From Brawl to War

Brawl of the Gods

A Series Profiling the Battles between the God of Thunder and the Prince of Power

In order to appreciate this particular meeting of Thor and Hercules in battle, you have to set aside their first. Because just as that earlier tale describes their first meeting, so, too, does this one make the same claim.

Therefore, you'd think that one must invalidate the other. But I wouldn't go that far. Let's just say that this later story is both a nod to continuity and a diverting story that stands on its own. In other words, I think we're just meant to enjoy the story.  I'm down with that.

And there's a lot to like in this story. Writer Steve Englehart tells of a brash Thor in the heydey of the Vikings, well before Odin casts him down to Earth in the guise of Donald Blake in order to give him a much-needed lesson in humility. So you'll see a Thor very much at odds with his father, in terms of defying his authority and being headstrong. And you'll see his fellow Asgardians rally around him and revelling in their warrior existence. (With the odd exception of Odin--but he nevertheless plays a key part in this story.)

To break this issue down, this is really the story of how the Asgardians first encounter the existence of the Olympians, and vice versa. Apparently the Vikings are getting clobbered by Greeks, and they pray to Thor to give them aid, which Thor does. Unfortunately, the Greeks turn around and pray to Hercules to save them--and of course Hercules arrives on the scene to find Thor. The funny thing is, neither realize at first that they're dealing with a fellow god. But since neither is willing to back off, you can guess the result.

Notice how Englehart deftly sidesteps the earlier story in Journey Into Mystery Annual #1, yet stopping short of saying this story replaces it. With just a few smooth words, he manages to have his cake and eat it, too--arranging for both stories to co-exist, while putting the burden on "legend" to decide the issue. And legend, as we know full well, is so named because it's never "decided" anything. Consequently, this story becomes yet another that has been passed down, with no one the wiser--except, of course, for Thor and Hercules, still very much with us but who have conveniently never gone on record to say which "legend" was accurate.

And so, the battle rages:

In time, though, the two realize that neither will prevail--so it's agreed that they and their respective armies will meet in final battle in one week. Unfortunately, neither Odin nor Zeus sees the need for all-out war here, so the fight almost doesn't come off--that is, until Loki provokes the Olympians into declaring war after all. And so the Asgardians and the Olympians clash in bloody battle, while Thor and Hercules attempt once more to settle things between them. Let's just say that in a week's time, neither has exactly mellowed.

I won't spoil the outcome of the battle, nor the twist that Englehart provides to end the story, because it really is a fine story for a fine annual and you'll enjoy reading it as a whole. John Buscema provides some excellent art--this time inked by Tony DeZuniga, who usually shadows the pencilling a little too much for my taste but, in this instance, provides the grittiness and historic feel called for in such a battle.

This would be the last (that I know of) all-out battle that Hercules and Thor would engage in, which is really for the best because I don't think Marvel could squeeze any more water out of this stone. Hercules, despite his power and despite always giving Thor equal measure in these battles, doesn't quite suit Thor as an antagonist, given the extensive and far more powerful foes that Thor has gone up against and prevailed. I suppose it's no surprise that when Thor faces off against Hercules, it's more of a fierce brawl than anything else. Thor makes very limited use of his hammer, Mjolnir, nor does he ever use his powers of the storm--only his strength. In fact, I'm always surprised when he ends up throwing heavy stone pillars or machinery at Hercules--is this warrior forgetting that he has a destructive hammer to throw at the guy? It even returns to him, so he can throw it again. Tsk.

I hope you've enjoyed "Brawl Of The Gods." Say, why don't we start a new series and take a look at Thor against the Hulk? Or, perhaps not. After all, if you thought Thor and Hercules battled and battled and got nowhere...

Next Time, Listen To Your Goddess

Brawl of the Gods

A Series Profiling the Battles between the God of Thunder and the Prince of Power

Hercules has kept a relatively low profile since the last time he and Thor clashed. But his relationship with the Thunder God ended up on solid footing. And when he was exiled from Olympus by Zeus, he was invited to join the Avengers. (What is it with these, um, "god-fathers" always exiling their sons on Earth, anyway? Granted, we're no Olympus or Asgard--but no god is going to be sulking in our neck of the woods when we've got enough war and conflict and debauchery to make their stay as exciting as it gets.)

Herc stayed with the team until the Avengers came into conflict with Typhon, a Titan from Olympus, who had attacked that kingdom and won. When Hercules defeated Typhon, what do you know--Zeus then decided he was an honorable son after all, and welcomed him back. Sound like another spiteful king of the gods you know?

So once Zeus welcomed him back into the fold, Hercules thereafter stayed in virtual comics limbo in Olympus. But a certain Asgardian came gunning for him within those lofty halls:

Beware The Green Monster

Brawl of the Gods

A Series Profiling the Battles between the God of Thunder and the Prince of Power

As relatively tame as their first conflict was by comparison, this second meeting of Thor and Hercules will have you thinking that all-out war has broken out between them. That's probably due more to marketing than their own temperament. This issue marks the point where Journey Into Mystery, the title that had introduced Thor and continued publishing his stories as a series, formally shifts its name to The Mighty Thor, with the issue number picking up where Journey Into Mystery left off.

Not giving Thor his very own #1 issue would later come back to bite Marvel from a marketing standpoint, but I think I can see the thinking here in wanting to retain regular readers of Journey Into Mystery while simultaneously bringing them on board the Thor title; also, for whatever reason, it may have seemed a little odd to them to "restart" Thor at #1 when he's already had a run of over thirty issues. In any event, with Thor's "first issue," Marvel no doubt wanted it to explode onto the comics racks with a bang, which was billed as a "clash of titans." And, indeed, that's just what artist Jack Kirby delivers in this cover-to-cover brawl.

