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In August 1962, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby debuted Thor Odinson, God of Thunder and cosmic adventurer, who became another of Marvel’s most successful and versatile characters. As today the first Thursday (or “Thor’s Day”) of the month, this is the perfect time to celebrate the God of Thunder!

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The Background:
After debuting Doctor Robert Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk, legendary Marvel Comics writer, editor, and creator Stan Lee took inspiration from Norse legends to create an even more powerful superhero. Working alongside his brother, Larry Lieber, and the immortal Jack Kirby, Marvel Comics introduced a new version of the Norse God Thor Odinson, who claimed ownership of Journey into Mystery before replacing it with his own self-titled comic in 1970. Thor was a founding member of Marvel’s premier super team, the Avengers, regularly clashed with his adopted brother, Loki Laufeyson, and was even transformed into a frog! In 1983, writer and artist Walt Simonson sought to shake up The Mighty Thor by introducing a new, alien character, Beta Ray Bill the Korbinite, who, despite his monstrous appearance, would not only be eloquent and heroic, but also worthy of lifting Thor’s enchanted hammer, Mjölnir. After clashing with Thor in his three-issue debut, Beta Ray Bill gained an enchanted weapon of his own, Stormbreaker, and operated as a cosmic superhero, battling the likes of Surtur and the mythical “Great Beasts” and even driving the mighty Galactus to the brink of starvation. Though a largely obscure character amidst Marvel’s heavy hitters, Beta Ray Bill has a strong cult  following, headlined a few self-titled comics, and has often appeared in videogames as a skin for Thor. Beta Ray Bill has also appeared in a few Marvel cartoons, with The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010 to 2012) loosely adapting his debut, though he was cut from an early draft of Thor: Ragnarok (Waititi, 2017).

The Review:
The ballad of Beta Ray Bill begins with the destruction of a faraway galaxy, which leaves behind a chunk of “molten ingot of star-stuff” that’s grasped by a leering, titanic cosmic being wielding an equally massive pair of tongs. The impact of the star-stuff being smashed against a gigantic anvil reverberates across “a billion billion worlds”, though they’re buried beneath the sounds of Grant Park, Chicago, where Doctor Donald Blake, alter ego of the Mighty Thor, is taking a stroll. Somewhat envious of humanity’s carefree nature, Dr. Blake ruminates on how blessed he is to be amongst mortals when he’s suddenly abducted by Colonel Nick Fury of the Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) Demonstrating knowledge of Dr. Blake’s dual identity, Fury flies the two to the strangely phallic looking S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier so Agent Jasper Sitwell can fill him in one their current crisis. Agent Sitwell explains to Thor that S.H.I.E.L.D. developed a hyper-advanced probe to transmit pictures of the cosmos back to Earth and discovered an alien vessel destroying an entire star to refuel its engines. Concerned about a potential threat, Fury requests Thor check out the ship and, curious himself, the God of Thunder agrees. While Lady Sif seeks a great battle to ease Thor choosing “Midgard” over her, Balder Odinson drowns his sorrows, and Volstagg hopes to dine with better company, Loki’s abject boredom is suddenly broken by the arrival of the alluring Lorelei, whose very words send Asgard’s warriors fleeing and whose presence intrigues the God of Mischief. When the story jumps back to Thor, he arrives at the alien vessel’s location courtesy of Mjölnir, Thor presses his pursuit, only to be repeatedly blasted by the ship’s energy cannons.

