Thor #158
The Way it Was!
Following his battle with Mangog, Thor finally returns to Earth where he resumes his mortal guise of Doanld Blake. However, after his ordeals Don Blake is left with questions about his identity. He wonders if he is Donald Blake who changes into Thor, or if he’s Thor disguised as Donald Blake. This leaves a many unanswered questions. Is he the real Thor, and if not, what happened to the original? He then thinks back to how he came upon the walking stick that allows him to transform into the fabled thunder god…..
What Follows is a reprint of Journey into Mystery #83.
…. Concluding his recollection, Don then thinks about how much his life has changed since becoming Thor. He remembers when he first travelled to Asgard and met all powerful Odin.[1] He would face many friends and foes he has met during his time as Thor.[2] He also remember how he once loved Jane Foster until she rejected the life of immortality and bride of the mighty Thor.[2] However, this is behind him all now that he has reconnected with Sif in Asgard. Still, his mind is filled with lingering questions that he must know.
Recurring Characters
Thor
Continuity Notes
We first saw Odin and Asgard in Journey into Mystery #85.
This is a one page splash of the various characters that Thor has met during his career to date. They are:
Loki, who Thor first met in the Modern Age in Journey into Mystery #85.
Karnilla, Queen of the Norns first seen in Journey into Mystery #107.
The Destroyer armor, first seen in Journey into Mystery #118.
Balder the Brave, also seen in Journey into Mystery #85.
The Executioner, first seen in Journey into Mystery #103.
The Warriors Three. Although they were first seen in Journey into Mystery #119, this was in a Tales of Asgard story. Thor would reconnect with them in the modern age in Thor Annual #2.
The Cobra, one of the few non-mythological characters here was first seen in Journey into Mystery #98.
Ulik the Rock Troll was seen in Thor #137.
Lastly, we have Herucles. While he and Thor met centuries earlier in Journey into Mystery Annual #1, he first encountered Thor in the modern age in Journey into Mystery #124.
Jane Foster worked at Don Blake’s nurse since Journey into Mystery #84. Blake loved her but was forbidden from marrying her by Odin’s decree in Journey into Mystery #90. Eventually, Blake revealed to her that he was Thor in Journey into Mystery #122. Odin later gave in to Thor’s demands to allow him to marry Jane. However, this was conditional on Jane being able to pass a test to prove she was worthy of being an immortal. She failed spectacularly, leading to Thor reconnecting with Sif, as Odin intended the whole time. See Thor #136.
Topical References
Don Blake states that he found Thor’s hammer “years ago”. This is topical as it denotes the length of time between publications and not in universe. Per the Sliding Timescale, it’s been about one year since Don Blake first started becoming Thor.
