Thor Odinson Appreciation 2018

[kaimaciel]

There are males but few of them. As such these 'Anchorites' are kept and guarded in Temples where they prey for the souls of the Angels who have died. This indicates they are not completely immortal.

From what I remember, they don't have wings, don't fight or talk. Sera, Angela's girlfriend was one of them and pleaded to Angela that wasn't who she was at heart and to take her away from there. Angela turned her into a woman and they left together.

[Sunny]

Remember when the angels captured Thor, kidnapped him and separated him from mjolnir.
When he called a storm from another realm across galaxy's, broke free and wrecked Havok on them?

From Original Sin story with Thor and Loki right?

[Daniel22]

I totally understand why people responded so well to Jane's run and tenure as Thor and what that brought to the table. I totally get that, and I can see why Aaron's stories became such a hit with people.

I just wish it hadn't come at the expense of the character who's name is actually Thor, or his mythos.

So it's a double-edged sword in my opinion.

Definitely a double edged sword. The guy who had been the main character was put in a supporting role and sent on a long descent before his redemptive arc. I can see why someone who wants traditional, standard stories of Odinson doing his usual thing wouldn't be into that. There are some characters that I don't want to change or go through a transformation, I just want them to do what they are known for. Punisher can find bad guy, track bad guy, fight and kill bad guy every month and I'm fine with that. There's something to be said for familiarity and characters doing their thing. I can understand why some people don't want a long (very long) first and second act of a tragedy.

I wonder what would have happened if the whole Odinson/Jane thing had been split into two books. More importantly, if the story had been done with either a shorter down period for Odinson or with him having a less dramatic period of doubt and unworthiness. If we had gotten one book with Odinson in his more familiar form, and another with Jane's story, I think that would have made everyone happy. The Jane book might have been even better if it had been separated from the Odinson book. The readers who jumped on just for Jane would have been less confused by backstory and there would have been more pages just for her. I'm fully expecting Jane to be repowered in some way and for her to get a new book at some point. She was too successful for that not to happen.

[Frontier]

Definitely a double edged sword. The guy who had been the main character was put in a supporting role and sent on a long descent before his redemptive arc. I can see why someone who wants traditional, standard stories of Odinson doing his usual thing wouldn't be into that. There are some characters that I don't want to change or go through a transformation, I just want them to do what they are known for. Punisher can find bad guy, track bad guy, fight and kill bad guy every month and I'm fine with that. There's something to be said for familiarity and characters doing their thing. I can understand why some people don't want a long (very long) first and second act of a tragedy.

It's not like I'm against a redemption arc per se, but coupled with Aaron's characterization of Thor and how he wrote Jane's journey it just felt disingenuous to me to see Thor struggle so much to prove himself Worthy and see so much of his dignity and character stripped away while Jane comes in as Thor and is accepted and idolized so quickly by practically everyone.

Even now that Thor is actually going by his name again and isn't competing with Jane he still doesn't feel right.

I wonder what would have happened if the whole Odinson/Jane thing had been split into two books. More importantly, if the story had been done with either a shorter down period for Odinson or with him having a less dramatic period of doubt and unworthiness. If we had gotten one book with Odinson in his more familiar form, and another with Jane's story, I think that would have made everyone happy. The Jane book might have been even better if it had been separated from the Odinson book. The readers who jumped on just for Jane would have been less confused by backstory and there would have been more pages just for her. I'm fully expecting Jane to be repowered in some way and for her to get a new book at some point. She was too successful for that not to happen.

I think dueling books is one scenario/solution but I'm not sure how many fans would have wanted to read the adventures of the "Unworthy" Thor as depicted by Jason Aaron, and writers would probably have to try harder to differentiate Jane from Thor if they had a book with Thor in his "traditional form" running alongside her book.

