As Thunderstrike, Eric Masterson possessed a physical form nearly identical in appearance to Thor. During the time he wielded Mjolnir, he maintained a beard to disguise the differences. He retained the beard as Thunderstrike.

Origin

Gained his powers by connecting him with Thor and later using Mjolnir and later the Thunderstrike Uru Mace.

Universe

Earth-616

Place of Birth

Long Island, New York

Created by

Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz

First appearance

Appearance of Death

Thor #391
(May, 1988)

Thunderstrike #24
(September, 1995)

1 HistoryEdit
2 Powers and AbilitiesEdit
- 2.1 Powers
- 2.2 Abilities
3 ParaphernaliaEdit
4 NotesEdit
5 LinksEdit
- 5.1 Discover and Discuss
- 5.2 Footnotes

HistoryEdit

Eric Masterson assisted a wounded Thor, picking up Mjolnir (proving worthy) to help him. Later he was injured taking a blast meant for Thor. Thor later bonded himself to Masterson, with the permission of Odin, to save Eric's life.

When Thor killed Loki, Odin punished him and had Masterson replace him as Thor. Eric was uneasy in the role, finding it difficult to convince his teammates that he was the same Thor that had accompanied them on previous missions. He eventually admitted the truth. When Thor returned, Odin had the mace Thunderstrike given to Eric. He continued to adventure, calling himself Thunderstrike after the mace he used.

He and James Rhodes acted as Secret Defenders assisting the Silver Surfer.

Thunderstrike was confronted by a new Bloodaxe, who claimed the wielder was someone close to him. It turned out to be his girlfriend, Jackie Lucas. Eric was able to save her and use both his mace and the Bloodaxe (Enchanted Axe) to battle Seth, becoming possessed in the process. He died to purge himself of its corruption and refused a place in Valhalla.

Thunderstrike was later revived (complete with mace)^[1] as an undead Avenger minion of the Grim Reaper. After overcoming the Grim Reaper's control, he (and other undead Avengers) were returned to the spirit world by the Scarlet Witch. It is not made clear if this was Eric that returned, or a magical construct of some sort, although his last words were to Thor in regards to checking on his son Kevin.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Eric proved himself worthy to wield Mjolnir, and was merged with Thor to save his life. When Odin had Eric replace Thor, Masterson had the full strength and weather control powers as Thor. Later, when Eric wielded the enchanted mace known as Thunderstrike, the mace granted him a number of superhuman attributes, many of which are conventional among the Asgardians:

Transformation: By tapping the enchanted mace twice, Masterson transformed from his Thunderstrike form to his mortal form, in which his mace transformed into a cane. By tapping the cane twice, Masterson was transformed back into his Thunderstrike form and the cane reverted to the mace.

Superhuman Strength: As Thor, Masterson had Class 100 strength. In his Thunderstrike form, Masterson possessed superhuman strength superior to that of the average Asgardian male. At his peak, he could lift about 100 tons. In human form, Eric Masterson had the strength of a normal human who engaged in regular exercise.

Superhuman Speed: As Thunderstrike, Masterson was capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete.

Superhuman Stamina: As Thunderstrike, Masterson's musculature produced considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a human being. His physical stamina was equal to that of the average Asgardian male and he could exert himself at peak capacity for about 24 hours before fatigue began to impair him.

Superhumanly Dense Tissue: As Thunderstrike, Masterson's skin, muscle, and bone tissues had 3 times the density than the same tissue of a human being. This contributed, somewhat, to his superhuman strength and weight.

Superhuman Durability: As Thunderstrike, Masterson's body was far more resistant to physical injury than the body of an ordinary human. He was capable of withstanding great impact forces, temperature and pressure extremes, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury.

Regenerative Healing Factor: As Thunderstrike, like all Asgardians, if injured, Masterson's body could heal itself with superhuman levels of speed and efficiency. However, he would not have been able to regenerate missing limbs or organs without magical assistance.

Superhuman Longevity: As Thunderstrike, like all Asgardians, Masterson was highly resistant to the effects of aging resulting in him aging at a rate much slower than a human being, although he was not immortal. However, he was immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections.

Power Grid ^[2]

* Teleporter

Abilities

Eric learned hand to hand combat from his time with Thor, Hercules, and Captain America (Steve Rogers).

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

As Thor, Eric wielded Mjolnir. As Thunderstrike, he wielded the mace Thunderstrike.

Transportation

As Thor or Thunderstrike, Eric could throw the hammer/mace and fly by holding on to the handle.

Weapons

Thunderstrike's principal weapon was Thunderstrike (Enchanted Mace) named from which he derived his alter ego. Forged out of the mystical metal uru, enabling it with the chief properties of durability and ability to maintain enchantment. Other than being a nearly indestructible throwing weapon,the mace was augmented by Odin, Lord of Asgard with the following enchantments:

The first enchantment was by stamping the mace Thunderstrike would revert to his mortal human form, dressed in whichever clothes he last wore in that form, while the mace transformed into a wooden cane.

The second enchantment was by stamping the cane Eric Masterson turned back into his Asgardian form, bearded and garbed in his Thunderstrike costume, while the cane again became the mace.

The third enchantment was by throwing the mace and gripping its strap, Thunderstrike could fly at exceptionally high speeds.

The fourth enchantment was that he could use the mace to project powerful concussive blasts of mystical energy.

The fifth enchantment was the mace magically enabled him to survive the adverse conditions of outer space, including its lack of oxygen.

The mace presumably had other enchantments as well that Eric had yet to discover at the time of his death.

NotesEdit

Masterson gained his own superhuman form after being seperated from Thor. Although Masterson's Thunderstrike form was virtually identical in appearance to Thor, some of his physical attributes were substantially inferior to those of Thor. All of Masterson's superhuman attributes were roughly average for an Asgardian male.

In the MC2 Universe, Eric's son Kevin became Thunderstrike using his mace to gain the same powers, though not actually using the weapon.

When his son used the mace, he turned into an exact duplicate of his father.

LinksEdit

Discover and Discuss

Search this site for: Thunderstrike · Eric Kevin Masterson · Eric Masterson (Earth-616)
Search the Forums for: Thunderstrike · Eric Kevin Masterson · Eric Masterson (Earth-616)
Discuss this and other characters on the forums

Footnotes

↑ Avengers Vol 3 #10 & #11
↑ OHOTMU Book of the Dead 2004

Retrieved from "http://marvel.wikia.com/Eric_Masterson_(Earth-616)"

Wikia

Eric Masterson (Earth-616)

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