Thor #301
For the Life of Asgard!
Following the defeat of the Celestials, Gaea the Earth Goddess cradles the injured body of Thor, her son in her arms. She thinks about how the gods of Earth all worked together to stop the Celestials from judging humanity a failure. Although Odin sacrificed his life and that of everyone in Asgard to stop this judgement it was not enough to stop them. In the end, it took offering the Young Gods — a group of humans showing the future potential of their race — that made the space gods decree that Earth was worth preserving. They then departed with their new charges so that they might learn.
Using her power to heal Thor’s wounds, Gaea confirms to him that she is his mother. She explains that, as the spirit of the Earth itself, she — under many different names — helped birth various gods of the different pantheons of Earth. Thor then asks her how he came to be her mother. She explains that when Odin resurrected the Asgardians after the last Ragnarok cycle he desired to have a blood son that was tied to the Earth and sought her out. In the form of Jord, Gaea and Odin consummated their love. Pregnant from this encounter, Jord was cared for in a secret cave within the Earth until she gave birth to Thor. Deciding that his son should grow up in Asgard, Odin took the boy back with him and his origins were sworn to secret. Thor recalls that as he grew up he knew that Frigga was not his biological mother but recalls that Odin forbade talk of his mother’s true identity, suspecting this was out of respect of Frigga’s feelings.[1]
Gaea then goes on to explain that while Odin and the male god-heads plotted to meet the Celestials by force, their female counterparts were tasked with coming up with a peaceful solution. Over the last two centuries they gathered humans that they believed represented the pinnacle of humanity and transformed them into members of the Young Gods using their godly powers. The last three were created by Odin himself when he drained the power of Ego-Prime.[2] This was because all the other Young Gods were kept in suspended animation and watched over by the female gods and each pantheon took rotations standing guard and it was at that time that it was the women of Asgard’s time to watch over the Young Gods.[3] Thor realizes that this was the secret mission that the women of Asgard were on for years until recently. This reminds Thor of the time Odin sent him on a mission to explore the origins of Galactus, and wonders if this was part of his plan to confront the Celestials.[4] Gaea also confirms that many of Odin’s actions were to prevent Ragnarok from happening and that the many near-misses they endured over the last thousand years was Odin’s way of removing elements that could bring about the twilight of the gods.[5]
When Gaea says that Ragnarok ultimately did come to pass, Thor suddenly remembers that his father and everyone in Asgard perished during the battle against the Celestials. Deeply upset by this he asks Gaea if there is any way they can be brought back to life. She offers him a slim hope, saying that the Asgardians can be brought back if the other pantheons offer up a bit of their own power to restore them. Recovering Mjolnir, Thor sets off to do just that but stops briefly to check in on the Eternals. They have all recovered from the battle against the Celestials, but this came at the expense Zuras, their patriarch. Ikaris explains that Zuras took the blunt of the blast that forcibly shattered their Uni-Mind in battle so that the others might live. Thor offers his condolences and, before leaving on his mission, Sersi uses her transmutation power to restore his damaged clothing.
Thor’s first stop is to Olympus home of the Greek Gods where he holds council with Zeus. The Olympian ruler sees Odin as a great ally and gives a portion of his people’s power to help restore Asgard without question. His next visit is to the Egyptian gods in Heliopolis where Osiris freely gives up some of their power as Thor helped them against Seth twice in the past and that his father is the reincarnation of their long departed sun-lord, Atum-Re.[6] Thor finds no opposition when he visits the gods of China, the Inuit, the Inca, the Aztec, as well as the Japanese, Celtic, Persian, African, Aboriginie, and Native American Gods.
Thor’s last stop is Nirvana, home to the gods of India. There he meets with Vishnu who wishes to help but explains that their domain is ruled by a trinity that includes Braham and Shiva and they must also agree.[7] Unfortunately, Vishnu — the destroyer-god — refuses to aid Thor, pointing out that the Asgardians go through a cycle of death and rebirth and thinks it might be time for a new race of gods to be born in Asgard.[8] This angers Thor because he is so close to achieving his goals and tries to bargain with Shiva. However, the destroyer god isn’t interested and insults the Asgardian by calling him a barbarian. When the thunder god challenges Shiva to a battle over the energy he needs, Shiva is interested in so much that he has the opportunity to destroy Thor.
As the two battle it out, Thor realizes that he is disadvantaged because of Shiva’s four arms, three weapons, and that they are fighting on the destroyer’s home turf. While Shiva is distracted, Thor tosses his hammer to create a vortex that transports them to Asgard. Now on home ground, Thor is able to overpower and defeat Shiva in combat. Although he reluctantly accepts defeat and gives Thor the energy he needs, Shiva warns the thunder god that he has made a powerful enemy. After sending Shiva back to Nirvana, Thor goes to the palace and uses Mjolnir to transfer all the gathered energy into the lifeless body of Odin. At first, it doesn’t appear to work and Thor begins to cry. However, Odin eventually returns to life and tells his son to shed no more tears because he has succeeded. Odin then uses his power to restore everyone in Asgard to life.[9] Happily reunited with his people, Thor and the others celebrate for nine whole days.
Recurring Characters
Thor, “Shiva”, Gaea, Eternals (Ajak, Sersi, Ikaris, Makkari, Thena, Zuras), Zeus, Apollo, Hermes, Hera, Hestia, Osiris, Horus, Isis, Yu Huang, Tezcatlipoca, Buluku, Itzamna, Vishnu, Viracocha, Brahama, Odin, Heimdall, Sif, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Loki, Tyr, Sigyn, Balder, Frigga, Frey, Karnilla, Hermod, Hoder, Young Gods (Calculus, Brightsword, Splice, Genii, Caduceus, Daydreamer, Harvest, Highnote, Mindslinger, Moonstalker, Sea Witch, Varua)
Continuity Notes
It should be noted that Gaea is Thor’s mother of the current Ragnarok Cycle and he has been birthed through others in earlier cycles. For example, Avengers (vol. 8) #43, the Phoenix Force has claimed to be Thor’s original mother, giving birth to the first incarnation of Thor in Year One Million BC.
The women of Asgard (save for Sif) were absent from many Modern Age stories until they all returned from their secret mission in Thor #274. This story misattributes that event to Thor #275.
Thor investigated the origins of Galactus at the behest of Odin back in Thor #168.
Readers are reminded that the most recent near-Ragnarok happened in Thor #273-278.
Thor first battle Seth and learned his father was a reincarnated Atum-Re in Thor #245. He fought Seth again in Marvel Two-In-One #22-23.
This is not actually Shiva, but Indra in disguise as revealed in Thor Annual #10. Thor will not encounter the real Shiva until Thor (vol. 2) #61. The Indra/Shiva switch was explained in Thor & Hercules: Encyclopedia Mythologica #1.
The idea that the Asgardians go through a cycle of death and rebirth was first seen in Thor #293-294.
It’s notable that among those brought back to life is Balder the Brave. Balder has been in a state between life and death after being struck by an arrow made of mistle toe by Hoder in Thor #274. Odin placed him in a state between life and death in order to prevent Ragnarok from happening since Balder’s death is intrinsically tied into the twilight of the gods.
Topical References
The Inuit are referred to as Eskimo in this story. This should be considered topical as that is a dated term that many now considered offensive. I have used the correct term above.