Thor #386
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThor #386 marks the first appearance of Leir, Marvel's rendering of the Celtic deity Lir, introduced here as the Lord of Lightning and a proud warrior of the Tuatha de Danaan — the Celtic pantheon residing in Avalon. The issue is significant not merely as a debut but as a conceptual bridge: by engineering a clash between Thor and a Celtic thunder-wielder, writer Tom DeFalco expanded Marvel's mythological universe well beyond its Norse and Olympian anchors, planting the seed for a lasting cross-pantheon alliance that would pay off in the Seth War saga across issues #398–400. The Asgardian–Celtic rivalry rooted here — ancient enmity born of Viking incursions into Celtic lands — gave later DeFalco/Frenz storytelling a genuine historical texture, and Leir went on to become a recurring supporting player throughout the run and beyond.
In "When Warriors Clash! Thor, Lord of Thunder vs. Leir, Lord of Lightning!", Thor faces off against Leir, a powerful Celtic god of lightning, in a clash of divine might. But when a mysterious griffin emerges to challenge them both, even the gods may find their strength tested. Written by Tom DeFalco and brought to life by Ron Frenz’s dynamic art, with inks by Brett Breeding, colors by Paul Becton, and letters by John Workman, this 1987 Marvel classic features a striking cover by Ron Frenz and Brett Breeding.
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Thor #386 was the fourth issue produced by the incoming creative team of writer Tom DeFalco and penciler Ron Frenz, who had taken over the title beginning with #383 following Walt Simonson's celebrated four-year run. Their pairing on Thor was not originally planned as a permanent assignment — DeFalco and Frenz initially contributed fill-in issues — but editor Jim Shooter's enthusiasm for their Secret Wars tie-in work, combined with a fortuitous opening when Sal Buscema moved to Spectacular Spider-Man, locked them in as the new regular team. The issue was edited by Ralph Macchio and inked by Brett Breeding, who had been DeFalco and Frenz's collaborator on Amazing Spider-Man, making #386 a reunion of a well-practiced creative unit working now at the company's most mythologically ambitious title. DeFalco was simultaneously ascending to the Marvel Editor-in-Chief role in 1987, making this one of the rare instances in comics history where the sitting EIC was also actively writing and world-building on a flagship title.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Leir (Earth-616), a Celtic god of lightning and the spear, based on the mythological Irish/Welsh deity Lir/Llŷr, who was reimagined by DeFalco and Frenz as 'Lord of Lightning' to serve as a foil for Thor.
- Written by Tom DeFalco, penciled by Ron Frenz, inked by Brett Breeding, colored by Paul Becton, lettered by John Workman Jr., and edited by Ralph Macchio; published with a December 1987 cover date.
- The story is titled 'When Warriors Clash! Thor, Lord of Thunder vs. Leir, Lord of Lightning!' — Thor pursues a griffin-like beast (a shedu sent by the Egyptian death god Seth) through a dimensional portal into Avalon, the extradimensional realm of the Celtic gods.
- Leir initially attacks Thor, wrongly blaming him for the deaths of a Danaan family; the two ultimately join forces with Hogun to drive the creature back to Asgard, establishing the uneasy but honorable rapport that seeds their later alliance.
- The issue also advances the overarching Seth War storyline: its closing beats show Asgard adrift in space after the destruction of the Bifrost, stranding Thor in the airless void.
- Leir is depicted as belonging to the Tuatha de Danaan — Marvel's Celtic pantheon — whose millennia-long enmity with the Asgardians is rooted in ancient Viking raids on Celtic territories, a piece of internal Marvel mythology DeFalco built upon in subsequent issues.
- Leir's debut here directly set up his return in Thor #398–400 (1988–89), where he leads Celtic forces to Asgard to repay Thor's honor during the full-scale Seth invasion — a narrative thread that runs across multiple issues and also encompasses West Coast Avengers #41.
- Tom DeFalco became Marvel's Editor-in-Chief on April 15, 1987, meaning Thor #386 was produced and published while DeFalco simultaneously held the company's top editorial post — an unusual creative-administrative overlap for a character-introduction issue.
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Reprinted in Thor #7 (1989), Thor Epic Collection #16 (2013), Thor #30
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