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Journey Into Mystery (1952)
Journey Into Mystery #87
Prisoner of the Reds
Thor must head overseas to rescue a group of American scientists. Plus, Jane Foster decides she loves Thor, not Donald Blake!
Thor must head overseas to rescue a group of American scientists. Plus, Jane Foster decides she loves Thor, not Donald Blake!
- GenresComicsMarvelComic Book
11 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1962
31 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,579 books2,359 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 9, 2020
Several American scientists have defected to “the Reds” under mysterious circumstances. Don Blake volunteers to pose as a worthy candidate and is soon abducted, but can even the power of Thor escape from behind the Iron Curtain?
There really isn’t a lot that’s interesting or even worthwhile in this Thor story. It’s pretty cliched from the get-go and just full of “Red Scare” propaganda. Even when Thor gets around to using his powers, it’s in the most expected and dull manner. Things like creating a whirlpool to disable sharks, or using his spinning hammer to dig an escape tunnel are just outright silly. On top of all that, the opponents are so insignificant and irrelevant that they don’t even get names. I really dislike when Stan and Larry just toss out a half-baked anti-communist story.
I wish there was something I could say that was redeeming about Kirby’s artwork, but it’s more standard fare. Granted, he really has nothing spectacular or interesting to draw, so you can’t really blame him.
There are two other stories in the issue as well that fall under the typical sci-fi tales of the time. The final story by Lee and Steve Ditko isn’t bad and has a typcial twist ending, but I kind of liked it.
Overall, an issue you can skip.
There really isn’t a lot that’s interesting or even worthwhile in this Thor story. It’s pretty cliched from the get-go and just full of “Red Scare” propaganda. Even when Thor gets around to using his powers, it’s in the most expected and dull manner. Things like creating a whirlpool to disable sharks, or using his spinning hammer to dig an escape tunnel are just outright silly. On top of all that, the opponents are so insignificant and irrelevant that they don’t even get names. I really dislike when Stan and Larry just toss out a half-baked anti-communist story.
I wish there was something I could say that was redeeming about Kirby’s artwork, but it’s more standard fare. Granted, he really has nothing spectacular or interesting to draw, so you can’t really blame him.
There are two other stories in the issue as well that fall under the typical sci-fi tales of the time. The final story by Lee and Steve Ditko isn’t bad and has a typcial twist ending, but I kind of liked it.
Overall, an issue you can skip.
December 15, 2025
This story left me largely unconvinced. It is fairly short, partly because it adds very little to Thor’s life and partly because it is not engaging enough to hold the reader’s attention for its entire duration. In this issue, Thor discovers why several scientists are abandoning America to go work for the communists. Unsurprisingly, it turns out to be a Russian plot based on hypnosis, a premise that feels tired and unoriginal. This is far from the first time such a device has been used, and honestly the American military could have reached the same conclusion even without Thor’s intervention.
The action sequences, especially during the liberation of the prisoners, are bland and lack any real sense of excitement. There is no moment where Thor’s powers are shown at their full intensity; instead, the story seems to overcomplicate itself with threats and subterfuge when Thor could have resolved the situation much more quickly and decisively. The result is a plot that feels stretched without actually gaining substance.
Even the artwork does little to elevate the issue. It remains average and very similar to previous numbers, while the communist antagonists are drawn with minimal detail, making them largely indistinguishable from one another and visually uninteresting.
Finally, the romantic subplot between Don Blake and Jane Foster is starting to wear thin. At this point it has become a cliché, with the same beats and almost identical dialogue repeating from issue to issue. Instead of adding emotional depth, it now feels like a routine obligation that drags the story down rather than enriching it.
The action sequences, especially during the liberation of the prisoners, are bland and lack any real sense of excitement. There is no moment where Thor’s powers are shown at their full intensity; instead, the story seems to overcomplicate itself with threats and subterfuge when Thor could have resolved the situation much more quickly and decisively. The result is a plot that feels stretched without actually gaining substance.
Even the artwork does little to elevate the issue. It remains average and very similar to previous numbers, while the communist antagonists are drawn with minimal detail, making them largely indistinguishable from one another and visually uninteresting.
