Alan Kistler's History of Thor - Part 3
Friday, May 16, 2008 at 01:07AM This is continued from Part 2, which covers the Post Lee-Kirby era up to when the title ended in Ragnarok. To go back to Part 1, click on this link.
MAINTAINING A THOR FIX
The Thor series was over. Asgard was destroyed and the god of thunder was apparently gone. But that didn't mean we couldn't have a few new stories. They simply had to take place in the past.
First, Oeming gave us a very fun mini-series called THOR: Blood Oath which took place during the early super-hero days and is absolutely hilarious at times. It includes Thor meeting up with various pantheons, hanging with the Warrior's Three, a drinking contest with a giant bird, and the Greek gods taking bets on a Hercules/Thor battle.
We also got Oeming's 12-issue series THOR: Son of Asgard, which featured the younger years of Thor as a boy and showed just exactly when he proved worthy enough to lift Mjolnir.
Both of these series are available in trade, so go to Amazon.com right now and get them already.
It's okay, I'll wait ...
... And now let's get back to it.
POSSIBLE FUTURES AND PARALLEL REALITIES
Thor's presence isn't confined to the mainstream Marvel Universe and timeline. In the 2099 comic book line (all of which took place in the year 2099), it was revealed that many decades after the end of "the Heroic Age" (where presumably the Avengers and many other heroes died) a new religious movement had formed called the Thorites. Thorites believed that Thor would one day return to again be a hero for humanity and save people from the corrupt corporations that had taken control of so much of the world.
Some Thorites were rather odd in their religious practices, choosing to dress up as Thor or as other Asgardians, parading around as they proclaimed that the god of thunder would one day return. When the 2099 version of Spider-Man appeared, some Thorites claimed this hero was the "harbinger of Thor", since it was known that the original Spider-Man and Thor had been allies.
In 2001, Marvel kicked off their Ultimate line of comics. In the universe of Ultimate Marvel, the age of modern
day heroes is just beginning and writers have been allowed to re-interpret familiar characters, sometimes drastically. Here, the world was protected not by the Avengers but by a S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored team known as the Ultimates.
Ultimate Thor was an enigma. Was he actually the god of thunder? Or was he simply an activist who had suffered a psychotic break and gotten hold of incredible technology? Readers weren't given a straight answer and many of Ultimate Thor's own friends and teammates thought he was just a little bit crazy.
Finally, it was revealed that Ultimate Thor was indeed the figure of myth and that the Asgardians were real.
Unlike the mainstream Marvel Thor, Ultimate Thor speaks as a normal modern-day man does and involves himself heavily in the political arena, publishing self-help books and openly criticizing the U.S. for taking aggressive action against foreign nations and not spending enough money on the environment and foreign aid. Instead of carrying a stone mallet, he carries a large metal axe/hammer hybrid. And evidently, he is against razors and capes.
In the new Ultimates III series by Jeph Loeb, Ultimate Thor has a longer beard and a new hammer that resembles the mainstream Marvel's Mjolnir. He also speaks in a style similar to Shakespearean English. Loeb explained the change in dialog by saying that Ultimate Thor had previously spoken like a modern man in order to make sure people took him seirously, whereas he now no longer cares if anyone thinks he's weird or crazy.
So far, not a lot of fans I've talked to are digging this change and feel that it's just a weak excuse for making Ultimate Thor more like his mainstream counterpart.
And now, back to the main Marvel Universe.
THE RETURN
Over a year after the events of Ragnarok and the death of the Asgardans, J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5 and Rising Stars) was slated to bring back the Thor monthly series. Before he put out issue #1, however, he was still working on a run in Fantastic Four and decided to lay down some of the groundwork for the thunder god's return.
The first big thing was when Thor's hammer emerged from the heavens and fell to the Earth. The Fantastic Four went to investigate and found their old enemy Dr. Doom already there. Doom had been trapped in Hell recently and had been able to escape because the hammer Mjolnir had literally fallen through dimensions, jettisoned from Asgard when the place had been destroyed.
Now having returned to Earth, Doom wanted to possess the power of Thor. When he grabbed the hammer, he couldn't lift it (naturally). The only thing that did happen was a surge of energy that erupted from the mallet and shot out skyward. Mr. Fantastic deduced that the hammer and its Asgardian energies had reacted to the dimensional energies Doom had absorbed during his own trip back to Earth. The energy that erupted might be a signal of some other effect, either a result of Doom's touching the mallet or a harbinger of things to come.
As Mr. Fantastic said this, readers saw a mysterious man get on a bus in New York. A man with a bag that had the initials "D.B." on it.
Back to Mjolnir. People saw it lying there, with the famous inscription of "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of THOR." And so, folks figured "Hey, it's like the sword in the stone! We should all have a go at it."