[juan678]

[Vishop]

MARVEL TALES: THOR #1
STAN LEE, LARRY LIEBER, ROY THOMAS & WALTER SIMONSON (W)
JACK KIRBY, JOHN BUSCEMA & WALTER SIMONSON (A)
Cover by JEN BARTEL
VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY JEN BARTEL
Journey into mystery with the Mighty Thor as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the House of Ideas with the era-spanning MARVEL TALES! This anthology series shines a spotlight on fan-favorite characters, features timeless stories and highlights some of Marvel’s most impressive talent from the past eight decades. Reprinting the dastardly debut of the eternal thorn in Thor’s side — his devious stepbrother Loki — in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (1952) #85! Titans clash as the Thunder God faces Hercules, the Lion of Olympus, in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY ANNUAL #1! The Avengers are taught a mighty lesson by the Asgardian Valkyrie and her Lady Liberators in AVENGERS (1963) #83! And Walter Simonson’s legendary run begins with the status quo-smashing arrival of Beta Ray Bill in THOR (1966) #337!

[Daniel22]

It's not like I'm against a redemption arc per se, but coupled with Aaron's characterization of Thor and how he wrote Jane's journey it just felt disingenuous to me to see Thor struggle so much to prove himself Worthy and see so much of his dignity and character stripped away while Jane comes in as Thor and is accepted and idolized so quickly by practically everyone.

Even now that Thor is actually going by his name again and isn't competing with Jane he still doesn't feel right.

I think dueling books is one scenario/solution but I'm not sure how many fans would have wanted to read the adventures of the "Unworthy" Thor as depicted by Jason Aaron, and writers would probably have to try harder to differentiate Jane from Thor if they had a book with Thor in his "traditional form" running alongside her book.

I hear ya. Jane and Odinson couldn't have been at more different places in their journeys and I can see how having Odinson at his lowest while Jane was at her highest wouldn't appeal to everyone. One thing I don't get is why there is resentment towards Jane (not necessarily from you, just in general) as a result of Odinson's fall. They were two very different stories even though they had definite connections. Jane's rise didn't come at the expense of Odinson, he was unworthy completely separate from her. She took the mantle but didn't have a part in him losing it, so I'm not sure why any anger or disappointment about Odinson would be transferred to Jane (again, not from you, just from some fans). It felt petty sometimes, like people wouldn't accept Jane because of Odinson's condition, when really they are two different stories with individual themes and arcs.

Two books wouldn't have been perfect. It would have given fans of Odinson a place to go if they weren't into Jane and vice versa, though. It wouldn't have felt as much like Jane was taking the spotlight from Odinson. Although I agree that a portion of fans just aren't interested in Odinson's unworthiness arc under any conditions. I think Aaron did a good job of making Jane distinct from Odinson, but I would have been super into him having more pages to explore the differences. I'll be surprised if War of Realms doesn't end with traditional Odinson, worthy again and with Mjolinir in tow, and with a Jane solo book. What about you? Do you think that's where we're headed?

[The Cool Thatguy]

I hear ya. Jane and Odinson couldn't have been at more different places in their journeys and I can see how having Odinson at his lowest while Jane was at her highest wouldn't appeal to everyone. One thing I don't get is why there is resentment towards Jane (not necessarily from you, just in general) as a result of Odinson's fall. They were two very different stories even though they had definite connections. Jane's rise didn't come at the expense of Odinson, he was unworthy completely separate from her. She took the mantle but didn't have a part in him losing it, so I'm not sure why any anger or disappointment about Odinson would be transferred to Jane (again, not from you, just from some fans). It felt petty sometimes, like people wouldn't accept Jane because of Odinson's condition, when really they are two different stories with individual themes and arcs.

Two books wouldn't have been perfect. It would have given fans of Odinson a place to go if they weren't into Jane and vice versa, though. It wouldn't have felt as much like Jane was taking the spotlight from Odinson. Although I agree that a portion of fans just aren't interested in Odinson's unworthiness arc under any conditions. I think Aaron did a good job of making Jane distinct from Odinson, but I would have been super into him having more pages to explore the differences. I'll be surprised if War of Realms doesn't end with traditional Odinson, worthy again and with Mjolinir in tow, and with a Jane solo book. What about you? Do you think that's where we're headed?

