Thor #146
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThor #146 marks the launch of the first dedicated Inhumans origin feature in Marvel Comics history — a seven-part backup series that gave the Royal Family their own sustained narrative space for the first time since their 1965 debut in Fantastic Four. The backup story 'The Origin of the Incomparable Inhumans!' introduces Randac, the ancient Inhuman king and geneticist who became the first of his race to enter the Terrigen Mists, establishing the foundational mythology — Terrigenesis, Attilan, and the Inhumans' evolutionary divergence from humanity — that every subsequent Inhumans story has built upon. Running through Thor #152, this backup run served as the creative bridge between the group's Fantastic Four guest-star era and their eventual solo ongoing in Amazing Adventures (1970), cementing the Inhumans as a pillar of the wider Marvel cosmology. The issue also marks the point at which the long-running Tales of Asgard backup feature was retired and replaced, signaling a deliberate editorial expansion of the Inhumans' mythology within the Thor title.
In "If the Thunder Be Gone!", a weakened and hypnotized Thor unwittingly aids the Circus of Crime in stealing the Golden Bull, leaving Sif and Balder watching helplessly from Asgard as Earth's forces confront him. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life with dynamic energy by Jack Kirby, this 1967 issue features Kirby’s bold cover art and Vince Colletta’s sharp inks, capturing a moment of cosmic tension with a 12-cent price tag.
In a storm-laced twist, Thor—his power sapped and mind under a spell—stands as an unwitting pawn in the Circus of Crime’s scheme to steal the Golden Bull. From Asgard, Sif and Balder watch in grim silence as Earth’s forces close in, unsure if the thunder god can break free before the heist is complete.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 22 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 8 ▾ $105–$119 2 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $12.99–$150 13 listings
More listings for this title
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Written by Stan Lee and penciled by Jack Kirby — with Vince Colletta inking the cover and main Thor story and Joe Sinnott inking the backup — Thor #146 was published by Marvel (under the Atlas Magazines indicia) in November 1967. The backup feature replaced the Tales of Asgard series that had run continuously in Journey Into Mystery and then Thor from issue #97 through #145; Marvel editorial chose Thor as the vehicle for the new Inhumans origin material, capitalizing on reader interest in the group following their Fantastic Four appearances. The five-page backup format — the same page count used for Tales of Asgard — allowed Lee and Kirby to develop the Inhumans' deep history in self-contained vignettes while the main title pursued a separate Thor-and-Circus-of-Crime storyline.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published November 1967 by Marvel Comics; written by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, with Vince Colletta inking the main story and Joe Sinnott inking the Inhumans backup.
- Contains the first appearance of Randac, the ancient Inhuman king and geneticist who discovered and first entered the Terrigen Mists, establishing the core concept of Terrigenesis that underpins all Inhumans mythology.
- The backup story — titled 'The Origin of the Incomparable Inhumans!' — is the opening chapter of a seven-part origin series running through Thor #152 (May 1968), representing the Inhumans' first extensive origin telling in Marvel Comics history.
- The modern-day Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton) appear in cameo on the first page of the backup story as a framing device; the story itself is set in the prehistoric past.
- This issue marks the end of the Tales of Asgard backup feature (which had run since Journey Into Mystery #97) and its replacement by the new Inhumans origin series.
- The main story, 'If the Thunder Be Gone!', continues the arc of a de-powered Thor — stripped of his godly strength by Odin — falling under the Ringmaster's hypnotic control and being used by the Circus of Crime to steal the Golden Bull statue; Jane Foster also appears briefly.
- The Inhumans backup has been reprinted extensively, including in Amazing Adventures (Vol. 2) #10 (January 1972), Marvel Tales #122 (December 1980), Marvel Masterworks: The Inhumans Vol. 1 (2009), Inhumans: The Origin of the Inhumans TPB (2013), Thor Epic Collection Vol. 3 (2017), and The Best Marvel Stories by Stan Lee Omnibus (2022).
- The full main story has also been collected in Essential Thor Vol. 3, The Mighty Thor Omnibus Vol. 2, and Thor Epic Collection Vol. 3: The Wrath of Odin.
Cast · 20 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Los Vengadores #111 (1968), Amazing Adventures #10 (1972), Il Mitico Thor #45 (1972), Il Mitico Thor #46 (1973), The Mighty World of Marvel #102 (1974), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #98 (1974), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #99 (1975), Marvel Spectacular #17 (1975), Thor #10 (1978), Die Spinne #130 (1979), Spider-Man Comic #330 (1979), Fantastic Four Pocket Book #4 (1980), Marvel Tales #122 (1980), Thor le fils d'Odin #19 (1983), Strange Spécial Origines #208 (1987), Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising Collectors' Preview #1 (1995), Essential Thor #3 (2006), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #6 (2007), Marvel Masterworks: The Inhumans #1 (2009), Infinity Incoming! #[nn] (2013), The Mighty Thor Omnibus #2 (2013), Inhumans: The Origin of the Inhumans #[nn] (2013), Stan Lee Marvel Treasury Edition #[nn] (2016), Thor Epic Collection #3 (2017) + 6 more
Key issues in Thor
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.