The Doomed Life of Donald Blake

 

It was only when I began giving some thought to looking into the final appearance of Dr. Donald Blake in the 1966-96 Mighty Thor title that I came to realize the can of worms I was prying open. To fully understand the situation, let's look back to November of 1968, where Blake, plagued with doubts of his own identity, wonders aloud about whether or not he's truly real; and if so, if his transformation into the manifestation of Thor meant that there was another God of Thunder who is unaccounted for.

In answer, Odin appeared to Blake and explained that, in order to teach his prideful son Thor the lesson of humility, Thor was sent to Earth in the guise of a mortal man, bereft of any memory of himself as Thor and, upon arrival, believing himself instead to be a student at a medical college and introducing himself as "Donald Blake." ("The name sounded so right... so proper... I was strangely unaware that I had never known of it before!") Meanwhile, Odin placed Thor's hammer (in cane form) in a cave in Norway, where Blake would discover it when he had fully learned the lesson Odin wished to impart.

In reality, then, Blake had always been Thor, while it was Blake who was, as he posited, "a myth...a casual creation of all-wise Odin," an enchantment which remained in effect even after its original purpose had been fulfilled. And yet... the same scene today has disturbing undertones. As we would learn much later, what Blake didn't realize was that he was operating under a misconception, unaware that Odin was carrying out a plan within the plan he disclosed.

As we explore the whys and wherefores of this story, there are three things you should know going in:

1. The Donald Blake who attended State College was no facade but, in actuality, the true, mortal-born Donald Blake.
   
2. The Donald Blake pictured in the above scene was a creation not of Odin, but of Thor.
   
3. Shortly after Thor reappeared and routed the Stone Men, the real Blake's life was abruptly ended by involuntary manslaughter at the hand of an Asgardian.

I'll give you a moment to collect yourself.

If you recall artist/writer Walt Simonson's memorable run on Thor, you probably thought we'd seen the last of Blake with the arrival of Beta Ray Bill, an alien who came into conflict with Thor through a misunderstanding (thinking him to be one of the demons that plagued his race) and unexpectedly came into possession of the Thunder God's hammer when it was out of Thor's grasp for longer than sixty seconds. But in seeking to lay claim to the hammer as a weapon against the demons he sought, Bill found that he was worthy of more than he imagined.

A transformation which led to the intervention of Odin, the return of Thor, and an arrangement to determine just who should be given custody of the hammer Mjolnir.

Their contest subsequently settled, and Bill having been awarded with a hammer of his own, Odin, after hearing of the painful transformation Bill was required to undergo by his people in order to battle the demons, reassigns and refashions the enchantment used to facilitate Blake's appearance in order to return to Bill what he'd lost.

With Blake now a thing of the past (regardless, it seems, of Thor's afterthought), we later see that Thor has approached Nick Fury to arrange for a new mortal identity for himself, which leads to the introduction of construction worker "Sigurd Jarlson," and a priceless exchange which further cements the deceptive power which a simple pair of glasses can convey to heroes who wish to remain incognito.

Post-Simonson, Thor would find himself again dependent on co-existing with a mortal form--first with architect Eric Masterson, who would also take on the Thor identity himself for a time, and later, in 1998, with EMT Jake Olsen. But in 1994, we found that we hadn't yet seen the last of Blake, when Roy Thomas began a story arc involving Thor with the High Evolutionary's "Godpack"--and at the Evolutionary's base of Wundagore mountain, Thor would make a shocking discovery which would be no less shocking to the breathing, living human being he would find frozen in time there.

There are questions, of course, from the three parties present who were involved--but there is also understandable anger on Blake's part, forced to pick up the pieces of a life which was abruptly waylaid by the ruler of Asgard.

Thor, naturally, means to get to the bottom of this mystery--leading to a confrontation with Odin, accusatory meetings that Thomas has fomented on more than one occasion but which this time will cause shockwaves that reverberate across the lives of several people, mortal and immortal. The root of Odin's revelation lies in a previous meeting between himself and the seer named Volla, who prophesied the coming of Ragnarok that would spell the end of Asgard and the birth of a new race of gods. In this second meeting, Volla has a vision of death for Thor, and warns that the prophesied rebirth is endangered unless Thor is made to depart Asgard--otherwise, there will be no Thor to valiantly battle and die with his brethren on the day of Ragnarok and thus pave the way to the new Golden Age.

