Thor #170
The Thunder God and the Thermal Man!
Thor has just returned to Earth to discover New York City is under siege from the Thermal Man. He is shocked to see the damage caused by a single robot. He quickly finds the invader but it quickly knocks him out of the air. He soon finds Balder and the Warriors Three who were defending Earth while Thor is gone.
While they are filling Thor in on what’s going on, the military comes in and tries to destroy the robot with a battalion of tanks. Unfortunately, the robot is too powerful and it uses its heat-ray eye-beams to melt the tanks into slag.
Thor then leads the charge against the Thermal Man, but each warrior falls one after another against the robot. That’s when the air force arrives with a special implosion bomb provided to them by the Chinese government. It was given to the Americans because the Chinese fear that the Thermal Man could threaten their own country if it succeeds in destroying America. When they drop the bomb it hits the intended target and the implosion seemingly deactivates the robot.
With the danger apparently over, Thor decides to see how he can help in his mortal guise. Changing back to Don Blake, he finds an injured soldier and rushes him to a nearby medical tent set up by the military. Meanwhile, the Warriors Three and Balder are resting after the battle when, suddenly, the Thermal Man springs back to life. This scene is observed from Asgard by Karnilla and Loki. While Loki can’t wait for his enemies to be destroyed, Karnilla refuses to allow harm to come to Balder as she has fallen in love with him. Despite Loki’s protests, Karnilla uses her magic to teleport Balder and the Warriors Three back to Asgard. Furious that she saved their lives, Loki decides their alliance is over and storms out of the Norn Queen’s cave.
By this time, Don Blake has been giving medical attention to the injured troops when he hears that the Thermal Man is back in operation. Rushing out into the battle field, Don Blake changes back into Thor. When physical attacks don’t seem to work against the robot, Thor comes up with an idea to stop the robot’s rampage. Luring it to the pier, Thor summons a powerful storm that sweeps the Thermal Man out into the ocean. Once out at sea, the Thermal Man is pulled up North in the rough waters where it is frozen in ice where it will threaten life no more.[1]
Recurring Characters
Thor, Thermal Man, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Loki, Karnilla, Haag
Continuity Notes
While the Thermal Man is trapped in ice here it will break free again in Thor Annual #15.
Topical References
The Thermal Man is said to be from “the orient”, which is a dated term used to generally describe Eastern Asia. To some it’s even considered racist.
The Chinese army is also said to be “behind the bamboo curtain”, which is a dated (and also racist) Cold War reference.
