Thor #391
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThor #391 is the debut of Eric Masterson, a grounded, relatable everyman whose introduction set in motion one of the more thoughtful 'mortal inherits godhood' arcs in Marvel's history — a multi-year journey that saw him merge with Thor, stand in for the Thunder God during his exile, and ultimately earn his own identity as Thunderstrike. The issue also delivers the first full appearance of Mongoose in a Thor title, cementing the genetically engineered villain's role as a recurring threat whose actions — specifically the girder collapse that injures Masterson here — directly catalyze every subsequent Masterson storyline. Together these two debuts make the issue a structural keystone of the entire DeFalco/Frenz Thor run, which itself stands as one of the most consequential post-Simonson chapters the title ever produced.
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Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz arrived on Thor through an unexpected route: they had been pulled from The Amazing Spider-Man in 1986 and were initially brought onto Thor only as fill-in contributors, not as the designated permanent team. According to Frenz's own account, then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter was impressed enough by their work on a Secret Wars fill-in that he eventually paired them together on Thor full-time starting in 1987, with DeFalco writing and Frenz penciling over Brett Breeding's inks — the same core partnership that had defined their Spider-Man tenure. It was in that ongoing run that DeFalco and Frenz conceived Eric Masterson as a civilian anchor for Thor's Earthbound identity of Sigurd Jarlson, with Ralph Macchio serving as the book's series editor while DeFalco simultaneously held the Editor-in-Chief role at Marvel.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Eric Masterson (later Thunderstrike), a divorced architect and single father, who debuts as a bystander caught in the crossfire of Thor's battle with Mongoose on a New York City construction site.
- First full appearance of Mongoose in a Thor title — the genetically engineered High Evolutionary agent had previously debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #283 (1986), also created by DeFalco and Frenz.
- Spider-Man appears as a co-combatant, teaming with Thor to fight Mongoose and then bracing the collapsing construction structure while Thor supports the entire building — a rare moment of peer-level heroics between the two characters.
- Written by Tom DeFalco and penciled by Ron Frenz, with inks by Brett Breeding, colors by Christie Scheele, letters by Joe Rosen, and edited by Ralph Macchio; DeFalco simultaneously held the Editor-in-Chief position at Marvel at the time of publication.
- Story title: 'The Madness of Mongoose!' — Thor operates under his civilian alias Sigurd Jarlson when he is ambushed, with the Mongoose revealed to have been hired by an unknown master to kill him.
- Also marks the first appearance of Aloysius R. Jamesly, a supporting character in the DeFalco/Frenz run.
- Masterson's injury in this issue initiates a chain of events leading to Thor #408, where Odin merges Masterson's essence with Thor's to save the mortal's life, and eventually to Thor #432 where Masterson assumes the full role of Thor, and Thor #459 where he debuts as the solo hero Thunderstrike.
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