Issue(s): Thor #344
Cover Date: Jun 84
Title: "Whatever happened to Balder the Brave?"
Credits:
Walt Simonson - Writer
Walt Simonson - Penciler
Walt Simonson - Inker

Review/plot:
This is basically a Balder the Brave solo story. Thor briefly appears in his civilian identity as Sigurd Jarlson. He's getting a back rub from Lorelei. Then he falls asleep and Lorelei goes for a walk. Later, we see Thor, still in his civilian identity, working at the construction site. His foreman (Nick Fury's cousin, remember) "figures out" that he's Spider-Man.

That's it for Thor's appearance this issue.

As for the rest of it, Odin sends Balder with a message for Loki. It's a plea to get Loki to help against the demon that Thor and Beta Ray Bill detected some time ago. But when Balder gets to Loki's lair, he finds the dark elf Malekith is already there.

Balder is forced to break his vow of non-violence to defeat Malekith's demons...

...only to find that Loki has already agreed to work with the being that Malekith represents, not Odin. Balder beheads Loki in disgust...

...but that's not a problem for the Trickster God.

A letter from a Jeff Leuschen in this issue praises the use of "Sigurd Jarlson" as Thor's civilian name. He writes

I applaud the use of the name Sigurd Jarlson because of its relationship to Thor's past (Sigurd was Thor's pre-Blake mortal incarnation) and to Viking culture (a jarl was a Viking chieftain and Odin could be considred the Jarl of Asgard).

I don't know about the Sigurd part, and neither Jeff nor the editors provide an issue number.

I of course love Simonson's Thor run, but one major complaint is that Loki's hat isn't nearly elaborate enough.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Lorelei is still in Thor's apartment at the beginning of this issue, meaning that Thor shouldn't appear anywhere but here after issue #343.

References:

• Loki "killed" Balder in Thor #274, during the fake Ragnarok saga.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

"Sigurd was Thor's pre-Blake mortal incarnation"

I think he's referring to that Roy Thomas story during the Eternals saga where Thor finds out about a previous incarnation of himself that lived out Wagner's Ring Cycle? Or something like that, I've never really understood that story

Wasn't it Siegfried, instead of Sigurd?

In the "Ring" section of the Thor/Eternals saga, Thor's essence was reincarnated in Siegmund, then in Seigmund's son Siegfried. But I think Sigurd may be a variation of Siegfried, like Hermes/Mercury, etc.

In real world mythology, the Germans and Vikings have the same myth (the Song of the Niebulung or the Volsunga Saga) but use different names for the character. Thus the Germans know him as Siegfried while the Vikings knew him as Sigurd.

Sigurd is the Norwegian version of the German name Siegfried.

The entry for the story about Sigurd, or Siegfried, can be found here: http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/thor_annual_7_thor_283-301.shtml