Writer Al Ewing promised fans some big moments in Immortal Thor, but we never knew how far he would go. The book began with a battle against Toranos, the Utgard-Thor. The gods of Utgard have played an important role in the book, as has Loki, who has been working their own little bit of magic. A dark future for Thor is revealed, one that ends with him in Utgard, all in order to stop an invasion by these ancient gods. Thor’s power as the All-Father has helped him keep the Utgard gods at bay, and he teamed up with Skurge the Executioner to take the battle to the evil gods. Against all odds, Thor was successful, but we had been told that this mission would end with the death of Thor since the beginning, so even as the God of Thunder triumphed, as the universe aligned to finally give him what he wanted, Thor was struck down.
Loki killed Thor with an arrow made of Eternity. However, that death was only the beginning. Immortal Thor #25 showed the aftermath of the death of Thor. It all starts with Utgard-Loki and Loki talking about exactly what kind of game Loki is playing at in killing Thor. You see, the death of Thor has grave repercussions, and to truly understand the why of things, we need to take a closer look at the death of Thor to see just what Loki is engineering.
Thor Was the Only Guardian Against Utgard
Loki’s plan has been a huge part of Immortal Thor. It all began in the book’s first story arc, as Loki was able to get Thor to make them worthy of Mjolnir, so that Loki could join the Thor Corps and help them defeat Toranos. Loki also got Thor to build a new weapon, Tormod, and after the battle against Toranos led Thor around by the nose, helping him defeat his enemies all while preparing Thor for the battles to come. Loki would be instrumental in allowing Enchantress back into Thor’s inner circle, against Thor’s will, and was ejected from Asgard for this. Since then, Loki hasn’t been a part of the book, out there somewhere arranging events along the story they’ve been telling as part of their place as the new God of Stories. We still aren’t sure exactly what Loki’s plans are — I’ve suspected that they are the one telling the story of Immortal Thor through the captions because they’re the God of Stories, and it feels like the kind of thing that Al Ewing would do — but they were waiting on the Black Bridge to Asgard from Utgard, and killed their brother after he broke the most powerful beings in Utgard.
Utgard-Loki confronts Loki immediately, wondering exactly what kind of game that Loki is playing. Loki tells their Utgard composite to stay tuned to the story and leaves. It’s exactly the kind of enigmatic answer that we’ve come to expect of Loki in Immortal Thor, and it leads to two important things — Skurge realizing that he failed in keeping Thor alive, and Utgard-Loki having to make a fateful choice. Without Thor, there’s nothing keeping Utgard-Loki from attacking Earth or Asgard. Thor has acted as a guardian for the Ten Realms, and is the only thing that has stood between the Utgard gods and the rest of creation. See, the Utgard gods are actually Elder Gods, banished from the cosmos in the war against Chthon millions of years ago. The only thing that has kept them at bay is the power of the All-Father. Toranos was able to get through because Thor didn’t know about his role as the buffer between Utgard and everything else — one of the many secrets that Odin kept from everyone. Thor’s death means that Utgard-Loki could take the Black Bridge into either Asgard or Midgard. However, Utgard-Loki pauses, because he has no idea what game that Loki is playing. This hesitation actually saves all of creation from the Utgard gods.
Thor’s Death Almost Spelled Disaster… But Leads to Another
The death of Thor has been on the way for a long time, as Loki has led their brother down this road for reasons that they haven’t shared with anyone. Thor’s death opened the Black Bridge to Utgard-Loki, but the trickster god knew that there was more going on than just Loki opening the way to the rest of the universe to his ilk. This wasn’t Loki’s intention at all, as Loki had bet on Skurge taking his vengeance against those who led Thor to his death. Utgard-Loki’s way is destroyed by Skurge, who breaks both the Black Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge.
Al Ewing has a lot of plans for Thor, and breaking the bridges that link the worlds has graver consequences than anyone could have imagined. This sundering changed the very fabric of the universe itself, with the Asgardians removed from the history of the Marvel Universe. Thor’s death opened the way for Utgard, but it was closed in the most drastic method imaginable.
Immortal Thor #25 is on sale now.
The post Killing Thor May Be a Huge Problem for the Marvel Universe appeared first on ComicBook.com.
