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Thor #482: Review

Jan 1995
Roy Thomas, M. C. Wyman

Story Name:

Long Day's Journey Into Mystery Chapter One

Review & Comments

Rating:
4.5 stars

Thor #482 Review by (January 30, 2024)

Review: Once you get past the cover, Thor impersonating an action figure, backed by screaming heads, the contents are rather entertaining, a return to the space opera milieu of the Black Galaxy Saga a few years earlier. I’m a sucker for the sci-fi epics Thor occasionally indulges in and this one is no exception. There are too many characters who get little to do outside of big battle scenes but that’s an occupational hazard of a writer who likes to create teams e.g. Roy Thomas. And seeing old evil Loki, who has largely vanished in favor of comical antihero Loki, is a refreshing bit, though I understand why they replaced him. Old evil Loki was a bit monotonous and New Loki is fun. Buit it’s refreshing all the same.

The Warriors Three tale is enjoyable, with appealing art by Robert Walker who I don’t know. A lot of fun with the wise Odin who seems to have vanished from the comics long ago, to be replaced by a self-centered and foolish old man who did not prepare his son to rule as All-Father. And he’s dead now because there was no further down for him to go.

Comments: Special 400th issue consists of an extra-long story with a different art team for each chapter. The first chapter title is a combination of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night and the original Thor title JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY. Chapter two parodies the phrase, “a match made in heaven” i.e. a perfect match. Chapter three borrows the title of a William Inge play and the film based on it. Chapter five’s title mimics the saying, “While the cat’s away, the mice will play.” The New Immortals were created and rebelled in THOR #422-425. The Kronans were the first enemy confronted by Thor, in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83; they are best known now as the race to which Korg, ally of Hulk (and comedy character of the MCU) comes. Part one affords a rare glimpse of the High Evolutionary’s uncovered face. The story borrows the tagline of ALIEN, “In Space, no one can hear you scream.” The events of FANTASTIC FOUR UNLIMITED #9, guest starring Thor and the Godpack, are mentioned here though it’s hard to place in the THOR chronology. Recorder 211/Analyzer/Deus Ex Machina first appeared in THOR #132-134, mainly appearing in that title with a side trip to Hulk and X-Men issues.






 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Thor #482 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Thor and the Godpack return to Wundagore from New York and are met by the High Evolutionary and by an exuberant Jimmy Kincaid. To Thor’s question, HE responds that he created the Godpack and the Animutants to battle the New Immortals—but they are interrupted by an alarm. They are attacked by the Kronans, better known as the Stone Men of Saturn. HE is taken down by an energy blast so the Godpack and the Animutants fight back. The invaders unleash a robot warrior called the Mekkanoid which is decapitated by Anak with a single blow. Telling Jane Foster to shield her son, Don Blake hurries to see if he can help the HE; a Kronan is about to kill him when Thor dashes over and smashes it into gravel. A dragon appears and, at Thor’s direction, Luminor flashes his lights and the monster dissolves, revealing it was an illusion. Under questioning the captive Kronans admit they were sent by the New Immortals. HE relates that he had been contacted by the android known as the Analyzer, warning him that the New Immortals had a powerful new weapon before communication was cut off. The heroes board the Wundagore II with Don Blake joining them—and Jane dashes aboard as well, knowing she had to be with Don. The ship takes off….

“Chapter 2: A Match Made in Asgard”
Writer: Roy Thomas. Art: Keith Pollard. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: Diana Albers.

Synopsis: Sif watches via a magic viewer as the Wundagore II journeys through space, concerned about Thor being with Blitziana and his ex, Jane Foster. She encounters the new Thor, Red Norvell, who asks if she will ever call him “Thor;” she says no so he takes her off to continue the conversation they started in issue #480. They land on a crag which turns out to be a dinosaur, enchanted to appear as part of the mountain. They defeat it together and he asks if she will ever love him; she says any feelings she may have for him, or Eric Masterson, are only because the men are reflections of Thor Odinson, her one true love. He accepts that and is content to be her friend….

“Chapter 3: The Dark at the Top of the Stairs”
Writer: Roy Thomas. Pencils: M.C. Wyman. Inks: Mike DeCarlo. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: Phil Felix.

Synopsis: As the Wundagore II journeys through space, Jane tells Thor of her concern that the warning sirens at Wundagore should have gone off much sooner when the Kronans invaded. They both think it possible that one of the Godpack is a traitor, working with the New Immortals. The ship jumps through hyperspace to the constellation of Orion and they discover that the ship is in danger from a sudden buildup of power in the systems. High Evolutionary orders them to divide into two groups and board the two escape modules. An explosion hurls Zefra out of the ship and Thor catches her, boarding the escape module with Blitziana, Riger, Loga, Jane, and Don Blake. They find the communications systems are damaged and cannot contact the other ship. Jane confesses her love for Don and they kiss as Thor watches from across the room. The travelers don’t see any planet but do detect a space warp; Riger flies them through it. Don Blake is suddenly in pain like the one he felt when he first transformed into Thor. His life force is draining and he asks to touch Thor’s hand. There is a flash of light and Blake stands there alone, stronger and full of energy but now realizing he is not Don Blake but only carries his memories. The ship emerges from the other side of the space warp and discovers an asteroid which grabs them with a tractor beam and pulls them inside….

