The Avengers (vol. 1) #2 (Nov. 1963):
“The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom”
by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman

BELOW: Thor explicitly refers to himself as the "God of Thunder" in response to the Hulk's impious banter: The Hulk was one of the founding members of the Avengers, but his time with the team was shot-lived. The friction between the Hulk and his teammates is evident in this Avengers meeting when the the Hulk calls Thor a "yellow-haired yahoo" and threatens to "boot him up to Asgard for good!" Thor, demonstrating his genuinely godly self-identity, responds: "You dare speak so to the God of Thunder?!! Why, with one blow of my hammer, I--"

Source: The Avengers (vol. 1) #2 (Nov. 1963): "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom", pg. 1-2. Written by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman. See also: gods; impiety; Norse/Teutonic paganism; The Hulk (Bruce Banner); Thor (Donald Blake)

BELOW: Thor calls Hank Pym's scientific achievement "miraculous": There is a certain irony in this scene. Thor, who is an actual deity, the Norse god of thunder, sees Hank Pym (Ant-Man) and Janet Van Dyne (the Wasp) change from insect-sized to human-sized, and then hears Dr. Pym explain his invention - the pills that allow them to change size. Thor calls this scientific achievement "miraculous." This could be viewed as an interesting inversion of the standard use of this word, in which a scientifically unexplainable and presumably divinely-caused event is referred to as "miraculous" or a "miracle."

Source: The Avengers (vol. 1) #2 (Nov. 1963): "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom", pg. 2, panel 4. Written by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman. See also: miracles; Thor (Donald Blake); Giant-Man (Hank Pym)

BELOW: The Wasp senses an evil presence: The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) here demonstrates an unusual ability sometimes attributed to her in early Marvel stories but later forgotten: the ability to sense evil. In this scene, the Wasp is sensing the evil Space Phantom, who has transformed himself into a wasp in order to escape detection from the Avengers. Comic book writers with a more scientific outlook, such as Mark Gruenwald, have made the point that "evil" is an abstract religious concept and doesn't really have a scientifically discernible physical manifestation, despite how it is sometimes portrayed in comics. Thus, "sensing evil" would be a purely spiritual (or at least mystical ability). Yet the Wasp's powers were given to her by purely scientific means by Hank Pym, a very secular-minded scientist. Wasp's ability to sense "evil" is particularly interesting because throughout her career as a super-hero, she herself has largely been a secular character.

Source: The Avengers (vol. 1) #2 (Nov. 1963): "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom", pg. 14, panels 4-5. Written by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman. See also: evil; The Wasp (Janet van Dyne); The Space Phantom

BELOW: The Wasp's ability to sense evil ascribed to "half female intuition, half insect super-sense": The Wasp's ability to sense "evil" is not explicitly identified as a "spiritual" or "religious" ability (although "evil" is a religious/spiritual concept). Rather , it is said to be "half female intuition, half insect super-sense." Early Marvel writers often spoke of "female intuition" as a mysterious, almost mystical sixth sense.

Source: The Avengers (vol. 1) #2 (Nov. 1963): "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom", pg. 15, panel 1. Written by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman. See also: intution; The Wasp (Janet van Dyne); The Space Phantom

BELOW: Thor once again refers to himself as "the God of Thunder":

Source: The Avengers (vol. 1) #2 (Nov. 1963): "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom", pg. 19, panel 5. Written by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman. See also: gods; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Thor (Donald Blake)

BELOW: More than mere words: Thor's status as the "God of Thunder" causes the Space Phantom's power to backfire: For the third time in this issue, Thor refers to himself as the "God of Thunder." Here is a demonstration of the fact that this isn't mere braggadocio. Thor's divine nature actually causes the Space Phantom's alien abilities (which are presumably scientifically-based) to backfire. Instead of sending Thor to Limbo, the Space Phantom is himself forced into Limbo. Thor tells the Phantom, "Your power only affects humans!" Of course, we have already seen the Space Phantom's power affect insects and meta-humans (such as the Hulk). But apparently the Space Phantom's power doesn't work on a powerful divine Asgardian deity such as Thor.

Source: The Avengers (vol. 1) #2 (Nov. 1963): "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom", pg. 21-22. Written by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman. See also: gods; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Thor (Donald Blake); The Space Phantom