Angered, Thor rips into the ship and is attacking by a monstrous, horse-faced brute who’s the subject of this review. Impressed by Thor’s strength, the imposing cyborg nonetheless attacks, determined to stamp out “all of demonkind” and confusing Thor, since the warrior has clearly mistaken him for some other “breed”. Regardless, Thor matches Beta Ray Bill blow for blow but, in his warrior rage, he forgets his hammer and, having been separated from Mjölnir for too long, magically and forcibly reverts back to his human form! This allows Beta Ray Bill to easily knock the stunned Avenger out, however the damage causes his ship to crash land on Earth. When Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. surround the ship and try to negotiate, the prideful Beta Ray Bill desperately searches for his foe’s powerful weapon. When he finds only a wooden stick, the cyborg lashes out in anger but is amazed to be imbued with the power of Thor! Suitably empowered, Beta Ray Bill attacks Fury’s forces and revels in his newfound might, only for Odin Allfather to suddenly appear and, mistaking Beta Ray Bill for his son, spirit him to Asgard, leaving Dr. Blake stranded and “forsaken” on Earth! Despondent and heartbroken, Dr. Blake is comforted by Fury, while Beta Ray Bill angrily and blindly lashes out at the Asgardians as they celebrate “Thor’s” return, believing them to be demons. Naturally, Odin immediately realises something’s amiss and demands answers so Beta Ray Bill, ever the hothead, immediately and arrogantly attacks. Odin easily reclaims Mjölnir and finds truth in Beta Ray Bill’s claims that he won the hammer “in combat”. Odin immediately sets to put things right and summons Dr. Blake to Asgard, where he becomes Thor once more, and then apologises to Beta Ray Bill and offers him sanctuary. Wary, Beta Ray Bill demands that the Asgardians prove they’re not demons before he relaxes his guard, so Odin takes the two to the frigid summit of Hliðskjálf to parlay.

While Loki and Lorelei use their illusions to anger Lady Sif and make her think Thor is cheating on her, Beta Ray Bill tells his story to Odin and his son. Claiming to come from an “ancient and noble race”, Beta Ray Bill tells how his once prosperous people were all-but destroyed when the core of their galaxy suddenly exploded. The survivors fled in spacecrafts and Beta Ray Bill was chosen to be genetically and cybernetically altered into their protector. While leading his people in his warship, the Skuttlebutt, as they slept in cryogenic chambers, Beta Ray Bill was suddenly attacked by destructive demons, whom he’s been pursuing ever since. Determined to use Mjölnir to destroy the demons and safeguard his people, Beta Ray Bill refuses to give up the hammer. Since both his son and the cyborg have valid claims to it, Odin orders them to face each other in equal combat, with the victor claiming the prize and aiding Asgard in battling the demonic horde. Thus, Odin transports the two to Skartheim, a barren and dangerous landscape, for their fight. Beta Ray Bill attacks while Thor searches for more stable ground and the two grapple and exchange blows with equal might and bluster. Impressed by his foe’s strength and conviction, Thor doubles his efforts, unaware that Beta Ray Bill feels the same awe and respect for his opponent. Striking while Thor’s readying his next attack, Beta Ray Bill hurls boulders at the Avenger, one of which Thor tosses back to bring Beta Ray Bill close to a horrific fall into lava. However, when Thor flies in to press his attack, the two warriors collapse from exhaustion. Beta Ray Bill recovers first and, seeing his foe is still unconscious and heading to a nasty end, flies Thor to safety and returns to Asgard victorious!

When Beta Ray Bill collapses immediately after, Odin has the two brought to the Royal physicians, where the disgusted Lorelei keeps a close eye on them during their recovery, clashing with Lady Sif in the process. Feeling he’s disgraced his father, Thor denounces his Godhood and believes he’s no longer worthy of Mjölnir, while a grateful and concerned Beta Ray Bill worries that he may lose the hammer’s power, as Thor did, and begs Odin to help with his dilemma. Impressed by the bionic warrior’s conviction, Odin travels to the tranquil realm of the dwarfs, Niðavellir, to ask the surly Dwarf King Eitri for a favour. Despite his race being shunned by the Gods, Eitri agrees on the condition that Odin provide their champion with a woman to either best him in combat or “serve as his chattel”. While Thor commends Beta Ray Bill’s victory and wishes him well as Mjölnir’s wielder, determined to forsake his former life, the cyborg humbly points out that his victories have largely been luck. Their conversation is interrupted when Thor spots Lady Sif battling the dwarves champion, the hulking Throgg, as requested by the Allfather. Lady Sif deals first blood to her foe and knocks him unconscious, choosing to spare her grotesque foe the sharp edge of her blade. Eitri reveals that Throgg was a menace who’s now been suitably humiliated, but honours his bargain and commands his people to light the incredible furnaces of Niðavellir, moulding Uru, the material of the Gods, into a mighty battleaxe – dubbed Stormbreaker – that Odin enchants so that its mighty powers will belong to Beta Ray Bill alone. Thus, the cyborg claims his prize, and his power, and vows to wield it proudly. Odin then returns Mjölnir to his son and, learning of the demons’ pending approach upon Beta Ray Bill’s slumbering people, Thor leaps aboard his enchanted chariot, alongside Lady Sif, to meet the threat with his newfound ally.

