Thor #267: Review

Jan 1978

Len Wein, Walt Simonson

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

Story Name:

Once More, To Midgard!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Thor #267 Review by Peter Silvestro (February 17, 2015)

Comments: Part one of two parts; this adventure is the sole appearance of the villain Damocles. Sole appearance of Dr. Jacob Wallaby. Thor’s first adventure on Earth since issue #248. The physics of Thor’s righting a toppling tower with a hammer toss are questionable, but that’s why he’s a mythic hero. And don’t worry about Loki—he’ll be back in issue #273.

Review: Okay issue suffers from a few problems. To start, the first half of the issue is clearing up small details from the previous epics (The Quest for Odin and its epilogue); the second half has Don Blake trying to figure out what has happened since he was last there, ending with a new villain who looks like Satan with a spit-curl who seems to be just another crook with some tech. He’s no match for Thor here; will the next ish be any better? ‘Fraid not. Walt Simonson’s art on this first run of his is very nice and makes a bland issue look great. Plus the cover looks very dramatic—moreso than the same incident in the book.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Thor #267 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

With Odin restored to his throne, things in Asgard are getting back to normal. Balder is in charge of rebuilding the city after the recent mayhem; the Pillar of Sovereignty starts to topple—but Thor hurls Mjolnir and knocks it upright again. Traitorous Loki is sentenced to exile on Earth, in the guise of a homeless man with no memory of his true identity. Thor bids farewell to the Recorder as he (it?) returns to Rigel. Balder has a tense goodbye with Karnilla. Thor decides it is time to return to Midgard as Don Blake for a time; the Warriors Three intend to accompany him but Odin comes to Thor’s rescue and assigns the heroic trio to hunt down Loki’s allies, Magrat the Schemer, Kroda the Duelist, and Snaykar the Skulker.

On his way down Bifrost, Thor pauses to admire the view; he then creates a vortex which carries him to New York. He assumes his Don Blake identity and heads to his office but he receives a shock. The building is gone, demolished to make way for a parking garage. Discovering he has been gone for over a year, he then heads to Trinity Hospital where he meets with Dr. Jacob Wallaby, his old college mentor, for some advice. Dr. Wallaby suggests Don go to work at a free clinic. Their talk is interrupted by the arrival of a villain, Damocles, who hijacks a container of synthetic cobalt lent to the hospital by Tony Stark for cancer research. Don tries to stop him and gets clobbered. The villain and his henchmen jump into their skycraft and take off. Excusing himself, Don turns into Thor and assaults the ship with his hammer. Damocles launches his Destruct-Drone toward the United Nations Building, Thor races to catch up with it and wrecks it just short of its destination. By the time he gets back, Damocles is gone. We last see the villain plotting to construct a Cobalt Cannon to hold New York City for ransom….