“Chapter 4: All the Gods at Once”
Writer: Roy Thomas. Pencils: Stuart Johnson. Inks: Carmine Imperato. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: Janice Chiang.

Synopsis: The heroes emerge from the module to fact the New ImmortalsNobilus, Zon, and Juvan, with Lord Tagar and a squad of New Men. Nobilus calls on the Godpack to submit to them. Tagar points out the super-weapon called the Deus Ex Machina, an evolved and upgraded version of the Analyzer, intended to conquer the universe for the New Immortals with Earth first on the list. As the machine begins its buildup, the baddies attack the Godpack and there’s a big battle. Thor is out in space, wondering how he got there and how long he can survive. Jane begs “Don” to bring Thor back but he doesn’t want to, she reminds him that he may not be Don but still has Don’s qualities of compassion; he decides to sacrifice himself and is suddenly replaced by Thor, who joins in the battle. Thor fights Nobilus but finds him formidable because Nobilus was created not only from Thor’s cells but also Loki’s, making him more powerful than either of his forebears. As the battle goes against the good guys, Blitziana tells Thor to warn the High Evolutionary. Thor flies off into space but not to find the other module; he has another destination in mind….

“Chapter 5: While Mephisto’s Away…”
Writer: Roy Thomas. Art: Keith Pollard. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: Diana Albers.

Synopsis: Loki is a prisoner in Mephisto’s realm, being tortured by the demons Arimanes and Herlequin. Thor enters, clobbers all of the demons, and frees Loki. The villain, however, feels no gratitude and refuses to grant Thor a favor save under certain conditions….

“Chapter 6: The Enemy Within”
Writer: Roy Thomas. Pencils: M.C. Wyman. Inks: Mike DeCarlo. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: John Workman.

Synopsis: Thor returns to the New Immortals’ ship to discover that the second rescue module has reached there. He is blasted in the back by the traitor in the Godpack, who is revealed to be Luminor, who wants to join the New Immortals in their mission of conquest. Blitziana takes down Luminor. The wounded Thor is revealed to be Loki, under an enchantment. Thor and Loki together defeat Nobilus with the Thunder God beating him into the floor. The baddies are defeated and all of the good guys use their weapons together to destroy Deus Ex Machina. Loki reveals the condition under which he agreed to help Thor: Thor promised to never again interfere in any of Loki’s plans so long as he didn’t threaten Earth/Midgard, which seemed a small price to pay. Loki takes himself away. The Godpack experts have modified the New Immortals’ ship to return to Earth. Thor is left wondering about the Don Blake Construct….

“As Shadows Gather…”
Writer: Glenn Greenberg. Pencils: Robert Walker. Inks: Jim Amash. Colors: Ovi Hondru. Letters: John Workman.

Synopsis: Odin commands the Warriors Three, Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral, to take a trip into the woods to rest up for the impending Ragnarok. The big hurdle is that Volstagg must explain this to his wife Hildegund, who is already displeased that her hubby doesn’t spend enough time at home. They ride off into the wilderness and encounter a giant dragon, one headed for Asgard. They battle the massive monster but every tactic they try fails. An idea to have Volstagg grab it by the tail to distract it while the other two attack from the front results in the doughty warrior being flipped onto a cliff. Fandral and Hogun are cornered by the dragon against the same cliff so Volstagg drops onto the monster’s head, knocking it unconscious. They prepare to slay it when Odin appears and restores the monster to its natural form, a tiny frog. The All-Father explains that his purpose was to prove his warriors ready for Ragnarok and they succeeded mightily. They return to Asgard where Odin, sensing some friction between Volstagg and his wife, tells Hildegund that her husband was the hero of the day. At the ensuing feast, Volstagg is once again happy to have a wife.



Preview Pages
Click sample interior pages to enlarge them:




M. C. Wyman
Mike DeCarlo
Ovi Hondru
Lou Harrison (Cover Penciler)
Lou Harrison (Cover Inker)
Lou Harrison (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Phil Felix.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Hogun
Hogun

(Hogun the Grim)
Loki
Loki

(Loki Laufeyson)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)
Warriors Three
Warriors Three

(Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg)

Plus: Donald Blake Construct, Godpack (Godlings), Jimmy Kincaid, Juvan, New Immortals, Nobilus, Stone Men (Kronans), Tagar (Count Tagar), Thor (Red Norvell), Zon.

> Thor: Book info and issue index

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