Journey into Mystery #-1
A Tale of Asgard
Interrupting the ongoing story in Journey into Mystery, Stan Lee addresses the readers and tells them that this issue looks into Asgards past…[1]
Odin is peering down to Earth via the Universal Mirror to check on his son, Thor, whom he has banished in the form of a mortal doctor named Donald Blake.[2][3] While the All-Father laments over this situation, his Grand Vizier reminds him that this was necessary to teach the thunder god a much needed lesson in humility.[4]
That’s when their conversation is interrupted by Loki who has returned from tracking a party of Ice Giants. The trickster tells Odin that while carrying out this task, he discovered a tree that appears to be growing golden apples just like the ones that grant the Asgardians their immortality. This is a huge problem, as the gods have always had the advantage due to their long lives and should the Ice Giants discover the apples it could tip the balance of power. As such, the All-Father summons Balder and orders him to accompany Loki back out into the field to confirm if these apples are a real or not.
Sometime later, Sif is visiting with her brother Heimdall on the Bifrost bridge when they see Balder and Loki head off on their quest. Sif is disappointed that Odin didn’t call on her to accompany them. Still, she doesn’t trust Loki and decides to follow them incognito in case Balder might need some back-up.
A while later, Balder arrives at the tree and is surprised to see that it does appear to be growing golden apples. However, upon closer inspecting, Balder discovers that this is an ordinary apple tree and someone had painted its bounty with gold paint. That’s when the brave warrior is ambushed by an army of Ice Giants led by Snagg, son of Bort, son of Hjak, son of Moot. Luckily, Sif is able to come to his rescue by firing flaming arrows at the ice creatures, fending them off long enough for the pair to make an escape. Loki, who was in league with the Ice Giants all along, orders them to go after Balder and Sif as the key to immortality is within their grasp.
Back in the kingdom, Odin tries to observe Balder’s quest in the Universal Mirror, but something is blocking his ability to see. Worse, the All-Father can hear Yggdrasil, the World Ash that connects to all the Nine Realms, sighing in the night. Suspecting that it is in danger, Odin hopes that Balder can learn who might be threatening their anchor to all existence.[5] Odin sends one of his guards to a nearby tavern to recruit the Warriors Three to assist on this mission. The trio are in the midst of a bar room brawl, but agree to go once they finish their drinks.
Meanwhile, Loki and Snagg continue their pursuit of Balder and Sif. When they pair seek refuge in a cave, Loki uses his magic to bury them inside. That’s when the Warriors Three arrive to come and rescue their friends and engage Loki and Snagg in battle. While this battle rages, Balder and Sif begin examining the cave and find a tunnel that leads them to the trunk of Yggdrasil.[6] There they are ambushed by one of Seth’s minions. In the ensuing battle, Sif is gravely wounded, but she manages to defeat her opponent. Unfortunately, when she tries to get answers out of him, the warrior chooses death over dishonor and immolates himself. By this time, the Warriors Three have driven off Loki and Snagg and enter the cave just as Sif collapses from her wounds.
Luckily, Balder brought a real golden apple to compare to the fake ones he found earlier and has Sif consume it. This heals her injuries, saving the warrior from death. That’s when the Universal Mirror finally kicks in and Odin and the Grand Vizier see that their warriors are returning to Asgard. The Vizier wages that they’ll have an interesting story to tell when they arrive. The All-Father has no doubt as he knows that many evils — including the threat of Ragnarok — loom over them all and they must be ever vigilant to face any threat to the golden realm.
Recurring Characters
Balder, Sif, Loki, Odin, Grand Vizier, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Heimdall, Snagg, Don Blake, Jane Foster, Stan Lee
Continuity Notes
This story is part of the Flashback event where a number of Marvel titles were issued special -1 issues that tell a story that takes place before the first issue of a given series. Every one of these issues is introduced by Stan Lee. Is this an in universe appearance or the real life Stan Lee? I don’t see how it can’t be both since Marvel Comics has existed and published comic books in the Marvel Universe since Fantastic Four #12.
This story takes place during the period where Thor was trapped in the form of Don Blake and was unaware of his past. Thor #415 states that Thor was banished about 10 years prior to the start of the Modern Age (Fantastic Four #1 onwards). Since this flashback shows Blake working with Jane Foster, its probably a few years prior to the start of the Modern Age. How many years is hard to determine based on the lack of information available.
As first detailed in Thor #159, Odin banished Thor to Earth. There, he lived in the mortal guise of Don Blake until he learned his lesson and was lured to the cave where Mjolnir was hidden so he could reclaim his heritage. This happened in Journey into Mystery #83.
The Grand Vizier here reiterates that Odin banished Thor because he needed a lesson in humility. However, as Odin implies, there are other reasons why he needed to hide Thor away. Thor #479 reveals that Odin was apparently stashing Thor away to protect him from Ragnarok, since the thunder god was destined to die in this final conflict.
Yggdrasil is being threatened by Seth, who in more recent times has been attacking the World Ash in order to extinguish all life in the universe. See Thor #491-494, and Journey into Mystery #503-513. Here, Yggdrasil is drawn surrounded by machinery. However, this was never the case until the WorldEngine was built in later stories. Perhaps this is an error on the part of the artist.
Here, Balder is shown being able to generate light from his hands. However, Balder wouldn’t gain the power to channel light until many years later as seen in Balder the Brave #1-4, when he was able to channel light powerful enough to melt the Frost Giants. Perhaps Balder always had his light powers, but they weren’t very powerful until the Balder limited series.
Topical References
If you consider Stan’s introduction as an in universe appearance, then his appearance here would not be considered topical. Usually, most real life people that appear in comics would be considered topical. However, in the case of Marvel Comics creators, they live in the Marvel Universe in the relative prime of their lives. This is especially true in the case of Stan Lee, even after the real life Lee died in 2018, his fictional counterpart still makes appearances, the most recent (as of this writing in June, 2022) was in X-Force (vol. 6) #9.
