REDS WHO IMPRISONED THOR

Membership: A small army, none named

Purpose: To kidnap American scientists and put them into forced labor for the USSR

Affiliations: Russians and/or other Communists

Enemies: Thor

Base of Operations: A prison/fortress somewhere in Russia

First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery I#87 (December 1962)

Powers/Abilities: The small army of Communist jailers was equipped with conventional firearms. The prison/fortress was equipped with a pit filled with man-eating sharks under a trap-door.

History:
(Journey Into Mystery#87 (fb) - BTS) - A Communist agent, disguised as a news-magazine photographer, kidnapped 5 American scientists using a "camera" that shot hypnotic gas. Under the hypnotic spell of the gas, the captives were made to leave farewell notes behind saying that they were defecting and going to serve the Reds, then they were smuggled out of the U.S. into Russia.

 

 

 

(Journey Into Mystery I#87) - Following the suggestion of Colonel Edward Harrison, Dr. Don Blake (the mortal identity of Thor) created a false news story about his working on a new biological warfare weapon so that he might investigate the rash of defections. Blake was visited by the "photographer," who placed him under the chemical spell, then was taken behind the Iron Curtain and locked in a fortress with the other kidnapped scientists. Blake transformed himself into Thor and began an assault against the Red prison-masters, but he stopped when the Reds threatened the captive scientists with death. Surrendering himself, Thor was locked into "electronically treated" chains from which he could not escape. When Thor's hammer had been out of his hand for 60 seconds, he transformed back into the smaller Don Blake, who easily slipped out of the loosened chains. Touching the enchanted hammer, Blake was once again transformed into Thor. Thor first helped the prisoners escape from the fortress, then called upon the fury of the storm to destroy the Soviets' stronghold.

 

 

Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee, Larry Leiber, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.

   It is unknown what quality the "electronically treated" chains had that kept Thor from simply breaking them; perhaps the "electronically treated" simply means that the chains had a sensor which would have detonated explosives in the prison cells had the chains been physically broken, and Thor didn't want to further endanger the prisoners.

The Reds who imprisoned Thor were retconned into Bodavians in Marvel UK reprints, as noted by Tony Isabella. Bodavia has also shown up in retconned reprints of pre-1961 stories, and was the home of the Silencer.
--John McDonagh

Profile by John Kaminski

Clarifications:

No known connection to

images:

Journey Into Mystery#87,
      p.1 (splash page)
      p.6, panel 5 (group shot)

Last updated: 04/27/05.

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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