Journey into Mystery #97
The Lava Man
Spotting a fighter jet spiraling from the sky, Thor flies up and rescues the pilot. As he turns over the pilot to the arriving paramedics, Thor is swarmed by members of the press. Not wanting to answer their questions, the thunder god quickly departs before he may say something that might tip off his secret identity.[1]
On safely on a nearby building, Thor changes back to Donald Blake. As he walks to his office, he catches news reports of an alleged lava monster that emerged after a volcanic eruption. However, his mind is focused on trying to muster the courage to tell Jane Foster how he really feels about her. Even as he tries to tell her he begins doubting himself. Jane knows what he is trying to say and tells him to say it. Don tells her that there is one last thing he needs to do and then he will. Jane is upset by this because there is always “one more” thing and warns Blake that she won’t wait around forever for him to get the courage to tell her how he really feels.
With Jane gone, Blake turns into Thor and summons his father. When the image of Odin appears in his window, Thor asks his father for permission to marry Jane Foster. Odin scoffs at the idea of his son being wed to a mere mortal and refuses the request. Before Thor can argue this further, Odin is gone. Still unaware of the growing panic in the streets caused by reports of the Lava Man, Thor laments over his father’s decision but vows to not give up. Watching this from his prison in Asgard, Loki decides that it is time to attack his brother anew. Unable to leave Asgard, he looks to Earth for a pawn in his latest scheme. Coming upon the Lava Man, Loki realizes that he almost forgot that he was the one who unleashed the lava creature to the surface.
By this time, Don Blake has decided to renounce his Asgardian heritage in order to be with Jane Foster. However, when Jane returns she tells Don that it is too late, she has decided to quit in order to work for Doctor Basil Andrews. Don is instantly hurt and jealous by this news because Andrews has always been trying to ask Jane out. Jane tells him Basil’s interest in her is better than waiting and wondering when Don will muster the courage to tell her how he really feels. After Jane leaves, Don goes for a walk to think over what happened. That’s when he happens upon some soldiers trying to stop the Lava Man. Unfortunately, their bullets melt before they even hit him. The creature then projects heat rays that melt their weapons, forcing the soldiers to retreat.
Blake changes into Thor and when he strikes the Lava Man over the head with Mjolnir, the creature merely melts through the street to the sewers below. Loki then makes his observations known, telling Thor that he was the one who unleashed the Lava Man on the surface world. The Lava Man then begins rupturing the sewer mains until Thor uses his hammer to force the creature back up to the surface. The Lava Man then encases Thor in molten rock and vows to conquer the surface world for his people. Thor tries to convince him that his people can live in peace with humanity, but this appeal falls on deaf ears as the Lava Man considers humanity weak.
As the Lava Man turns to leave, Thor musters all of his strength to break free from his stone prison. The Lava Man then tries to crush the thunder god by turning into a pillar of lava. However, Thor uses Mjolnir to create a powerful whirlwind that sucks up the Lava Man and drops him back into the volcano he emerged from and seals it shut. With the danger over, Thor rushes back to the city to try and talk Jane into staying. When Blake returns to his office he finds Jane and Basil about to leave. Don tries to appeal to her one more time, but Jane once again says it is too late. After Jane leaves, Don wonders if it is his destiny to live his days alone.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Molto, Loki, Jane Foster, Odin, Basil Andrews
Continuity Notes
Thor has been ordered to keep his identity secret by Odin back in Journey into Mystery #90.
Topical References
Outdated concepts: The cameras used by reporters, newspaper boys
Tales of Asgard! Home of the Mighty Norse Gods
In this inaugural tale, the reader is informed about the origins of Norse mythology. Before man could read or write, the ancient Vikings tried to forge out an existence in a hostile world filled with harsh weather, ferocious beasts, and endless war. Intrepid explorers the Vikings voyaged in the sea. In time they began telling tales about the heroes, gods, and demons that forged their world.
According to these legends, there was a distinction between good and evil. The heroic gods there the Aesir who clashed with their mortal enemies the evil Frost Giants. Far to the north existed a domain at the end of the world that was one of eternal flame ruled by the demon known as Surtur. Beneath everything was the Well of Life, its rivers flowed along canyons of ice.
After centuries the Well of Life finally produced the first living creature, the Ice Giant known as Ymir. This was followed by the creation of a cow, whose milk became Ymir’s primary source of sustenance.[1] The cow would lick the icy surface until one day it caused the head of a man to poke out from the ice. This was the first of the Aesir and when he emerged from the ice he became known as Buri.[2] Buri soon found a wife who gave him a son named Borr.[3] Borr begat three sons, one of them was Odin. Odin would grow up to become the All-Father of the Norse gods and slay the last of the Ice Giants, the first triumph of good over evil.[4]
Odin and his brothers then turned their attentions to Earth. They so loved the planet that they grew the tree known as Yggdrasill to protect the world until the coming of man.
Recurring Characters
Odin, Buri, Bor, Vili, Ve, Bestla, Ymir, Surtur
Continuity Notes
This cow is named Audumla in Norse mythology. Thor Annual #5 states that Audumla came to be from Ymir melting. The Tiwaz entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #2 suggests that Audumla may have been the Earth goddess Gaea, who is credited for creating all life on Earth, however, this has not been verified.
Buri is better known in the Marvel Universe as Tiwaz. The precise details of his birth are murky with a number of conflicting accounts. These are:
Thor Annual #5 refutes that Buri freed himself. Stating that the sustained ice-licking of Audumla eventually freed Buri from his icy womb.
The Bor entry in Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1 states that Buri was encased in a block of ice and not the icy surface of the Well of Life.
Doctor Strange later claimed that Buri was the son of Ymir in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #35.
While a book on Norse Religions in Thor #493 states that both Ymir and Buri were born the same way in the realm of Ginnungagap.
What’s not clear here is that more Frost Giants were birthed in the time Buri took a wife. This again was covered in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #2. Borr was also one of three sons spawned from this union. Next to Bor, there was also Mimir and Njord. His wife was a Frost Giant named Bestla although this is not identified until Thor #500.
Odin’s other brothers were Vili and Ve. Their destruction of the Frost Giant was documented in Thor Annual #5 and Thor #294.
A Note About Asgardian Mythology
The above Tales of Asgard as you can see from the continuity notes often clashes with other stories that tell different accounts, some that contradict the story summaries above. To explain away these inconsistencies it was revealed in Thor #294 that Asgard undergoes a cycle of death and rebirth about every 2160 years. As a result, the Asgardians relive events over and over, each time being slightly different with each new iteration. Marvel Legacy #1 states that the Asgardians existed as far back as 1000000 BC. That said, the origins of the Asgardians is murky at best and there is no way of knowing what iteration is being detailed above.
That said, in Thor #294 the disembodied eye of Odin told Thor that the above story was a myth crafted by Odin to give his people a creation story following their most recent rebirth cycle. The credibility of the eye’s story was later called into question by Buri himself years later after he took on the name Tiwaz in Thor #355. However, credibility for the death/rebirth cycle of Asgard was later reinforced in Thor: Ages of Thunder #1, Thor: Trial of Thor #1, Thor: Rage of Thor #1, Thor: Reign of Blood #1, and lastly Thor: Man of War #1. One could presume that a version of this myth is true somewhere down the line.
