JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #116-120 (1965): 1st Destroyer

Beginning with issue #116, which ties directly with Avengers #16, Thor is recalled to Skornheim to for a “trial” that is really more of a sporting event.  After having forced his way into Asgard after Odin banished him, Thor must be held accountable. Loki, too, broke Asgardian law by giving power-ups to Cobra and Hyde. All that happened in the last arc. This one is about the trial, which, again, is just a competition that Loki wins (by cheating), and Thor is banished.

Meanwhile, in Thor’s absence, Executioner and Enchantress run amok on Earth. One of Rick Jones’ teen brigade tries to get help.

But everyone is too busy.

After his loss, Thor hunts Earth for evidence of Loki’s deception.

What evidence?  The powerful, magical “Norn Stones,” which Loki hid in Vietnam of all places.  This enables a little bit of a war story. Thor beats up some VC soldiers.

To stop him, Loki summons The Destroyer Armor–a living, Asgardian robot that makes its first appearance in issue #118.

The Destroyer can lift Thor’s hammer!

Note that Destroyer can talk in these issues.

By the end of it all, Mjolnir is literally broken in half and Thor must go to the U.S. to get it fixed.  Because in the 1960s, we still had good manufacturing jobs.

Note: Odin sleeps through most of this adventure in what they call “The Sleep of Life” (referred to later as The Odinsleep).

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