The Immortal Thorsday Thoughts 19

The Immortal Thor #19 is titled “Tales of Asgard” after the old backup feature that originated in the Jack Kirby/Stan Lee run. Compared to the regular stories in Journey into Mystery/Thor, those backups were focused more on stories inspired by Norse mythology and driven more by Kirby than Lee. It was a chance for Kirby to really dive into the mythological aspect of Thor and Asgard rather than the regular superhero fare. If it weren’t for that element getting added into the mix and his continued push to have Thor stories take place outside of New York and Earth in general, it’s hard to say if Thor would be the character that he is now. Certainly, The Immortal Thor owes a debt to Kirby’s instincts to delve into what separates Thor from the rest of Marvel’s superheroes.

“Tales of Asgard” takes a different approach from any issue of The Immortal Thor to this point, not featuring Thor and, instead, kind of flittering around the various Asgardian subplots that have been germinating in the title. In addition, each page is drawn by a different artist with regular artist Jan Bazaldua handling bookend duties with the first and last pages. Given the different approach of the issue, I’m going to follow suit and go through it page by page to offer something not entirely unrelated to annotations, but also not at all annotations. The entire issue was lettered by Joe Sabino and, while I’ll indicate the line artist for each page, it’s not clear who coloured what necessarily (but it is in some cases), so here are the credited colourists (I wish I was able to figure it out, but, alas, I’m not that good): Matt Hollingsworth, Espen Gaundet Jern, Juan Ferreyra, Rod Reis, Frank D’Armata, Phil Noto, and Edgar Delgado. (And, if there are any spelling errors, blame me and the stylised font of the credits page...)

Cover (Alex Ross): A nice painting, but misleading cover for an issue where Thor does not appear. It seems like Ross may have been going for something symbolic with the World-Tree in the background and Thor on his throne and, if so, it doesn't land. Given the lead time for his covers, there is the odd one where the painting doesn't quite match the contents. It would have made more sense for a cover focusing on Amora and Magni, or Asgard as a whole somehow. This image suggests an issue focusing on Thor as king, inhabiting that role specifically. You could have swapped this for issue 15's cover and probably had better matches for both.

Page 0 (the epigraph): It’s been a while since I’ve discussed an epigraph for an issue of The Immortal Thor. Unlike some of the early ones, I found that, as the series went on, the choices were less clever and a bit more like Ewing was looking for anything that would fit, even if the connection was rather obvious. Ewing attributes it to “Gudrun’s Incitement” from the Elder Eddas. In my copy of The Prose Edda, it’s the final verse in “The Whetting of Gudrun” and it reads a little less obtuse (or, ironically, poetic):

‘To all warriors—may your lot be made better;

to all ladies—may your sorrow grow less,

now this chain of griefs has been recounted.’

The poem is Gudrun lamenting her past mistakes, even as she just urged her sons to go take revenge for the death of their sister. It’s paired with “The Lay of Hamdir,” which tells of the attempt at revenge. There’s a connection between the way this issue revolves mostly around Amora the Enchantress wrestling with her choices and if it’s worth going through with her scheme for power, while her son from a future that has not existed, Magni, travels Asgard, trying to find a place for himself in this strange world that’s both familiar and different. And, Ewing also chooses an epigraph from a poem that isn’t about the gods explicitly. It’s about people, not focused on the likes of Odin or Thor, much like the issue that follows (though they be gods mostly).

Page 1 (Jan Bazaldua): The issue begins with Sif watching Thor fly away from Asgard while Loki introduces the issue as not being about Thor, but his kingdom – a tale of many tales. We can guess why Ewing would want to shift focus and spent some time with Asgard without Thor. It gives him a chance to advance various subplots and give a variety of characters their own moments to shine. It allows Bazaldua to get a little reprieve from the rigors of the monthly schedule, only drawing two pages in this issue, which, no doubt, allowed her to continue drawing the remaining issues of the series. It’s also a brief pause before the final push to the end of The Immortal Thor. A bit of a breather before Thor’s final confrontation with Utgard ramps up. For Loki, it’s a reminder to us that their plan may focus on Thor, but requires so many others to see through, and this story moves many of them into place. It’s a chance for the Skald of Asgard to tell tales of Asgard, not just its king.

Page 2 (Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding): Introducing one of the recurring plots of the issue, Magni goes off to explore Asgard at the suggestion of Sif. Getting Jurgens and Breeding to draw the page is a callback to Magni’s origins in the run that Jurgens wrote. While Jurgens did step in to draw the odd issue here and there of that run, I’m not sure he ever drew Magni then. Ewing also draws upon the connection that Magni had with Sif in that future where she advises him on the ways that Thor had fallen and who he used to be. Sif acted as a bit of a mentor figure, which is why Magni is so at ease around her. There’s also foreshadowing in the way that we go from Sif watching Thor depart to Magni arriving right away.

Page 3 (Luciano Vecchio): Vecchio lays the page as a singular art piece, using circular images and patterns to give the look of a tapestry or stained glass in structure. The panel at the bottom left featuring Odin, Thor, and Magni is completely ornamental, showing the lineage of Asgard’s throne, while Amora the Enchantress spies on Magni and spells out her plot to have Thor’s power go to her son and, then, if something should happen to Magni, that the power may flow back to his other parent. The bottom middle panel contains the key to Amora, a character that Ewing absolutely nails: “THE MOST TERRIBLE CRIME... TO GAIN THE MOST UNIMAGINABLE POWER... / IS THAT TRULY WHO I AM...?” That dichotomy between the scheme and the guilt defines Amora so often. She’s tempted to do immoral actions for selfish gain, but she knows that they’re immoral and struggles with that. She wants to be good, truly. She’s weak and she’s afraid. She’s felt powerless and alone too many times to not put herself first, because she’s felt that the world doesn’t care. That question about if this is who she is, someone who would bring her son from a future that never happened to life only to kill him for power... It is. But, she’s also going to regret it immediately.

Page 4 (Karen S. Darboe): Amora truly loves Skurge. Not as much as she cares for herself, but, as much as she can care for another being, that’s what she feels for Skurge. Of course, the conflict presented here is laid out explicitly: Amora would save Skurge over Thor, and Skurge wishes to take Thor’s death upon himself. I enjoy the way that Ewing uses Thor’s death as two motives for Amora where she wishes him to die to save Skurge, returned from the dead, and to further her scheme to gain the power of Odin’s lineage. And the tragedy is that Skurge wants the opposite – and isn’t even mad at her. He loves her and accepts her for who she is, even it means being her pawn sometimes. Ewing draws upon the full history of the characters and packs a lot into just a few panels of interaction.

Page 5 (Jorge Fornés) and Page 6 (Juan Ferreyra): The next two pages focus on Beta Ray Bill, a character pretty hard done by in the Donny Cates/Nic Klein run. In the first arc, when Thor became the new herald of Galactus to hunt down and destroy the Black Winter, Bill took exception with this choice due to Galactus killing his people. During the fight between Thor and Bill, Thor destroyed Stormbreaker. While Thor later tried to apologise, making Bill Asgard’s Master of War. Daniel Warren Johnson followed this up in a five-issue mini-series that had Bill struggle with his lack of mortality, trapped in the body of the horse-faced warrior. It sent him on a quest (with Skurge and Pip the Troll) to, first, find Odin to remake Stormbreaker and, then, to take Surtur’s Twilight Sword as a replacement. He actually defeats Surtur, takes the Sword, and beheads the fire giant, which also ties back into his origin where it was Surtur’s forces that destroyed Bill’s homeworld. Using the Twilight Sword, he is now able to transform between his warrior and mortal selves once again. Yet, as we see on these pages, he still struggles. Magni’s words of his legend in the future that will never be bring no comfort and he shuns Sif’s entreaties of friendship and affection. The brief time holding Mjolnir again in the fight against Toranos was enough to remind him of all that’s he’s lost. It’s hard to say if there’s a way out for Bill given the downward spiral he’s endured beginning with the destruction of his people at the hands of Galactus through the loss of Stormbreaker. The DWJ mini is a pretty depressing read of a man who’s completely lost where everything he gains brings no solace. If there’s any hint of a positive in the future, it’s that Bill replaces Thor in the memories of Earth for his superhero history. Unfortunately, that looks like another thing to lose with Bill acting like another physical embodiment of an aspect of Thor as part of Loki’s scheme. I guess we’ll see. Fornés and Ferreyra while not artists of the same style as DWJ bring similar energies to their pages.

