Ranking Thor’s First 10 Villains By Power

Thor is one of Marvel’s oldest heroes, inspired by the god from Norse mythology. Like many early Marvel characters, he didn’t start with his own comic book. Instead, he was introduced in the anthology series Journey Into Mystery. This comic began in 1952, focusing on horror and science fiction, before Marvel Comics officially existed. In 1962, Thor first appeared in issue #83 of Journey Into Mystery. Within just 12 issues, he battled ten different villains, but few of them left a lasting impression.

Here’s a ranking of the first ten villains Thor faced in Marvel comics, from his initial major foe to even his brother Loki, based on their power levels.

10) Lawrence Zaxton (Journey Into Mystery #95)

Thor’s tenth opponent, Professor Lawrence Zaxton, proved to be his easiest fight yet. Zaxton was a coworker of Donald Blake, and they’d collaborated on building an android. Zaxton publicly demonstrated the android, but intentionally caused it to break down, hoping to embarrass Blake. This prompted Thor to intervene and disable the malfunctioning android before it could harm anyone.

Okay, so Zaxton was a real villain – he kidnapped Jane Foster hoping to get Blake to build him this machine that could make duplicates. Honestly, Zaxton wasn’t strong himself, but he was clever enough to create a clone of Thor! It was a cool fight, but obviously, a clone isn’t the real deal, and Thor easily won. In the end, Zaxton fell off a bridge and, well, that was that. Pretty classic supervillain ending, if you ask me.

9) Thatcher’s Mob (Journey Into Mystery #89)

In Journey Into Mystery #89, a wounded gangster named Andrew “Thug” Thatcher arrived with a gunshot wound. He and his crew threatened Donald Blake and Jane Foster, making them provide medical attention. Thatcher had recently escaped the police and was fleeing when he sought treatment.

Thug Thatcher isn’t a major threat on his own. But like many crime bosses in the Marvel universe, he’s dangerous because of the ruthless people who work for him. However, when his thugs threatened Jane Foster, they quickly realized they were no match for Thor, the God of Thunder.

9) Executioner (Santiago Rivera) (Journey Into Mystery #84)

This isn’t Skurge the Executioner; it’s Santiago Rvera, a Communist leader in Europe. He aims to control the population by keeping everyone except his loyal followers oppressed and unhealthy, ensuring they can’t challenge his power. But when he starts bombing ships carrying vital medical supplies and doctors, he draws the attention of Thor.

When the Executioner ordered his troops to eliminate a group of doctors, Thor intervened to protect them. These doctors were from a Communist country, and when that nation targeted Jane Foster, Thor fought with even greater determination. Surprisingly, the Communists turned on the Executioner after discovering he was stealing from them, and they put him to death by firing squad. This storyline was unusual for comics at the time – an American superhero, even one who was a god, directly confronting and attacking a foreign military – but it reflects the writing style of that era.

8) The Soviet Union (Journey Into Mystery #87)

As a huge movie buff, I recently stumbled upon something wild! Apparently, way back in 1962, one of the first villains Thor ever faced wasn’t some mythical beast, but… the Soviet Union! It totally makes sense when you remember it was the peak of the Cold War and everyone was terrified of communism. The story revolved around this fear of Russia influencing Americans, specifically with five American scientists supposedly defecting over there. It’s just fascinating to see how those real-world anxieties seeped into even superhero comics back then.

Donald Blake volunteers to pose as a defector and travel to the Soviet Union. Once there, he discovers the scientists working with the Communists are actually under hypnosis and being forced to collaborate. Blake transforms into Thor and battles the Soviet military to free them. Similar to the situation with the Executioner, this incident involved Thor becoming entangled in a political conflict.

7) Sandu (Journey Into Mystery #91)

Sandu isn’t particularly strong on his own. But in Journey Into Mystery #91, it’s revealed he was working with Loki, which made him a real threat. Before teaming up with Loki, Sandu was just a simple fortune teller who used his skills to steal from people at the carnival where he performed. Loki recognized a darker side to Sandu and decided to get involved.

