Father Issues, Part 1

Thor has used his full power to restore every Asgardian on Earth, seriously draining his power.[1] This has left him severely weakened. He arranges for Falki — the royal blacksmith — to bring a special coffin. Thor needs to enter the Odinsleep to replenish his power.[2] This coffin was created to help along the healing process by placing the person inside in a state between life and death. It cannot be opened by the inside. Before entering his slumber, Thor puts Balder in charge.

Once the lid is closed, Balder is shocked when Don Blake suddenly appears before him, an unexpected side effect. Blake things that perhaps they are witnessing the application of Erwin Schoedinger’s theory on quantum probability. Blake isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth as he has things that he wants to do. As h pushes his way to the edge of the city, Loki takes notice that Don Blake and ponders what this means. When Blake gets to the edge of Asgard, he realizes there is no way down and begins asking if someone has a ladder.

Meanwhile, Thor wakes up in the realm between life and death. There he is greeted by his father’s ravens, Hugin and Munin. The birds openly mock Thor for not resurrecting Odin. Thor reminds the two birds that he was only able to revive those who died in Ragnarok and that his father died before then. The birds find this amusingly convenient and suggest he look and see what is on the other side of the ridge.

At that same time, Don Blake use one of Thor’s connections to get a line on where Jane Foster is. With that information, he uses a pile of gold coins taken from the Asgardian treasury to purchase a plane ticket to New York City.

Back in the realm between life and death, Thor crosses over the ridge and is shocked to see his father in a life or death battle with Surtur. Thor charges in to help his father, but by the time he has arrived, both Odin and Surtur have inflicted fatal blows on one another. As Thor mourns by his father’s side. The All-Father is surprised to see his son but it makes sense to him after it is explained to him. Seeing how he is suffering, Thor promises to find a way to save his father. Odin tells him not to bother as he would have already done so by now. Thor’s inaction in that regard is something Odin himself would have done, has done in the past.

Thor says he doesn’t understand, so father asks son to walk with him. Odin explains that gods are not that much different than mortals in that they must ultimately kill their fathers. Odin’s parents were Bor and Bestla of the Aesir. His father was credited with creating the universe and taught Odin how to fight, think, rule, and serve. While Bor taught him how to defend dreams, Odin had to learn to create dreams of his own. One day, while he was walking the Earth, Odin felt that it was empty and so he created human life. His father was unhappy with this and responded by sending down every means of suffering and curse onto humans that his powers could bring.[3]

As things went along, there was a war with the Frost Giants. During one clash, Bor decided to chase after one of the Frost Giants who tried to flee. Little did he know that he was being lured into a trap. Bor crossed paths with a powerful sorcerer who turned Bor into snow.[4] Odin arrived to see the wind starting to carry his father away. When Bor pleaded with his son to do something to save him, Odin merely watched. When he returned to the other warriors, he told them that Bor had died in battle. For a time, Odin could hear his father cursing him whenever it snowed. However, as he reign continued, he eventually stopped hearing the voices.

Then, one day, Thor was born, his midwife pointed out that the baby resembled Bor. IT was in that moment that Thor realized that the wheel will turn again and his son would eventually do to him as he done to his own father.[5]

Recurring Characters

Thor, Odin, Surtur, Balder, Loki, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Don Blake, Hugin, Munin, (in flashback) Bor, Bestla, Frigga

Continuity Notes

1. Following Ragnarok in Thor (vol. 2) #80-85, Thor was revived in Thor (vol. 3) #1. Over the last few issues he has restored the city of Asgard and has been trying to recover his people, who are trapped in human host bodies.

2. Thor obtained the Odinpower following the death of Odin in Thor (vol. 2) #40. The All-Father will remain among the deceased until Thor #618.

3. The claim that Bor created the universe and that Odin created humanity is refuted by many sources. Per Thor #169, the universe was created during the Big Bang, while the creation of humanity has been ascribed to the Celestials, per Eternals #1.

4. As we’ll learn in Thor (vol. 3) #12, this is actually the present day Loki, who went back in time to make these events happen.

5. For more on the birth of Thor, see Thor Annual #11.