Here begins a 7-issue, action-packed epic in which Thor DIES. Odin, being (as usual) a complete dick, depowers the Gods to humble them. As a result, villains like the Circus of Crime take advantage–with Princess Python making her first appearance in over four years.
While the Circus are ineffective, we do meet a new villain.
The Wrecker. Above is the first time we see him (other than on the cover), and it’s hilarious. Then, beats the depowered Thor…And kills him!
By dropping a building on him.
Savage.
But of course, he’s reborn in #150. By Hela, who debuts in this arc.
In the interim, Wrecker is fighting the depowered Gods.
Loki uses the Destroyer armor to try to protect himself.
And in the aftermath, the reborn Thor has to stop the rampaging armor…
Odin sees his son fighting with fury, and restores his powers. Destroyer is able to hold Mjolnir until the restoration.
Then, Thor can help Balder overcome Ulik and the trolls.
Earlier in the issue, a “normal” person is also able to hold it.
And the story doesn’t end there, because Loki steals Thor’s hammer and Thor has to go recover it.
A great story! Odin even g a new hat for it.
Also, in the Inhumans backup, baby Black Bolt cries.
With #153, Marvel makes the wise decision to discontinue the short Inhuman stories that were appearing in Thor, so that with #153 we get all Thor. When you’ve got a comic this good, you don’t need a back up feature.