Thunderstrike is a spinoff of The Mighty Thor, about the adventures of Eric Masterson, who previously spent time taking over for Thor, and then as Thor, before being made his own superhero by Odin, who gave Eric his own mystic lightning weapon, Thunderstrike.
As Eric tries to become a superhero in his own right, he not only has to deal with thugs, superpowered criminals, and godlike evils, but also deal with his family life, as his ex wife, Marcy, has remarried and his son, Kevin, is torn between two sets of parents.
The series debuted in 1993, but was cancelled after 24 issues. There was a miniseries revival in 2010.
This is about the comic series. Tropes for Eric Masterson himself are listed here.
Thunderstrike provides examples of:
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Eric fights the spirit of the bloodaxe on the psychic plane.
- Costume Porn: Marcy decides to wear a fancy evening ensemble for the opening of her health salon, to help give it an image of glamor. This includes a diamond necklace, a shimmering red dress, and a white fur coat.
- Department of Redundancy Department: After trying to think of a good code name for himself, Eric slips and says "Thunderstrike" to the public, which is like Thor calling himself Mjölnir.
- Happily Adopted: After Eric sacrifices himself, Bobby does his best to raise Kevin as a good father.
- Heroic Sacrifice: When the Bloodaxe possesses him, Eric begs to be killed before it saps his will completely. He ends up defeating its personification on the psychic plane, which costs Eric his life.
- Legacy Character: In the revival series, the Thunderstrike mace is reforged, and Captain America gives it to Kevin, to take up his father's mantle.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Marcy's second husband, Bobby Steele, wants to adopt Kevin, but neither Kevin or Marcy are sure that's the right thing to do to Eric. After Bobby fights with Marcy about it, he ends up hitting her, and the regret over that causes him to reassess if he is worthy of being a second father to Kevin.
- Pretty in Mink: Marcy's ensemble for the salon opening includes a white fur jacket. We don't see if she wears it during the opening, but she wears it to show off arriving and leaving.
- Samus Is a Girl: The wielder of Bloodaxe turns out to be Eric's girlfriend, Jackie Lukus.
- Sex Sells: Marcy's outfit for her salon opening is fancy, but still meant to show off her figure (that one could presumably gain by being a customer). Her dress is form fitting, has a slit skirt, and an Impossibly-Low Neckline. Even her necklace's shape points to her cleavage, and her fur jacket is waist length, to not hide her hips.
- Those Two Guys: The Incredible Hercules took up the role of mentor to Eric, and became his roommate. Their partnership was largely played for comic relief and a fresh take on the Thor/Herc contrast.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In Marcy's first few appearances in The Mighty Thor, she's outright vindictive to Eric. Yet whatever feelings made her bitter, they are largely gone when this series starts, so she and Eric at least become friends before he dies.