They were two separate stories yes, but both directed by the same man.

Frankly, more than tat, as a replacement Jane seemed to leadfrog over every struggle the replacement heroes traditionally go through, while Thor's own storyline muddled along. And as the story went along, much of Thor's mythos was stripped from him (not his power in the hammer, 'virtue signalling', etc).

Even when it ended, Thor got screwed. He never reclaimed his hammer or made his own breakthrough

[Frontier]

MARVEL TALES: THOR #1
STAN LEE, LARRY LIEBER, ROY THOMAS & WALTER SIMONSON (W)
JACK KIRBY, JOHN BUSCEMA & WALTER SIMONSON (A)
Cover by JEN BARTEL
VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY JEN BARTEL
Journey into mystery with the Mighty Thor as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the House of Ideas with the era-spanning MARVEL TALES! This anthology series shines a spotlight on fan-favorite characters, features timeless stories and highlights some of Marvel’s most impressive talent from the past eight decades. Reprinting the dastardly debut of the eternal thorn in Thor’s side — his devious stepbrother Loki — in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (1952) #85! Titans clash as the Thunder God faces Hercules, the Lion of Olympus, in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY ANNUAL #1! The Avengers are taught a mighty lesson by the Asgardian Valkyrie and her Lady Liberators in AVENGERS (1963) #83! And Walter Simonson’s legendary run begins with the status quo-smashing arrival of Beta Ray Bill in THOR (1966) #337!

This feels like something that should've used the classic look or Coipel design instead of the current look.

I hear ya. Jane and Odinson couldn't have been at more different places in their journeys and I can see how having Odinson at his lowest while Jane was at her highest wouldn't appeal to everyone. One thing I don't get is why there is resentment towards Jane (not necessarily from you, just in general) as a result of Odinson's fall. They were two very different stories even though they had definite connections. Jane's rise didn't come at the expense of Odinson, he was unworthy completely separate from her. She took the mantle but didn't have a part in him losing it, so I'm not sure why any anger or disappointment about Odinson would be transferred to Jane (again, not from you, just from some fans). It felt petty sometimes, like people wouldn't accept Jane because of Odinson's condition, when really they are two different stories with individual themes and arcs.

I think it's hard to disassociate Thor's fall with Jane's rise since Jane would not have become Thor without Thor becoming Unworthy, and her heroics and success as Thor was often compared/contrasted with Thor's actions and characterizations as the "Unworthy Thor."

Two books wouldn't have been perfect. It would have given fans of Odinson a place to go if they weren't into Jane and vice versa, though. It wouldn't have felt as much like Jane was taking the spotlight from Odinson. Although I agree that a portion of fans just aren't interested in Odinson's unworthiness arc under any conditions. I think Aaron did a good job of making Jane distinct from Odinson, but I would have been super into him having more pages to explore the differences. I'll be surprised if War of Realms doesn't end with traditional Odinson, worthy again and with Mjolinir in tow, and with a Jane solo book. What about you? Do you think that's where we're headed?

I feel like Aaron's made them distinct by changing Thor's base characterization to make Jane's characterization as Thor seem more unique even when it's basically just "classic Thor" with an added caveat of Jane Foster.

I don't know if we'll get traditional Thor by the end of Aaron's run because I'm not sure that's how Aaron conceptualizes Thor Odinson as a character anymore.

Even when it ended, Thor got screwed. He never reclaimed his hammer or made his own breakthrough

Not only that, they made it a point to show that Thor couldn't even lift a chunk of Mjolnir, so he was still basically Unworthy to wield it, and had to have Jane Foster push him to take his own bloody name back.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Thor #159 Dec 1968
"The Answer at Last!"
After completing a surgery successfully, Dr. Donald Blake returns to his
apartment where he begins to ponder about the secrets of his double identity.
Namely, is he really Thor or Donald Blake? And if he is the latter, what happened to the original Thor?
Drifting to sleep, he dreams about going to Asgard in his godly form and asking Odin for the answers that have been plaguing him.
Hearing this request from Asgard, Odin decrees that Blake shall be told the truth,
and when Blake awakens, Odin appears before him and tells him the fate of what happened to Thor many years ago:

Odin tells of a time when Thor was brash, arrogant, and reckless. One day while chasing a birdbeast,
the Thunder God trespassed into Niffelheim, violating a truce between Odin and the giants that lived there.

