Thor Annual #5
The War of the Gods!
Prologue: Dawn of the Gods
In the beginning there was nothing but a swirling abyss. Eventually two worlds formed: Niffleheim in the north, a land of coulds and shadow that gave off water from the Hvergelmir flowed into twelve rivers. In the south was the fire realm of Muspelsheim, which flowed with rivers of lava. Where the two rivers met created the first frozen land mass. When the ice began to melt it formed the first sign of life, the frost giant Ymir. As Ymir slept his body would melt and from it came the first race of Frost Giants.
As life continued to flourish, there came the cow Audumbla, which provided Ymir with food. It sustained itself on a salt lick that, when worn down, revealed Buri, the first of a new race of gods. Buri begat a son named Bor. Taking a wife, Bor gave birth to three children who became known as the Aesir: Ve, Vili, and Odin. Odin and his brothers grew to hate the Frost Giants and as adults, they slew Ymir. The death of Ymir caused a massive flood, with only a small amount of people being saved by Bergelmir who created a giant boat to ride the waves.
When the flood waters recedied it created Midgard, the land of mortals. Ymir’s skull was then hoisted into the sky to become the Vault of the Heavens. Sparks from Muspelsheim then created the stars in the night’s sky. Eventually, the Aesir built the golden kingdom of Asgard which existed above Midguard. Odin was named their leader but they soon grew lonely and wished to live with beings such as themselves. They discovered that new life war forming in the corpse of Ymir, such as the Rock Trolls. Still this was not enough. Odin then ventured to Midgard with Hoenir and Lodur. There they came upon two trees and the trio was inspired to breath life into them, transforming the trees into the first mortals: Aske and Embla.
Soon, Midgard was ringed by Midgard Serpent which lived to snare unwary sailors. Beneath Midgard came Niffelheim, a realm where demons and the dead roamed. It was ruled by Hela, the goddess of death who placed her massive hound to ensure none escaped the realm of the dead. However, man did not fear death because they had a champion in Asgard.[1]
Chapter One: The Thunder God!
This champion was Thor, the son of Odin, and the god of thunder. He would lead warriors into battle with his enchanted hammer Mjolnir. This weapon was forged in the furnaces of the Rock Troll Geirrodur. While used as a weapon in times of war, Thor would use it for construction and in wedding ceremonies in times of peace. During one such time, Thor retreated back to his home, Bilskirnir a massive castle with 540 chambers. He would also spend time riding his chatriot pulled by two magical goats. Thor’s greatest foe was Loki, the trickster god and Thor’s half brother who would plot and scheme against the thunder god and Asgard itself. Thor had many allies including Balder the Brave and the Warriors Three — Fandral, Hogun, and Volstag — who were always ready to fight by Thor’s side.
One day, Thor decided to return to Earth to check on his worshipers, the vikings, pausing at the Bifrost Bridge long enough to say hello to Heimdal and his young sister, Sif.[2] When Thor arrives on Earth he is shocked to see his loyal vikings fighting it out with Greek soldiers. When Thor joins the battle, the Grecians summon a god of their own, the Olympian prince of power Hercules. The two, not remembering that they had met in the past, begin fighting against one another.[3][4] However, the pair find themselves equally matched and they fight to a stand-still. The pair decide that the victor will be discovered in one weeks time when armies of Asgard and Olympus fight against one another on behalf of their respective followers.
However, when Thor returns to Asgard to tell Odin of what he discovered and the coming battle, the All-Father forbids it. Overhearing this discussion is Loki, who decides to goad Thor and Hercules into continuing their battle. He transforms into a fly and travels to Olympus. Here, he witnesses Hercules informing Zeus of the coming battle as well. Although he and Ares insist on waging war against Asgard, they are outvoted by other gods, prompting Zeus to deny their request. That’s when Loki disguises himself as Thor and attacks Hercules in front of everyone before vanishing again. This changes everyone’s mind and a furious Zeus declares there will be war with Asgard.
Chapter Two: When Gods Collide!
A week later the two armies meet on the battle field. Among the soldiers joining Thor are the Warriors Three, Balder, and Tyr. While on the Olympian Ares the god of war commands the army alongside Thor. As a bloody battle is waged on the battle field, both Odin and Zeus meet in secret on a nearby mountain overlooking the battle. The two godheads lock eyes but say nothing and quickly depart. Soon the battle is over and the Asgardians are led to believe they are the victor and watch as the Valkyrie come to claim the souls of the dead.
Thor believes that their victory was ordained since the prophecy of Ragnarok foretold that Thor will not die until he end times when he battles the Midgard Serpent.[5]
Chapter Three: The Spoils of War!
