COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Thor 381 Modern
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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1484277008
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Owner:
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Thorseface
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Thor no. 381: “Ye Olde Shelle Game”
Publication date: July 1, 1987
Census: As of 6/20/23, 20 copies in 9.8 (no change), of which 1 is signed (no change). There is no Canadian variant listed.
Writer: Simonson
Pencils: Sal Buscem
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letterer: Workman
Colorist: Scheele
Favorite line(s) and some thoughts:
"Tis Beyond Belief! I have subjected this body to molecular disruptors, nuclear ripsaws, and anti-matter particle beams. I have reduced the armor and the body to plasma and reconstructed them completely."
-The Destroyer
Here, for the first time in the character's publication history, Walt had the Destroyer think and speak. As with Jormungand, this makes the Destroyer much more interesting. Turns out it has a full lexicon for all of the nifty, devastating blasts, beams, and bursts it can generate. Which begs the question, did the Destroyer christen his "nuclear ripsaws" or did Odin? Whatever the answer, a nuclear ripsaw sounds rather painful and possibly very smelly.
It has never been entirely clear to me what happened to Thor's body after his final collision with Jormungand. The last frame of Thor no. 380 shows the armor empty. I understand that he and the armor are now the same physical entity. If, as indicated in the "Mephisto vs. Avengers" crossover that takes place between the last issue and this one, Thor has been reduced to protoplasm, then I suppose his original body is a viscous, translucent jelly inside the armor.* Hence the reaction of the Avengers, etc., when they look upon the armor / body. I think the main idea Walt was trying to convey was that Thor was not quite alive and not quite dead. In short order, Mephisto, Hela, Loki, and the Destroyer attempt to take advantage of this situation. Thor's soul pops from earth to Mephisto's hell and back to earth only to get plucked out again when the Destroyer--newly resurrected by Loki--finds himself an ideal, indestructible spirit with which it can bond. Or something like that. "Ye Olde Shelle Game" indeed.
Here is what you really need to know about this book: Thor occupies the Destroyer armor. 'Nuff said. However, this is not the first time that Thor played this particular shell game. One need revisit Thor no. 266 (December '77) to read about his first stint occupying the Destroyer. Funny thing, though. The pencils on that issue are by some guy called Walt Simonson, while the inks, in what can only be a coincidence given that Thor no. 381 is the only time he inked a book on Walt's 1980s run, jumpin' Joe Sinnott!!! So here in Thor no. 381 we might have a bit of an homage to one Len Wein and some nostalgia for days gone by.
Sal's last panels, where Destroyer-Thor outfits himself with Thor's kit, constitute one of the most jaw-dropping sequences in the run. And Walt's cover is killer. Note yet another cool change to the trade dress box, too.
*I'm not a fan of this crossover since it unnecessarily confuses the main story and feels perfunctory. That said, it was clearly more carefully orchestrated than the earlier, poor attempt to stuff Beta Ray Bill into the Rom Wraith War, for example. This time, Walt was working with his buddy Al Milgrom, and there was clearly a bit more in the way of planning and effective collaboration going on between the two.
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