Thor: The Secret Identity the MCU Forgot

The mighty Thor has used different human aliases over the years, with Donald Blake being the most prominent. But there was one alias Thor used for a brief stretch in the late 90s, and that has since been forgotten: paramedic Jake Olson. Introduced during Dan Jurgens and John Romita Jr’s Thor run, Olson served as Thor’s human anchor during this time. Despite this, Olson has slid into obscurity.

Blake was the first “human” to be bonded to Thor, during the character’s first appearance in Journey Into Mystery #83. Usually portrayed using a cane that he would strike on the ground to turn into Thor, Blake was revealed to have been Odin’s creation, made to teach Thor lessons in humility. Eric Masteron and Jane Foster have also been human hosts for Thor, and both went on to heroic careers after their time was done, Masteron as Thunderstrike and Foster as Valkyrie and Thor. Both Masterson and Foster were living human beings when they were bonded, unlike Blake.

Olson was unique in the sense that he was dead when bonded with Thor, or at least his body was. Olson was a paramedic working in New York City. When the Destroyer went on a rampage across the city, Olson was on the scene but was killed during the attack. Thor, who had fought the battle, was later bonded to Olson’s body by Marnot, one of Odin’s ravens, in order to protect Thor from the Dark Gods. Not only was Olson dead when he became Thor, but he also was not a good person at all. Part of his motivation for being an EMT was to have a supply of drugs to sell. This added another layer to this identity, in that Thor had to deal with drug addicts and unsavory characters when he was in his human form.

But Thor is too big a character to keep bonded to one person for too long, and when Olson’s time was done, he slid into obscurity, unlike other hosts, some of whom went on to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jane was front and center in two Thor movies (as well as the upcoming fourth entry) and Donald Blake even got a shout out in the first one, but Olson has received no such mention. The character has been all but forgotten.

Recent issues of Thor have seen Donald Blake, or what passes for him, make his return, and he is currently making life miserable for Thor. Even though Olson is long dead, could he possibly make such a return? If Blake can make an appearance, even after being uncreated, Olson returning from the beyond is certainly a possibility.

About The Author

Shaun Corley
(1379 Articles Published)

Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

More From Shaun Corley