Thor #282: Review

Apr 1979

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Story Name:

Rites of Passage

Review & Comments

Rating:

Thor #282 Review by Peter Silvestro (May 21, 2019)

Review: I hate stories with Kang/Immortus/whoever he is this time because a always find them impossible to follow—and I've had no trouble with James Joyce. But while the writers seem to think that Immortus' curriculum vitae serves some sort of purpose, I was thankful that it could easily be ignored since it answers a lot of questions I wasn't asking. The rest of the tale works just as well without it and we got to see Thor fight the giant Tempus which was cool. And it looks like we're finally going to see the Celestials!

Comments: Part two of two parts. Written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. Keith Pollard and Pablo Marcos shared penciling chores. Immortus' servant Tempus has appeared a few times over the years; he is not to be confused with the X-Men character of the same name, a/k/a Eva Bell, introduced in ALL-NEW X-MEN #1 (2012). Thor sees a vision of himself battling the Frankenstein Monster in AVENGERS #132.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Thor #282 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Thor, trapped at the center of the planet Phantus, is stuck between time and Limbo, resulting in half his body reverting to that of Dr Donald Blake. And the Space Phantom, who tricked him there, finds that Thor's divine powers are decreasing and he is not reversing the planet's slide into Limbo as the villain had planned. SP is forced to teleport Thor out of the vortex and bargain with him, offering the return of Mjolnir for Thor's help in saving the planet. The two travel to the edge of the world and into Limbo to find the castle of Immortus, whom Thor believes has died (in AVENGERS #142), looking like a test doodle for an M.C. Escher print. Entering the castle, they face Tempus, Keeper of the Castle, who resembles a Frost Giant (according to Thor). Thor and Tempus battle, the former finding it hard to fight without his hammer and the latter learning that most of his attacks don't work against a god. Thor eventually seizes his foe's weapon, a giant club of stone, and uses it to knock Tempus' head off. But he won't stay dead for long so SP hurries Thor along through rooms and halls where gravity and time are meaningless and into the throne room of Immortus. The villain trades Mjolnir for Tempus' club, explaining that he only borrowed it so he could examine its time travel properties. In return, Immortus explains how he is still around even though both he and his earlier incarnation Kang have died. This explanation ranges over several comic appearances and, as Thor says, mystifies as much as enlightens. Space Phantom reminds Thor of his promise to help his world so Thor, warned by Immortus that this action will deplete Mjolnir's time powers, gladly makes the sacrifice to push Phantus back into its normal position. Immortus sends Thor back to Earth, leaving the God of Thunder to wonder if this was all a contrivance to strip his hammer of its time properties. Nevertheless, he is ready to face the challenge of the Celestials, like a god!