Page 7 (Valerio Schiti): Schiti drawing this page is a callback to his first regular work for Marvel, Journey into Mystery with Kathryn Immonen starring Sif. That was the continuation of the series after the Kieron Gillen-written Kid Loki run ended. Sif has been a constant in The Immortal Thor, the other character that appeared in the prologue story with Thor. As Asgard’s guardian and Thor’s ex-girlfriend, she occupies a special place to advise Thor. Here, her page is both a quick reminder that her current role came at high cost, the death of her brother Heimdall, and acts as a transition to the next page...

Page 8 (Rod Reis): In Jane Foster: Valkyrie, Jane took Heimdall beyond where gods usually go, so he could see something he’d never seen before. Ewing co-wrote that series with Jason Aaron at the time and, here, we get to see where Heimdall has gone after his death. The living city in Utgard where Hermod has also gone, obliterated by Tyr earlier in the series. This is a bit of a tease for what’s coming in the series and Rod Reis’s art style gives it an otherworldly feeling, somewhat reminiscent of Mike Del Mundo’s time on the title.

Page 9 (Juann Cabal) and Page 10 (Gleb Melnikov): Another pair of pages that seem to go with one another, focusing on Ullr, still in Asgard. Page 9 begins with Ullr responding to Loki’s narration, somehow able to perceive their storytelling. There are a few who are able to perceive Loki’s schemes to a certain extent. Usually, it’s been Elder Gods like Tiwaz or Utgard-Loki, or the previous Skald of Asgard, Braggi. When we last saw Ullr, he predicted Thor’s death and seems to be housing Athena and Zeus in the hopes that their influence will change that, though Athena draws the death card for Thor. Yet, Skurge coming to Ullr, asking him to make him a new axe to help steal Thor’s death and this seems to present the Yew-God a chance to assist his younger brother. It’s not quite explicit that Ullr is working to save Thor and, possibly, thwart Loki’s plans, but that’s the implication of these pages. Most of the story plays out in front of us, but I like these little bits that peak behind the scenes to suggest the larger plot, not just Loki’s efforts to advance it, but others who may influence it and may, in fact, be working against Loki.

Page 11 (Steve Skroce): No significance that I can think of for Skroce to draw this page other than he’s a great artist (my affection goes back to X-Man) and it’s the closest you get to ‘empty filler’ in this issue. But, it also hews closely to the “Tales of Asgard” title by having Magni enter a tavern to find the Warriors Four doing what the Warriors Four do in a tavern, and leave. It’s just a window into what goes on in Asgard with Thor’s best warrior friends.

Page 12 (Leonard Kirk): Kirk was Ewing’s partner on Avengers Inc. whose third issue took place in Valhalla, making him an appropriate choice to draw this page spotlighting Odin in Valhalla. It’s just Odin brooding on the impending death of Thor, somewhat similar to the previous page (beyond the similar setting of a tavern/hall) with Ewing taking the chance to give a quick update on a character in the larger Asgardian world. The line “...AND HE DOES NOT VISIT ME HERE...” is possibly foreshadowing of what happens after Thor dies where he does not go to Valhalla as you’d expect.

Page 13 (Cafu): Cafu was the artist on the aforementioned Jane Foster: Valkyrie series, so he returns to draw Amora impersonating Foster in an effort to gain entry to Valhalla. We get Amora’s guilt in the aftermath of her encounter with Skurge as she realises that her scheme cost her the chance to see her son, Iric, who it seemed she wanted to resurrect (and it was he, on the previous page, who alerts Odin to someone at the gates). She comes to Valhalla to see him and is refused entry. As usual, when she wants something, she’ll use every trick at her disposal to obtain it, including impersonating the final Valkyrie.

Page 14 (Phil Noto): Balder was dead before Magni grew, having opposed Thor somewhat early in his reign as tyrant king of Earth in that future. This page is a nice contrast between Balder’s approach to life and what Magni is looking for, which is something more akin to the life that Thor leads. I think it’s sweet that Ewing carved out a page for Magni to spend time with his uncle, who he’d no doubt like very much... even if they have dramatically different ideas of how best to spend their time.

Page 15 (Martín Cóccolo): The original artist of The Immortal Thor returns for a scene between Tiwaz and Utgard-Loki. The more I reread this page, the more hollow it comes across. Two Elder Gods that seem not aligned acting cordial with one another. Tiwaz seemingly fine with whatever plans Gaea and Utgard-Loki have for Thor, Asgard, and Midgard. At first, Utgard-Loki’s final words, promising that they won’t come to Andland, Tiwaz’s realm, repeating the phrase “NOT TO ANDLANG...” seem ominous, like it’s a trick, but, as we see at the end of the issue, it’s merely him alluding to Toranos coming to Asgard.

Page 16 (Lee Garbett): For my purposes, this is probably the most important page of the issue. Lee Garbett was the artist on Loki, Agent of Asgard, which was written by (guess who) Al Ewing. It was the followup to Loki’s adventures after Journey into Mystery and Young Avengers, picking up where Kieron Gillen left the character and ran right up until Secret Wars where the universe ended. Garbett rejoined Ewing in Thor #24/750 for a story that followed from the final issue of Agent of Asgard and led into Defenders Beyond. Which, is to say, Garbett drawing the Loki page of the issue is a good choice. Loki is in the form of the Skald – or the Enemy, if you will. Tiwaz is well aware of what Loki is doing and seems willing to remain at a distance from it. The interaction is interesting given that Tiwaz’s role as an Elder God tied to Gaea and the Utgard-Gods and so on is a retcon by Loki. So, like Ullr and others, Tiwaz is aware of Loki’s spell and storytelling, yet is also captive to it. His passive nature, willing to wander and safeguard his home, somewhat influenced by Loki, because Tiwaz is here in the story and Loki is the Skald. And we get a couple of details about Loki’s scheme, particularly that the confrontation in Utgard is just the end of the first act (which is Ewing’s way of describing the end of The Immortal Thor as well), but also that their involvement is not certain. This plays into my question about the third weapon that Thor was meant to obtain prior to journeying to Asgard – and what the involvement of Skurge thanks to Ullr’s assistance means in relation to that. Loki indicates that they will end the first act if they have to, suggesting that the plan isn’t for Loki to kill Thor as it plays out. That’s the fallback position... A reminder that, while Loki is the storyteller, they don’t have absolute control over the story.

Page 17 (Humberto Ramos): Amora’s story in this issue concludes with her visiting her other son, Alvi. Drawn by Strange Academy artist Humberto Ramos (which Iric and Alvi appeared in), it’s the final step in her attempt to assuage her guilt, looking to Alvi for some sort of comfort. Instead, he reminds her of her numerous schemes that treated her children as bargaining chips for her own gain. What should be cause to have her reconsider her plans to use Magni for her own gain, confronted with her past bad actions, only calcifies her in the certainty that her plan is the way to move forward. She’s hurt and her response is to shut out the world and only focus on herself rather than taking to heart that Alvi says. It’s the classic “If you think I’m bad, then I’ll show you have bad I can be” response.

Page 18 (David Baldeón): The artist of The Immortal Thor annual #1 returns to draw the update on Blackjack O’Hare who came to Asgard in that issue. Here, meeting Magni and seemingly finding that they are kindred spirits, two souls in the search for adventure and maybe helping folks out. It’s a fitting end to Magni’s tour of Asgard and, if he’s to be the next Thor, adds a bit of the cosmic into his story. But, it’s also different from Thor. Thor has never been the type to have a sidekick, especially a cyborg bunny type of sidekick, giving Magni a little bit of his own identity. Yet, it does recall Avengers: Infinity War and that version of Thor teaming up with Rocket and Groot, so Magni is echoing another version of his father that doesn’t exist. You could say that he’s embodying that idea of Thor, in a way...

Page 19 (Gavin Guidry): The new Bloodaxe is forged and Skurge has paid a huge, terrible price eagerly. Ullr seems to have a sense of what is coming and Skurge’s role in it. A third weapon is crafted here, not for Thor, but for who will stand next to Thor... That Ullr leads into the coming of the Utgard-Gods as Toranos approaches the Bifrost could foreshadow Skurge’s role in breaking both bridges with this axe, which spells his doom as well. Like a lot of the references and allusions in this issue, Ewing is fairly subtle. He places words and characters and ideas next to one another with their full meaning often revealed later.

