Thor #140
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThor #140 (May 1967) holds a firm place in Silver Age Marvel history as the debut of the Growing Man, a kinetic-energy-absorbing stimuloid android that would become one of Kang the Conqueror's signature weapons across decades of Avengers stories. The issue is a notable crossover of Marvel's mythological and science-fiction threads, dropping Kang — a villain rooted in Avengers continuity — squarely into the pages of Thor and forcing Thor's dual identity as Donald Blake to drive the plot in a way rarely seen in this era of the series. The Growing Man's conceptual hook — every blow you strike makes it stronger — proved durable enough to reappear in key storylines from the Avengers' 'Grandmaster' saga to the Inferno crossover and beyond, making this issue the narrative origin point of a recurring threat throughout the Marvel universe.
In "The Growing Man!", Thor faces off against a monstrous threat born from the cunning schemes of a familiar enemy, testing his strength and wit in a battle that pushes him to his limits. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life with dynamic art by Jack Kirby, with inks by Vince Colletta and letters by Sam Rosen, this 1967 issue delivers a classic clash of mythic power and sci-fi menace—complete with a cover by Kirby and Colletta that captures the scale of the looming danger.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was produced by the core Lee–Kirby creative engine at the height of their Thor run: writer–editor Stan Lee, penciller Jack Kirby, inker Vince Colletta, and letterer Sam Rosen — the same team responsible for the series since its renaming from Journey into Mystery with issue #126 in 1966. The comic carries a May 1967 cover date and was on sale in early March 1967 according to Library of Congress periodical records. No specific behind-the-scenes production anecdotes about this particular issue have surfaced in published interviews or documented editorial correspondence, so the broader creative context is well-established but the granular story-of-origin for the Growing Man concept specifically is not on record.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Growing Man (also called a 'stimuloid'), a combat android built for Kang the Conqueror by the enslaved alien Kosmosians; it grows larger and stronger by absorbing kinetic energy from any attack made against it.
- Features a prominent appearance by Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards, Earth-6311), who reveals he had hidden the Growing Man in the 20th century as a weapon to use in future conquests.
- Thor defeats Kang by using Mjolnir to create an 'infinity vortex' around Kang's time machine, displacing Kang, the Growing Man, and the time machine beyond all time and space — an event whose aftermath was later disputed in conflicting Marvel continuity across Avengers #269, Thor Annual #17, and Avengers: Forever #9.
- The issue contains two distinct stories: the 16-page lead 'The Growing Man!' featuring Thor, Odin, Sif, and Kang; and a 5-page 'Tales of Asgard' backup starring Thor and the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg) battling the Jinni Devil of Mogul of the Mystic Mountain.
- Creative team: Writer Stan Lee, Penciller Jack Kirby, Inker Vince Colletta, Letterer Sam Rosen, with Stan Lee serving as editor-in-chief. Cover art by Kirby and Colletta.
- Cover date: May 1967; on-sale date: March 1967. Original cover price: 12 cents.
- The lead story has been reprinted in Marvel Spectacular #11 (November 1974, with two panels excised), Essential Thor Vol. 3 (2006, black and white), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 5 (2006), The Mighty Thor Omnibus Vol. 2 (2013), Thor Epic Collection Vol. 3: The Wrath of Odin (2017), and the trade paperback Avengers: Kang — Time and Time Again (2005).
- The Growing Man went on to appear in Avengers #69–71 (where Kang used it to abduct Tony Stark and lure the Avengers into his Grandmaster game), Avengers #268, Avengers #300, Young Avengers #3, and several other stories, cementing its status as Kang's most recognizable non-human weapon.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Los Vengadores #87 (1968), HIP Comics #19120 (1969), Hit Comics #120 (1969), Il Mitico Thor #35 (1972), Il Mitico Thor #39 (1972), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #88 (1974), Marvel Spectacular #11 (1974), Thor #8 (1978), Thor le fils d'Odin #16 (1982), O Poderoso Thor #2 (1983), Biblioteca Marvel: Thor #2 (2001), Avengers: Kang - Time and Time Again #[nn] (2005), Essential Thor #3 (2006), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #5 (2006), Thor: Tales of Asgard by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby #6 (2009), Thor: Tales of Asgard #[nn] (2010), Thor: Tales of Asgard #[nn] (2011), The Mighty Thor Omnibus #2 (2013), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #5 (2014), Thor Epic Collection #3 (2017), Marvel Origins #70 (2026), Die Spinne #117, Die Spinne #118, Die Spinne #41 + 1 more
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