Thor Odinson, God of Thunder Appreciation 2019

[zoch]

true.

Aaron's Odin is ****.

spoilers:

just read WotR chapter 2 and I saw how pathetic Odin was once again. Thor got stomped by the giants. and the best part is, Jane became the All Mother of Asgard. I'm done with Aaron's BS.

end of spoilers

Just looking at those spoilers lm not surprised so Jane went being Thor to Valkyrie to now All Mother of Asgard, Aaron is the worst writer Thor ever had.

[JKtheMac]

I just personally don't think it relates in a way positive to Thor Odinson, at least in the way Aaron went about it.

I don't need a nicety-nice Allfather Odin but I prefer an Odin who has more of a mystique and grandeur to him, with flaws but someone who's heart and feelings for those around him is clearly in the right place and conflicts with his status as Allfather.

Aaron's...is just kind of too "normal" for me, which is why I just don't find him interesting. All he is is bluster and flaws, not the stuff I find intriguing and interesting about Odin and not consistent with the position and role he has in the mythos.

In my opinion of course.

Indeed, you express your opinion very succinctly and by reference to your personal taste. There is no arguing with that. I generally only take issue with the way people use dissatisfaction as a way of attacking the writer. I would far rather discuss personal tastes than have an argument about whether a professional writer is worthy of the job.

I would suggest that the exploration of Thor as a concept through Jane is supposed to be relatively neutral to Odinson, which is why he was moved almost entirely off of the board during that process. I can understand why some think he was being portrayed in a negative light, but I only ever read him as depressed and a drinker. As a man who has seen his fair share of depression and also a big fan of beer, I never perceived that Thor was an alcoholic or a tramp, I just saw him as a realistic depiction of somebody going through a crisis of identity and a worldview shattering existential crisis. That’s not a negative for me, it’s just life.

As to Odin himself, I have expressed before how challenging he has been to the writers of Thor comics. He is very difficult to write because of his dual role as antagonist and ally. Simonson talked about this, and how he felt Kirby also struggled with him. Just about every writer has had to choose how to handle him.

Aaron’s solution is a common one: treat him as a father. The only difference is Aaron is a deeply psychological writer, he digs into the characters and explores their perspective. So here we have an Odin that is struggling with fatherhood in a way that many fathers and sons will recognise. The misdirected angers and frustrations, the expectations and the feeling that many fathers have, that to express love and to nurture is not masculine and will not encourage masculinity. That is a worthy solution to the Odin conundrum for me. It makes me sympathetic towards him in a way I have rarely felt about the old bastard that he has often been. This is why for me Thor #10 is a masterpiece that sits alongside the best Thor comics ever written.

[Del torro]

War of Realms #2 was a good read, far better than #1.
Only weird thing was making Jane the all mother when freaking Sif is right there. Sif has been all mother before urgh.
I don't want to complain, but its always hilarious how doctor strange is always nerfed outside his solo
Still get the feeling that these will be one of those events where humans using Asgardian powers will be more competent than the actual Asgardians

Thor 12 was an interesting look into lokis mind

[Daedra]

meh, I'm done.

I just found out that Jane will be a Valkyrie which is what I predicted immediately when the series was announced.

Jane became:

1. Thor which made OG Thor drop his name
2. All Mother of Asgard (Wut!?)
3. Valkyrie

all in a span of 4-5 years.

I'm done with this.

I want to apologize to anyone if I ever offended anyone or if I was harsh in replies.

I'm sorry but I can't take this anymore. This simply isn't for me.

I'm withdrawing from Thor comics, his mythology.

I'll wait for another writer to try and salvage this mess.

once again, I'm very sorry guys.

good luck.

Please GodThor we need you, I like your posts, we can pretend we are watching a Thor comic version of SNL and have fun each month

[Overhazard]

War of Realms #2 was a good read, far better than #1.
Only weird thing was making Jane the all mother when freaking Sif is right there. Sif has been all mother before urgh.
I don't want to complain, but its always hilarious how doctor strange is always nerfed outside his solo
Still get the feeling that these will be one of those events where humans using Asgardian powers will be more competent than the actual Asgardians

Thor 12 was an interesting look into lokis mind

Kathryn Immonnen's JiM made me fall in love with Sif, it hurts that she's so underutilized.

