I’ve read this run in different forms over the years. As just the “Blood & Thunder” crossover. Or just the Infinity Crusade tie-ins. Or maybe just a random issue from earlier in the run. Up until this reread, I’m not certain that I’ve ever read it from beginning to end as a single piece. It’s a bit of a forgotten run – or a maligned one when remembered. Neither of those assessments seem fitting to me despite my sharing of them in the past. While this isn’t an all-time great Thor run, it offers enough intrigue and oddities, in both writing and art, to be a worthwhile read. What stands out most of all is how simple a story it is. Despite the various subplots and added characters and crossovers, Thor’s journey from issue 460 to 471 is linear and focused. It’s a run about a specific idea for the character and doesn’t deviate from that idea despite the extra elements built up around it.
Basically, Thor succumbs to Warrior’s Madness, or so it seems. In the wake of his imprisonment within Eric Masterson’s subconscious, he finds it difficult to return to his old life. He spurns Sif’s affections and begins getting in brawls in bars and taverns across Asgard. At Odin’s suggestion, Thor sets sail across the cosmos, seemingly to regain his sense of self and calm in peaceful solitude. Except, a raven-haired Valkyrie is aboard the craft and Thor begins a torrid love affair with her. She encourages and cultivates his sense of discontent, provoking him to begin a war march towards Asgard, to destroy his home and all of his loved ones for perceived slights and betrayals. Before Thor’s sanity is regained, he fights against Beta Ray Bill, gravely wounds Ares, joins the Goddess’s crusade, battles the Silver Surfer, Warlock and the Infinity Watch, gains the Power Gem, and even fights Thanos. Taken as a whole, it’s a singular, focused story not quite like any other for Thor.
This is an odd run in that it’s only a year of Thor comics yet, if you expand it out, it’s 12 issues of Thor plus an annual and, then, another nine issues, one of which is a larger one. Hell, if you decide to go even further and begin bringing in The Infinity Crusade (which Thor #463-467 are listed as tying into), you can easily add six more larger issues of the event series plus another five issues each of Warlock Chronicles and Warlock & the Infinity Watch. And, then, while we’re at it, the tie-in issues of Silver Surfer since Marz writes them as well. It can easily balloon from a single year of Thor to over 40 comics total depending on how thorough you wish to be. I wouldn’t suggest going past the issues I’m discussing here if your interest is in Thor only.
It’s also an unusual run in the way that it’s co-written to a certain extent. Ron Marz is the writer of every issue of Thor (including the annual in its entirety) and Silver Surfer, while Jim Starlin writes the two Warlock series... but also co-writes Thor #460-462 with Marz. It’s very much the product of the two men with what came from which unclear. Within the work of Starlin, it’s a rare co-writing situation. While he had others script some of his early comics as writer/artist, he rarely co-wrote after that easily period, aside from novels with his then-wife, Daina Graziunas. Starlin’s involvement mostly slides under the radar within his body of work, overshadowed by the Infinity events of the period, with even the two Warlock series he wrote being viewed as mere crossover issues servicing Marz’s Thor story rather than Starlin kicking the entire thing off with Marz in the first three issues of the run.
Starlin’s influence is possibly visible in the way that Thor is transformed, in a sense, into the Hulk, Starlin’s favourite Marvel character (aside from his pet stable of cosmic characters, of course). The story of Thor succumbing to a madness that turns him into a violent brute, bent on destroying everything and, eventually, made even more unstoppable thanks to the Power Gem, echoes the Hulk. A rampaging monster, not one confined to Earth, creating a path of destruction across the universe. Given the longstanding question of who would win in a fight, Thor or Hulk, there’s something kind of fun about Starlin and Marz turning Thor into a cosmic Hulk for a year. He’s not quite as mindless as the Hulk often is and the added influence of Valkyrie gives the whole a bit of a different feel. While any sense of the Hulk’s lack of agency is due to a lack of self-control, of another aspect of himself overwhelming him, Thor’s lack of agency is presented as a seduction from outside (despite the final revelations about Valkyrie’s true nature). Thor’s descent into madness and rage is him as a victim of Valkyrie’s manipulations, seemingly beginning before she appears at all. While she’s eventually revealed to be a portion of his psyche, she remains an ‘other,’ an enemy to defeat, one that seeks to dominate and control Thor’s mind rather than a part to come to some sort of stable state with. It’s a bit of a clumsy form of mental illness that veers wildly between schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) without actually reflecting either entirely with a solution that may suit a superhero comic but has less basis in reality.
