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I started reading Thor towards the tail end of the Simonson run, with Sal Buscema on art up through the Defalco/Frenz run. I left after the Thor War. I went back for the Ellis World Engine arc through the Messner-Loebs run to close out the original series. I fondly remember the story of a depowered Thor & Cap trying to restore order in the streets while noting that Cap may take more risks due to having Thor backing him up (and failing to comprehend that Odinson is not at full power). I read the Jurgens run, but left after he became king, and was no longer worthy. I came back for Rune Thor, and enjoyed the JMS run. I left again a bit after Kid Loki came about.
I lose interest when Thor is less a noble warrior, and carries on as an angry meat-head.
I recently read the bulk of the Lee/Kirby run. I read an issue where Thor provided commentary on the Civil Rights movement, and racial unrest during the tail end of the Kirby run. It was weird, but I was pleasantly surprised by that. Historically, I love most of Thor's appearances in Avengers throughout the decades until AvX, and beyond. I'm okay with Bendis Thor.
I clearly made the right move to avoid Aron/modern Thor. I do enjoy MCU Thor. He is a mix of humor & tragedy, but I found similar themes through both the Lee/Kirby & Simonson runs, too.
Put Thor through the ringer. His origin involves his father wiping his memories, having him live as a mortal with a slight handicap. He is a god that cares about, and fights to preserve life. His honor, pride, and experience will ultimately see him through. I can't deal with Thor as a punching bag, or a guy with zero strategy when in battle. He is historically the last Avenger standing in their most dire battles.
Thanks for sharing, Mr. Shaw. Thor is an all-time great, and one of my favorites.
I'm also in agreement with you about him being the last one standing when facing disasters.
One of the more memorable examples came during the Korvac Saga, which is an all-time classic (IMHO):
Last edited by K7P5V; 02-28-2021 at 01:42 AM.
I started with JMS and then went to old days like Lee/Kirby, Simmonson etc.
I'm both fan and not a fan of Cates run.
Last edited by GodThor; 02-28-2021 at 02:52 AM.
Thanks for posting that panel.
I loved how Thor developed a very personal grudge against Kang following the Celestial Madonna saga. Thor was one of the last members standing during the Assault on Olympus arc, although it probably helped that Hela put the curse of life eternal without being able to heal (as Zeus was particularly trying his best to slay the Thunder god). He was one of the last left standing during the weird Walter Simonson run on Avengers. I believe he was the last Avenger standing during Byrne's opening arc where the lava men attacked the Avengers (that line-up had She-Hulk, Forgotten One, Namor, and I think Quasar just joined). That story also featured the first multi-issue arc I ever owned that featured Black Panther.
It's tough hearing about Thor struggling in an Avengers book, when he's supposed to be the last line of defense.
... when will the "unworthiness" story arcs be over?
I actually liked most of the stuff I read from volume II of Thor. The early Jurgen's/Romita stuff seemed like a deliberate attempt to reconnect with some of the classic stories as noted above. Heck even the Enchanters appeared in the Jurgen's/Romita run. Good stuff.
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"One of the maddening but beautiful things about comics is that you have to give characters a sense of change without changing them so much that they violate the essence of who they are." ~ Ann Nocenti, Chris Claremont's X-Men.
False Odin (Sam Neil) False Loki (Mat Damon) False Thor (Luker Hermsworth)
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