Theory about the Asgardians

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Tales of Asgard
"The Golden Apples"
First appearance of the land of Varinheim.
The goddess Iduna walks the forests of Asgard carrying a bundle of golden apples.
These "Golden Apples of Immortality" are for All-Father Odin, and Iduna brings them to him every year.
Along her journey she meets Haakun the Hunter. Haakun greets her warmly and tells her to go in peace.

As Iduna continues further down the path, she next comes upon a stranger.
The stranger offers Iduna protection along her journey, but she declines the offer.
The stranger takes a strong interest in Iduna's basket and begins asking her questions.

She quickly grows suspicious until she discovers that the stranger is actually Fenris the Wolf God in disguise.
Fenris shape shifts into his true form and attacks her. Haakun the Hunter arrives

and drives Fenris away with his enchanted battle axe.
The axe strikes Fenris, spiriting him off to the shadowy land of Varinheim.

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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Tales of Asgard
"The Way of the Warrior!"
starring Hogun the Grim!
Hogun teaches Dagal

that the way of the warrior

is not a nice one.

Script by Tom DeFalco, art by Herb Trimpe

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Tales of Asgard
"A Viper in Our Midst!"
Loki aids the giant, Ghan,

in escaping from the Asgardians;

Ghan owes Loki a debt of gratitude;

Loki plans to ask him to repay the favor when he makes his bid to claim the throne of Asgard

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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Tales of Asgard
"The Challenge!"
On a diplomatic mission, Loki convinces King Hymir to put Thor to a deadly test

where failure means slavery to the evil king.


Thor, of course, passes the test, much to the annoyance of Hymir who strikes Loki and accuses him of betrayal.

First appearance of King Hymir and his sister Princess Rinda.

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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Tales of Asgard
"The Summons!"
Thor confronts Queen Ula to arrange Loki's release.

Ula agrees, provided Thor becomes her king. Suddenly, a burst of anti-energy sent by Odin knocks Ula and her Trolls down,

allowing Thor to escape with Loki and reunite with the others on the Odinship.

Odin contacts the crew and tells them to return, that the danger they seek is in Asgard.

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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Tales of Asgard
"The Meaning of... Ragnarok!"
The Asgardians have returned to Asgard where the prophetess Volla relates the coming of Ragnarok!



Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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It's been noted that flashbacks to the pasts of the current iteration of Asgardian gods are frequently inconsistent. It has also long been known that there have actually been many different cycles of existence for the Asgardians, all ending in Ragnarok, after which they are reborn with new histories, all orchestrated by Those Who Sit Above In Shadow. A theory I have developed is that, after Thor broke the cycle and then resurrected the gods, he did not just bring back the most recent cycle, but all prior cycles, so in effect the current gods are amalgamations of all their past selves blurred into one. This is how they remember all their different pasts as though they happened to them.

Also, I'm wondering if, while the past cycles were sequential in their own dimension, they may have overlapped slightly on ancient Earth, so different versions of characters like Thor were active at the same time. This is what I think the case is with stories like AGES OF THUNDER, which depict the activities of past cycles of Asgard, but their interactions with Earth appear to take place at times when the current cycle should have been around.

Could it be something as simple as everyone having a Ragnarok story in them that they want to tell? I know I've had a few good Twilight of the Gods stories running around my head over the years. And Thor has been reinvented a number of times. His current presentation is proof of that. Strict adherence to the myth can be difficult to market sometimes and the Marvel twist means everything in terms of adaptation, relevance and appreciation.

Agreed...just like the Raganarok story of the prophetess Volla in terms of adaptation, relevance and appreciation is difficult to market.

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Tales of Asgard
"Aftermath!"
The Asgardians deliberate over the coming of Ragnarok.



Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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I have yet to see the Midgard Serpent show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Tales of Asgard
"The Hordes of Harokin!"
Having been revealed as the traitor whose villainous actions will bring the
fury of Ragnarok down on Asgard, Loki is carried away on orders of Odin.

The trickster is placed in the Well of Eternal Sleep where the mystic vapors will
keep him in suspended animation until such time as Odin may choose to release him.

Though Thor intercedes for his brother, Odin will hear no more. Summoning the Warriors Three,

the All-Father commands Thor to lead them on a mission to Muspelheim to fetch
the enchanted weapon known as the Warlock’s Eye in anticipation of Ragnarok.

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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Odd how recent stories simultaneously acknowledge the cyclical stuff, i.e. the existence of They Who Sit Above In Shadow, while also contradicting it.

Just read the part where Loki questions TWSAIS and gets them in a huff.

Loki doing so is to be shown in his Disney+ series as well..

Something's occurred to me: Could TWSAIS have created the myth of endless cycles of Ragnarok to weaken the gods, make them believe they were chained to a destiny they could never change?

I find that very likely for TWSAIS

And if the gods only exist through the stories told of them by man, then what of the people the gods interacted with in the myths? Odysseus, Aeneas, King Arthur? How do they exist?

Instead of interacting with the Asgardians or Olympians they interacted with the Eternals?

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Tales of Asgard
"The Fateful Change!"
The Warriors Three

free Asgard's defenders from Harokin's dungeons;

Thor defeats Harokin

and discovers they are nearly identical in appearance.

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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Tales of Asgard
"The Warlock's Eye!"
Thor impersonates Harokin



in order to get the Warlock's Eye.

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta

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I'd like the actor Chris Hemsworth to portray the comicbook character Harokin in the MCU I'm sure Hemsworth can pull off portraying an evil Thor double.

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Tales of Asgard
"The Dark Horse of Death!"
Thor and companions rest after defeating Harokin's Hordes;

Harokin, mortally wounded,

waits for the Black Stallion of Doom.

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta