Hello and welcome to Comic Drake where I talk about comic books and my name is Drake!
One of my most unpopular opinions about the Marvel cinematic universe is that I really
liked the first Thor movie, despite many people thinking that it was just okay.
However, one of the things that I’ve seen people confused about online is in regards
to this line that was in the movie and was heavily featured in the trailer.
"Your ancestors called it magic and you call it science.
Well I come from a place where they’re one and the same thing."
Okay, so is Thor ACTUALLY a god or is he just a really buff alien dude?
Let’s put an end to this debate once and for all!
Before we get started, I need to point out that because this is a comic book channel,
we are specifically focusing on the comic book version of Thor.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in.
Thor Odinson was technically first introduced in Venus #11 in 1950, but the modern incarnation
and the one that you guys are most likely familiar with came from Journey Into Mystery
#83 in 1962.
Thor’s creator, Stan Lee, said in an interview with the Washington Post, “I dreamed up
Thor years ago because I wanted to create the biggest, most powerful superhero of all
and I figured who can be bigger than a god?”
So yes, Thor was originally conceived by Stan Lee to be a literal god and since then, we’ve
seen the introduction of several other Earthly gods and demigods, most notably Mr. Cool Story
Bro himself, the Incredible Hercules!
So with the inclusion of multiple other pantheons of gods and the word from Stan Lee himself,
this would seem to cement that Thor actually is a god.
Case closed, right?
Weeeeell, this video would be pretty short and boring if that was it so let’s take
a look back at my “favorite” era of comics, the 90s.
If you couldn’t tell, that was sarcasm.
Because 90s comics are just really weird and overly edgy sometimes.
Anyway, during this time, several classic comic book characters were being retconned
and reworked to better fit with the changing taste of comic book fans.
This is around the time that Odinson transitioned in the canon from a god to an alien with advanced
technology.
This is pretty in line with the final of three laws that were created by British science
fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke which states that “Any sufficiently advanced technology
is indistinguishable from magic.”
In fact, this was made explicitly clear in Thor #493 in 1995 which states that Thor and
the other Asgardians are not gods or supernatural beings, but rather aliens.
It also states verbatim that Colonel Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.
had a private discussion with Odinson and described that their race has technology so
advanced that it is indistinguishable from magic, even to them.
That last part is pretty strange though, isn’t it?
Now Thor isn’t dumb, but he’s not a genius either.
If Asgardian technology is indistinguishable from magic even to the Asgardians themselves
then how could Thor of all people possibly know about it?
To make things even more complicated, how does this account for Hercules, the Greek
gods, and all of the other gods that we’ve seen interact with Earth?
Even if the official stance of Marvel Comics at the time was that Thor is an alien, then
this just opens up a lot of plot holes with nothing to really fill them in.
Now it is worth noting that this page in Thor #493 is an excerpt from a fictional publication
inside of Marvel’s universe entitled “Alien Heaven: The Truth of Asgard”, As in real
life, it’s very possible that this fictional writer just got the details wrong.
After all, there is a LOT more evidence that Odinson IS a god rather than not and of course,
we as readers have more access to knowledge about Thor rather than some random schmuck
writing a book in the Marvel universe.
Regardless, it seems like none of the fans really to cared about Thor’s exact origins
until the 2011 movie cited the advanced alien origin and the comics contradicted it explicitly
one year later.
That’s right, we were given one of my all time favorite Thor books in 2012 in the form
of Thor: God of Thunder!
In this series, the idea of gods are HEAVILY played with.
In fact, the book starts off with Thor literally being able to hear the prayers of his worshipers,
it shows off alien gods, and it even goes so far as to introduce Omnipotence City, a
literal CITY of gods.
And here I thought that City of Heroes was cool back in 2004.
Additionally, Thor: God of Thunder deals with Thor fighting a really fun character, Gorr
the God Butcher, an alien whose faith in gods was obliterated and set out on a quest to
kill them all.
Gorr the God Butcher said some pretty nasty stuff to Odinson.
Like so bad that all Nick Fury had to whisper in his ear was “Gorr was right.”
and Thor was no longer worthy of lifting his hammer because this line struck him to the
very core.
If the gods were just advanced aliens then wouldn’t Gorr have explicitly mentioned
that when he was on one of his multiple tirades about how the gods aren’t special?
Besides, I decided to personally reach out to Jason Aaron, the writer of the Thor comics
from 2012 to the time of this recording, and he says that he has always written Thor Odinson
as a literal god.
Now I will admit that the exact qualifications of godhood are a bit vague considering that
Jane Foster (who took up the mantle of Thor after Odinson was unworthy after the aforementioned
whisper by Nick Fury) was able to officially participate in a Challenge of the Gods by
a pair of Shi’ar gods.
Regardless, that’s a topic for another day because there is one crucial fact that is
almost always overlooked when people debate about whether or not Thor is a god or not.
You know Odinson’s mother, Freyja?
Well that’s not his real mother!
Yep, this part of Thor’s history is extremely overlooked, but his true mother... is the
Elder Goddess, Gaea.
Now, she has a different name in every single pantheon on Sarth or is simply known as Mother
Earth, but the Elder Gods are some of the oldest and most powerful beings in the entire
Marvel universe.
I mean heck, Omnipotence City, the city of gods?
That was explicitly built BY the Elder Gods.
With the blood of his mother in his veins, it’s no surprise that Thor is shown to be
capable of several impressive feats including the ability to wield thunder and lightning
without the help of his hammer.
There is absolutely no room for doubt that with this, Thor IS a god or at the VERY least,
he is a demi-elder god.
Hopefully this will put an end to some of the confusion.
And to prevent some people from getting all butthurt in the comments then yes, Thor can
also be considered an alien because the definition is literally “Supposedly from another world;
extraterrestrial.”
Asgard is another world.
Thor is not from Earth, therefore he’s not terrestrial.
Ergo, Thor is also an alien.
But hey, if you liked this video then why not consider subscribing or even watching
another one?
I personally want to recommend our video on what makes someone worthy of THor’s hammer,
Mjolnir, in the first place.
I had a lot of fun making it and I think you’re going to love it too.
So anyway, hopefully I’ll see you next time!