to apologize by his mommy. Not quite but he does need Thor and Herc’s help in defeating an evil planet and so that where we go. The beginning of this issue is occupied with Thor and Herc learning that Firelord is an obnoxious jerk, and an obnoxious jerk who is coming with them, to boot. The middle section is a lot of recap of previous Galactus adventures and made the synopsis easier to write. This leaves the last third of the issue to layer on some Kirbyesque cool with the promise of more stuff to come in the next two issues. To quote one Jerome “Curly” Howard, “I can hardly wait!”

Comments: Part three of five parts. Galactus was introduced in the classic FANTASTIC FOUR #48-50 and encountered Thor in THOR #160-169; he last appeared in FF #121-123. “Backgrounds by [Dave] Hunt.”—Page 3.

> Thor comic book info and issue index