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Thor #233

Mar 1975
Gerry Conway, John Buscema

Thor #233 cover

Story Name:

Midgard Aflame!

Synopsis

Thor #233 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 3 stars

In an alien dimension, Loki monologues about defeating Thor for a page and a half then transports himself to Asgard and appears before the Grand Vizier. The Vizier reacts and Loki magics him away while muttering curses….

Thor, concerned about the dying Jane Foster, wanders the streets around Avengers Mansion and sees a kid run in front of a truck. Thor jumps in the way, demolishing the truck and turning the kid over to his frightened mother. But when Thor returns to the Mansion, he finds it enclosed by an invisible force field….

Hours later, he meets with the Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon where he learns he is the only superhero able to move about freely, all others are trapped within force fields. Thor presumes that it is Loki’s doing, wanting to fight Thor alone. There are also transparent cubes outside every Army base in the USA and as they watch on a monitor screen, Loki and his troops emerge from the cube outside Washington, challenging Thor to battle. Thor flies out and meets Loki on the Arlington Bridge where he fights off several of the baddies’ soldiers before Loki, imbued with the power of Dormammu, unleashes a power bolt that knocks Thor off the bridge. Thor is approached by General Sam Sawyer, commanding the US Army’s forces, with a battle plan. Thor leads US troops back onto the bridge and there is a pitched battle while soldiers plant explosives under the bridge; there is a blast and a section of the bridge is destroyed—but Loki uses magic to fill in the gap with a force field. Demoralized, the American soldiers retreat while Loki laughs….

Later, Thor and Sawyer discuss strategy and the General holds out a nuclear blast as the best option. The Grand Vizier arrives and Thor asks about Odin’s aid; the Vizier reveals that the All-Father has taken on human form, to live among mortal, under a spell of forgetfulness that he not remember his identity until an unknown time. So Thor must go to war without him….

In a communal home for migrant workers in California, a big old man called Orrin watches the news on TV unaware of his true identity….



 

Review / Commentaries

Thor #233 Review by (July 25, 2023)

Review: Weak issue has too much talk on everyone’s part, with a number of unanswered questions, including “Did Thor pay for that truck he wrecked?” “Did the truck driver survive?” “How did the Pentagon get in touch with Thor,” “How did they know he was the only superhero not trapped?” I mean, really, he doesn’t carry a cell phone and there is no “Thor Signal” to flash in the sky, not even from Washington. “Why didn’t Loki follow up his advantage either time Thor was defeated and capture Washington?” “If there are over 200 teleportation cubes why is Loki using only one?” “Why is Loki’s strategy apparently ‘ride directly across a bridge’?” “If Loki has the power of Dormammu why does he only use it to create a flaming sword (that is gone in the next issue)?” “Where did the Grand Vizier go when Loki magicked him away that he was able to get safely to Washington later in the issue?” So…a pretty lame battle issue the writer didn’t put a lot of thought into. And the next issue isn’t much better.

Comments: Part two of five parts. Trapped superheroes shown include the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, Silver Surfer, Vision, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Doctor Strange and possibly Quicksilver. As a captain during World War 2, General “Happy Sam” Sawyer was commander of the Howling Commandos and a regular in the SGT FURY series. Odin’s memory returns in issue #242.



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John Buscema
Chic Stone
Petra Goldberg
Gil Kane (Cover Penciler)
Joe Sinnott (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Art Simek.

Characters

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Loki
Loki
(Loki Laufeyson)
Odin
Odin
Thor
Thor
(Odinson)
Plus: General Sam Sawyer.

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