Thor #317
Chaos a Canaveral!
Following their battle with the Bi-Beast and Man-Beast, Iron Man takes Thor to Cape Canaveral, in Florida. Since Thor’s between jobs, Iron Man figured his mortal identity of Don Blake would be interested in taking a tour of the facility.[1] Thor is delighted to learn more and reverts to his mortal identity under cover. Don is then introduced to Diane Lemarr, a recent trainee into the space program. Although Iron Man says that she will be involved in future space missions, she tells Don that giving him a tour of the Cape will be her last official duty.
Meanwhile, deep in the swamps of the Florida Everglades, the Man-Beast’s ship sinks deeper into the bog. Although the unconscious, the Man-Beast is saved from drowning thanks to the Man-Thing who drags him out of his rapidly sinking ship. An unthinking muck monster, the Man-Thing quickly loses interest in the Man-Beast and leaves the highly-evolved wolf near the perimeter fence that surrounds Cape Canaveral. When the Man-Beast wakes up, he discovers that he is near the space center and decides to commandeer a shuttle so that he can finally return to Counter-Earth and conquer it.[2]
Meanwhile, Don Blake has concluded his tour and agreed to join Diane for lunch. During their meal, Don asks what she meant when she said his tour would be her last official duty. Diane explains that NASA has undergone a number of budget cuts and since she was one of the newest recruits she is one of the staff that is being let go. She is disappointed over this because she was looking forward to visiting outer space. Don, who had recently been laid off from his own job due to budget cuts, can totally empathize with her situation. As they leave the cafeteria they run into crew that are fleeing for their lives after encountering the Man-Beast, who has appeared near the launch site. Dianne then heads that way on her own to see what she can do to help, fearing that the attack may force NASA to scrub the day’s launch.
Diane’s abrupt departure allows Don to slip away and change into Thor. The thunder god soon comes upon the Man-Thing who is standing in the middle of the field. However, he determines that the muck monster is not the real threat and continues searching for the Man-Beast. Curious by the thunder god’s godly presence, the Man-Thing follows.
Meanwhile, the Man-Beast has ambushed mission control, using his hate-ray powers to make everyone fight among themselves. Watching the humans try to kill each other amuses the Man-Beast who takes a moment to recount his origins and motivations to nobody in particular before heading off to board the shuttle.[3] Seeing the Man-Wolf making his way to the shuttle, Diane realizes that there is no time to cancel the launch. Putting on a space suit, she then races to the shuttle so she can ensure it is launched safely. As the Man-Beast attempts to board the shuttle he is attacked by Thor. In the ensuing battle, the Man-Beast knocks Thor aside just as the shuttle is blasting off, with it and Diane on board. Also aboard the ship is Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, which was separated from the thunder god in battle.
With sixty seconds before he reverts back to Don Blake, Thor leaps onto the side of the rocket as it reaches escape velocity. As Thor climbs to the hatch, the Man-Beast tries in vain to lift Thor’s hammer. While the monster is distracted, Diane tries to force it out by blowing open the hatch and causing explosive decompression in the cabin. This sucks the Man-Beast, Diane, and Mjolnir out of the ship. Luckily, Thor is there to grab his hammer just in time and quickly knocks the Man-Beast out, leaving the creature to drift into the void. He then saves Diane from the same fate and quickly returns her to Earth. Thanks to her bravery, Diane was able to launch the satellite aboard the shuttle and the people in charge at NASA are so impressed by her bravery they have decided to keep her on the team. Diane is so overjoyed she begins to cry and thanks Thor for helping her win back her job.
While not far away, the Man-Thing — indifferent to everything that just transpired — retreats back to the swamps it calls home.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Man-Beast, Iron Man, Man-Thing
Continuity Notes
Don Blake had been recently laid off from a job working at a clinic in Thor #313. Here, he states that he is due to go to Chicago for another job prospect. He was invited to the windy city in that same issue. He’ll finally make that trip in Thor #319.
The Man-Beast spent an extended period of time on Counter-Earth, starting in Marvel Premiere #1. However, he ended up on the original Earth just prior to the events of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #13-15. Little does the Man-Beast know is that Counter-Earth has been removed from the solar system and locked away by the Beyonders, as seen in Marvel Two-In-One #61-63.
The Man-Beast details his origins as they were told in Thor #134, his battle with Spider-Man in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #13-15. A footnote here reminds readers that Counter-Earth is gone, see Marvel Two-In-One #61-63, again.
Topical References
This story states that Diane Lemarr was slated to become the first female astronaut sent into space by NASA. This story was published a years before the first American woman was sent into space, Sally Ride, who went into space in 1983. Any reference to women being “new” or the “first” of their gender working at NASA should all be considered topical.
This story also makes multiple references to the then brand-new NASA shuttle program that had just had its first launch in 1981. However, NASA retired their space shuttles in 2011 and as such any references to that program in this story should be considered topical.
