This is "Just Like the Time Before," a feature where I examine instances from comic book history where comic book creators did early versions of later, notable comic book characters and plot ideas. Essentially, the "test runs" for later, more famous characters and stories.

Today, based on a suggestion from reader Mike L., we take a look at Jack Kirby's first crack at doing a Thor comic, six years before Journey Into Mystery #83!

Journey Into Mystery #83 (by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Joe Sinnott) featured a man named Don Blake finding a stick in a cave and once he struck it, it transformed into Thor's hammer and transformed Blake into Thor!

Blake tests out the powers of the hammer...

Okay, that's the famous debut of Thor by Jack Kirby, who was a big fan of Norse mythology.

Well, six years earlier, in Tales of the Unexpected #16, Kirby did a short story in the DC fantasy/horror anthology showing the power of Thor, as well!

A man discovers a hammer that can produce the weather...

He becomes a cutthroat rainmaker, but soon, he discovers that the hammer has even MORE powers...

This, though, draws the attention of the TRUE owner of the hammer, the mighty Thor himself!

Thor explains that his brother, Loki, stole his hammer (we just discussed Loki's bizarre first fight against Thor in Journey Into Mystery and this is just the sort of thing Loki would do) and now Thor needs his hammer back. The guy foolishly decides to try to attack Thor with Thor's own hammer! It does not go over well...

And Thor ended up punishing the guy by not giving the hammer back (and also trying to use the hammer for evil) and seems to actually alter reality itself...

It's fascinating to see how close Kirby's early take on Thor was to his later version.

Thanks to Mike L. for the suggestion!

Okay, folks, you MUST have some suggestions for other characters and/or plots that fit into this theme! Preferably more obvious ones than these coincidental ones, but I'll take coincidental ones, too! So drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com for future installments!