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Thor #261

Jul 1977
Len Wein, Walt Simonson

Thor #261 cover

Story Name:

The Wall Around the World!

Synopsis

Thor #261 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Having reached their goal at the Doomsday Star, Thor and his companions find themselves under attack by a battery of photon blasters. They attempt to fly above the menace only to run into a perpetual meteor storm. Going below hurls them into a celestial maelstrom; the God of Thunder summons all these elements as the strikes the barrier…and nothing happens. Suddenly the heroes all vanish from the deck of the Starjammer….

We see a cloaked figure who is obviously Loki, gloating over his plan working out for the destruction of Thor and company in space, and Balder and Karnilla in Asgard….

Speaking of the latter, they are being rebuked by (a phony) Thor for failing to protect the kingdom—and he proves that the Enchantress and Executioner were mere phantasms. Karnilla is suspicious however….

Thor and company awaken in the endless city that covers the Doomsday Star. It seems deserted by they are attacked by warriors in techno-trackers, spider-legged vehicles with heavy firepower. The Asgardians easily defeat them, and the inhabitants unleash the Cosmotronic Cannon. This devastates the entire area, trapping the heroes in an avalanche of debris. Hogun, Volstagg, and the Recorder are buried alive, Thor hurls his hammer to free them but it does not return to him. Sif and Fandral are snatched up in the enemy’s metal tentacles, and Thor is knocked flat by a blast….

They awaken prisoners in a dungeon; their captors doff their armor to reveal delicate elf-like aliens who call themselves the Soul-Survivors, dedicated to worshiping the Norse gods forever. Elsewhere in the city, Hogun, Volstagg, and the Recorder dig themselves out of the rubble and decide that their comrades are prisoners in a gleaming tower on the skyline, and set out to rescue them or die….


 

Review / Commentaries

Thor #261 Review by (January 20, 2015)
Comments: Part two of four parts. Part seven of “The Quest for Odin.” First appearance of the Soul-Survivors. Fun fact: Thor knows all about photon-blasters; could he have been coached in high-tech by Tony Stark? Or did the Recorder just tell him everything?

Review: More high-tech sci-fi action which Walt Simonson is very good at. Is it bizarre that a medieval myth like Thor fits easily into such a classic science-fictional milieu? Not really and I think that whatever the Marvel teams from Lee-Kirby on had in mind they certainly succeeded in blending the two disparate elements very nicely. Thor can’t keep battling Trolls and Frost Giants forever, can he? So why not toss aliens into the mix; remember how Thor got his start way back when?


> Thor comic book info and issue index

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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Walt Simonson
Ernie Chan
Glynis Wein
John Buscema (Cover Penciler)
Frank Giacoia (Cover Inker)
Glynis Wein (Cover Colorist)


Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Balder
Balder
(Balder the Brave)
Fandral
Fandral
Thor
Thor
(Odinson)
Volstagg
Volstagg


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