Synopsis / Summary / Plot
American military scientists launch a test missile carrying a real nuclear warhead into space. Suddenly they lose control of it and it threatens to fall back to Earth, and the destruct button fails to work. An international call goes out for Thor to come to the rescue. Dr. Don Blake hears the radio report and changes to Thor in his office, since Jane Foster has the day off. The Thunder God telephones the authorities to learn the details of the emergency. Then he flies out to find the missile at a speed that renders him invisible to any watching citizens. Meanwhile in Asgard, we learn that Loki, chained to a massive stone wall for his crimes, is the one who caused the missile to go off course, as bait in a trap for Thor. When Thor reaches the missile in space, he hurls his hammer and explodes the warhead in the air. At that moment, Loki exerts all his magical energy and creates the illusion of a dragon, distracting Thor so that his returning hammer hits him in the head. Loki has aimed it so that it struck Thor’s Chromosomatic Gland which determines personality; as a result, Thor is now evil. He flies to Asgard (shoving Heimdall out of his way) and frees his brother Loki. When Odin and the other Aesir demand to know what is going on, Loki convinces Thor that Odin and his flunkies are the bad guys trying to prevent the brothers from taking control in Asgard. Thor knocks down Odin when the All-Father menaces the villain. Loki announces that he and Thor will devastate Earth to force Odin to yield control of Asgard to them. On Earth, at Loki’s behest, Thor creates storms and earthquakes, then destroys various landmarks, including the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Great Pyramid, Golden Gate Bridge, Panama Canal, and Leaning Tower of Pisa. Loki uses his sinister powers to conjure up sea serpents, to make the Sphinx and Empire State Building walk off their foundations, and bring museum dinosaurs to life. A delegation of ancient Norse scholars from the United Nations approaches them to discover why the two gods are causing this havoc. Learning the reason, they invite the two Aesir to the UN that they may hear the delegates call on Odin to surrender to them. At the landmark building, Thor decides to summon Odin by smashing the UN emblem; doing so causes a trapdoor to open under him and he falls in. Strangely, his hammer hangs in the air for a moment, then falls, striking him in the Chromosomatic Gland and reversing his personality change. The scholars unmask as Odin and the other gods, and Thor, freed from his madness, thumps Loki on the head for them. The Thunder God apologizes to the people of Earth and vows to repair all the damage he has causes, after which these events will be erased from their minds. Thor worries about Loki’s next escape but Odin assures him Thor will always stand as humanity’s protector.