Why haven't any other Gods caught on other than Thor?

[chongjasmine]

I think it is difficult for marvel to promote other gods. Most readers are not keen on new things.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Plus it has to be said the norse myths all being about fighting white guys was a much easier sell to the general public than something like the African or Japanese gods when it was created back in the 60's.

Japanese Gods back then would have been taboo, since Shintoism (which is what Japanese polytheism is called) was the religious belief that inspired Imperial Japan against the US. Remember this was a time when many audiences would have had relatives or known people who fought in the Pacific Theatre. Kamikaze i.e. "wind of god" was part of the attitude at the time. And Shintoism is still worshipped in Japan. So it was too "hot potato" and would have come across as cultural appropriation. The unofficial rule as Neil Gaiman explored in The Sandman and American Gods is, the only gods you can use as a storyteller are the ones people don't really believe in anymore.

As it is, Marvel appropriating Norse myths is pretty subversive. Here are two Jewish dudes (Kirby and Lee, both of them ex-servicemen) taking the self-chosen myths of a section of Nazi Germany and its culture (via Wagner) and making it work for them, and defining the most popular version of that myths, and freeing Norse myths of the Nazi association it might once have had.

I disagree. The Greco-Roman gods were absolutely identifiable figures. Think about their actions, adventures and exploits. They weren't there merely to describe phenomena, but to humanize it. Even Heracles, although the son of Zeus, was never considered a God until after he died and ascended to Mount Olympus. Most of his feats, his 12 Labors, the adventures that he had with the Argonauts, etc., etc., were all as a being who was as much a human as a god. In that respect, Heracles spoke to our own sense of inner divinity. That thing that allowed normal humans to achieve seemingly impossible feats.

Heracles began as a demigod, half-human half-divine. And the adventures of Heracles that really caught on are the ones before he became an Olympian. I wasn't talking about demigods but actual gods. Guys like Zeus and others for instance are not really intended for you to relate with. And in any case whatever facts you figure out about how these gods are relatable, i.e. flawed traits, weren't seen as flawed back then. The Ancient Greeks remember are a weird bunch and don't have modern values in most respects. This is also a problem with Norse Myths mind you but since it's all scrambled and jumbled and mixed in the version as handed down (it was written down by Christian dudes who didn't really believe in the stuff), it's more open.

Being relatable is only one aspect of heroes, People don't necessarily relate with Deadpool(They did a good job in the movie tho) and he is a popular hero. Okay Thor worked because family and relatability. Okay I am talking across every other Pantheon Mayan, Greek, Roman,Celtic ,Chinese, Egyptian, Japanese ,Slavic, African, Polynesian, Hindu ,Cthulhu, Arthurian, Voodoo, Angelic, Demonic..etc nothing else works? They are so many areas they can be drawing from and in just typing that out yeah I kind answer my question based on the makeup of Marvel and DC staff I should not be surprised they are not good at handling stuff from other cultures.

It's a problem if you are putting Cthulhu, a fictitious cosmology invented as a joke by a white supremacist, with the real world religious practises of many non-white cultures. Other cultures are perhaps not all looking forward to be made into a comic book. Hinduism is a major world religion and still practised and worshipped today, and putting them in a hero comic where they might occassionally get beaten up by the Hulk, lose to Thanos and have all kinds of melodrama happen to them will open a huge can of worms that Marvel might not want to deal with. Especially since one of their comics upset Hindu religious officials (https://comicbook.com/marvel/2018/12...vel-apologize/).

For Norse Myth, becoming a Marvel icon is the most relevant thing that has ever happened to them. For other cultures, they like the billion plus adherents and temples and living traditions thank you very much.

[PCN24454]

It’s funny how other than Thor and Hercules, the longest running series about a god is probably Venus.

[MyriVerse]

I personally don't think Marvel handles the mythological/supernatural well anymore. As characters they've become watered down and aren't exactly distinguishable from powerful humans or aliens.

"Anymore?" They never really were more than powerful humans or aliens... especially because in the Marvel Universe humans and aliens can be godlike.

IMO, there's never really been a point to having pantheons in the Marvel Universe, which is why I vastly prefer the Eternals.

[charliehustle415]

I personally would love a Hindu based god hero. Now not one that is currently being worshipped, but maybe a hero imbued by the gods to do good in the world. Why not appeal to such a huge demographic.

[XPac]

I personally would love a Hindu based god hero. Now not one that is currently being worshipped, but maybe a hero imbued by the gods to do good in the world. Why not appeal to such a huge demographic.

Would that appeal to a huge demographic, or would that potentially be offending a huge demographic? That potentially gets into a tricky area.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I personally would love a Hindu based god hero. Now not one that is currently being worshipped, but maybe a hero imbued by the gods to do good in the world. Why not appeal to such a huge demographic.