Page 20 (Jan Bazaldua): And it ends back on the Bifrost with Sif, not watching Thor depart, but the coming of Toranos to Asgard, a fitting end to the issue, setting up the next.

There’s a lot in “Tales of Asgard,” much of piecemeal and allusion rather than direct statements of advancing things. After all, this is Thor’s comic and Thor’s story, so there’s only so much that can occur without him. As you dig into the artist choices, most are fairly appropriate for their pages, more than I thought at first glance. This issue reads like a throwaway issue, one of little importance beyond entertainment and as a breather before Shit Gets Real in the final six issues, but it’s not. At least, I don’t think it is.

Next week, we begin the end of The Immortal Thor and The Immortal Thorsday Thoughts.

The Immortal Thorsday Thoughts 18

The return of Magni Thorson was one of those moments that genuinely floored me. I remember where I was when I read The Immortal Thor #17: I had the day off work (maybe the week?) and I did as I often do when I have a Wednesday off – I went to get new comics and, then, stopped for lunch. In this case, it was McDonald’s for cheap Big Mac day and, over my food, I read that issue first. I don’t know the exact moment that I suspected it was Magni that Amora had tricked Thor into bringing back to life, but it was somewhere in the pages leading up to that final reveal. I thought that it wasn’t possible that Al Ewing would bring back Magni and, then, bam, there was the forgotten redheaded child of Thor and Amora from a future that would never be.

The story of Magni Thorson is really the story that Dan Jurgens told with a variety of artists over the final 30 issues of his run on Thor. Beginning specifically with issue 50 (though, of course, that issue flowed out of the ones preceding it) and ending somewhat abruptly with issue 79, it was a story about Thor, Lord of Asgard and, eventually, Lord of Earth. (The end of issue 17 specifically points to issue 68 as the place to begin Magni’s story and that’s technically the first appearance of the character as a baby, but that’s the middle of the larger story.) The cover for issues actually bore those subtitles as the story progressed. With Odin dead, Thor took up the mantle of king of Asgard and began looking to fix Earth. It’s one of those superhero stories that crop up from time to time where the hero tries to fix the world. They end droughts and famine, topple dictators and despots, and basically go to war with the powers that be. The story unfolded roughly as you’d expect complete with nukes, Avengers, and lots of shadowy government plans to stop Thor from his plans. It’s the sort of story that I find frustrating to read at this point as the over-the-top opposition is what turns the hero into the villain that they argue he is. After so much effort spent trying to kill Thor, including decimating New York, Thor eventually conquers the world – and finds him unworthy of Mjolnir in the process.

The story jumps from 2003 to 2020 briefly and, then, to 2170. It’s in that last time period that we truly meet Magni, the prince of Asgard. At this point, Thor is gruff and somewhat cruel, married to Amora, Loki is right-hand head of security, and Magni is a genuinely good person. All of Thor’s typical goodness is in his son. Their relationship is very much an echo of the Odin/Thor relationship with Magni not wanting much to do with the pomp and circumstance of being the prince of Asgard. He befriends a human and, through her, his eyes are opened to the reality of Thor’s rule on Earth – and, particularly, Loki’s role in that, which extends even further than Thor knows into an effort to be the power behind the power, you know? As Magni grows wary of Asgard, he’s led to discover Mjolnir in the ruins of New York, left since 2003 when Thor was no longer able to lift it.

His questioning of his father culminates in him confronting Thor and demanding that he prove himself still worthy by lifting the hammer. It’s a pretty charged scene as Magni is genuinely torn between his love and loyalty to his parents and the ways that he can see they’ve erred. One moment, he’s accusing his mother of marrying Thor solely for the power, the next, he’s apologising. It’s a messy scene that’s only broken up when Desak, Destroyer of Gods returns to kill Thor (awakened when Magni lifted Mjolnir). Father and son team up against the slayer of gods and, through that battle, Thor sees how far Loki has overstepped and realises his own mistakes, finally becoming worthy again of Mjolnir. He then travels back in time, imparts his memories to the Thor he once was in an effort to avoid this future, and the Jurgens run abruptly ends. It was clearly a rushed finale that does given the whole thing a bit of a sour ending. All in all, the 30-issue story takes the tired ‘superhero fixes the world’ plot and actually sees it through beyond the usual point where it ends.

