Thor Was Forced To Kill His Own Grandfather (Seriously)

The Mighty Thor has overcome many obstacles over the years, but one of his greatest hardships was when he fought, and killed, his grandfather. Thor is an honorable warrior, one who loves his family, including the All-Father Odin, and his nefarious step-brother Loki. In the aftermath of Ragnarok, the definitive end of Asgard, Thor and the Asgardians eventually found their way back to Earth, and took residence in Oklahoma.

While Thor’s allies, such as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three returned, others like Loki also returned. Despite Loki’s constant schemes over the years, many of them involving the death of Thor, Thor still cares for his brother, and genuinely hopes that he can turn a new leaf and become good. However, Loki would unleash his most diabolical scheme yet, when he pit  Thor against his grandfather, the first king of Asgard: Bor.

Bor, father of Odin, was the king of Asgard who, like his son, was a fair and benevolent warrior. However, Bor vanished after a battle against the frost giants, trapped in an alternate dimension by a powerful sorcerer. Odin, who was also present at the battle, witnessed his father disappear, but was unable to find a way to recover his father from the dimension that he was trapped in. However, it turned out that Loki, from the present day, had traveled back to the days of Bor and Odin, and was responsible for trapping the former in his prison. Over the years, as Odin ruled over Asgard, Loki would pose as Bor’s spirit, and torment Odin for his inability to save his father, promising that if Odin adopted a young child from a fallen enemy, that the spirit would vanish. The child that Odin adopted was actually Loki, thus revealing that Loki was responsible for his own adoption. However, Loki was not yet finished with Bor, as Loki later released the God into the present day, at which point he would be forced into combat against his own grandson.

In Thor #600, Loki set Bor free on earth, and cast a spell onto Bor, making him believe that any and all living creatures on earth were demons, that needed to be executed. Donald Blake, Thor’s alter ego, received a call from Jane Foster about Bor’s rampage, leading the God of Thunder to confront this enemy. As Thor had never met Bor before, he believed his grandfather to be another enemy of Midgard and Asgard, and tried to subdue him in one-on-one combat. During the fight, Thor tried to call on the Avengers for help, realizing that his enemy was far to strong to handle on his own. However, the Dark Avengers, led by Norman Osborn, arrived on the scene, but were quickly dispatched by both Bor and Thor. After a long and grueling fight, one that resulted in Mjolnir being broken, Bor was finally slain in battle. However, Loki had informed Balder the Brave, the ruler of Asgard in Odin’s absence, about the fight. Balder, immediately recognizing Bor, had to break the news to Thor that he had killed his own grandfather.

Despite Thor being a hero to Asgard time and again, as well as being Asgardian royalty, Balder the Brave had no choice but to punish Thor for killing Bor. Killing Asgardian royalty is a severe crime and, despite Thor being royalty himself, he was stripped of all titles and claim to royalty as punishment for this crime. Thor was also banished from Asgard, and would immediately be treated as a criminal if he returned. Though Thor had no words for his punishment, he seemed to be aware that he was set up, and swore that he would save any words he had about the situation for that person, remarking that “thunder, fire, and darkness” would follow afterwards. After the fight, some of Thor’s allies like the Warriors Three followed after their friend, while some Asgardians fled to Latveria, at the request of Loki. After the Siege of Asgard, where Thor helped the Avengers fend off the Dark Avengers and the Sentry, Thor was no longer banished from his home, but the memory of killing his grandfather still remained.

While Thor inadvertently killed his own grandfather, he had very little choice in the matter. Given the state Bor was in, he would have murdered plenty of innocent bystanders if he was not stopped. Bor was an incredibly powerful foe, evidenced by the fact that Thor’s own hammer, Mjolnir broke during the fight, and very few heroes could measure up to that level of strength. Loki had orchestrated a perfect plan to remove Thor from Asgard, forcing the hero’s hand by placing him into an unwinnable situation. If Thor had let Bor run unchecked, he would have killed more innocent lives, but if Bor were killed, regardless of circumstance, Thor would be banished. Though Bor has made few appearances after his death (often in Hela’s realm) it would be interesting to see the former King of Asgard return to the kingdom he once ruled. However, it would be a really awkward family reunion, especially between Thor and his Grandfather.