So how in the world did it get to this point? When last we saw these two, they were shaking hands and declaring their friendship. Well, you can thank Thor's mortal girlfriend at the time, Jane Foster, whose common sense was out to lunch when she decides to make Thor jealous because she's feeling neglected:

Hercules, of course, had no way of knowing that he'd thrown the wrong punch at the wrong time. Thor had just undergone the Asgardian "ritual of steel," where Odin basically sics the entire complement of Asgardian warriors on a subject who's displeased him--in this case, Thor, who has kept from Odin the fact that he's revealed his secret identity to Jane and declared his love for her. (Yeah, I know--most fathers don't hurl armed legions against their child when they don't agree with what they've done--but Odin isn't exactly your typical poster father.) Nor is Jane entirely blameless here. Despite pulling an often-resorted-to mortal tactic used with inattentive boyfriends, she forgets she's dealing with--let me see if I can say this clearly--GODS. So chances are, things aren't going to end at macho threats being hurled. In fact, Jane, things just might end with a large part of New York City being reduced to rubble around you. Nice going, dear. Astonishingly, you actually have the nerve to look shocked in that last panel.

And this is where you came in. Better give these guys some room, because the battle quickly moves away from the soda shop (what's left of it):

You may have noticed that Thor has become more clear-headed as the fight has progressed, given how frazzled he was at having escaped Asgard and fighting his way back to Jane's side. At that time, Hercules had basically pushed him too far after all he'd been through--and in addition to Jane's manipulation, Thor probably found responding to Hercules the perfect way to release his pent-up anger at Odin's pig-headedness, if only subconsciously. Yet now he's come to see a lot of himself in Hercules--before he'd found his center as Donald Blake, before his time as an Avenger, before he'd become so endeared with mortals and their circumstances. Unfortunately, Hercules' persistence isn't allowing his own thirst for battle to subside.

That last page is yet another of Jack Kirby's beautiful full-page portraits that he often inserted into his later work at Marvel. This would be the last Thor-Hercules battle that he would ever illustrate before his departure from the company (aside from a cover illustration here or there). The difference in pacing between this battle and the earlier one is remarkable--though some of that is due to the battle taking place not on a grassy field, but in the midst of contemporary building structures, the shattering of which is more conducive to displaying pacing. It's regrettable that the battle now begins to draw to a close--because Odin, in his often-questionable wisdom, has decided that now is the time to punish Thor for his transgressions, by removing half of his power. And the tide of battle instantly turns.

It takes awhile--and cannily, on Marvel's part, more book sales--for things to be resolved with Hercules and Thor in terms of wrapping up this situation between them properly. Everyone at this point wants Thor back at his peak and gunning for a rematch--which, in the beginning, is exactly how things start out with Thor and his reconciliation with Odin. Yet when Thor finally finds Hercules again, he discovers that the Olympian is in dire straits--and we're shown, through Thor's actions, that it's more important to have a sense of honor than it is to carry a grudge. In helping Hercules, Thor redeems himself in a way far more lasting than a thrown punch would grant him--and he forms a better relationship with Hercules as a result.

Though if that gives you the impression that these two will never have reason to clash again--well, you haven't been reading comic books very long, have you?

This Bridge Isn't Big Enough For Both Of Us

Brawl of the Gods

A Series Profiling the Battles between the God of Thunder and the Prince of Power

I don't know what it is with these two. They have either fierce fights or full-blown battles--shake hands at the end, agree how juvenile they've acted, and vow to be brothers from that point on--and then somewhere down the road, start throwing punches at each other at the drop of a hat. You'd think they were Avengers or something.

More like brothers-in-arms--at least when the fists stop flying and the dust settles. The irony is that it's usually been Zeus who puts a stop to it--and isn't that a laugh. Zeus--a brawler from way back (way, way back), who's quick to anger and known for brutally attacking his foe(s)--Zeus being the cooler head and peacemaker. That's like saying that Asgardians are pacifists. But perhaps the main reason why Zeus and Odin let these two go at it is to give each of them a dose of well-earned humility. They're both arguably the cream of their crop in terms of their respective worlds, which has given each of them a swelled head. Thor's time on Earth (and as Donald Blake) has taught him a lot about humility--though declaring himself a god at practically every encounter clearly demonstrates he's not likely to be the Humble God of Thunder anytime soon. Hercules, by contrast, revels in his ego and power, so it usually doesn't take much to rile him.

A lot of comics readers think that Thor and Hercules had their first throw-down in the first and only annual of Journey Into Mystery:

And the answer to that would be "yes and no." Technically, this was their first meeting, considering that it happened literally ages ago in their immortal lives. But readers first saw a clash between Thor and Hercules in the pages of The Avengers, when Immortus summoned various figures from history to battle individual team members. And guess who was called forth to battle Thor?

This story from The Avengers was published about eight months before the Journey Into Mystery annual, so from a continuity standpoint it has no relevance to the "history" between the two characters. And writer Stan Lee wouldn't have referenced that story here, since he literally hadn't yet written it.

As you can see, this Hercules is worlds apart from the powerhouse we've come to know--though Thor, I suppose for the sake of the story, describes his foe's strength level as "the greatest I have ever faced on Earth." That makes this Hercules more powerful than the Hulk--which is simply absurd, given how easily Thor deals with him. Nor would the Hulk surrender from the threat of a fall--or surrender under any circumstances, for that matter. (You could say the same for the "real" Hercules.) So this little clash should probably be filed away under "oops." (Though I'd love for a writer to take a whack at explaining this Hercules and the later one as being one and the same.)

As for the fight in Journey Into Mystery, I wish I could say it takes place under far more dramatic circumstances. Unfortunately, it begins because--brace yourselves--neither was willing to let the other cross a bridge first.

Well, at least they're not wrecking half of New York--that's something.