Of course, no one could lift the damn thing. Not until that mysterious blonde gentleman from New York showed up, the man with the initials D.B. This mysterious fellow ran up to the hammer and grasped it and suddenly he and it vanished in a flash of lightning. Some months later, we learned what was going on.
In Thor #1, Thor woke to find himself in a void. The last thing he remembered was destroying Asgard and everything in it. He was surprised to see he was not alone in the void. Donald Blake was there with him. Thor wondered how this could be, as his Donald Blake identity/aspect had been done away with many years ago during Simonson's run, when the spell of transformation had been transferred to Beta Ray Bill's hammer.
Don explained that when this had happened, he had been essentially exiled to this void, which was fitting since he was an aspect of Thor and not a whole person himself. And when Thor had brought about Ragnarok, he had emerged from the void and found himself again in the real world (possibly summoned forth at the moment that Doom had touched the hammer and caused that strange energy surge). Since Don was alive, that meant a piece of Thor was alive, despite the absence of Asgard.
Thor believed that he had no place among the living, that he had rightfully sacrificed himself and Asgard to save them from being puppets in a cycle of life, death, rebirth and death once more. Don pointed out though that since Thor had already broken the cycle, the Asgardians would be free of it if they returned. The gods of myth were dependent on the thoughts and beliefs of man and Don knew in his heart that if he believed they were still alive then it must be so. The essence of each Asgardian was somewhere on Earth, merged with a human soul. Thor could bring them back if he wanted, he first just had to prove that he himself wanted to live once more.
Thor decided he would not simply give in to the void but that he would fight for life. He battled demons and 
self-doubt and finally emerged into the real world once more, now garbed in a new outfit and once again armed with the Odin-power.
Thor recreated the main city of Asgard and had it hover above a stretch of land in Oklahoma (which he legally bought with gold from his treasury). He then set off and found his people one by one. When he found Loki, he was startled to find that his adopted brother was now a sister. Loki had been reborn a woman, but in every other way (s)he was exactly the same. Loki had evidently been plotting with Dr. Doom about how to make sure that Thor brought back not just allies but certain enemies. What's more, Loki ensured that Thor's old love Sif would not be discovered any time soon.
Now able to transform back into Donald Blake, Thor was once again finding a grounding with humanity. As Don, he walked and talked with the nearby townsfolk who were quite curious about their new godly neighbors, introducing himself as a simple physician who'd decided to leave New York for a while.
As always, Thor's has had some difficulties to deal with since his return. Recently, he came to realize that he did not resurrect Odin because, subconsciously, he wished to be free of his father's shadow and control. He then confronted Odin in the spirit world and they reached an understanding. Though Odin is not among the living, his spirit exists in an afterlife where he continually battles to keep the fire-demon Surtur from ever resurrecting.
Another difficulty was a reunion with Iron Man. During Thor's absence, the world had changed much. The events of the cross-over Civil War had made it so that super-humans now had to register with the government and become licensed federal agents or be branded as criminals and traitors. Thor'd blood brother Captain America had been killed during the affair. And worst of all, during the crossover, Iron Man had created a cyborg-clone of Thor to help him round up rogue heroes, a clone who had actually killed the super-hero Bill Foster (AKA Goliath). Thor was furious that Iron Man had created a copy of himself meant to masquerade as the true god of thunder. What's more, he was insulted when Iron Man (now director of S.H.I.E.L.D.) demanded that Thor register with the government now or there would be problems.
The god of thunder decided to teach the armored Avenger the difference between a god and a man in a metal suit. Tapping into the Odin-power, he easily bested Iron Man and made it clear that he would not bow to any government authority. To save face and satisfy the White House, Iron Man suggested that Asgard be considered a sovereign nation, thus meaning that Thor and his people were not bound by the SuperHuman Registration Act. Thor didn't really care and promised Iron Man that they would finish their conversation/battle soon enough when it suited him.
Thor is still adjusting to his new life. He still wonders if Sif is out there, unaware that she is a prisoner of Loki's schemes. And Don Blake recently met up with Jane Foster again. Turns out Jane was married but then wound up divorcing her husband around the same time that rumors began that Thor was alive and well. I guess some people never stop carrying a torch.
And so here we are. The god of thunder is back and he's come along with most of his old friends. Loki's scheming. And Thor is now at odds with the U.S. and a man he once considered a comrade-in-arms. What the future holds for our boy is unknown. At the moment, he is also starring in Matt Fraction's mini-series Age of Thunder and he will play a role in the latest Marvel crossover Secret Invasion.
And that misguided cyborg-clone of Thor's? Well, Marvel has hinted that the creature may come back soon, using the new name of "Ragnarok." We'll see what sparks fly when the true god of thunder meets his murderous counterpart.
But for you fans out there, seriously, pick up Straczynski's run. It's wonderful writing. You feel the magic of Asgard, the passion of Thor and you get some great artwork by Oliver Copiel.
And Don Blake is finally back! How can you go wrong?
That's it for now, folks. Until next time, cheers!
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