In-story, the reason for bringing Magni back makes perfect sense. Amora knows Thor is meant to die, so giving him a son for the Odin-Force/Thor-Force to pass down to lets her either be the mother of the new king or, as she eventually admits, makes her possibly next in line to receive the power should Magni die. It’s pretty much the perfect Amora the Enchantress type of plot. Hell, there’s even the unsaid possibility that lurks in her mind where Magni’s presence warms Thor up to the prospect of a romantic rekindling. I wonder if that’s the true motive... probably.

I do have two questions: how does Amora know about Magni and why does Ewing bring back Magni? I pose them together, because, as you may suspect, I have a common answer: Loki. (Always Loki!) As I’ve discussed nearly every week, Loki is the teller of this story and, as such, influences what happens to an extent. From what I know, Thor has never told Amora about the future where they were married and had Magni (though my memory may be faulty, of course), leaving that gap sitting oddly. Unless the idea was planted by the Skald, making Magni’s arrival have a purpose in the larger goal of securing the freedom of everyone.

I’ve argued that part of Loki’s efforts is to break down Thor piece by piece, separating ideas of him from his physical self. This is why the weapons that Loki, in the form of Thor’s Enemy, spurs Thor to create to escape their rune riddles (runes that come from Thor’s own name). Bit by bit, the very ideas of Thor are being scattered, made physical apart from Thor himself, leaving what? A shell that’s called Thor but contains nothing that makes Thor. By bringing back Magni, another part of Thor is made physical. That other self, the future tyrant that he never became, those memories are given physical shape in the form of the person from that time that Thor would love best, would be most happy to see. Magni is the physical embodiment of that part of Thor. Just as the weapons don’t actually remove his wit or his endurance (or his worthiness), the memory remains, yet it also has representation outside of Thor. And in the world of Asgard and magic, ideas made physical can be quite powerful.

More than that, there’s an element of disconnect between Magni and this Asgard. When Thor dies and his power flows to Magni (as shown to be true in The Mortal Thor #4), there’s incongruity at work. Magni is Thor’s son and prince of Asgard, but he’s not this Thor’s son nor prince of this Asgard. By having the legacy of the Thor – which means the legacy of Odin, Bor, and Buri aka Tiwaz – go to someone not truly of that legacy, it severs the connection possibly. Another major piece of Thor and his lineage is sent away from him, made physical in another, and cut off from the source. The very idea of Asgard is separated from the Elder Gods yet is still of Asgard, in its own way.

Going beyond the larger plot (a little), Magni also represents something else, related to the weapons of Thor: immortality. This comic is titled The Immortal Thor and we should be asking what that means. We know Thor dies, so how can he be immortal? There are many ways. The use of the Eddas points to the largest one: Thor exists as an idea, a story. Thor the Marvel Comics superhero exists because the idea of Thor lives on in Norse mythology through works like the Eddas. As I’ve said, the weapons of Thor break him down into ideas. The traits of Thor come to represent him and carry on what he was. That’s part of what Loki is trying to do, just as Loki was able to free themself from the shackles of the idea of Loki to become something new, whatever they wished, they’re trying to do the same for everyone else. Yet, the ideas of who and what Loki is still remain. Loki as a being may be free of those ideas, but they linger on as a shadow self, in a manner. The idea and the person.

Another way of achieving immortality is through children. Thor had vowed not to have any children to this point, not wanting the burden of Asgard to be forced upon his child. That would make Thor synonymous with Asgard (which is what we saw in the King Thor of Jason Aaron’s run), tying the two together. By Magni arriving, by having a child to pass down something of himself, that severs his one-to-one link to Asgard and gives him another method of immortality. When he dies, there will still remain Magni Thorson. As the lineage is broken, it also retains continuity in a sense. It’s a bit of contradiction, I admit, but, sometimes, ideas are two things at once.

There’s also the idea of Magni acting as a double for Thor. As we’ve seen in The Mortal Thor, he’s becoming something of a replacement for Thor. It’s a common trope in superhero comics for the new version of a character to take over for the old one. It’s happened to Thor before with Eric Masterson and Jane Foster, so why not Magni? And, in that way, it’s another way to separate an idea of Thor from the specific person. Every ‘replacement’ version of a character is simultaneously that specific hero and something different. They embody the idea of the hero and bring their own elements to it. Miles Morales is Spider-Man, but he’s not Peter Parker Spider-Man, you know? Magni assuming the role of successor of Thor and, in a way, new Thor, somewhat separates the idea of superhero Thor from Thor.

