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9: Journey into Mystery #83

"The Stonemen from Saturn!"
Comic Star RatingComic Star RatingComic Star RatingComic Star RatingComic Star Rating
 (3.30)
      16 comments
 
 
 
Editor-in-Chief:
Stan Lee
Cover Artists:
Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott
Writers:
Stan Lee, Larry Lieber
Pencilers:
Jack Kirby
Inkers:
Joe Sinnott
Colourists:
Letterers: Artie Simek
Editors: Stan Lee
Cover Date: August 1962
Release Date: June 1962
Story Arc: -
Pages: 13
Cover Price: $0.12
Times Read: 474
Times Rated: 240
 

Read Journey into Mystery Online
 Issue #84
 
   
 
Journey into Mystery #83
Buy Journey into Mystery Online   Buy Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor, Volume 1 Online
 
FULL ORDER

Incredible Hulk #2 (v1)
Fantastic Four #5 (v1)
Journey into Mystery #83
Journey into Mystery #84
Incredible Hulk #3 (v1)
7: Incredible Hulk
#2 (v1)
8: Fantastic Four
#5 (v1)
 
10: Journey into M...
#84
11: Incredible Hul...
#3 (v1)
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ISSUE BLURB

While in Norway, Dr. Donald Blake becomes trapped in a cave and soon discovers an ancient cane while scouting band of aliens land on Earth in prelude to an invasion. In desperation Dr. Blake strikes the ancient cane against the cave wall transforming himself into the Norse god Thor. Does he have the power to stop these men from Saturn?

 
ISSUE NOTES
 
  • This is the first appearance of Thor.
  • The story is split into 3 chapters:
    • The Stonemen from Saturn!
    • The Power of Thor!
    • Thor The Mighty Strikes Back!
 
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CHARACTER APPEARANCES 
 
Main Characters
  Thor
This is the first appearance by Thor in the mainstream continuity. Thor next appears in Journey into Mystery #84.
     
Villains
  Korg
This is the first appearance by Korg in the mainstream continuity.
     
 
GROUP APPEARANCES
Stone Men from Saturn
This is the first appearance by Stone Men from Saturn in the mainstream continuity. Stone Men from Saturn next appear in Thor #255 (v1).
   
     
ISSUE REVIEW
 
There is no review of this issue.
 
 
ISSUE SYNOPSIS
 
Dr. Don Blake is an American physician vacation in Europe when he over hears an old man telling people of stone men from outer space. They of course think he is nuts, but Dr. Blake believes him and decides to have a look for himself.

These stone men come from the planet Saturn and have increased strength and invulnerability thanks to Earth's atmosphere. Dr. Blake overhears the stone men speaking about killing any who discover them and flees. He arrives at a cave unable to find another exit and concedes defeat. Dr. Blake leans back against a wall revealing a hidden door, behind which he finds a very old walking stick, which he tries to use as a lever to move a boulder blocking a secondary exit from the cave. In frustration he strikes the boulder with the cane producing a blinding light and transforming himself into Thor.

As Thor, Dr. Blake is easily able to move the boulder and escape the cave. Outside he tests his abilities based on what he had read about Norse mythology. He hen he lets go of the hammer for more than 60 seconds, he returns to his normal self. He tests the hammer's ability to return to him when thrown, throwing it through a tree, summons storms, and stops them before hitting the hammer on the ground once to return himself to normal and the hammer back into a walking stick.

At that time the remainder of the stone men attack fleet enter the atmosphere and are picked up by military radar. The stone men's ships are protected so that the missiles cannot harm them. Seeing this, Dr. Blake transforms back into Thor and hurls himself with his hammer in the middle of the landing party. The stone men cannot match strength with Thor and his hammer and are quickly defeated.

Thinking that all humans are like Thor, the stone men flee the planet. As soldiers arrive to the scene, Thor transforms back into Dr. Blake and is able to walk away without anyone taking a second look.
 
 
RECOMMENDING READING
 
  • There is no recommended reading for this issue.
 
COMMENTS
 
Marvel Comments
  Safis Says:  
  2012-03-19 22:24:12  
  From the sounds of things, people don't really like the Stone Men from Saturn all that much. Personally, I think they're great! They're humorous, ridiculous-looking alien rock dudes -- and they're from SATURN, no less (yes, I know about the retcon) -- and still, they're a threatening menace.

I do wonder how Thor is going to be challenged though, because from the look of things in this first issue, he's basically invincible unless some villain can catch him off-guard and take away his cane while he's still the doc. And that doesn't open up too many potential plots.
 
