70 Years of Comics - 1987

1987 saw Walt Simonson bring to a close his four-year run on Thor, a run which he'd used to reestablish Thor's godly credentials. Simonson had used ever Norse legend out there, up to and including Ragnarok. In the process, Thor had been mostly pulled out of his usual interactions with the rest of the Marvel Universe, although he would still be involved in major events like the Siege of Avengers Mansion and the Morlock Massacre. For most of the run, Simonson was both writing and drawing the book, though for the later issues the art was handled by workhorse Sal Buscema, who showed he was just as capable at handling the epic stuff as he had been the day-to-day activities of Peter Parker and Bruce Banner. Like Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, Simonson's run on Thor has never been matched; unlike Miller's run, no-one's even come close to matching Simonson.

1987 was the year that Steve Rogers was replaced in the Captain America suit by John Walker, who would later be better known as the U.S. Agent. It also saw Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson marry move in together, setting a fine example to the youth of America.

1987 also saw Terry Waite kidnapped in Beirut, where he'd spend the next 4 years in captivity. Ronald Reagan and Oliver North were embroiled in the Iran-Contra Affair. And despite Michael Fish's assurances to the contrary, there was a hurricane coming to the south of England.