And so Odin launches, in his own words, a desperate, mad plan, as the runes of his mystic staff lead him to the Blake family on Earth, and one of that family in particular. From there, Thor's dispatch to Earth happens much as it originally did, albeit for a different, deeper reason--and instead of Odin changing Thor's appearance to that of a mortal, using another medical student named Keith Kincaid (the runestaff's second choice) as a template, Odin in this version of the tale implants Thor's "spiritual essence" into the real Donald Blake, the better to hide that essence from any who might seek him out and possibly lure him back to Asgard.

Heaven (or, in this case, Odin) only knows where Thor's body is being kept all this time--surely not in Asgard, as it would defeat the purpose of this plan. Yet Thomas also covers this base, as we'll learn.

We also see that custody of Thor's hammer remains with Odin, who refrains from relocating it to the Norway cave until he is certain the danger to Thor has passed. At that point, the question becomes: What to do with Donald Blake, when the moment comes for Thor to return? The fact that Odin, in hindsight, chastises himself for not ending Blake's life when Thor is in the clear provides another reminder that this "do as I say, not as I do" god, quick to discipline others for behavior he deems unworthy of an Asgardian, regards himself above such judgment when he deems it necessary; regardless, Blake is consigned to what could be termed a living death.

And so as far as Odin or anyone else with knowledge of this matter knows, Blake would have continued to languish indefinitely in the Wundagore cavern had Thor not discovered his presence there--but thanks to a spoiler you've already seen courtesy of yours truly, the Donald Blake who had been brought to that cavern has at this point been dead for years. Which leads us to ask: Who is the man that Thor would later look up out of concern for how he's doing, and who decided to join Thor and Jane Foster on a mission to corral the Evolutionary's band of "New Immortals" who had rebelled against him--and what begins happening to him en route?

First, he makes a startling realization, before taking Thor off the grid:

...and then, he relinquishes Thor, at the cost of his own "life."

But just when we're all thinking we need at least a year's therapy thanks to Thomas batting our brains around like shuttlecocks in a badminton match on this subject, we're treated to teaser captions designed to bait us back into this story like fish on a hook:

And, yes, the PPC toyed sadistically with the idea of leaving things hanging at this precarious point, pending a follow-up post. But then we remembered how fantastic PPC readers have been through the years--as well as how much it would bug Odin to have all of his dirty laundry aired at once....

And so let's get right to it, as we finally learn the truth behind this Blake "construct" when Thor lays the blame at Loki's doorstep after Loki's wedding band is discovered at the cavern. Only it turns out Thor has blamed the wrong spouse, as Loki's wife, Sigyn, steps forward to take responsibility for the existence of the construct, as well as the real Donald Blake's untimely death.

I don't think there's a dry eye in the house right now in regard to the terrible hand that Donald Blake has been dealt. On the cusp of a promising future as a physician and then, through no fault of his own, having his life co-opted and used as "cover" for someone else without his knowledge or consent--his final memory consisting of limping in terror from aliens who had every intention of killing him, only to find himself cornered in a cavern with no way out and death closing in; and then, unknown to him, he's brought to Transia to spend what remained of his curtailed existence frozen in place indefinitely, where someone else was preparing to use him as a pawn against the one who was responsible for abducting him. There is no word strong enough for the despicable people involved in his fate.

In retrospect, the whole saga in a way casts a new light on the period of time when Blake (by this time, Sigyn's doppelganger of the deceased) was having an identity crisis and yearned for a life of his own. Think of the depression he might have sunk into had he discovered that the future of the man he believed he was had been doomed years ago.

For what it's worth, Blake would return after Ragnarok had struck, as Thor--experiencing a rebirth, thanks to Blake--began yet another series and would bring Asgard and its gods to Broxton, Oklahoma. A story for another time. (We'll send Mr. Thomas on vacation for that one, hmm?)