The cause of Thor’s instability and the genesis of Valkyrie is a soft retcon, of sorts. While many writers have emphasised Odin’s paranoia about Ragnarok and Thor’s role as defender of Asgard, causing him to ‘bank’ Thor backups, this behaviour is treated as a source of trauma for Thor. Additionally, the ‘humility lesson’ of Donald Blake is also a contributory event, related to the idea that, as Odin continually messed with Thor’s sense of self, he lost more of it. He was, as he repeats throughout the run, “reduced to bits and pieces.” That the events that caused this ‘madness’ and allowed Valkyrie to grow within his mind happened so recently and were external events (rather than infancy/childhood trauma or genetic/chemical) also makes the whole thing stand out as a fictional mental illness. You might as well chalk it up to ‘Warrior’s Madness’ for all its root in reality.
That Odin is, in part of whole, responsible for Thor’s mental state is an interesting idea. The climax of the story, where Odin realises that it’s his fault and he must journey into Thor’s mind to help free his son of Valkyrie doesn’t quite land as strong as you’d like. It’s thematically sound as Thor is still positioned as a victim, someone to be rescued, even if he shows some agency in casting off his mental chains and fighting by his father’s side. Yet, it points to one of the biggest flaws of the run: Thor lacks control throughout the entire thing. He’s not the protagonist or the antagonist. He’s a sort of character-like object pushed and pulled in various directions. Fretted over and discussed and treated as something for others to act upon. For the Valkyrie, he’s a weapon of rage – and, eventually, a servant when the possibility of her being a corporeal being occurs. For the Goddess, a follower. For Warlock, a means to gain another favour for future use. Even for more caring actors like Sif and Beta Ray Bill, there’s a sense of controlling and shielding Thor, treating him like someone with no ability to determine his own course of actions. Before learning of the root of his issues, they automatically assume that something must be wrong with him, that something like Warrior’s Madness must be afflicting him, as there is no way that he could come to the conclusion that he doesn’t love Sif or views Beta Ray Bill as a mocking thief of his identity or that Odin has continually used him as a pawn for his own schemes. I admit that maybe the Beta Ray Bill fight seems out of character (although repeated at other times, before and after, so...) but the others have a solid foundation in the character.
Perhaps that’s why the victim role for Thor seems so grating. It makes sense that, after his imprisonment in Masterson’s subconscious, Thor would be off. That’s a traumatic experience and living through another taking on his identity would call into question his sense of self and identity. Thinking through his life, it’s pretty easy to see why he might come to the conclusion that Odin has treated him poorly, while Asgard as a whole has gone along with every one of those schemes, seeing Thor as a hammer-wielding warrior protector with little care about who is actually wielding the hammer. From a certain point of view, growing bitter and angry at these conclusions is logical. While Odin’s manipulations is the stated cause, it’s also hand-waved away at the end, all of the actual harm blamed on Valkyrie. It seems to be a pattern in Thor comics to come to the conclusion that Odin is just about the worst father in the universe and, then, not be able to actually do anything about that given the nature of superhero comics. The best stories to grapple with this idea usually come to a final place where it’s recognised that he was terrible, but he was also Thor’s father and separating those two things is impossible and messy and complicated. No such complexity exists here.
It’s hard not to wonder if part of that simplicity, particularly in the wrap up of the story, comes from a change in plans regarding the longterm direction of the title. Was Marz always meant to depart Thor at the end of “Blood & Thunder” or was the switch to Roy Thomas as writer made well into the run? One clue towards a change in plans is that Thor annual #18 introduces a new Thor antagonist, the Flame, and seems to set him up as an ally of Loki for a future story. There was no room for the Flame (or Loki) in the Thor/Valkyrie/“Blood & Thunder” year-long story, but issue 471 ends with a hint towards a future threat from Loki and it seems like the Flame and Loki taking on Thor in a short story culminating with issue 475 could have been in the cards. As it stands, the Flame would, instead, return in Thor annual 19, written by Thomas. However, this was around the time that Marz began working for DC, particularly on Green Lantern. He stayed on Silver Surfer for nearly two more years, but this was a time of transition in his career away from Marvel and toward DC. Marz has stated that he walked away from the title due to disagreements with editorial and also hinted at dissatisfaction with the art. He quickly touched on the run in a career-spanning interview in 20202 withNewsarama where he revealed that he was originally instructed to find an artist for the run and had Cully Hamner lined up before editorial hired Bruce Zick (who gave way to MC Wyman at the end of the run). It seemed like, aside from working closely with Starlin, the run was a bit of a regret for Marz – like a missed opportunity that didn’t work out like he had hoped.