The Summary:
I’ve always been fascinated by Beta Ray Bill, a monstrous and unlikely wielder of Thor’s magical hammer, and the implications his character has on Thor’s mythos. Until Beta Ray Bill, Thor was a person, not a mantle or a title, despite what the hammer’s enchantment said, with even Thor’s human form being the same personality, just as a mortal to keep him humble. Suddenly, the enchantment wasn’t just a threat to Thor’s ability to command thunder and lightning, it was a promise that any “worthy” champion would essentially become Thor, which opened the floodgates for future stories. While the art is a bit janky at times, this story was very bold and cosmic in its scope, with the narrative punctuated by some unknown, titanic figure forging a massive sword that apparently speaks to a looming threat. There’s also a side plot concerning Lady Sif’s desire to prove herself worthy of Thor’s attention in battle, which actually feeds into the finale when she readily faces Throgg and then insists on accompanying Thor and Beta Ray Bill to battle the demons. The secondary sub-plot concerning Loki and Lorelei’s efforts to discredit Thor was interesting, and clearly sowing the seeds for a future story, but somewhat took away from the battles between Thor and Beta Ray Bill, limiting them to tests of physical strength and dramatic claims by our unseen narrator. I enjoyed the portrayal of Thor here, who starts out so proud and happy to be this all-powerful warrior and then feels so humbled by his losses that he’s ready to give up Mjölnir, only to still be deemed worthy by his father. It’s interesting as it speaks to Thor’s brief wish to be relieved of his responsibilities, and even Beta Ray Bill tries to talk him out of so readily giving up his awesome power, as much as the bionic warrior needs it to protect his people.

Naturally, Beta Ray Bill is the standout character in these issues. I would’ve loved to see a bit more time and effort spent fleshing out what, exactly, the “demons” are that threaten his people, but it’s enough to know that he’s desperate to protect what’s left of his civilisation from a very real theat. So much so that he willingly allowed himself to be altered, even gene spliced with his people’s most deadly predator and augmented with cybernetics, to serve as their protector. This single-minded need somewhat blinds Beta Ray Bill, leading to him to attack Thor on sight and even lashing out at Odin before he’s convinced that the Asgardians aren’t demons. Despite his horrific appearance, Beta Ray Bill is deemed worthy enough to lift and be empowered by Mjölnir and immediately relishes having the power necessary to wipe out his enemies. Thus, while Beta Ray Bill respects Thor, sparing his life and recognising that his victories may not have been entirely honourable, the cyborg champion is reluctant to give up his newfound Godhood. Depicted as Thor’s equal in terms of strength and conviction, Beta Ray Bill is a stubborn, hot-headed, but ultimately honourable character, so much so that it’s implied Odin is subtly manipulating events to grant him Godly power and that the Allfather goes to Eitri for help, despite the dwarves being wary of their Gods. While Beta Ray Bill proves himself in battle against Thor, Odin compromises and ensures that he’ll never lose his power as long as he wields Stormbreaker, gifting the cosmos a new champion and providing Thor with a powerful and equally worthy ally. This was a fun story with a lot of action, a lot of discussions regarding duty and worthiness, and some fun asides that fed into the main plot. I really dig the juxtaposition of this grotesque alien cyborg being such an honourable warrior that he’s worthy of Thor’s power, and his own Asgardian weapon, and that the two came to respect each other through combat. The art was a bit wonky at times and I would’ve loved to see more of their powers on display in their fights, but this was a great introduction to Beta Ray Bill and I’d happily read more stories featuring him.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of Beta Ray Bill? What did you think to his debut story, and the dichotomy of his grotesque appearance and honourable nature? Were you shocked when Beta Ray Bill went toe-to-toe with Thor and lifted his hammer? Did you enjoy seeing the two clash ad that Odin commissioned a weapon for the cyborg? What are some of your favourite Beta Ray Bill moments? Do you have a favourite character, arc, or era in Thor’s long publication history? How are you celebrating Thor’s debut this month, if at all? I’d love to see your thoughts on Thor and Beta Ray Bill in the comments below, and it’d be great if you supported me on Ko-Fi and checked out my other Thor content.