Gods have always been good at resurrection. In mythology and in comics alike, death is rarely the end, as is the case in The Mortal Thor. The series launches a bold new take on Marvel’s thunder god after Immortal Thor killed the iconic hero. Here, the story toys with Thor’s mortality and asks what happens when a god who has lived and died countless times is forced to grapple with the limits of being human. To make matters worse, he has no memory of his past godly life. The result is a debut that blends high-stakes danger with intimate vulnerability, giving readers a fresh reason to believe in the god of thunder all over again.
When it comes to restarting a story, Al Ewing clearly has a good handle. Not only does Thor feel completely different, right down to being not so great with English, but he’s also a humble foreigner trying to make it in New York. There’s a bit of an immigrant tale at work here, with his main concern being paying the rent at the start of the story.
This first issue establishes early on that things are far more dangerous for Thor, but on a street level. The very first page, after the usual quote that also graced Immortal Thor, we see a man bloody with his buddies strewn about, beaten looking right at us, wondering who his assailant is. In his hand is a hammer as rain pours down.
Nice hammer, bub.
Credit: Marvel
To provide some context for Thor’s situation, Ewing suggests a TV show about gods. The very notion of Thor, it seems, has gone away in experts’ minds. This lays out the rules, so to speak, and helps convey Thor’s situation.
After the establishing opening scene, Ewing and artist Pasqual Ferry establish some supporting characters that add to the complexities of Thor’s new life. One is a nice neighbor who seems to want to help Thor, and the other is a dead ringer for a new take on Loki. It’ll be interesting to see how they play into Thor’s life going forward.
Outside of the establishing bits, the main brunt of this issue involves Thor’s acquisition of a job. Unfortunately, that job means he’d be a scab for construction work. This leads to the aforementioned bloody man in the rain and an intense fight sequence. The fact that Thor fighting a few goons feels quite dangerous is telling how far the series has swung, and it is now a street-level heroes tale.
The Mortal Thor #1 is a bold and refreshing reinvention that strips the god of thunder down to his most human self. With sharp writing, emotional vulnerability, and tense street-level stakes, this debut proves that even gods can be reborn in surprising and powerful ways.
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