More than that, this issue and the confrontation with the New Gods of Midgard further separates the idea of Earth from Thor – which will come into play when Asgard is severed literally from Earth and Sigurd Jarlson finds himself in New York. It wouldn’t shock me if Magni finds a way back to Earth at some point, but I could be way off... We’ll see.

Next week, it’s The Immortal Thor #19, the ‘Tales of Asgard’ artistic jam issue, and I’ll use it as an opportunity to talk about the Daniel Warren Johnson Beta Ray Bill mini-series.

The Immortal Thorsday Thoughts 17

I don’t like Donald Blake. If you’ve been reading my writing on Thor going back a ways, then this isn’t news. As much as there are elements of J. Michael Straczynski’s run on the title that I enjoy, bringing back Blake was the biggest mistake he could make and it’s one that’s posed a challenge for subsequent writers ever since (save Jason Aaron who, rightfully, took the gift that Matt Fraction left him). Almost everyone hails Walt Simonson’s time on the title as the creative high point of Thor comics and, besides introducing Beta Ray Bill, the main thing he did in that opening four-issue story was eliminate Donald Blake. Blake was a remnant from the early days of Marvel where most of the heroes were rooted in weak ‘everyman’ types of characters that Thor had outgrown long before Jack Kirby left the title. The character and his world had evolved to the point where Thor having a mortal alter-ego was a detriment to the title, an albatross around its neck. Sure, it makes for a nice contrast for a story, but, in the longterm, having Thor weighed down to a human doctor is more hindrance than help.

More than that, Blake has been the source of so many retcons, beginning with Stan Lee doing the first (Blake was a creation to house Thor’s spirit – there was no Blake) and, then, Roy the Boy adding his own spin (actually, Blake was real) and JMS bringing him back. At least when Simonson wiped the enchantment from existence and Blake was no more, Blake was genuinely no longer a concern. By bringing him back, it always raised questions about his right to a life, to a soul, to what Odin owed him, to what Thor owed him, and the fact that those questions would never be resolved. Never. They absolutely, one hundred per cent will never be resolved to any satisfaction, because, at some point, Thor will always revert to the mean. Thor will always be Thor, so there is no room for Blake. The best you could hope for was he was an invention and he’s wiped from existence ala Simonson, or he’s sidelined and given a false life in a dream that will keep him content forever ala Fraction. That was the best you could hope for unless you’re going to make him the villain.

And that’s what Donny Cates did in Thor #9-14 in the “Prey” arc. He both ignored and used where Fraction had left the character, a bodiless head in the real world trapped in a dream world where he could have a full life. Cates conflated that dream world with the place where Blake would go when Thor was in the real world – a place created by Odin. The plot is basically that the Midgard Serpent worms his way into this place and tells Blake the truth about his existence there, causing Blake to go mad, slaughter everyone there, find the remnants of Odin-Force in himself (because he had that somehow as construct of Odin), overpower the Serpent to take his power, and, when Thor frees Blake so he can go to that place, as it’s also a place to commune with the Elder Gods, Blake breaks the cane, and goes on a killing spree of anyone with remnants of Odin and Thor’s power. By the end, Thor is free, Blake is defeated, and Loki makes Blake the new god of lies, placing him below the serpent that drips venom in his eyes.

It doesn’t end there. Instead, we come to another semi-essential Immortal Thor companion read: Thor #27-28, issues that came at the end of Cates run, around the time that he experienced the car accident that left him unable to write for quite a long time. These two issues are quasi-prologues to The Immortal Thor, co-plotted and scripted by Al Ewing. At the time, Ewing stepping in to work on these issues seemed driven by the guest appearance of Venom, whose title Ewing was (and still is, I suppose) writing, but it wound up being a bit of a tease for what was to come. For our purposes, what matters is that bits of a Symbiote combine with bits of Promethium and that drips along with the venom into Blake’s eyes. That is where we last see him until The Immortal Thor #17. In an early interview for The Immortal Thor, Ewing acknowledged the way that Cates’s run was cut short and indicated that the only request Cates had about Ewing’s work on the title was to leave Blake alone, that he had plans for him. I guess, by this point in the run, that had changed, because this is where Blake takes his first steps into mattering in the grand scheme of things.

