Issue(s): Thor #160, Thor #161
Cover Date: Jan-Feb 69
Title: "And now... Galactus!" / "Shall a god prevail?"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Jack Kirby - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker

Review/plot:
Thor is contacted by the Rigellian Tana Nile. She comes in peace this time, but that doesn't stop him from calling her a wench.

    

She says that there is grave danger to all the galaxies because of Galactus and that if Rigel falls, Asgard isn't far behind, but i'm not buying it. I think the Rigellians are just manipulating Thor into defending them. Thor doesn't seem to mind though. He's heard the name of Galactus, but "ever did I think it legend!". So much for any knowledge sharing between the FF and the Avengers yet. Hell, you'd think the two times Galactus has shown up on Earth would have at least made the news.

The Recorder, who has been hanging out on Asgard is also summoned home for this big event. He is assigned to be Thor's "ally" even though all he does is observe. Sif also wants to go, but once again her request is denied by a chauvinistic male god (this time Odin himself).

On their way to Rigel, Tana and Thor are attacked by a Taurian. Taurians are super-strong creatures with rock hard skin that come from a planet with very strong gravity. This one is also wearing a crazy helmet that protects him from Tana's mind thrust.

Thor bashes him anyway. The Taurian apologizes for attacking; his people were recently attacked by Galactus and it made him a little crazy.

On his way to Rigel, Galactus sniffs out Ego, the Living Planet and decides he'd make a much tastier meal.

    

The two fight, and eventually Thor and the Recorder get caught in the middle of it. They are rescued by a race that claim to be the first to have lost their planet to Galactus. They've been shadowing Galactus ever since, waiting for their chance for revenge.

Thor tries to take on Galactus directly but that doesn't work out so well.

Instead he helps power up Ego with his hammer, driving Galactus off.

Thor's defeat of Galactus is the subject of controversy in the lettercols for the next year. As you can see, Galactus clearly manhandles Thor and clearly has him overpowered. It's when Thor adds his power to the Wanderer's ship and, in my reading, the planet of Ego itself that he's able to drive Galactus off.

With the battle over, Ego says that he'll allow the wandering race to live on him, but i strongly suspect that he eats them the minute Thor leaves.

It's possible that Galactus has been more destructive lately because he hasn't had a herald picking out suitable but unoccupied worlds for him later, so he's just chomping down left and right on any planet that has the necessary life force.

Awesome concept (The guy who eats planets against the living planet!) and great cosmic art and epic battles from Kirby.

It's almost impossible for me to resist the urge to put up a scan of every damn page in these issues.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 4 - Ego vs. Galactus!

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place after Silver Surfer #4 (see that entry for details/justification).

References:

• Tana Nile "...whom we didst meet in Thor #129, #130, #131, etc. - Stan.".

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Maximum Security Thor vs. Ego

You're, of course, right about Ego and the Wanderers. FF #235 shows us a flashback that says just that.

Hmmm, if Galactus eats Earthm what would happen to Asgard?

This shows that even Lee and Kirby could get their relative power-levers all mixed up.

No way can even a thousand Thors and a thousand Egos combines equal a Galactus who can destroy whole galaxies.

@Dar: Yet Odin is presented as on par with Galactus in these issues (textually).

Do we think Kirby had intended to reveal Galactus had "been at" Asgard?

In Comics Interview #89, John Romita said that Stan Lee started to have problems with the way Kirby drew women's faces in this title, and he started calling on Romita to pretty them up.

While I'm on this Galactus kick . . .

It could certainly be argued that Lee and Kirby themselves are responsible for diminishing him initially with the rushed and seemingly implausible ending of #161. I like your interpretation, Fnord, that Ego's vast power is also in the mix. That seems to find support in the situation and the art, if not in the script. And it at least makes it vaguely plausible. But really, I prefer the idea that the only thing that can stop him is the Ultimate Nullifier.

Regardless, Kirby's art here is indeed just spectacular and the battle between Galactus and Ego truly titanic: Giant solidified energy tentacles! Comet swarms! Yeah!

That comet attack would indeed be truly devastating and is a fitting weapon for Galactus. When the largest fragment of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter back in '94, it released energy equivalent to 6 million MEGATONS (*vastly* more than Earth's entire nuclear arsenal). Although it's not really shown, Ego would have been hurting BADLY here. And later writers could have done much more with things like this, instead of just having G shoot the usual energy beams from hands & eyes.

To bury the lead: I've been rereading (and in a few cases just reading) Lee/Kirby FF and Thor reprints in some new glorious and handy collected editions with vibrant color. King Kirby rules!! (Playing Beethoven, Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler, Sibelius, Shostakovich, etc. in the background as a fitting soundtrack.) And these foundational stories are contemporary once more.