Journey into Mystery #108
At the Mercy of Loki, Prince of Evil!
Spotting a child about to get run down by a truck, Thor quickly slams Mjolnir to the ground. This causes a localized earthquake that makes the speeding truck bounce over the endangered child. As he leaves the scene Thor suddenly receives a telepathic distress call from Doctor Strange. Thor follows the call to Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village. Doctor Strange has collapsed after defending the city from a mystical attack from his enemy, Baron Mordo. When Strange blacks out, Thor uses the telephone to call an ambulance. Before it arrives, Thor changes back to his mortal guise of Donald Blake. Both men are raced to the hospital where Doctor Blake performs emergency surgery on Strange.
It’s then that Odin tries to contact him telepathically. Unable to stop the surgery, Blake ignores the call. This angers Odin whose fury triggers a storm in New York that cuts the power. Ordering the assistants to turn on the emergency generation, Blake continues working as he refuses to allow this patient to die. Odin is still furious that Thor continues to ignore his summons but has to lead his warriors into battle outside of Asgard anyway. With Odin gone from Asgard, Loki decides the time is ripe to attack Thor anew. Changing his form into that of a bee he is able to fly past Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, without drawing notice.
Back on Earth, Doctor Strange has awoken after surgery and thanks Don Blake for saving his life. Strange tells Donald that he owes him a debt of gratitude and offers his services to Blake should he ever need them.
Later, when Blake returns to his office Jane Foster informs him there is a patient to see him. The patient appears to be an old man who also walks with a cane. When he gets up to greet Blake and talk about his injured leg the old man trips and falls into Donald. This causes both of their canes to fall to the floor. The old man then grabs Don’s cane and tosses it out the window. As it turns out, this old man is actually Loki in disguise. When he drops the disguise he fills the room with smoke that knocks Jane Foster out. As Loki takes Jane, Don grabs the remaining cane off the floor and taps it on the ground. Without his cane, Don is unable to stop Loki from absconding with Jane.
Rushing outside, Don looks for his walking stick but can’t find it. Trying to contact Odin in Asgard fails as well since the All-Father is not within the kingdom. Running out of options, Don takes a cab back to the hospital where he asks Doctor Strange for help. Although Don doesn’t explain why, Strange can tell that this is an urgent matter and sends out his astral form to find the missing cane. Using the Amulet of Agamotto, Strange discovers that a homeless man has fashioned it into a make-shift fishing rod and is using it down by the pier. Blake rushes to the scene, but the homeless men will not give up the cane without a fight. That’s when Doctor Strange makes his astral form visible to them. Thinking the pier is haunted, the bums drop their “fishing rod” and run away. Blake thanks Strange for his help and quickly changes into Thor and begins hunting down Loki.
By this time, Odin has returned from battle and decides to reach out to his son again to find out why he did not answer his summons. When Odin contacts Thor, the thunder god is furious that Odin didn’t answer his earlier summons and decides what he must do next must be done alone. As Thor searches for Loki and Jane he attracts the attention of his fellow Avengers. When Iron Man, the Wasp, and Giant-Man arrive and offer their help, Thor tells him that this is a private matter he must deal with alone. Thor then goes to the tallest building in the city and begins emitting free-flowing electrons on his hammer to try and track Loki. When this yields nothing he leaps high into the air and eventually pinpoints Loki’s location in the Adirondack Mountains.
When he arrives in the region, Thor contacts Doctor Strange and asks for his assistance. When Strange agrees, Thor tells him what he has planned. Moments later, Thor attacks Loki from behind. In the ensuing battle, Loki reveals that he banished Jane Foster to Limbo. Trapping Thor in a pit that he previously dug, Loki then fires a mystical bolt into Limbo to destroy Jane. Luckily, Doctor Strange has erected a mystical barrier around the woman. Although this requires a great deal of energy in his weakened state, Doctor Strange succeeds in keeping the Foster woman alive. Thor then emerges from the pit and strong-arms Loki into returning Jane from Limbo. When Loki prepares for another attack his is abruptly forced back to Asgard by one of Odin’s soldiers who has come to collect the god of mischief. Odin contacts Thor and reveals that he has watched this battle and is proud of him. He also understands why the thunder god was so curt with him earlier. Thor thanks his father but has to depart to get Jane back home before she wakes up. As the thunder god flies back to the city, Odin notes that his son still loves the mortal woman and wonders what he should do with such a strong-willed son.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Loki, Doctor Strange, Jane Foster, Heimdall, Odin, Avengers (Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp)
Topical References
When Thor is surprised to see his fellow Avengers, the Wasp quips “you were expecting maybe the Beatles??” This should be considered a topical reference, particularly since the Beatles broke up 1970 and two members of the group are dead.
Thor travels to the tallest building in the city to look for Loki and Jane. In this story that building is depicted as the Empire State Building. At the time this comic was published in 1964 the ESB was the tallest in New York. At the time of this writing (January 2021) it is now the 7th tallest.
Trapped by the Trolls!
While on an expedition, a traveler becomes lost in the realm of the trolls. Seeking an audience with King Sidri, the stranger asks for shelter for the night. However, King Sidri only welcomes the stranger in order to add another slave to the mines below. The stranger suddenly falls through a trap floor and is shackled in the dungeon with another prisoner.
Once they are left alone, this traveller — actually Thor — removes Mjolnir from the pouch attached to his belt. Freeing himself from his bonds, Thor then frees all the other slaves and leads and leads them to the surface. There, Thor seals the opening into the troll kingdom and vows that men shall not make slaves of others either in Asgard or Earth.
Recurring Characters
Thor, King Sindri