This led to a confrontation between Thor and an army of giants.
Balder would be called in to pull Thor from the fight, citing that the Thunder God was at fault for the conflict.

Returning to Asgard, Thor would go to a local tavern with the Warriors Three
and engage in an arm wrestling competition with one of the other patrons.
This would end in Thor winning, and the other patron accusing Thor of cheating.
This leads to a huge bar brawl that is eventually broken up by Odin who summons Thor to his side.

Meeting Odin on a mountain where Odin berates his son, telling him that he lacks humility and is sorely needing a lesson on the subject.
He turns Thor's attention to Earth, and decrees that he is going to send Thor there to live
the life of a frail mortal so that he might learn his lesson and someday regain his godly identity.

Odin would banish Thor to Earth, and turn him into Donald Blake, with no memory of his past as the Thunder God.

With the story done, Odin explains that he had placed Thor's mystic hammer where he might find it after he had learned humility,
and that changing him into a form with a handicap and giving him a profession that made him heal the sick and frail was all part of this lesson.

With the explanation done, Odin departs leaving Blake to consider everything he learned.
The doctor realizes that his romance with Jane Foster was doomed to failure from the start,
and he never would renounce his godly heritage because he was indeed, truly Thor.

As a final acceptance of these revelations, Blake taps his cane on the ground changing into Thor where he proudly embraces his true heritage.

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

[Immortal Hulk]

Thor #8 was the best issue of this run, which is not saying much... But still the best.

[JKtheMac]

Thor #8 was the best issue of this run, which is not saying much... But still the best.

I would agree. This issue feels like it is finally building towards something. Since the reboot I have felt that Aaron has spent more time trying to get his pieces in the right place and less time actually telling an interesting story. This feels like a turning point. Clearly this is also the beginning of the march towards his big climax, and it feels like a better jumping on point than #1 did.

I like the fact Mjölnir is still a part of the mix too. It hints at the culmination of the story being a return of Mjölnir. I also really liked his self-reflective wooing of Jen in Avengers. I know that is controversial but it again pulls in the themes that Aaron will be playing with, of mortality and deity and the interplay between them in one person.

Most especially appreciated was the part about Thor being a champion of the realms, which I believe is where Thor needs to end up for Aaron’s plan to really pay off.

[Immortal Hulk]

I would agree. This issue feels like it is finally building towards something. Since the reboot I have felt that Aaron has spent more time trying to get his pieces in the right place and less time actually telling an interesting story. This feels like a turning point. Clearly this is also the beginning of the march towards his big climax, and it feels like a better jumping on point than #1 did.

I like the fact Mjölnir is still a part of the mix too. It hints at the culmination of the story being a return of Mjölnir. I also really liked his self-reflective wooing of Jen in Avengers. I know that is controversial but it again pulls in the themes that Aaron will be playing with, of mortality and deity and the interplay between them in one person.

Most especially appreciated was the part about Thor being a champion of the realms, which I believe is where Thor needs to end up for Aaron’s plan to really pay off.

It felt, for the first time in years, that Thor is starting to rise to the God of Thunder again. By the end of the War of Realms, I think he'll be fully restored.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

It might happen.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Thor #278 Dec 1978
"At Long Last - Ragnarok?!"
All of the prophecies of Ragnarok seem to be coming true;

The new Thor is convinced by Sif to join the original

to protect Asgard.

Script by Roy Thomas, pencils by John Buscema (breakdowns) and Chic Stone (finished art), inks by Chic Stone