When it comes to the two comic book juggernauts Marvel and DC, many of their characters are known through and through by their fans. Their moral ideologies, and their methods of justice always stay the relatively consistent. The major comic book heroes, and their character, are set in stone. But one character seems to break free from this barrier. To not only evolve in a positive sense as a super hero, but to become the most INSPIRING super hero currently seen in comic book publications coming from Marvel or DC. This isn't a flame bait article, or one that is attempting to create 10+ pages of banter. This is simply an editorial by an avid comic book reader, going back to what's important: praising super heroes, and why they're so AWESOME!
Let's talk about what is the most popular current perception of Thor from Marvel comics. Thor, the god of thunder, has always been seen as a brute with a hammer. A warrior who does nothing more than fighting, drinking, and having sex with beautiful women. Though these are all activities that I believe every hero should participate in in short bursts if not at all times, it's not exactly the ideal primary characterizations that a "superhero" should have. I have always liked Thor as a character. But the fact that these summed up the character of Thor, was what ultimately prevented me from loving the character as a hero. Although characters don't really change as time progresses, this character has. And I can honestly say that I love him as a superhero now. But what exactly has changed between then an now? The pairing of Thor with writer extraordinaire Jason Aaron .
I'm not going to beat around the bush, Jason Aaron is currently the best writer in the entire industry , and has been so for the past year. It will take an entirely new editorial to cover, in its entirety, why I believe this to be true. So i'm not going to cover that. But what I will cover however, is how Jason Aaron has evolved Thor in every way that matters. Previously, Thor has always had two types of character stages: Young Thor, which was brash, arrogant, and irresponsible; and Thor the Avenger, which was a wiser, and more mature Thor. Both of whom still retained the love of battle, women, and alcohol as an integral part of their character. The ingenuity of Jason Aaron's writing of Thor is that he's finding a way to both keep these elements, while still adding a level of depth to the character that I previously thought to be impossible to accomplish for a long standing hero such as Thor.
Let's start with young Thor. Jason Aaron keeps the arrogance, and love of sex women for the character. But he pushes that to the background, and highlights what makes young Thor so intriguing. His insurmountable level of courage. Some might rather call this stupidity, but I prefer the former. In the previously finished "God Bomb" arc, every god, in every part of this timeline, was captured by Gorr and sent to be enslaved on his personal designated planets. In God of Thunder issue #8 , Young Thor, who was the only one to previously escape from being captured by Gorr, attends a secret meeting by the enslaved gods, as they try to attempt to devise a way to put an end to the God Bomb. Which plans to end the lives of every god that has ever existed. In order to do so, they need to plant a smaller explosive at the heart of the power center of the god bomb. Protected by Gorr's army, the gods argue how exactly they should do this. Young Thor, listening to the other distracted gods bickering from a corner, grabs the bomb, and sets out to take care of it himself. They call him crazy, they call him stupid, then they cheer him on as he powers through Gorr's forces as he somehow manages to make it rain fire even though every other god's power on that planet has been suppressed. This set up, the stakes, and the execution by Jason Aaron, is what makes this young Thor Highlight moment so intriguing.
Old Thor/ King Thor is a part of Thor's character that has not been touched on much. In this comic however, we get a sense of who King Thor is, and what separates him from Thor The Avenger. In the Aaron's current run, King Thor is simply beaten. He has lost all hope. He was unable to stop Gorr, and as a result, he is the last god not captured by Gorr in his entire cosmos. He is filled by regret. Regret for not being a King strong enough to protect his people. It's interesting to see this Thor because we are always used to the hero being the best, and always saving everyone. But King Thor was unable to do this. His entire kingdom has been either captured or killed. Before he had given up. But after seeing the belief and energy of the two younger Thor's, it gave him the motivation to begin his quest to start redeeming himself.
Last but not least is my favorite thor, "Thor The Avenger". This is the present Thor that we are all familiar with. And Aaron's breakdown of this Thor is simply amazing. His representation of Thor is unlike any other before him. Aaron's Thor is seen answering prayers across the galaxy, as a god does. From answering a prayer that asks him to save a planet, to answering a prayer requesting him to be a date to a mortal's graduation ball. Thor answers them all. Think about that for a second. He ANSWERS PRAYERS. People pray to him, and he answers them. This almost singlehandedly classifies him as a "GOD". It is something that simply has not been a part of Thor's character in previous stories told by other writers. This shows Thor's compassion as a God. But where does this compassion come from? Aaron addresses that as well. In a page long monologue by the main villain of the arch "Gorr The God Butcher". During a fight with Thor the Avenger, Aaron analyzes all three Thor's through the villain Gorr.
" At last I understand you, little god. The old you, the king, he's always been fueled by REGRET. He thinks if he kills me, he can erase his own history of wretched FAILURE. And the young one, the viking god, he uses arrogance and rage to mask his crippling shame. But YOU... I could never quite figure out. Until now. You know i'm right. THAT'S why you fight so hard. Why you try so desperately to seem noble. Because you see just how petty and useless your kind truly are. You know what I know. That the gods have never created or cared for anything except THEMSELVES. The God who DOUBTS. Heh, I change my mind. You're my favorite Thor." Thor looks at himself as well as other gods, and a part of his mind thinks gods are useless. That all of the "gods" are simply elitists who prefer having control and power over actually being gods, like they're supposed to be. He doubts himself, and he also has doubts in the concept of gods in general. As human beings, this is something that we can naturally connect with. But the fact that these doubts are coming from a god as well, only adds to the connection I have with the character. When realizing this, my interest in the character grew ten fold. This highlights Thor's humility. This is why he fights so hard, and aims to be the greatest god ever. A part of him doubts whether the gods are either strong enough, morally sound enough, or caring enough, to actually deserve the title of being called "Gods". And he will stop at NOTHING to prove to himself that they are indeed worthy of this title. That is where his strength comes from. And that is what truly makes Thor so inspiring!