Thor then returns to Asgard to inform Odin of his victory and that they now rule over the Greek on top of their viking worshipers. Odin is unhappy that Thor went against his wishes but reveals that he knew Loki would instigate the war between Asgard and Olympus. Thor is unwilling to listen to anything but praise for his victory, prompting Odin to dismiss his son before he loses his temper with him.
Thor, Balder, and the Warriors Three then take the thunder god’s chariot down to Earth and to the isle of Greece. There, they try to inform the Grecians that they will worship the Asgardians from now on as they vanquished the Olympians. Instead of worship, they are treated with disregard and disrespect. Furious at these insults, Thor tries to call down the lightning but discovers that his power over the storm does not work here.
More angry than before, Thor returns to Asgard and demands answers from Odin. Having grown tired of his son’s impotence, Odin orders him to be silent as he explains what happened. As it turned out, Odin and Zeus made their respective armies believe they won their war to teach them a lesson about the limitations of their dominion. Thor’s power did not work in Greece because the Grecians do not believe in the Asgardian gods and only worship the Olympians. The power of belief is what give them their powers, and the Asgardians are only worshiped by vikings. It is part of a symbiotic existence the gods share with their followers. Odin concludes his explanation by telling Thor that there are things at play that he could hardly imagine.
Feeling deceived, Thor can’t believe that he was played for a fool. Troubled by all of this, Thor pays a visit to Karnilla the Norn Queen so she can show him visions of the future. Karnilla shows him a vision of the future where Thor’s legend will spread allowing him to use his power across the globe. During this time he will also join the a group of heroes called the Avengers.[6]
This raises Thor’s spirit as there will be many adventures and trials and tribulations in the future. No matter what happens, Thor knows that he will forever be the god of thunder, the mightiest of the gods.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Hercules, Odin, Zeus, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Heimdall, Sif, Tyr, Valkyries (Brunhilda, Valtrauta, Hildegarde), Hera, Ares, Athena, Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Hephaesstus, Karnilla, Eitri, Buri, Bor, Vili, Ve, Hoenir, Lodur, Ymir, Jormungand, Hela, Garm, Aske, Embla, Audumbla, Toothgnasher, Toothgrinder
Continuity Notes
This story has a whole lot of issues with continuity. Some have been explained away, others not so much.
The biggest issue here is the Asgardian creation myth depicted here contains facts that are disputed in other stories:
At the root of all of this confusion is Thor #294, which revealed that Asgard undergoes a cycle of death and rebirth. With each new cycle, the history of Asgard repeats itself with slight differentiations. It is also stated in this same story that the most recent Ragnarok cycle, Odin implanted false memories of an imagined past based on the original myths. This has been refuted by Buri (aka Tiwaz) Odin’s grandfather in Thor #355, but other stories such as Thor: Ages of Thunder #1 confirm this rebirth cycle does indeed exist.
One explanation for the many conflicting details of the Asgardian history comes from Thor: God of Thunder #3, which states that due to their immortal nature, Asgardians have a limited capacity for memory in their brains and older memories become forgotten or blurred and/or confused as they grow older.
The identity of Bor’s wife is unidentified here. Thor #500 reveals her name as Bestla.
The battle between Yemir and the Aesir was told somewhat differently when it was told in Journey into Mystery #97.
The creation of Midgard here refutes the generally accepted creation of Earth in the Marvel Universe. That Earth was created following the Big Bang. Also not mentioned here is the hand that Gaea, the Earth Mother, had in the creation of each race of Gods. See Silver Surfer Annual #2.
Journey into Mystery #103, which states that Thor was responsible for the creation of Aske and Embla.
This story implies that Thor’s hammer was created by Geirrodeur. Thor Annual #11 refutes this, revealing that it was made by Etri in the realm of the dwarves.
This story depicts Sif as a young girl and Thor as an adult. This contradicts many stories including Avengers Origins: Thor #1, the entirety of Thor: Son of Asgard, and other stories that depict both Thor and Sif being roughly the same age and had grown up together.
This story suggests that Thor and Hercules’ previous battle — depicted in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 — may not be true. However, in Thor #289 reveals that Odin and Zeus forced them to forget their previous encounter for reasons of their own.
Thor #289 has Odin stating that this battle took place not long after the Trojan War. However, this contradicts Thor Annual #10 and Thor #300 which state that this actually happened not long after the Third Host of Celestials which happened around 1000 AD. To explain this obvious gaffe, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition #15 states that Hercules actually pulled the invading Greek through time to fight the vikings.
Thor and his allies previously learned about the details of Ragnarok in Thor #127-128.
This, of course, happens in Avengers #1. Thor doesn’t mention this when he first joins the team. Either he forgot (thanks to that convenient memory thing told in Thor: God of Thunder #3) or he decided to keep this foreknowledge to himself.