Thor #180
Published and © by Marvel, September 1970
Title: “When Gods Go Mad!”
Synopsis: Still trapped in Loki’s body, Thor is recalled to Asgard by Odin then mistakenly banished to Hades to face Mephisto.
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Neal Adams
Inker: Joe Sinnott
Review: As the 1970s – and the Bronze Age – dawned, Marvel faced the sudden departure of its main creative engine, Jack “King” Kirby. Editor Stan Lee clearly wanted to sustain Marvel’s momentum, landing OG fan-favorite Neal Adams to take over penciling chores on Thor. While the Adams selection was inspired, Lee’s simple body-swap/mistaken-identity story is less so (though this issue predates “Freaky Friday” and surely seemed fresher at the time). For this two-parter, Adams chose a generic Marvel house style over his typical dynamism, and the pairing with Joe Sinnott’s crisp line further renders the art quite generic. Overall, a surprising letdown.
Grade: B
Second opinion: “In trying to ape Kirby’s grandiose style, statuesque figures, bludgeoning action and overwrought emotionalism, Adams washed out everything of his own style that made him one of the greatest of comics artists.” – Pierre Comtois, “Marvel Comics in the 1970s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon: Expanded Edition,” 2021 … “The final two segments of Stan Lee’s exciting story were penciled by Neal Adams, who did a superlative job.” – William Schoell, “Superhuman: The Bronze Age of Comics Volume 1,” 2016
Cool factor: The half-page ad/half-page art format used for some early Bronze Age pages allowed Neal Adams to experiment with hyper-horizontal double-truck panels.
Not-so-cool factor: Kirby is gone. Long live the King!
Notable: According to the Grand Comics Database, cover credits are in dispute for this issue. Various sources point to Neal Adams, John Buscema and Marie Severin; Joe Sinnott is credited with inking.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 1/- British variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “Power such as mine has little meaning unless it can be briefly flaunted …” – Loki, leveled up as Thor
A word from the penciler: “My intention with these two Thors was to do ‘Marvel Comic Books,’ so Marvel that you couldn’t tell if John Buscema or John Romita did it. You’d flip through the pages and go, ‘Yeah, it’s a Marvel comic book.’ ” – Neal Adams, in Comic Book Artist #3, Winter 1999
Editor’s note: This review was written Feb. 8, 2026.
