The Stronger I Am, The Sooner I Die!

Thor is chasing after a thief who is fleeing the scene of the crime in a race car. Thor, however, easily yanks th driver out of his seat. Watching this from Asgard, Loki decides to try and interfere by sending a mystical gas to Earth to weaken Thor. Unfortunately, this ploy doesn’t work and Thor easily subdues the criminal.

Furious over yet another loss, Loki decides that instead of weakening Thor he should give power to someone else. To this end, he locates Crusher Creel, a criminal currently in prison. He drops a potion into Creel’s drinking glass giving him great power. Suddenly granted with great strength, Creel begins breaking out of prison. When the guards start shooting him, he absorbs the properties of the bullets given him enough strength to smash through the walls of the prison.

Elsewhere, Don Blake is patching up Harris Hobbs, a reporter who is in a hurry. He tells Blake about Crusher Creel’s escape from prison and how the criminal suddenly obtained super-human powers. After Hobbs leaves, Blake decides to investigate as Thor. However, he remembers he had a dinner date with his nurse, Jane Foster, but manages to convince her to give him a rain cheque on dinner.

On the roof of his building, Blake transforms into Thor and heads upstate where the manhunt for Crusher Creel is taking place. Thor quickly finds Crusher, who is able to hold his own against Thor because of his ability to absorb the properties of anything he touches. As the two fight it out, Harris Hobbs arrives on the scene. Having brought sticks of dynamite with him, Hobbs threatens to blow Creel up if he refuses to surrender. When Crusher tries to harm the reporter, Thor is forced to not only save Hobbs but also shield him from the blast from the stick of TNT he foolishly lit before confronting Crusher Creel. The resulting blast allows Creel to escape. Thor orders Hobbs to get the proper authorities while he resumes his search for the escaped convict.

On the highway, Thor finds a man whose car was just stolen by Crusher Creel and learns that his foe is fleeing toward the state line. However, Creel doesn’t get farther than the nearest gas station to fill up his car. When the attendant notices that Crusher has a ball-and-chain he panics. Creel destroys the gas pumps with a single swing of his weapon and then begins musing how far his new powers can take him, even going so far as to fantasize about becoming a dictator. This allows Thor to catch up and the two begin fighting anew. However, the so-called Absorbing Man is able to absorb the properties of every attack Thor launches against him.

Suddenly, Thor finds himself teleported to the Bifrost Bridge by Balder the Brave. At first, Thor is furious of having his battle interrupted but soon learns that Loki kidnapped Jane Foster while he was busy with Crusher Creel. While back on Earth, the Absorbing Man wonders what happened to Thor. He spots Harris Hobbs and briefly contemplates killing the reporter. He decides against it and instead heads to a nearby house to hideout. While back in Asgard, Thor refuses the aid of his allies, intending to face Loki — and free Jane — on his own.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Absorbing Man, Loki, Jane Foster, Harris Hobbs

Topical References

• The prisoners in this story are depicted as wearing white and orange striped outfits and are shackled to a ball and chain. These should be considered topical references. By the 1970s this style was retired in favor of the orange jumpsuits we see today because — you know — a dude in bright orange is easier to see escaping at night than a guy in black and white stripes. Ball-and-chain style shackles haven’t been used since the 1970s as well because there are easier ways of keeping prisoners in line. How you can reconcile the Absorbing Man getting one in this story (since it is his trademark weapon) One could assume that Loki also gave him the weapon on top of his powers.

The Golden Apples

On her way to deliver a new batch of the Golden Apples of immortality to Odin, Idunna crosses paths with Haakun the Hunter. The pair exchange pleasantries as they cross paths. As Idunna continues on her merry way she is unaware that she is being observed by Fenris, the wolf god. The feral creature can smell the golden apples and wishes to make them his own.

Assuming human form, Fenris approaches Idunna on the path and offers her his protection. She refuses the stranger’s aid and when he continues to press her she begins asking questions about the man. Growing frustrated by Idunna’s constant questions the Fenris abandons him trickery and resumes his natural form.

Luckily, Haakun the Hunter has doubled back and confronts the Fenris. When he throws his enchanted ax at the Fenris, the craft wolf shrinks in size. However, the ax continues to seek out its target and eventually strikes the Fenris. When the ax finally hits its mark it banishes the Fenris to the realm of Varinheim in the farthest reaches of the netherworld. With the danger passed, Haakun escorts Idunna the rest of the way to Asgard.

Recurring Characters

Idunna, Fenris

Continuity Notes

• Although it has yet to happen with this story at the time of this writing (October 2021), it should be noted that many tales involving the mythological past of Asgard have been retold and many of these retellings have contradictory facts. This note is being added pre-emptively that the story of Idunn and her apples gets retold in a later comic.