From what I know, on my visits to India and pals I hang out with, they have their own comic book tradition and so on. You have a series that prints cheap decent size comics that retell mythological stories for kids. Something like 10 rupees which is basically about a dime or so. So people there already are used to consuming mythology in comics form and those are the legit real thing and cheaply too. That series also does historical biography, i.e. great kings and so on. The art actually in a lot of places was quite good. Especially war action. There's this one character, Abhimanyu, who fights an entire battle with a single chariot wheel as a weapon and keeps fighting till he dies. It's an episode in the Mahabharata. Their epic cycle has so many characters and incidents that you have whole series of character episodes and one shots on figures inside that. Some of the myth stuff isn't far from Journey into Mystery in terms of style and technique. And I wonder if the artists looked at Kirby's stuff but that is fairly obscure. So it'll be hard to compete against that. The comics I talk about are also reprinted in local languages and so on.

Superhero comics from what I gather are obscure in India. People know them from cartoons and movies by and large. Spider-Man is an exception thanks to that newspaper strip which is published in India in many local papers. International comics people read, at least those who speak English, are stuff like Asterix, Tintin, Richie Rich, Casper, and also Donald Duck and Scrooge comics. Indians actually have a big market for non-superhero comics and I think publishers like IDW or independents are losing out big time in not targeting that.

Would that appeal to a huge demographic, or would that potentially be offending a huge demographic? That potentially gets into a tricky area.

Exactly. As Neil Gaiman spelled out in Sandman and in American Gods, you can only do stuff with religions people don't really believe in anymore.

[JudicatorPrime]

Exactly. As Neil Gaiman spelled out in Sandman and in American Gods, you can only do stuff with religions people don't really believe in anymore.

This is true. There are groups that worship the beings that we've deemed to be "myths" in the comics world. And to some of those groups, it is extremely offensive to have representative depictions of their gods in print, let alone interacting in a fictional world.

The reality is comics about mythical gods inevitably run afoul of some group or another, whether it's the individuals who continue to practice that religion, or other groups, like some Christian groups, that feel that Marvel is promoting concepts in the malleable minds of children that conflict with their core values. Forget about walking a fine line, just brace yourself for the criticism and blowback … because it will happen. But as long as you try to remain sensitive to those concerns, if you have a story that's worth telling, go for it. If God is truly all-powerful, nothing you write will phase him/her/it. And if it does, well, you'll be dead anyway by the time the Supreme Being decides to talk to you about it.

[DrNewGod]

Thor has an advantage over Marvel's other mythological figures in having one of the more interesting power sets. With Hercules, you're basically talking a somewhat stronger Wonder Man. With Ares, you're basically talking Wonder Man with an axe.

He also has a built-in weakness that many others lack, in that so many of his powers channel through Mjolnir. That provided writers decades of material with which to handicap him when needed.

There are other Marvel dieties that have similarly interesting power sets. However, they tend to be figures like Zeus or Poseidon, who have thrones to occupy and/or have been characterized as so powerful that they're not good fodder for an ongoing.

[DoctorWho]

Hercules is such an awesome character though. I think if he got a proeminent role in MCU he would easily become a fan-favorite. Actually, a lot of writers just give some of Herc's personality traits to Thor these days, which just helps making readers see him as a Thor rip-off.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The problem with Marvel's Hercules is again branding. Hercules is just too damn iconic. Everyone knows who he is. There's a Disney cartoon, there was a Dwayne Johnson movie, Kevin Sorbo, that Arnie movie, some old Sword and Sandal stuff, and so on and so forth. What is there to distinguish the Marvel Hercules from everyone else.

With Thor, Marvel's the only game in town. There is no other iconic pop-culture version out there to rival Marvel's take.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Exactly. As Neil Gaiman spelled out in Sandman and in American Gods, you can only do stuff with religions people don't really believe in anymore.

I remember reading somewhere that there was a bunch of complaints when Shiva showed up with the Skyfathers and was unable to defeat the Celestials. So yeah, some people don't like their Gods depicted as jobbers :P

[Zero Hunter]

Hercules is such an awesome character though. I think if he got a proeminent role in MCU he would easily become a fan-favorite. Actually, a lot of writers just give some of Herc's personality traits to Thor these days, which just helps making readers see him as a Thor rip-off.

The sad thing is movie Thor is way more like the comic version of Hercules than he is the comic version of Thor. All of the humor of movie Thor is basically just comic Hercules.

[The Cool Thatguy]

The sad thing is movie Thor is way more like the comic version of Hercules than he is the comic version of Thor. All of the humor of movie Thor is basically just comic Hercules.

I wouldn't say that. Movie Thor is focused, determined and informed. He simply finds himself in humerous situations vs. instigating them like Herc would.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

In MCU all characters are made humorous in relation to the comics. Like Iron Man before RDJ wasn't such a goofball. He was in fact a bit of a bore. See Warren Ellis' Extremis for Pre-RDJ Tony's character. Everybody quips more in the MCU than their comics counterpart does. So I don't see MCU Thor as exceptional in that regard.

MCU Thor being a comedic or slightly goofy figure is not far from the Myths. So in some sense MCU Thor is closer to that. I have to say I was really impressed with Thor in INFINITY WAR, he was awesome there and that's my favorite version of the Marvel character. Especially that line, "What else do I have to lose?" and he learns the answer, it's not him losing but others suffering on account of his defeat which as you can see in the Endgame trailers, does a number on him.