THUNDERSTRIKE

 

THUNDERSTRIKE

Real Name: Eric Kevin Masterson

First Appearance: The Mighty Thor (Vol. 1) #391, May 1988 (as Masterson); The Mighty Thor (Vol. 1) #408, October 1989 (merged with Thor); The Mighty Thor (Vol. 1) #432, May 1991 (as Thor II); Thunderstrike (Vol. 1) #1, June, 1993 (as Thunderstrike)

Powers: Eric Masterson was a friend of Thor's who was mortally wounded by his foe Mongoose. Thor plead for Odin to save Masterson's life, and the All-Father did so by combining Thor's godly life essence with Eric's, effectively merging them into a single being. Each man was now fully cognizant of the other's entire life, having full access to each other's memories and feelings, and even carrying the same pattern of thought between transformations. However, only one could remain corporeal at a time. Eric Masterson could trade places with Thor by striking the wooden Mjolnir cane on the ground, and Thor could perform the reverse. As decreed by Odin, Masterson was capable of transforming himself and his wooden cane into Thor and Mjolnir (and the reverse) simply by striking the cane/hammer once on a surface. The enchantment, however, held that if Mjolnir left Thor's grasp or was removed from his person for more than 60 seconds, both would revert back to their mortal states until they were reunited.

After Thor was temporarily banished from this plane of existence, Mjolnir was left in Eric's possession and he gained the power to transform himself physically into a Asgardian powerhouse body virtually identical to Thor's, through the same cane/Mjolnir stamping process. His Asgardian body was composed of carbon matter many times denser and heavier than even a normal Asgardian native. He possessed Class 100 strength, superhuman endurance, and resistance to physical injury, toxins, and disease. He was mystically rejuvenated with each transformation, with any wounds he suffered as Eric or Thor vanishing completely whenever he switched appearances. He had access to all of Thor's and Mjolnir's regular powers until the real Thor returned and claimed his hammer. Eric was given a new weapon, a mace named "Thunderstrike", a name which he also adapted as his code name.

Thunderstrike's powers were slightly different from Thor's: He could not summon or control the weather elements and was no longer as strong as Thor in his Asgardian state, with his strength level reduced to Class 50. His Thuderstrike mace was made of mystic uru metal, and given enchantments by Odin: By stamping the mace, Thunderstike could revert to his mortal human form, dressed in whatever clothes he wore in that form while the mace transformed into a wooden cane (the 60 second rule was still applicable to Masterson). By stamping the cane, Masterson transforms into his superhuman form, bearded and garbed in his Thunderstrike costume while the cane becomes a mace. By throwing the mace and gripping its strap, Thunderstike could fly, create dimensional transportation fields, and hurl the mace like a boomerang. Thunderstrike could also project mystical thunder blasts of devastating force from its face, blasts which could also be used as blinding energy flares. The mace also magically enabled him to survive the adverse conditions of outer space, including its lack of oxygen.

Eric Masterson has a graduate degree in architecture and is a highly skilled architect.