The Mighty Thor Battles the Incredible Hulk!

Now

While on patrol Thor comes upon two groups of children arguing over who is stronger: Thor or the Hulk. Thor decides to hear what the children are arguing over. Listening to both sides, Thor decides to tell them about his recent battle with the Hulk, revealing to them that there were events that have not previously been reported.[1]

Thor and his fellow Avengers — Iron Man, Giant-Man, and the Wasp — were on the trail of the Hulk, who abruptly quit the team shortly after their founding.[2] The Avengers had tracked down the Hulk to an abandoned military outpost and learned that he had teamed up with the Sub-Mariner. Thor then begins telling them a part of the story that was not reported in the news…

Then

As the other Avengers were busy fighting the Sub-Mariner, Thor had to deal with the Hulk. The gamma-spawned brute attempts to crush Thor with a massive chunk of rock. This forces the two away from the main battle. Finding that the Hulk is more powerful than any mortal he has encountered before, Thor wants to test his strength against his former teammate to see who is mightier.

Temporarily sealing himself in a protective vortex, Thor sends a petition to Odin in Asgard. He asks his father to remove the enchantment that prevents him from being separated from Mjolnir for more than sixty seconds so he can fight the Hulk hand-to-hand without the risk of changing back into Donald Blake. Odin decides to grant Thor this request, giving him the next five minutes to battle the Hulk uninterrupted. Stripped of its enchantments, Mjolnir is just a normal battle club. Thor tosses it at the Hulk, but the monster grabs the weapon. Thor realizes he made a mistake when Hulk prepares to crush the weapon. He attacks the Hulk head-on, prompting the Hulk to try and bludgeon the thunder god with his own weapon.

Thor manages to wrest Mjolnir from the Hulk’s grasp and holsters the weapon in his belt. The Hulk then rips open a wall and finds a cache of mines and begins throwing them at Thor. The blasts stun the thunder god long enough for the Hulk to lunge at his foe again. The pair then begin trading blows until the Hulk grabs Thor by the wrist. Watching this from Asgard, Odin is entertained by the battle but worries that his son might be defeated once the five minutes are up. Despite this, Odin vows not to interfere with the outcome of the battle.

Thor eventually breaks free and in the ensuing melee, the two powerhouses cause the ceiling to collapse on two of them. Thor briefly gets a look on the Hulk’s face and sees that it is consumed with fear. Pulling himself out of the rubble, Thor then tries to free the Hulk only to discover that his foe dug through the floor to escape. With the five minutes up, Thor decides that he will have to prove who is stronger at a later date and goes to rejoin his teammates. Back in Asgard, as the time runs out Odin decrees the battle undecided but believes that Thor has learned a great deal of humility from the battle.

When Thor rejoined the battle, he was ambushed by both the Sub-Mariner and Hulk but was able to break free and prevent them from taking Mjolnir because his powers had come back at their allotted time.

Now

… Thor finishes his tale by telling the children that the Hulk escaped and that their next encounter is a story for another time.[3] The kids are not happy that Thor answered their question. Thor instead leaves the children with this to ponder: It is never really about who is stronger, but who uses their power wisely and for justice. Thor then takes to the air and hopes to himself that the Hulk may one day learn this lesson.

However, days later in the deserts of the South West, the Hulk’s thoughts turn to the Hulk. Recalling their last battle the Hulk rages and smashes some rocks, vowing that the next time he meets Thor he will defeat him in battle.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Hulk, Odin

Continuity Notes

1. The battle in question occurred in Avengers #3. Per the MCP, Thor’s brawl with the Hulk in this issue took place between pages panels 2 and 3 on page 22 of Avengers #3.

2. The Hulk was a founding member of the Avengers in Avengers #1. He quit the group following their battle with the Space Phantom in issue #2 because he discovered that his teammates did not actually trust him.

3. The Hulk later fought the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #25-26.

The Coming of Loki

Ages ago, Odin agreed to a one-on-one battle against Laufey, the leader of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Laufey has the home ground advantage and nearly destroys Odin with one of the potholes that spew cosmic fire. When Odin shatters Laufey’s war club, his forces rush to their king’s aid. Seeing this, Odin orders his own warriors to meet there and a titanic battle rings out.

Ultimately, the warriors of Asgard turn out to be the superior force, and Laufey and his armies retreat back to Jotunheim. Odin leads his warriors onward, wanting to put an end to Laufey’s tyranny once and for all. The final battle takes place in Laufey’s castle and once the leader of the Frost Giants is slain, Odin calls an end to the battle.[1] That’s when they hear the cries of a baby from a pack on Laufey’s back.

Opening it, Odin finds Laufey’s child was with him in battle. Odin decrees that he will adopt the baby and raise him as a prince, just as Laufey would have indented. He names the baby Loki and proclaims that he will forevermore be considered one of the immortals of Asgard.[2]

Recurring Characters

Odin, Laufey, Loki

Continuity Notes

1. Although slain here, Laufey will be resurrected years later as seen in Thor (vol. 4) #8.

2. The events of Thor (vol. 3) #12 depict a vastly different portrayal of events than seen here. In it, the modern-day Loki went back in time to instigate the conflict between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants by slaying Odin’s father, Bor and ensuring his destiny of becoming the adopted son of Odin. The young version of Loki seen here is a child and not an infant. Also, the Frost Giants in this accounting (including Loki) look vastly different with blue skin and more barbaric garments and weapons than depicted in the story above. For more on this, see below.

Reconciling This Story With Thor Volume 3….

Publication wise the main reason why the Tales of Asgard story is tame compared to its retelling in the third volume of Thor is that this comic was published during the days of the Comic Code Authority when it was at its most strict. As such, there is no on panel death, and the battle between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants was squeaky clean. The human-looking Frost Giants in this story were probably due to the “no monster” rule in the CAC. Dragons were apparently okay, just no humanoid monsters. Hey, the CAC was preventing kids from becoming violent juvenile delinquents through the magic of reading, cut them some slack!

As for an in-universe explanation, that’s where things get murky and unexplained.

I’ve stated in previous issues, the Asgardians constantly go through a cycle of death and rebirth every 2000 years or so, per Thor #294. That story suggested that a lot of early Asgardian stories were legends created by Odin and implanted into the mind of the others during their last rebirth. Tiwaze has gone on throw this into question in Thor #355, which still suggests at least somebody is fucking with the Asgardians. Yet another item to consider is Thor: God of Thunder #3 suggests that while the Asgardians are virtually immortal they have a limited capacity for memories in their brains and over the centuries memories become murky and/or forgotten. Unfortunately, the most recent entry on Loki in Avengers: Roll Call #1 does not delve into the differences between these two stories.

I would argue that the above accounting of events is how some Asgardians remember the battle due to the memory limitations imposed on their brains.