From the Mouths of the Marvels:

"If the meeting's over, Cap and I will remain! He promised to show me some new judo holds!"

- - Iron Man, page 2

No mortal can lift the hammer of Thor, but it appears an atomic-powered hydraulic grappling hoist can!

Thor and Tales of Asgard
from Journey Into Mystery #105
June 1964 • 23 pages

Publication Date: April 2, 1964

Letters Page: No letters page was published in this issue

I: Feature Story: "The Cobra and Mr. Hyde!"

Pages: 18

Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Artie Simek

First Appearance: Paul

Villain: The Cobra, Mr. Hyde/Calvin Zabo

Guest Appearance: Avengers: Iron Man, Captain America, Giant-Man, the Wasp

Cameo Appearance: Paul

Gadgets & Technology: Atomic-Powered Hydraulic Grappling Hoist

Marvel Milestones: Thor feature expands to 18 pages

Synopsis: The Avengers adjourn their meeting, with Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Giant-Man and the Wasp taking leave to pursue their private lives. As Thor flies away, he senses danger, as he incidentally flies by the Cobra. Spotted by Thor, the Cobra launches some vnom grenades at Thor and then yanks on him with his "cobra cable" to get him off balance. Then the Cobra slithers away into the laboratory of Dr. Calvin Zabo, who he thinks will make an easy robbery target. What he doesn't know is that Zabo senses the Cobra in his lab and downs the potion that changes him into Mr. Hyde, the super-powerful and super-evil villain. A fight breaks out until they both realize that they share a common enemy- Thor. Together, they resolve to band forces to defeat him once and for all.

Thor arrives back at Don Blake's office and changes into the doctor's form. Jane Foster tries to make him jealous by saying she has a date with another man that night, but he doesn't bite, making her wonder if she means anything at all to him.

Mr Hyde explains a new contraption he's worked up to the Cobra. It is called a Time Reversal Ray, and once it fixes on an object, it will trap the captured image and play a projection going backwards in time. This way, they can use the ray on Thor and figure out where he comes from so they can set a trap for him. They fake a jewelry store robbery where Mr. Hyde gets Thor's attention, then fades into the street crowd as Calvin Zabo. The Cobra is nearby with the Time Ray Projector and grabs his image. Together, they watch the image of Thor go back in time, to when he left the office of Dr. Don Blake. But then, the Time Ray stops running the image backwards, confusing its inventor, Mr. Hyde (who doesn't know that once Thor changed from Don Blake, it would go back in time no further.)

They decide to go menace Blake to see what they can learn about Thor. Little does Blake know what ill fate is about to befall him, for in a bid to figure out if he can give up the life of Thor so he can marry Jane Foster, he locks his cane inside a steel cabinet. Suddenly, the super-villain team-up of the Cobra and Mr. Hyde bust through his office window and grab hold of him, demanding to know where Thor is. Meanwhile, Jane Foster has cut her date short, for she can't lose her fond thoughts of Don Blake. When she comes into the office, she is taken hostage and used to extort information from Blake. He can't turn into Thor because he doesn't have his cane, plus he doesn't want to reveal his secret identity. So using subterfuge, Blake is able to get Hyde to break into the steel cabinet and grab his cane for him, then tap it on the floor, thinking it will summon Thor. Summon him it does, as Blake turns into Thor as the villains look out the window waiting for the Thunder God.

Thor grabs his hammer and explains that Blake ran down the hallway to call the police. He tries to grab the duo, but they escape, with the Cobra slithering out the window. Thor chases them outside, with Mr. Hyde trying to escape through a junkyard. Thor relentlessly hounds Mr. Hyde, who makes it out of the junkyard and into a machine show. In the exhibit hall, Mr. Hyde starts throwing pieces of machinery around, nearly hitting innocent people with the shrapnel. While Thor plays defense, the Cobra sneaks behind the controls of an atomic-powered hydraulic hoist, which lifts Thor's hammer straight from his hand and sucks it inside the machine's compartment. As the evildoers converge upon Thor, he realizes he has only 60 seconds to get his hammer back....

(continued in JiM #106)

--synopsis by Gormuu

Issues Reprinted
Thor and Tales of Asgard from
Journey Into Mystery #101-110

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.

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