Thor is Retired and Hammer-less in Marvel’s New Universe

In a world without Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers’ resident God of Thunder Thor finds himself in a far from heroic position and without his trusted hammer Mjolnir. Marvel Comics’ classic event series Heroes Reborn is returning with a twist in May, with the title placing several superheroes in roles entirely distinct from their main Marvel Universe counterparts.

Introduced in 1996 and running through the following year of 1997, Marvel’s original Heroes Reborn era served as a revamp of the Marvel Universe following the disappearance of several of Marvel’s mainstay superheroes, from The Avengers to the X-Men. Current Avengers author Jason Aaron along with artist Ed McGuinness are bringing Marvel’s Heroes Reborn arc to a new generation of comic fans. Marvel’s upcoming Heroes Reborn line of books will take comics readers on a journey through stories of divergent yet engaging stories of their favorite heroes. One of these stories will revolve around the God of Thunder Thor. With this Heroes Reborn reality being a world without the formation of the Avengers, the need for Thor as a full-time superhero is nonexistent.

Thor will be left wallowing in a bar worthy of an artistic mockup by Carlos Pacheco (Fantastic Four, The Avengers). The tentative variant cover art for April’s upcoming Thor #14 by Pacheco features a tease of Heroes Reborn Thor in his bar setting, with the visage of his original heroic counterpart fit into his classic outfit poised in the foreground. Now, these heroes may share similar appearances and characteristics with their more recognizable iterations but they are far from the same.

Beyond acting as an atheist without a hammer, it is yet to be seen how this Thor will fare in this modern rendition of the series. During the original Heroes Reborn, Thor, being one of the major “causalities” in the superhero battle against Professor X and Magneto cosmic amalgam known as Onslaught, would receive a new title under the supervision of writer Dan Jurgens and John Romita Jr. Though with regular Thor writer Jason Aaron at the helm of this new project, Thor looks to be in good hands, even if he is not an Avenger.

Similar to competitor DC Comics’ Elseworlds, Marvel Comics has enjoyed the fun of featuring their heroes and villains in different roles through their ancient multiverse or plethora of alternate dimensions. With Marvel’s What If? comics failing to receive the spotlight since 2018, the age of Heroes Reborn now offers the company the chance to have fun with Thor and its array of established characters. Marvel Comics’ Heroes Reborn #1 will begin releasing on comic shelves this May.

Sources: Marvel.com

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