For the longest time, I could relate to that feeling, particularly when it came to the art on this run. Bruce Zick drew the first nine issues, 460-468, and his style is so peculiar for a Marvel superhero book. He looks like he should be writing and drawing a self-published fantasy comic that appeals to stoner college kids, if that makes any sense. Incredibly detailed with stiff figure work, it really had that late ‘70s/early ‘80s Dungeons & Dragons sort of feel. With every reread, it grows on me a little more. It’s twisted and strange and reflects the altered mental state of Thor. It’s like we’ve stepped into the version of Asgard and the universe as he sees it. You’re probably not too familiar with Zick’s name or work as he didn’t do many mainstream comics, this nine-issue run on Thor being his longest and most high profile assignment in the ‘90s. Without seeing the scripts, it’s hard to tell how much of the pacing and layouts came from Zick, but he seems to really work within the mould of Starlin as an artist. Lots of repeated panel layouts with gradual changes as Starlin is fond of using. Some figure choices that seem more symbolic than literal. His cover for Thor #462 is complete gonzo metal fantasy: a corner box featuring an energetic/crazy Thor wielding Mjolnir with the main image being Pluto and Ares caught up in strands of Thor’s hair as his giant, raging face floats above them. His eyes red and pupils split by lightning, he looks completely unhinged. The caption (accurately) reads “WITNESS THE TERROR OF A THUNDER GOD GONE MAD!” It’s one of the greatest covers this series has ever had. Yet, I understand if it takes some time for Zick’s work to grow on you; it certainly did for me.
Beyond Zick, the run, on the whole, has solid to great art. Early Tom Raney on Warlock Chronicles is a bit hit and miss, while Andy Smith’s Silver Surfer is over the top fun. The less said about MC Wyman’s art the better (and will come soon enough when I get to the Roy Thomas-penned run that followed in a couple of weeks...), particularly when compared to Zick’s. Angel Medina popping in for the anniversary Warlock & the Infinity Watch #25 is a real treat as he’s so good at big action. Starlin actually gets out of the way quite a bit in that issue, letting pages go by with no words, allowing Medina’s stunning fight scenes to carry things... which is unusual. He doesn’t usually refrain from captions and dialogue with his own art let alone others, a testament to Medina’s skill. But, the real standout (aside from Zick) is Tom Grindberg, who draws the main story and a backup in the Thor annual along with issues 23 and 24 of Warlock & the Infinity Watch. Issue 24 is probably the best single issue of “Blood & Thunder,” a fun side adventure with Trolls as Adam Warlock battles Ulik’s brother. Grindberg worked in a very similar style to Mike Mignola with heavy blacks and rigid, blocky art. Along with Zick, he’s an artist that I didn’t appreciate when I was younger, but I love more each time I come across it. In fact, as much as I’m critical of the larger use of Thor in this run and the way that he’s pushed to the side as a character, the art of the comics in this larger run is one of the reasons why I enjoyed the reread so much.
This may sound a little suspect coming from me: the association with Starlin’s work hurts it in places, particularly the tie-in issues to the Infinity Crusade, at least as presented without at least one additional Starlin-written issue. Conceptually, until Valkyrie’s true nature is revealed, the idea that Thor would fall under the influence of another is ripe for exploration. That doesn’t happen in those issues. Instead, Marz winds up writing around the first five issues of the event, telling a disjointed story that tries to engage with the idea that Thor is not in complete control of his mind and prone to explosive violence. Thor in this state never feels like a true fit for the Goddess’s crusade. You can see why they would take a mythological character and have him sympathetic to the influence of a being preying on people’s inner faiths. Dig a little deeper and I’m convinced that the opposite would be true. Thor is an object of worship – a creature on the other side of the concept of faith. People believe in him, not the other way around. His entire familiarity with these ideas come at it from the opposite side of things and him becoming a follower of the Goddess only makes sense given his weakened mental resolve and Marvel’s need to shore up her side of the conflict. Except, as I said, those two motivations are somewhat at odds. The true through line of those issues is Pluto’s scheme to have Zeus attack Thor, while Sif seeks to expose it. The final two tie-in issues are even more divorced from the event with Thor #466 being a different version of the Thor/Drax fight from Warlock & the Infinity Watch #21 (that began at the tail end of The Infinity Crusade #4). Written by Starlin with art by Grindberg, it’s probably the issue not collected as part of this run that I would add to it. Given his close working with Marz on the larger story, he manages to really hone in on Thor’s character at the time, including defying orders from the Goddess to stop fighting Drax, refusing to be anyone’s thrall anymore. It’s a crucial moment that actually brings the issues tying into this event into focus. Up until this point, we had thought that Thor was under the control of Valkyrie, but see that he also chaffs under the direction of anyone.