[GodThor]

Please GodThor we need you, I like your posts, we can pretend we are watching a Thor comic version of SNL and have fun each month

haha thanks man.

hm maybe I'll read summaries and stuff.

Kathryn Immonnen's JiM made me fall in love with Sif, it hurts that she's so underutilized.

I would mind if she takes over after Aaron.

[marge_23]

Based on the solicitations, I bet that by the end of this event. Odin will die, Thor will probably lose and eye and become the all-father. Also he gets the arm of the destroyer

[Frontier]

I would suggest that the exploration of Thor as a concept through Jane is supposed to be relatively neutral to Odinson, which is why he was moved almost entirely off of the board during that process. I can understand why some think he was being portrayed in a negative light, but I only ever read him as depressed and a drinker. As a man who has seen his fair share of depression and also a big fan of beer, I never perceived that Thor was an alcoholic or a tramp, I just saw him as a realistic depiction of somebody going through a crisis of identity and a worldview shattering existential crisis. That’s not a negative for me, it’s just life.

Maybe "supposed" to be, but I think it's hard to remain neutral when she takes his name, iconography, and hammer and makes it her own, and that's even more prevalent when they're actually together.

I can understand how people would probably realistically react the way Thor was depicted but it just didn't feel true to the character of Thor in my mind, especially as it carried over into his personality and hero work. It just didn't feel consistent to the character in my opinion.

Aaron’s solution is a common one: treat him as a father. The only difference is Aaron is a deeply psychological writer, he digs into the characters and explores their perspective. So here we have an Odin that is struggling with fatherhood in a way that many fathers and sons will recognise. The misdirected angers and frustrations, the expectations and the feeling that many fathers have, that to express love and to nurture is not masculine and will not encourage masculinity. That is a worthy solution to the Odin conundrum for me. It makes me sympathetic towards him in a way I have rarely felt about the old bastard that he has often been. This is why for me Thor #10 is a masterpiece that sits alongside the best Thor comics ever written.

I've always been able to view Odin as a father, personally, so there's never really been that disconnect with me in other portrayals of him vs. Aaron.

Having that and accentuating all his negative traits honestly just makes me less sympathetic to this version of Odin compared to others. He's just not somebody I can really care about beneath all his bluster, misogyny, and indignation.

[Panic]

Based on the solicitations, I bet that by the end of this event. Odin will die, Thor will probably lose and eye and become the all-father. Also he gets the arm of the destroyer

The Destroyer arm at least looks better than the gold - that Noto variant cover is the best picture of Thor I've seen in a while.

[Frontier]

Can Thor just get his bloody arm back?

I don't know if Aaron will undo it because he's made it so central to his "vision" of Thor's future but I hope Thor isn't stuck with a metal arm for much longer anymore then he's stuck with a golden hammer.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Thor #342 Apr 1984
"The Last Viking"
In Asgard, Odin is considering the arrival of the last Viking.
Back on Earth, Sigurd and Jerry are surveying the destruction when Sigurd is told that
the girl he rescued wants to thank him before she is taken to the hospital.
She makes it very clear that she is attracted to him and wants to thank him properly when she gets out.

As the ambulance drives off, one man notes that he didn't even get her name.
Sigurd again hears someone calling his name in the language of old and decides to solve the mystery once and for all.

He changes to Thor and flies off.
Elsewhere, the gigantic figure senses the arrival of Hugin and Munin and strikes the first blow against the power of Asgard.
Back on Earth, Thor has followed the voice to Antarctica.
He discovers a valley teeming with life where the volcanic heat has made it cool, yet quite comfortable.
It is here that Thor discovers a village, not unlike the towns the ancient Vikings lived in.
He calls about but finds several of the huts empty and falling into disrepair.
He rounds a corner and finds a Viking graveyard filled with the stone ships.
They all point to an entrance into the side of a mountain, and Thor enters to investigate.
After entering the cavern, a giant door slams shut and hundreds of spears are launched all right at Thor.

