Since 1962,Thorhas been an integral part of the Marvel Universe, from being a founding member of the Avengers to ushering in the era of the MCU. However, all things must pass, and Marvel just announced thatas of August 2025, its universe will no longer have a God of Thunder - or indeed any other Asgardian gods.
The change comes as Marvel announces it is mysteriously rebooting theThorfranchise, removing all Asgardian mythology from its main reality, aka Earth-616. After the change, the Asgardian Gods will be considered fictional, andThor will be reinvented as just"a man with a hammer."
The change comes in Al Ewing and Pasqual Ferry’sThor #1. Marvel has beenteasing ‘the Death of Thor’in the pages ofImmortal Thor- now comic fans know it will lead into a whole newstatus quowhere the entirety of Thor lore has somehow been removed from Marvel’s main reality.But what exactly is that going to look like?
Cover Artist:
ALEX ROSS
THE LEGEND BEGINS! The Norse Myths tell of Gods who walked the Earth, doing great deeds for the mortals who believed in them. But Asgard isn’t real, and never was. The Gods never soared in our skies, never stood with our heroes, never fought for kindness or justice. It was all just a story. Nobody’s coming to help us. But somewhere in the city… a man is waking up. A man with a hammer.
The Death of Thor Means Norse Mythology Is Leaving the Marvel Universe
But How Is Marvel Actually Going to Rewrite Its Lore?
Launching in 2023,The Immortal Thoris a spiritual follow-upto Ewing and Joe Bennett’sImmortal Hulk, described by Ewing as the"New Testament" to Hulk’s dark and wrath-filled Old Testament. The metatextual series has seen Thor unlock omnipotence as the All Father of Asgard,exploring how the nature of narrative shapes his life and purpose in the Marvel Universe. Now, Thor’s adventures will apparently erase Asgardian myth from Marvel’s main reality, leaving it so that the gods are once again considered fiction. How this will affect Marvel’s other heroes and franchises is yet to be seen, but there’s three main ways it could happen.
The first possibility is that Thor’s newstatus quowill be its own pocket reality, similar to Marvel’s recent Ultimate Universe imprint. If this is the case, Thor will be shunted into a world where he never became one of Earth’s most influential heroes, likely hunting for a way to return to Earth-616. Marvel’s other titles would therefore suffer from minimal interference, as Thor can simply be considered missing.Evidence supporting this is that Thor recently quit the Avengersafter he was framed for murder, asking Storm to take his place as the team’s Thunder God. Meanwhile, evil billionaire Dario Aggercreated his own villainous Thor. If Thor disappears, the Avengers might not even notice - especially if Agger’s copy takes his place.
The second possibility is that this is some kind of afterlife that Thor will be trapped inafter his death. This is supported by Ewing’s tease for the newThorseries, saying:
Since the very first issue of IMMORTAL THOR, Thor’s been facing the end of his tale… but that was only the end of Act One. As the next chapter begins, Thor must face threats he’s never faced, from a place he’s never been… until now. Is he alive? Is he dead? Is he immortal… or much, much more? You’ll have to join us to find out.
The final possibility is that Marvel’s mainstream reality will be rewrittenso that Thor and the Asgardian Gods are considered fictional. This would likely have more spillover into other titles - for example, if the Avengers didn’t form to fight against Loki, whatdidhappen? However, this is still the most likely option given recent events inImmortal Thor.
I’m Pretty Sure Marvel Is Overwriting Its Main Reality
Immortal Thor Is About Stories, And How The Right Narrative Can Change Reality
In recent issues,Thor villains the Enchantress and the Minotaur have been messing with his past. Enchantress has been doing this using Marvel Comics, messing with the events of Thor’s mythic adventures via their modern-day telling. (Yes,Marvel’s comics exist in the Marvel Universe, where they’re seen as semi-fictional accounts of real-world heroes.) Enchantress was able to alter Thor’s past, and it makes sense that this newstatus quowill see her (or someone like her) do the same on a much, much larger scale. As the leader of the evil corporation Roxxon, the Minotaur (aka Dario Agger) has major resources to try and remove Thor from reality.
While it’s little-discussed, Thor’s status as a god makes him part-fictional.Thor is half-Elder Godand possesses a more concrete form than other gods because he’s known by so many mortals, making him pretty unique as far as Marvel’s gods go, buthe can still be altered if his narrative is.Immortal Thorhas been leaning into this idea with Loki’s new role as the deific Teller of Tales and Thor’s new Odinpower only working when he can find the ideal solution to a problem, presented as Thor warping reality if he can tell a better ‘story.’
Given these themes, it makes sense that Enchantress will rewrite Thor’s story, leading the former God of Thunder to have to reassert his godhood by forging a new narrative in a world that doesn’t already see him as a hero.
Is This a Permanent Change to the Thor Franchise?
In Marvel Comics, Nothing Lasts Forever
It’s essentially guaranteed thatThorwill eventually revert to its formerstatus quo, with Thor either returning to the mainstream Marvel universe or rewriting reality to its former state. That’s a given in modern superhero comics, where stasis keeps brands recognizable and bankable. However,Immortal Hulkran to 50 issues, andImmortal Thorwill only hit issue25before giving way toThor #1. IfHulkandThorare going to be roughly the same length, that means there’s a lot more of Thor’s story for Ewing to tell, and this newstatus quocould last for years.
Marvel is removing Thor from the mainstream Marvel Universe, whether by casting him into a pocket reality, trapping him into the afterlife or by rewriting Marvel lore. However, that’s just the beginning of the story, asThorsets out to rebuild Asgardian mythology, one hammer blow at a time.
