Thor #137

Feb 1967 · Marvel

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★ 1st appearance — Ulik

About this Issue

Thor #137 is the debut issue for Ulik the Rock Troll, one of the most enduring physical antagonists in the Thunder God's rogues' gallery — a villain explicitly engineered by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to be Thor's equal in raw strength, a rare creative ambition for a Silver Age villain. That premise gave the title a new category of threat: not a scheming sorcerer or cosmic entity, but a bruiser who could genuinely go toe-to-toe with an Asgardian god, a dynamic that paid dividends across more than five decades of Marvel storytelling. The issue is doubly significant because its Tales of Asgard backup simultaneously seeds the entire Mogul of the Mystic Mountain arc, adding narrative depth to Hogun the Grim's character that the title would build on for months. Together, the two stories make this one of the more content-dense single issues of the Lee-Kirby Thor run, planting antagonists that would recur well into the 21st century.

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History

By late 1966, Lee and Kirby had fully transitioned the Thor title — formally renamed from Journey into Mystery with issue #126 — away from its Earth-centric monster anthology roots and into an expansive Asgardian mythology. Thor #137 (cover-dated February 1967, released December 1966) sits squarely in that creative peak, with Kirby constructing increasingly elaborate cosmologies and Lee scripting dialogue that balanced operatic grandeur with Silver Age accessibility. Inker Vince Colletta, the regular embellisher on the title throughout this era, finished Kirby's pencils, while Sam Rosen and Art Simek shared lettering duties. No specific editorial documents about the creation of Ulik have surfaced publicly, but multiple retrospective sources confirm that Lee and Kirby drew broadly on Norse mythology's tradition of gods-versus-trolls conflict as the conceptual well for the character.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Ulik, the Rock Troll — created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — in the main story titled 'The Thunder God and the Troll!'
First appearance of Grak (a Rock Troll supporting character) also occurs in this issue, per the Marvel Database.
Ulik wields signature 'pounders' — uru-metal bands worn over the fists like knuckle dusters — the same indestructible metal from which Mjolnir is forged, establishing him as a physical peer to Thor from his very first appearance.
The Tales of Asgard backup story, 'The Tragedy of Hogun!', marks the first appearance of Mogul of the Mystic Mountain and his Jinni, launching a multi-issue arc that runs through at least Thor #145.
Cover date is February 1967; the Grand Comics Database lists its release date as December 1966, making it a late-1966 publication on the newsstand.
Full creative team: writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Vince Colletta, letterers Sam Rosen and Art Simek, editor Stan Lee.
The issue has been reprinted in Essential Thor Vol. 3 (2006, black-and-white), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 5 (2006), Thor: Tales of Asgard by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Vol. 6 (2009), The Mighty Thor Omnibus Vol. 2 (2013), and Thor Epic Collection Vol. 3: The Wrath of Odin (2017).
Ulik went on to appear in animated television series, video games (including Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Thor: God of Thunder), toys, and trading cards, demonstrating the character's multimedia longevity beyond the printed page.