DeFalco/Frenz Retrospective: Thor #411


 

Writer: Tom DeFalco
Penciler: Ron Frenz

Synopsis: Thor faces off against the Juggernaut. 

Comments: Good old Frenz Petroleum makes an appearance, but the brand name isn't as clear here as it was last issue. 



Hercules is listening to the song "She Drives Me Crazy" by the Fine Young Cannibals which was a big hit in 1989, the same year this comic was released. 




The shadowy figure is having trouble finding Thor, but he does sic Juggernaut on him.



Eric misidentifies Juggernaut as a mutant, even though his powers actually come from magic. Some adaptations like X-Men: Evolution, X-Men: The Last Stand and Ultimate X-Men have made him a mutant. 



We don't see too much of a fight in the manner of close contact fisticuffs between Thor and the Juggernaut. Scenes from Captain America #366 showed Thor and Juggernaut going at in closer combat and Thor was almost taken over by the Controller. 








Thor's hammer, a magical object, doesn't fair too well against Juggernaut's force field. And even though Juggernaut can't lift the hammer, he apparently can ride it back. 





Thor's fight with Juggernaut has not gone unnoticed and a new team arrives to help him. Night Thrasher first appears here and was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz. Speedball was created by Tom DeFalco and Steve Ditko and first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22. Tom DeFalco wrote the Firestar miniseries in 1986 that delved into origin. As far as I know, Tom and Ron never had any association with Marvel Boy, Nova, or Namorita prior to this issue. Chord and Tai is an African-American man teamed up with an elderly Asian-American woman just like Amazing Spider-Man #271 with Manslaughter and Madam Fang. 











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