Taken together, Thor #466 and Warlock & the Infinity Watch #21 make for a really strong character piece. While the Infinity Watch issue details the Thor/Drax fight with all of the dialogue and motives, the Thor issue presents splash images of that fight throughout, contrasted with a story about Thor’s younger days told by Odin at a feast. It’s a story about Thor encountering a belligerent Troll that does everything to provoke him to violence, and Thor’s continual refusal to do so. While we think of Thor as a warrior, he is the best sort: one that knows that violence is awful and something to be used when every other attempt at a solution has failed. Page after page of this Troll insulting Thor and provoking him, while Thor tries to reason with him. It’s only when the insults grow too much that Odin affirms that violence occurred – he’s clear to explicitly state that Thor didn’t kill the Troll or hurt him beyond what was necessary. Set against pages of him fighting Drax and knowing that, in the Infinity Watch issue, he was told to stop the pointless fight but chose to continue on, we’re shown how far he’s fallen from his true self. The following issue of Thor sets up “Blood & Thunder,” putting Thor back under Valkyrie’s influence. Instead of the demanding obedience of the Goddess, she follows a path more like the one Thor took with the Troll: reason. She walks him through all of the ways he’s been manipulated and betrayed by Odin and everyone else. She presents the evidence in a such a way that he will come to the conclusion that she wants, but it is his conclusion. It’s his choice to join her on a path of destruction, presented as him following her down a spiral staircase into the dark.
“Blood & Thunder” is the weakest stretch of the run if you’re focused on Thor. It’s less a Thor story than one that’s about Warlock, the Infinity Watch, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Thanos, and Asgard all trying to manage the Thor problem. It’s him in full Hulk mode, running through opponents like they’re nothing and, at one point, taking the Power Gem from Drax, augmenting his strength. It’s only the power of Thanos and his technology that can even contain him, for a time. After the eight issues of set up, there isn’t much more to add to Thor in this state. Marz and Starlin let him go with things like the Power Gem or the Valkyrie gaining corporeal form being the only real additions to what came before.
The concluding issue of the run and “Blood & Thunder,” #471, is actually the first issue of my collecting Thor comics. I received it for my 11th birthday amongst other gifts (including my first short box) along with my dad telling me that he wasn’t interested in buying Thor for himself anymore. He would, however, keep buying it for me if I wanted, something that was kept up through the end of “The Lost Gods” in Journey into Mystery. (He returned to buying it for himself with Jurgens/Romita and I read his copies...) As a conclusion, it leaves me fairly unimpressed. As I said, too much hinges on Odin’s presence and not enough on Thor’s agency and ability to break Valkyrie’s control. It’s only when Odin breaks Thor’s chains that he finally stands up for himself. Valkyrie also never gets a thorough enough explanation. Her role throughout the run is too ambiguous and shifting when convenient. The idea that she was always there and it was only the experience with Eric Masterson that gave her enough strength to assert herself is a bit cheesy. As with much of this run, there’s a germ of a great idea that never reaches its full potential.
One of the more telling aspects of this run is that Thor’s mental instability is not revisited in later stories. While not the complete measure of a run’s quality (I say as I note how much the Tom DeFalco/Ron Frenz run has been ignored...), there have been several instances where the idea could have logically returned and did not. The idea that Thor once suffered from ‘Warrior’s Madness’ (or schizophrenia or DID or... whatever this is) is largely confined to that corner of continuity that no one visits. I maintain that, even for its faults, this run is far too interesting, both in writing and art, to be left forgotten. It scratches one of my weak spots of interest: the ambitious failure. It genuinely seems like Marz and Starlin were trying to do something different with the character and editorial’s one bit addition was giving them a wild artist like Zick. It’s truly unlike any other Thor run. Ironically, I would be tempted to cut it down a bit and trim the fat a bit. Refocus it and really home in on the best, more interesting parts. Reduce it to bits and pieces, as it were.