Finally, the romantic subplot between Don Blake and Jane Foster is starting to wear thin. At this point it has become a cliché, with the same beats and almost identical dialogue repeating from issue to issue. Instead of adding emotional depth, it now feels like a routine obligation that drags the story down rather than enriching it.
December 11, 2025
Fairly mediocre affair. The only part I like is that Don Blake gets to do stuff and be the hero as much as Thor, not that Jane acknowledges this. She does not deserve Don (or Thor) for being so petty and shallow. I have no idea what he sees in her.
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July 15, 2018Jane bu kadar yavan bir karakter olmak zorunda mıydı diye Stan Lee’ye telefon açmak istiyorum artık, 5 sayıdır okuyorum gram ilerleme yok önemli bir karaktersin sen bi’ geliştir kendini artık ya.
January 7, 2022
Pretty clever storyline.
August 9, 2019
This is one of Lee’s overall more flawed “creations.” I airquote that word because he didn’t create Thor, just recycled him from Norse myths. Interestingly, from issue 97 onwards, Thor’s stories were split into two parts: There were Lee’s earthbound regular stories, and Kirby’s cosmic TALES OF ASGARD stories. It’s Kirby’s that are truly epic stories, while Lee struggles to find what to do with a centuries old character.
Seeing how different they are in quality, I’ll review them separately:
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83-100 (Thor’s First Arc)
The stories definitely seem to influence the movies, in the sense almost every issue features a one-off villain who bears no long term consequence or significance on the story. The only exception to this is Loki, who occasionally provides a really great antagonism for Thor; he’s literally his brother, making their squabbles more personal. Usually he doesn’t even actually oppose Thor, having his deeds carried out through a secondary villain while he pulls strings behind the scenes. If he's able to command all that destruction INDIRECTLY, it makes you fear if he ever had a direct presence… which is FANTASTIC FORESHADOWING.
But apart from him, the villains are all AWFUL.
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #97-125, Thor #126-145 (Tales of Asgard)
LET’S BE REAL. There’s only one reason worth reading these… early stories:
TALES OF ASGARD!!!!!!!
Jack Kirby received his very own section of the comic book, with some dialogue by Lee. Here, Kirby recreates legends from Norse Myths which featured Thor, giving them his own unique visual spin. THIS is what defined Thor as a character for decades to come, as a truly operatic recreation of fantasy epics is told here.
In fact, the greatness of the Tales of Asgard stories really pointed out the greatest flaw of Lee’s take on this ancient character: He made him earthbound. You have a cosmic character from the dawn of storytelling, and you have him fighting aliens?? And communists?? And hypnotists?? Pick a genre! He was destined for fantasy epics, and the fact Lee doesn’t use him for one does the potential of the character a great disservice. At least Kirby had the good sense to understand that, which is why his half of the comic book was more influential.
Seeing how different they are in quality, I’ll review them separately:
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83-100 (Thor’s First Arc)
The stories definitely seem to influence the movies, in the sense almost every issue features a one-off villain who bears no long term consequence or significance on the story. The only exception to this is Loki, who occasionally provides a really great antagonism for Thor; he’s literally his brother, making their squabbles more personal. Usually he doesn’t even actually oppose Thor, having his deeds carried out through a secondary villain while he pulls strings behind the scenes. If he's able to command all that destruction INDIRECTLY, it makes you fear if he ever had a direct presence… which is FANTASTIC FORESHADOWING.
But apart from him, the villains are all AWFUL.
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #97-125, Thor #126-145 (Tales of Asgard)
LET’S BE REAL. There’s only one reason worth reading these… early stories:
TALES OF ASGARD!!!!!!!
Jack Kirby received his very own section of the comic book, with some dialogue by Lee. Here, Kirby recreates legends from Norse Myths which featured Thor, giving them his own unique visual spin. THIS is what defined Thor as a character for decades to come, as a truly operatic recreation of fantasy epics is told here.
In fact, the greatness of the Tales of Asgard stories really pointed out the greatest flaw of Lee’s take on this ancient character: He made him earthbound. You have a cosmic character from the dawn of storytelling, and you have him fighting aliens?? And communists?? And hypnotists?? Pick a genre! He was destined for fantasy epics, and the fact Lee doesn’t use him for one does the potential of the character a great disservice. At least Kirby had the good sense to understand that, which is why his half of the comic book was more influential.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews