Journey into Mystery #110
Every Hand Against Him!
Thor patrols the city on the alert because he senses an evil aura in the air. This would be Loki who has returned to Earth to strike at the thunder god anew. Disguising himself as a mortal, Loki goes to the 14th Precinct where he pays the half a million dollar bond to release the Cobra and Mister Hyde.[1]
Meanwhile, Thor has to break off his search to resume his civilian duties as Donald Blake. Climbing into the window into his lab, Don Blake calls his nurse, Jane Foster, and asks her to start sending patients in to be examined.
By this time, Loki has taken the Cobra and Mister Hyde to a hotel room and explains he had them freed so they can destroy Thor on his behalf. The two crooks balk at being ordered around until Loki reveals his true identity to them. He then doubles their powers and orders them that they are to strike against Thor by kidnapping Jane Foster. Neither criminal knows why a nurse is so important to Thor, but they comply anyway. While Mister Hyde commandeers a taxi cab as an escape vehicle, the Cobra snatches Jane Foster from Doctor Blake’s office. Witnessing this kidnapping, Blake transforms into Thor and tries to follow after the Cobra. Unfortunately, the Cobra delivers Jane into the hands of Mister Hyde. Unable to risk harm coming to Jane, Thor stands down. Hyde then tells Thor to meet them at this very corner in a day’s time to surrender his hammer. Hyde looks forward to it because he intends on defeating Thor once and for all.
Meanwhile, Loki has returned to Asgard and shows Odin the scene on Earth. Loki convinces the All-Father that Thor has grown cowardly. Oden contacts Thor telepathically and scolds him for letting two villains get away. When Thor tries to explain that they kidnapped Jane Foster, Odin grows even more furious over the fact that his son still loves this mortal woman.[2] Having had enough, Odin decrees that Thor is banished from Asgard. After this angry rebuke, Thor realizes who is the mastermind behind this plot: Loki.
Thor then races to Asgard but his path is blocked by Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost Bridge. This leads to the pair trading blows, but ultimately Thor manages to get past when he summons a powerful storm to blow Heimdall out of his way. Thor then fights through an entire army in order to get to the castle. There he finds Loki and demands that he admits his involvement in Jane Foster’s kidnapping. Loki refuses to do any such thing and warns his half-brother that a fight will not be advisable. The god of mischief does, however, show Thor where Mister Hyde and the Cobra have taken Jane Foster: An estate in the New Jersey highlands. Thor’s primary concern is Jane, but he warns Loki that he will be back to face him as soon as she is safe. Before he can leave, Thor is caught by Odin who is furious to see that his son continues to disobey him. Thor tries to explain why he had come to Asgard but Odin has head enough and banishes Thor back to Earth with the wave of a hand.
Thor appears not far from the estate where his enemies have taken Jane and he races toward the building. His approach is witnessed by Cobra and Mister Hyde. They are ready for Thor as the mansion has been set up with a series of traps. They eventually lure Thor into a room that begins filling with tear gas. There he is ambushed by Mister Hyde. While fighting off his foe, Thor accidentally punctures the gas main and the resulting spark causes the building to explode. Finding Thor’s body in the rubble, Mister Hyde assumes that the thunder god is dead and departs. However, Thor survived the blast and he begins to frantically search the rubble for Jane. When he finds her he discovers that she is in poor shape and her pulse is fading.
Meanwhile, Mister Hyde brings Cobra back to the house to prove that he killed Thor. At that same moment, Thor uses Mjolnir to create a time vortex around the mansion ruins that will stop time until he can find a way to save Jane’s life. That’s when Mister Hyde and Cobra arrive to finish the job they started.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Loki, Cobra, Mister Hyde, Jane Foster, Odin, Heimdall
Continuity Notes
It’s odd that Mister Hyde is in jail in this story since when he was last seen in Journey into Mystery #106, he had evaded capture. One could assume that Hyde was apprehended behind the scenes between that issue and this one.
Odin has rejected Thor’s request to marry Jane Foster back in Journey into Mystery #97. He has been actively trying to force Thor to forget her ever since.
The Defeat of Odin!
The armies of Odin have slain Rampok the Rebel and now heads into his domain so they might clash with his son, Rivvak and the remains of his army. On the opposite end of the Boiling Plain, Rivvak leads the rival army. However, the youth is sick with fear of the coming battle and his troops can sense that he does not have the mettle to lead.
However, when the Asgardians try to cross the plane they discover that it is filled with fire spewing geysers. Eventually, Odin orders a full retreat. Seeing their enemies flee, Rivvak is heralded as a true leader by his father’s armies.
As the Asgardians head back to their kingdom, Thor approaches his father. He does not understand why the All-Father called a retreat when he could have simply cast a spell to protect them while crossing the Boiling Plane. Odin explains that there must always be the fire of rebellion in the blood of others. There must always be those who are willing to fight a seemingly unbeatable enemy, that way men will always remain fearless and strong. He concludes by saying that allowing this defeat to become legendary as it will prevent men from seeing a cause as hopeless, that men must never feel an enemy cannot be defeated.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Odin
