634 THOR
into Mystery #114), the Destroyer ( Journey into Mystery #118), and the Wrecker (Th or
#148).
Despite his immense power, Th or has, at several diff erent times, taken leaves of absence
from his superheroic duties, opening the door for other characters to wield Mjolnir and
channel the Th under God’s strength. Because only worthy souls can even lift Th or’s ham-
mer from the ground, however, the list of substitutes was very short until the 1980s,
when Beta Ray Bill (Th or [Vol. 1] #337), Tyr (Th or [Vol. 1] #355), Captain America
(Th or [Vol. 1] #390), and Eric Masterson (Th or [Vol. 1] #433) all took control of Mjolnir
for short periods of time. Beta Ray Bill, an alien warrior originally created by writer-artist
Walt Simonson in 1983, proved so worthy that Odin eventually gave Bill his own mysti-
cal war hammer named Stormbreaker, a weapon equal in power to Mjolnir.
Jack Kirby’s vision of Th or was tangibly diff erent than his work on other Marvel
strips. Th e grandiosity of Asgard was a challenge to Kirby; unlike outer space environ-
ments, he had to craft not only power and immensity but an environment of elegance
and profundity. Kirby’s eclectic take on medieval Norse God garb was a colorful patch-
work of latex and leather, with characters so multi-colored their costumes seemed more
Asian than Germanic. He found the perfect complement in the work of inker Vince
Colletta, whose clean, light line lifted Kirby’s work from gruff superhero pounding to
beautiful, atmospheric poetry. Where the Hulk smashed, Th or grasped in an elegant
set of moves that were lovingly conveyed.
Thor. Marvel Comics/Photofest
