Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Hammer Time! Catching up with Thor


Thor was noble and self-assured (though sometimes to the point of arrogance), so to teach his son humility, Odin placed Thor (without his memories of godhood) into the body and memories of an existing, partially disabled human medical student, Donald Blake. After becoming a doctor, Blake later discovered Thor's disguised hammer and learned to change back and forth into the Thunder God. The real Donald Blake's persona remained elsewhere until many years later, after Odin became satisfied with Thor's humility and he lifted the spell, thereby removing the need for a mortal alter ego. The mortal experience, however, shaped Thor into an honorable and courteous individual, who was loyal to all comrades.

After a long career as a heroic Earth champion, Thor reluctantly assumed the throne of Asgard, and suffered the nightmarish timeline that resulted from those years. Thor ultimately confronted the Norns (Fates), thus breaking the Ragnarok cycle, and then entered a stasis known as "the sleep of the gods." With his fate unknown to his fellow Avengers, Thor was believed to be missing in action for an extended time.

In the wake of the “Civil War”, a mysterious man revealed to be Donald Blake touched the hammer Mjolnir, and was transported into the void where Thor had been in hibernation. Blake explained that when Odin originally removed the Donald Blake persona from Thor, Blake was transported into the void where Thor had endured his “sleep of the gods”, and Blake was returned to New York City when Thor had broken the Ragnarok cycle. Blake convinced Thor to wield Mjolnir once more and return to Earth, renewing the dual identity with Blake. Blake also revealed that Thor's fellow Asgardians were not dead, but only hidden on Earth.

Thor rebuilt Asgard in Oklahoma [Okay, that parts just stupid] and after paying for the land with Asgardian treasure, went in search of his fellow Asgardians. Thor also learned of the events of the superhero-registration "Civil War" and was mightily angered that Tony Stark (Iron Man) had waged war on those heroes who had been their friends, and he was also angered that Stark and others had used his DNA to create the Thor Clone without his knowledge or permission. Thor defeated Iron Man in their confrontation, and stated that he would respond with even greater aggression unless he was left in peace. Seeking a compromise, Stark rationalized that since Asgard might be considered a foreign embassy, with diplomatic immunity granted to its inhabitants. Thor deemed this solution acceptable, and allowed Stark to leave, but not before warning him that matters between them were far from settled.

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