Ewing places Blake in an unexpected role based on where Cates (and Ewing) left the character: he’s now the middle ground between Thor and Loki, in a way. He’s still connected to Thor, sharing a soul, after a fashion, but he’s also stepped into Loki’s old place as the god of lies, the nemesis of Thor. But, he’s also positioned as the Serpent, the enemy of Thor at Ragnarok. He occupies numerous roles, becoming a weird centre to things. It’s a difficult role to fully unpack and seems to be playing out in The Mortal Thor currently, a story that I’m not entirely convinced is literally occurring... at least, not in the same way as The Immortal Thor.

There’s one part of Blake’s appearance here that confuses me; or causes me pause, more accurately. Enough to send me to back issues, leafing through frantically, trying to find the referenced event. After Thor’s physical body was turned to stone by the Grey Gargoyle and smashed into pieces by Mr. Hyde in the previous issue, in this issue, he finds himself in Vidbláinn with Blake. After a quick recap of recent history, Blake says that they can speak with one another there due to Thor’s spirit being there, “AS WE DID ONCE BEFORE. / REMEMBER WHAT I SAID TO YOU THEN? / ABOUT MIDGARD’S END?” and, then, Blake shows the burning ruins of a city and says that this is the future if Thor isn’t there are the right time, in the right place, to stop it. What stopped me is that I don’t remember these two ever speaking before on this topic. I did some back-issue flipping and it doesn’t occur in “Prey” nor issue 27 and 28, not after that and not in The Immortal Thor that I can find.

I don’t think they ever did speak like this before. It’s presented so matter of factly and is about an idea that we’re quite familiar with in this run, so, on a cursory reading, it seems perfectly normal. Except, Blake is the god of lies, picking up the mantle and power of Loki. He lies to Thor, positions himself in a role he’s never held, and it becomes a fact, of sorts. The story changes. Ewing plays with this idea when Blake shouts “DON’T I HAVE AN HONEST FACE?” while reverting to his Symbiote/Serpent look. While Blake is now a hybrid being, someone who shares aspects of many, a Chimera, it seems that his specific role in this story is to share a piece of Loki. His reference to Thor dying means that he’ll die or, “MAYBE IF YOU DIE, I’M FREE.” rings some bells regarding Loki’s apparent purpose in the grand scheme of things.

The ensuing attack on Thor by the creatures of the Vidbláinn while Blake watches seems like another dry run/test to see what may or may not happen if Thor were to die, for real. What sort of freedom would that mean, for Blake... for everyone? This is a preview, of sorts, of what transpires in The Immortal Thor #25 where Thor does sacrifice his after-life and what that means. And, if you’ve read that far ahead, you’ll know that Blake doesn’t die when Thor dies. Only his soul disappears, leaving the Serpent. My theory is that Blake is part test case for Loki, part aspect of Loki ala Utgard-Loki. A tool to advance their cause.

For me, this doesn’t necessarily redeem Blake as a character. He’s fallen into a role somewhat similar to that of Ben Reilly, a character I actually quite like. As a clone of Peter Parker, he’ll never get to be the real Spider-Man. He’s occupied the role on a couple of occasions for a time, but, due to the real world nature of the franchise, much like Blake holds back Thor, Reilly can never be Spider-Man. But, the character keeps getting brought back until that metafictional reason for his inability to live his preferred life is used as motivation to become a villain. That is what I truly hate in modern superhero comicbooks: when editorial reasons is used as in-story justification. Blake will never be a proper person because Thor will always be Thor. Reilly will never be Spider-Man, because Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Instead of using these realities as reasons to not engage with characters whose stories are confined, they’re instead twisted and reshaped, tried to be made useful and interesting... I’m not convinced that Ewing will pull it off with Blake. Maybe not to my satisfaction, at least.

Next week, I’ll discuss the implications of the second half of The Immortal Thor #17 via issue 18 and revisit the Dan Jurgens run with Thor #68 specifically, but maybe more.