Thor #174
Challenge of the Crypto-Man!
While on patrol, Thor spots three glowing discs traveling across the night sky. Getting close to investigate, he is blasted out of the sky by a man armed with a hypno-stun ray. Thor falls out of the sky and lands on a net set up by his attacker. While the thunder god is incapacitated, this man uses a device to siphon off some of Thor’s godly strength. Fleeing the scene before Thor wakes up, this young man — a brilliant inventor — races to an abandoned warehouse. He seeks to get revenge against those who said his ideas were mad and uses the power he stole from Thor to activate his latest creation, a robot called the Crypto-Man.
Infused with half of Thor’s strength, the robot is then sent out to rampage across the city. Repeating the phrase “I have power” over and over, the robot complies with his masters wishes.
Meanwhile, Thor wakes up and feels weak but has no memory of what happened. He decides to return to the medical practice he runs as Doctor Donald Blake. Before entering, he sees a frail old woman struggling to stay on her feet. Sensing a dire emergency, Thor goes up to the roof where he changes back into his mortal form and races downstairs. He recognizes the woman as one of his patients, Mrs. Whyte, and asks her what’s wrong. Mrs. Whyte explains that there is nothing wrong with her but she is worried about her son, Jasper. She explains that her son went missing some months ago, vowing to get revenge against those who refused to see his brilliance. Although Don hasn’t seen Jasper, Mrs. Whyte hopes he can help find the boy and hands Blake his photo. Jasper Whyte, as you probably already figured out, is the same man who created the Crypto-Man.
Elsewhere in the city, Jasper Whyte watches as his robot trashes the city and clashes with the police. By this time, Don Blake has sent Mrs. Whyte home and tries contacting the police for leads on Jasper. That’s when he hears that there is a robot on a rampage. He quickly changes into Thor. Arriving on the scene, the thunder god clashes with the Crypto-Man, but with only half his strength he is easy lest buried under a pile of rubble. As Thor struggles to get free, Jasper Whyte approaches him and gloats how his creation is powered by Thor’s own strength. The thunder god instantly recognizes him and tries to convince that this is wrong. That’s when Thor notices the robot has fled into the sewers. When Jasper explains that the Crypto-Man is going to destroy a new experimental nuclear reactor, Thor points out that his mother will be among those killed in the explosion.
This causes Jasper to snap out of his mania when he realizes he has gone too far. As Thor races after the Crypto-Man, Whyte accompanies the thunder god in the hopes of stopping his creation before it is too late. When they confront the robot, Jasper confronts his creation and blasts it with the siphoning device. The resulting discharge of energy doesn’t just stop the Crypto-Man, but kills Jasper in the process.[1] With his strength flowing back into his body, Thor returns to his medical practice. As Donald Blake, he calls in Mrs. Whyte and tells her that her son died a hero. He hopes that hearing her son did the right thing, in the end, will help ease the news of his passing.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Crypto-Man
Continuity Notes
Although deactivated here, the Crypto-Man will rise again in Incredible Hulk #205.
Topical References
The device that Jasper Whyte uses to steal Thor’s power is depicted as using a reel-to-reel tape recorder for some reason. I guess Jack thought that would look futuristic? Jokes on him, it’s incredibly dated.
The photo Mrs. Whyte has of her son is in black-and-white. Unless Jasper is a pretentious hipster that intentionally takes black-and-white photos, it’s safe to assume this is a topical reference since color photos are now a thing.