In Asgard, Balder sits in the wilderness by a fire and calls to the darkness, telling the stranger to come forth.
The cloaked figure comes forth to join him and it is revealed to be Karnilla.
Balder tells her that what he has seen in Hel dogs him even in the empty wilderness. She tells him that he cannot carry this weight forever.
She gets up to leave, telling him that her men have left provisions for him behind the rocks.
And if he tires of the outland, she will offer him the hospitality of her home.

Back in Antarctica, Thor smashes the spears, only to encounter other traps within the cave.

After going through them all, Thor meets a gigantic warrior, that hurls a spear at Thor.
He dodges the spear and swings at the warrior, knocking his helmet loose.
In another cavern, beneath NYC, Fafnir nurses his hatred of Thor and realizes that Thor couldn't hurt him.
Fafnir emerges near the South Bronx, screaming for Thor.

And in a penthouse overlooking Central Park, Lorelei is preparing a special brew of golden mead just for Thor.
Back in the cavern, Thor discovers that the warrior is really an old man, who tells Thor not to spare him and to finish the job.
Thor tells him that he won't slay an ancient and carries him outside. Thor gets him outside and removes the armor and asks who he is.
He tells Thor that his name is Eilif the Lost and that his father's fathers founded the valley long ago, and could not get back out.
Eilif tells him that the labyrinth was the way to test themselves and become warriors since they had no enemies.
He wanted to trap Thor, whose temper is legendary and win his way through to Valhalla.
But he failed and is content to die the straw death having lived to see the Mighty Thor himself.

Thor tells him that his fate no longer rests within himself.
That he did not come all this way to discover a dotard seeking Valhalla through deception.
The Gods of the icy north have answered Eilif's call and now his life belongs to Thor.

Script and pencils by Walter Simonson

[Somecrazyaussie]

So, who do you think is taking over writing duties on Thor now that Aaron is finishing up?

[brettc1]

true.

Aaron's Odin is ****.

spoilers:

just read WotR chapter 2 and I saw how pathetic Odin was once again. Thor got stomped by giants. and the best part is, Jane became the All Mother of Asgard. I'm done with Aaron's BS.

end of spoilers

Sadly I agree.

The best description for Aaron’s Odin would be omnipathetic.

[brettc1]

Can Thor just get his bloody arm back?

I don't know if Aaron will undo it because he's made it so central to his "vision" of Thor's future but I hope Thor isn't stuck with a metal arm for much longer anymore then he's stuck with a golden hammer.

I found it weird that the sun melts all of his new hammers, but his arm and cape are okay.

[JKtheMac]

Having that and accentuating all his negative traits honestly just makes me less sympathetic to this version of Odin compared to others. He's just not somebody I can really care about beneath all his bluster, misogyny, and indignation.

See this is what Aaron likes to do when he explores masculinity. He doesn’t necessarily treat the men as misogynistic, he digs in and explains why people act that way. Not necessarily as an excuse, but by way of explanation. Indeed masculinity is his major theme in comics across his various titles. He is interested in male characters who are flawed and trying to understand them. My best advice if you really want to see things from Aaron’s angle is to read his non-marvel work for context.

By writing Thor and Odin this way he is not denigrating them he is doing what he does, exploring interesting characters and digging into their psyche. He is saying ‘you may not have considered this before, but Thor never takes worthiness for granted, and how he deals with that is a facet of his personality’. Not ‘Thor is obsessed with hammers’ that is just an apparent outworking of the circumstance. He is saying ‘Odin is nowhere near as confident or assured in his own power as he tries to appear’ not ‘Odin is a misogynist’ that is a current symptom of his loosing a grip on his status and his fears.

Effectively he is a Shakespeare acolyte, but without as many monologues. He wants us to understand his characters because everything they say and do is born out of their perspective on the world. His plots are generated from character, his drama is generated from characters with different perspectives and from characters with realistic and identifiable flaws.