Loki boosted Sandu’s mental abilities to incredible levels, hoping to use him against Thor. Empowered, Sandu began a series of crimes, culminating in him lifting the entire United Nations building. He even managed to gain the advantage by teleporting Thor away using Mjolnir, but when Sandu tried to wield the hammer himself, it overloaded his mind, causing his powers to fail.

5) Xarten Deviants (Journey Into Mystery #90)

In Journey Into Mystery #90, the villain advertised on the cover as ‘The Carbon Copy Man’ was actually one of several ‘Carbon Copy Men.’ These villains were revealed to be Xartans, a type of Deviant. Two of them were named Ugarth and Zano, with others remaining unnamed. These aliens came to Earth with the goal of taking it over. They are Deviants because their planet was once visited by a Celestial, which led to the creation of their race and its eventual dominance on their world.

These aliens have the ability to shapeshift into any living creature, and they gain that creature’s powers as well. Thor managed to defeat Ugarth and send him flying into outer space. He also outsmarted the Xartens, turning them into trees – and since trees don’t have brains, they’re stuck that way. This shows that if Thor can easily outwit these invaders, they aren’t as dangerous as they seem.

4) Kronans (Korg) (Journey Into Mystery #83)

The bad guys in Journey Into Mystery #83 are aliens, and there’s an interesting fact about them: they were the very first villains Thor ever faced in a Marvel comic! This issue is also where Donald Blake first gained the ability to transform into Thor. He discovers that alien invaders called the Kronans have attacked Earth, and they become his initial challenge as a hero. In fact, it was the Kronans who frightened Donald Blake, causing him to flee into the mountains – where he ultimately became Thor.

Interestingly, one of the Kronans is actually Korg, Thor’s ally who gained popularity in the movie Thor: Ragnarok and the Planet Hulk comics. While these aliens were strong, they weren’t prepared to fight someone as powerful as Thor and ultimately left Earth when they understood the extent of his abilities.

3) Tomorrow Man (Journey Into Mystery #86)

In Journey Into Mystery #86, Thor battled Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, a scientist who traveled from the future. Zarrko despised the peaceful, technologically advanced world he came from, believing it had become too comfortable. He built a time machine hoping to bring atomic weapons back to his time and conquer the future. This led to a confrontation with Thor.

Thor traveled to the future to defeat the Tomorrow Man, a villain equipped with technology on par with his own. Thor ultimately won by accidentally erasing the Tomorrow Man’s memory. However, the story didn’t end there; Loki restored the villain’s memory after Odin weakened Thor, and the Tomorrow Man continued to be a persistent enemy.

2) Radioactive Man (Journey Into Mystery #93)

In Journey Into Mystery #93, Thor clashed with the supervillain Radioactive Man. The battle took him to India, which was experiencing conflict with Chinese invaders. When Chinese leaders heard about Thor’s involvement, they tasked their scientists with finding a way to overcome him.

Chen Lu was a scientist who used his knowledge of radiation to try and defeat Thor, transforming himself into the Radioactive Man. This made him a surprisingly strong Marvel villain with the ability to absorb and use radiation in many ways. Aside from Loki, the Radioactive Man has been one of Marvel’s most consistently appearing villains, initially joining the Masters of Evil and later forming the People’s Defense Force to protect his country.

1) Loki (Journey Into Mystery #85, 88, 92, 94)

Loki, Thor’s half-brother, is considered his most formidable foe. First appearing in Marvel Comics’ Journey Into Mystery #85, Loki was originally imprisoned – stuck in a tree until someone cried for him. Once freed, he vowed to get revenge on Thor, prompting Odin to send his son to stop him.

Loki established himself as a serious danger by challenging Thor to four battles before Thor had even faced ten different enemies. Early on, Loki proved to be a formidable opponent, and he also demonstrated an ability to control other villains. As time went on, Loki’s magical skills grew, making him Thor’s most dangerous enemy. In fact, Loki was such a threat that he ultimately forced the Avengers to team up for the first time.

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2026-02-09 19:17