 
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  Psikonetic Says:  
  2012-06-16 00:43:40  
  And Thor joins the mix, bringing the list of Marvel super-heroes up to 6 at this point, Hulk isn't quite a hero yet, but we're counting him.

Of course Thor starts off with an alien invasion! Hulk and FF both waited until Issue 2, but this is the God of Thunder, he doesn't wait for anyone! The Stone Men from Saturn reminds me of the great B-Movie sci-fi monsters of yore and the early confusion of Blake turning into/being possessed by/gaining the soul of Thor begins as we get no explanation yet of what's really happening when Blake becomes Thor. Thor also doesn't have a supporting cast yet, but we know that will change soon enough.
 
 
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  Dark_Knight93 Says:  
  2012-06-23 18:55:00  
  Standard Silver Age dialog and plot, but this issue has the best artwork of any other thus far. One complaint I have that relates to the Silver Age as a whole is that I'm sick of the alien invasion bull crap. Most of the alien species are just plain awful. Toad Men, Stone Men, ugh they are annoying.  
 
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  Dark_Knight93 Says:  
  2012-07-07 13:11:36  
  I liked the first story, since things are progressing in Don Blake's personally live. The second story was pretty cool too. Can't wait to see how things develop further in Journey into Mystery.  
 
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  Anonymous Says:  
  2012-07-23 05:45:24  
  Nice to re-read this after all these years.  
 
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  Nick Says:  
  2012-07-23 14:25:21  
  Nice to read the first Thor again. B-Movie sci-fi/fantasy. All innocent fun.  
 
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  jfpj1991 Says:  
  2012-07-23 18:22:29  
  I am still confused on the Blake thing. Is he a US citizen or did he just wake up one day, not trying to remember law school, parents, or anything important. Did he get possessed by Thor? What is this?

Yes I know they sort this out decades later. I just don't know how.
 
 
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  specialque Says:  
  2012-09-13 10:25:49  
  I liked this issue, but since I'm new to the whole Blake secret identity thing, it threw me off a bit. I get that it was a standard trope, but really...the Fantastic Four didn't have secret identities (until those early Torch solo stories), so why did they give one to Thor? Unless this was a take on Captain Marvel.  
 
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  Borealis Says:  
  2012-09-17 18:56:03  
  Is it just me, or are there a lot of aliens trying to invade Earth that get scared off by one (or four) 'mere mortals?' Aside from that, my son thought this was a great story; Thor is 'super-cool.' And the next story in the order is another Thor, so he should like that. He was amazed when I told him that Thor was stronger than the Thing. He loved the hammer-smash of the giant robot, as well. This was one of his favorites so far.  
 
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  gonzo Says:  
  2012-09-21 19:00:10  
  Anyone else think there was just a ton of explanatory dialogue, even by Silver Age standards?  
 
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  Phantasmagoria Says:  
  2012-10-14 17:55:56  
  I quite like this issue, though if it was much longer it might have suffered. It's a nice concise introduction to Thor.  
 
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  allenryals Says:  
  2013-01-11 17:34:12  
  Yay THOR! Good issue!  
 
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  Spider-Borg Says:  
  2013-01-13 14:50:10  
  I'm glad i'm not the only one who never knew anything about Don Blake. It seems like a weird thing to transform into an entirely different person. I mean, it's a little more believable for him to have the powers of Thor by picking up the hammer, but it's a little far-fetched to have him actually transform into Thor. I mean, what was Thor doing before this issue? Was he just hanging out in Asgard and all of a sudden was transported to Earth when this jagoff discovers the hammer?  
 
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  Trebek Says:  
  2013-02-23 17:52:39  
  All super hero weapons should come with easy to read instructions for the random person that passes by.  
 
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  minicheddaz Says:  
  2013-03-02 18:43:17  
  i love thor but i don't understand the don blake alter ego. is he thor or is he dr blake? did thor exist in asgard while blake led a separate life on earth or were they always one in the same? i always found this confusing.

the stone men from saturn are as bad as the toad men. i've always been disappointed with the debut of thor. of all the marvels this is my least favourite intro/debut/origin story.
 
 
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  skabeaters Says:  
  2013-05-02 14:03:00  
  I'm glad Raiden from Mortal Kombat left his staff in that cave... what a life-saver! I love how he was having trouble remembering just who Thor was throughout the beginning of the mag, then he instantly became an expert in all things Thor-Hammer. :D  
 
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