The Prisoner — The Power — and — Dr. Doom!

After Loki had stolen his form and tried to ruin his reputation, Thor realizes that he must do something to restore people’s faith in him. Looking around the city for a just cause, he spots a group of protestors outside the Latverian Embassy. They are greeted with counter-protestors who question why they want to stir things up with Latveria. Deciding to go in for a closer look, Thor lands in a nearby alley and changes back to Donald Blake.

When Blake reaches the crowd, things have boiled over and people are fighting in the street. Spotting a young woman — the leader of the protests — getting trampled , Blake risks injury to pull her to safety. However, the frenzied mob refuses to listen to reason. This prompts Blake to change into Thor and makes them all flee. He then carries the injured woman back to Don Blake’s medical practice. Resuming his mortal guise, Thor begins treating the young woman.

When she wakes up, she introduces herself as Cossette LaFarge. She was originally from France and tells Don how, years earlier, she and her father were kidnapped and brought to Latveria by Doctor Doom.[1] Doom wanted Professor LaFarge to use his scientific knowledge to build missile silos that can decimate every major city on Earth. At first, Professor LaFarge refused to comply until the Latverian monarch threatened to harm his daughter. With no other choice, LaFarge agreed to work for Doom while Cossette was under constant watch. However, as she grew older, she was smuggled out of the country by the Latverian resistance movement and she found sanctuary in the United States. Blake tells Cossette that he can get in touch with someone who can save her father and tells her to return home.

While Blake wants to get involved, he realizes that Thor can’t just attack a country with diplomatic ties with the United States. He thinks about a way of luring Doctor Doom into a trap. Correctly deducing that Doom wears his mask to cover a horribly scarred face, he puts in a call to reporter Harris Hobbs. Hobbs publishes a story claiming that Don Blake can use plastic surgery to repair even the most hideous facial disfigurements.

Meanwhile, Odin summons Thor back to Asgard so he can speak with his son about the so-called World Beyond. Thor agrees to follow through with his father’s wishes after he has finished his business on Earth. Odin decides to allow this, but refuses Sif’s request to accompany Thor on his current mission on the mortal world.

Sure enough, Doctor Doom reads about Don Blake’s treatment while Thor is away. Intrigued, he decides to see if Don Blake’s claims are true.[2] Using a sophisticated teleportation device, Doctor Doom teleports Blake off the street and into the back seat of his diplomatic limo. While the doctor is knocked out by the process, Doom takes him to a hidden airfield where he uses an experimental jet to fly them to Latveria in a matter of moments.

There, Blake agrees to look at Doctor Doom’s face to see if he can help. However, when Von Doom takes off his mask, Blake is horrified by the extend of the disfigurement. Insulted by this reaction, Doom has his guards toss Blake into the dungeon. He is shackled to the wall with his walking stick tossed to the other side of his cell. Luckily, Blake is able to pull the walking stick closer by using one of his shoes as a crude hook. Tapping the cane on the ground, Blake is transformed into Thor and quickly breaks out of the dungeon. This sets off an alarm, prompting Doctor Doom to fire one of his missiles at the thunder god. At first Thor tries to out run it when sees a village below. If he out runs the missile it will threaten the villagers below but if he stays the warhead might be powerful enough to destroy even him.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Doctor Doom, Odin, Sif, Balder, Harris Hobbs, Francis LaFarge, Cossette LaFarge

Continuity Notes

1. Cossette’s father is never mentioned by his first name in this story. The France entry of Marvel Atlas #1 reveals that his first name is Francis.

2. As detailed in Fantastic Four #5, Doctor Doom’s face was scarred after and experiment literally blew up in his face.