Killing a God Might Just Be the Best Thing Marvel Ever Did for Thor

Marvel just killed off Thor, and against all odds, it’s the best thing that could have happened to the character and his surrounding franchise. Later this month, Marvel will relaunch the franchise with The Mortal Thor #1, following Thor as a mortal hero and stripping Asgard and its surrounding mythology out of Marvel’s official continuity.

Marvel Killing Thor Is Great for the Franchise

A Fresh Take on an Old Character Is Here, Proving There Are Plenty of Stories Still to Tell

In July’s The Immortal Thor #25 – from Al Ewing, Pasqual Ferry, Jan Bazaldua, Justin Greenwood, Matt Hollingsworth, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Joe Sabino – Thor is killed when Loki stabs him from behind with a powerful artifact shaped into an arrow. Thor’s resulting death sends him into the afterlife where – after wrestling with his former human identity of Donald Blake – he escapes and is reborn as a mortal, taking the name Sigurd Jarlson.

The issue ends Marvel’s Immortal Thor series, which will be replaced with Mortal Thor – a new series expected to run 25 issues, bringing Ewing’s Thor epic to 50 issues and matching its companion piece, The Immortal Hulk. That means that for over two years, Thor will exist in the Marvel Universe as a mortal.

At the same time, classic villain (and recent hero) Skurge shatters the Rainbow Bridge, cutting Asgard off from Earth and erasing all memory of the Asgardian gods from reality, even causing Thor to be replaced in the history of the Avengers. It’s a seismic shift for the franchise, and the absolute best thing that could have happened for fans.

Thor’s Mortality Makes His Biggest Themes Even More Interesting

Up Against the Evil Roxxon Corporation, Thor Is Finally the Underdog

As Sigurd Jarlson, it appears Thor will have no conscious memory of his history as a god, but that doesn’t mean he’s done being a hero. In fact, solicit information for The Mortal Thor has revealed that Sigurd Jarlson will become a vigilante construction worker, battling the evil Roxxon Corporation (who he previously tangled with as a god.) It appears that ‘Thor’ will no longer be the hero’s name, but rather a codename he uses as he fights crime with a sledgehammer.

Ever since Jason Aaron’s epic Thor run (beginning in 2012, and famously introducing Gorr the God Butcher), Roxxon and its CEO Dario Agger have been a major thorn in Thor’s side. However, as the God of Thunder, he was the more powerful figure in their conflict, with Roxxon’s threat coming from how they damaged the environment and innocent people when Thor couldn’t stop them. As a normal man, he’s now the underdog fighting back against a gigantic corporation (and their leader, who can turn into a minotaur.)

The Mortal Thor will also act as a renaissance for Thor’s classic supervillains. Ewing has confirmed that ‘Sigurd’ will go up against Cobra, Mister Hyde, Grey Gargoyle and Radioactive Man. These are all villains who posed a threat to Thor in his classic comics, but who he’s since outgrown in terms of power. For the first time in decades, these villains designed to battle Thor are a true threat to him again.

The Mortal Thor is also using Thor’s mortality to bring his origin full circle. While confronting Donald Blake in the afterlife, Thor’s human half argues that while he was sent to Earth to learn humility, he never completed that task, since he always had the powers of a god to fall back on. Now, he’s experiencing what it’s truly like to be human. But while this reinvention is a huge opportunity for Thor, what about the god who killed him?

Thor and Loki’s Sibling Relationship Makes More Sense Than Ever

“Will You Trust Me Even As Your Enemy?”

For the last decade, Loki has been undergoing a reinvention in Marvel comics. Once the definition of a cackling villain, the character’s MCU portrayal led to a more layered, antihero rebirth in the comics, where Loki is now more of a chaotic do-gooder than a true antagonist. Stories including Ewing’s own Loki: Agent of Asgard have repositioned Loki not as the god of lies or evil, but the god of stories – someone bound by, and able to control, narratives.

At the start of Immortal Thor, Loki asked Thor to trust them, even as his enemy – that while they would still act against him, it would ultimately be for the greater good. Loki was true to their word, throwing Thor into deadly situations which nevertheless caused his powers and wisdom to evolve. Now, Loki has taken the ultimate step, killing Thor to keep him out of the clutches of the Utgard-Gods – the all-powerful true villains of Immortal Thor.

Loki is accompanying Sigurd as a street kid named ‘Lucky,’ reconfiguring their sibling relationship. While Loki and Thor can never fully reconcile, Immortal Thor has set up an interesting relationship where Loki acts as Thor’s enemy, but ultimately for his own good and the good of their world. It’s a version of their relationship which allows every facet of their bond to shine through – their antagonism, their sibling rivalry, and their unbreakable love. In fact, it’s not just Loki who has the perfect new status quo, but all of Asgard…

Asgard Just Got Interesting

And Beta Ray Bill Has Never Been Cooler

With the Rainbow Bridge shattered, the gods of Asgard are now cut off from Earth and totally wiped from history. This includes Thor’s son, Magni the God of Strength, who was recently resurrected from an alternate timeline. The Asgardian Gods often act as bit players in Thor’s story, but now they have a clear mission of their own – reconnect Asgard to the human world. Ewing has promised (in discussion with Comicbook.com) that some issues of Mortal Thor will check in with the gods, acting as ‘Tales of Asgard’, seemingly beginning with Immortal Thor #4.

There’ll also be plenty of court intrigue, as Enchantress plans to manipulate Magni into acquiring Odin’s All-Power so that she can kill him and claim it for herself. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange (stripped of his power on Earth) has become the Sorcerer Supreme of Asgard, trapped outside reality alongside the gods. The ultra-powerful Utgard-Gods will also need to be kept at bay while Thor is gone, offering the opportunity to turn the Asgardian gods into an Avengers-style cosmic team.

Thor’s blood brother and greatest ally Beta Ray Bill is also being reinvented. Immortal Thor #25 shows that with Asgardian lore cut off from history, Beta Ray Bill is taking Thor’s place in history, becoming an official founding Avenger. While beloved by fans, Beta Ray Bill is still a cult character, so this (likely temporary) boost can give him a new opportunity to shine and even forge lasting bonds with Marvel’s other heroes.

The Mortal Thor Is a Huge Opportunity

And Marvel Fans Trust This Creative Team to Nail It

The Mortal Thor’s huge status quo shift gives Thor, his allies and his enemies a chance to do something new. While few changes are permanent in superhero comics, their consequences often influence stories for decades to come. Turning Thor into a human reconnects him to his origin in a new way while giving him stronger bonds to Earth and its people – it’s a twist that’s likely to inspire new stories and twists long, long after The Mortal Thor concludes its run.

For fans of Thor and Marvel Comics, there are few things more thrilling than being in on the ground floor of what’s sure to be a franchise-redefining run of comics, starting later this month.

Source: Comicbook.com

The Immortal Thor #25 is available now from Marvel Comics, with The Mortal Thor #1 coming August 27.