"Hark The Herald Angel Lives!"
I am part of the John Byrne / Chris Claremont era of the Uncanny X-Men, and so by 1980, I was collecting a whole smorgasboard of titles in the Marvel and DC canon. One of the titles I collected was THOR, and this issue really blew me away as a kid.
Really Nice story written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Maccchio, with art by Keith Pollard (whatever happened to this guy? His Fantastic Four stuff was terrific!) and Chic Stone.
Former Herald to Galactus Gabriel the Air-Walker awakens in a farm out in the country, where the Machinesmith’s secret lab has once been hidden. Bursting out of the Barn, He is approached by a small boy named Kevin who thinks Gabriel is the coolest thing since Darth Vader. We find out Kevin has recently lost his father, and the lonely boy immediately identifies with Gabriel. The boy wants to tag along, and Gabriel, needing someone to help him along the way to find out what has happened since he last walked, allows him to.
They first go to the Fantastic Four, where Gabriel finds that Galactus has been defeated and is gone. Gabriel creates a blizzard that covers the city which alerts Thor and prompts him to take action. Thor manages to get the boy away from Gabriel, and is a little confused that the boy doesn’t seem to realize the danger Gabriel is- Everyone believes the boy to be Gabriel’s hostage, not knowing he is there on his own free will!
The two powerhouses battle, until Gabriel gets the upper hand and knocks Thor out cold.
Gabriel is ready to destroy Thor, But Kevin pleads for Gabriel not to kill him. “Only Bad Aliens kill people!” he reasons. A soft spot is touched in Gabriel, and he relents. “Very Well, Kevin…He shall Live”. He levitates Kevin back up to him and the two go off to further explore the city.
Meanwhile, Thor has regained consciousness, and is determined once and for all to stop Gabriel. Now realizing Gabriel is only a robot, he doesn’t hold back and slams his hammer right through the Herald’s chest, destroying him at once. The Robot and the child both plummet to earth, where Thor catches Kevin. He is quite surprised when the boy runs to the fallen Gabriel and bursts into tears. His newfound friend has been taken from him, just like his father. Thor realizes now that Gabriel had no intent to harm the boy, and quietly bows out.
I cannot tell you how much this story affected me. In fact, for a while there, Thor stories were quite humanitarian in nature. Issue #303 deals with a priest who is losing his faith, and #304 shows Thor saving an elderly woman from being struck by a car, only to see her get struck down later in a battle with The Wrecker and his Wrecking Crew.
All of these stories to this day remain close to my heart!
