Thor: Written by Stan Lee – Art by Don Heck – Letters by Artie Simek

Tales of Asgard: Written by Stan Lee  – Art by Jack Kirby

Mr. Hyde makes his debut, another surprisingly early addition to Thor’s growing collection of recurring villains.

The story opens with Hyde plotting revenge against Don Blake. We learn that Blake once refused to hire Calvin Zabo because of his questionable reputation, and Zabo has been holding a grudge ever since. He develops a Jekyll-and-Hyde serum that gives him the strength of twelve men, a hatred of humanity, and even different fingerprints so he can commit crimes without being identified.

Meanwhile, Thor is once again trying to convince Odin to let him marry Jane Foster. Odin is losing patience with his son’s constant requests, but finally gives him a way forward. If Jane can prove herself worthy of immortality, he’ll consider granting Thor permission to marry her. The complications of being Thor continue to pile up. He’s a celebrated hero on Earth, but his personal life is still subject to the whims of his father.

Back on Earth, Blake discovers Hyde in his office and is promptly thrown out a window. This gives us another fun transformation scene as Blake becomes Thor.

One thing I really enjoy about Hyde’s appearances is how differently Heck approaches his scenes. There’s a distinctly old-fashioned horror-movie atmosphere to them. The shadows are darker, the settings feel more sinister, and Hyde often looks like he’s wandered out of a Universal monster movie. It’s a nice visual change of pace for a Thor adventure.

Hyde comes up with an especially ridiculous scheme: dress up as Thor and rob banks, framing the real Thor for the crimes. Somehow, this works remarkably well, even though Thor was being celebrated as a hero at the beginning of the story. The public’s change of heart comes awfully quickly. The issue ends on a cliffhanger, with Thor in trouble and Hyde’s scheme still playing out.

Lee and Kirby give us another installment of Tales of Asgard, this time featuring Odin’s encounters with trolls and the fire demon Surtur. The story expands the mythology of Asgard while giving Kirby plenty of opportunities to let his imagination loose.

Kirby’s depiction of the battles, the strange creatures, and the enormous mythological landscape feels increasingly ambitious. There’s even an image of the Earth alongside the great tree connecting the worlds, bringing to mind the Norse world tree, Yggdrasil.

Both stories show how much Journey into Mystery is expanding its world. The main Thor feature is giving its hero increasingly human problems, with his responsibilities and feelings often at odds with one another. Meanwhile, Tales of Asgard is building out the mythology behind that character, giving us a bigger and more fantastical world to explore.

One makes Thor more human, while the other makes him feel more mythological.

Marvel in the 60s – Entry #99