The Big Guy is BACK!

[Doctor Doom]

Well, after Civil War 3....

SPOILER: Click to show

Thor is back! And apparantly on the Pro-Registration Side! And he just zapped Hercules! And SHIELD refer to his as 'Codename: Lightning'!

So , fallout from this, anyone? Estimations for when the new Thor series will launch? It's still unconfirmed but it looks like JMS is writing it. And is this possibly the worst-kept secret in the history of comicdom?

[Shiryu]

Don't know what to expect, but I'm really surprised that he seems to be on the pro registration side (unless he was just trying to stop the battle). After the Reigning, he should have learned that people can't be easily controlled.
Can't wait to a confrontation between him and Cap (and I think / hope he will change side).

[thew40]

I think there's more than meets the eye with Thor affiliation.

~W~

[Yellowjacket]

Yes, I think ~W~ is right, Thor won´t easily (if at all) choose a side. That is definitely the impression I got from CW #3 (after all one whole page :-), at last ). So I´d rather think too, he tries to stop the battle.

But if he does choose a side, I´d think he´d go with Cap - freedom of choice should be an important factor for Thor.

[asgardian]

I don't think it's Thor.

[steed]

I don't think it's the Thor we all know. Remember back when Roy Thomas was writing Thor in the "90's". He separated Thor and Don Blake into 2 entities. I think this Thor is Don Blake.

[Shiryu]

I don't think it's Don Blake, just an inside joke from JSM in FF.

BTW, from immortalthor.net (and a lot of conferences, articles ecc)

Possible spoiler



From Wizard #179

In an interview with Joe Quesada about Thor, lots of things were discussed
Thor struck the Marvel Universe like lightning with his dramatic return in July's Civil War #3, but that rumbling you hear around comics isn't just an oncoming storm.
Instead, it's the electric buzz surrounding the Thunder God's return, and the fact that his arrival poses more questions than it answers.
Thor hasn't been seen in the current mainstream Marvel Universe since 2004's Thor vol 2 #85, the end of Michael Avon Oeming and Andrea DeVito's "Ragnarok" storyline (#80-#85) that effectively killed off the Thunder God and all his Asgardian brethren in an adaptation of the epic Norse end-of-the-world myth.
Since then, Thor's been vacationing in comics limbo, though there have been a couple of Asgardian-tinged projects that came out following his demise - notably Loki by writer/novelist Robert Rodi (Codename: Knockout) and artist Esad Ribic (Wolverine covers) about Thor's diabolical brother who's also the God of Mischief, and Thor: Blood Oath, by Oeming and Scott Kolins (Beyond) which found the Thunder God teaming up with the Warriors Three when Frost Giants put them on trial for murder.
However, those two books didn't take place in current continuity, and after a scuttled plan to have Mark Millar (Ultimates) and Greg Land (Ultimate Fantastic Four) do a Thor ongoing - the creators opted to do Ultimate FF instead - the Marvel U. has been Thor-less while the House of Ideas patiently bided its time.
"We've been looking for a way to bring Thor back for quite some time," explained Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. "We just wanted to make sure it was the right way at the right time. We started to feel like the time was right, but we didn't have the right way. Then all of these ideas were popping up for Civil War. Amongst all of us, we had this great way to bring Thor back that we knew was going to not only thrill the fans, but freak the fans out.
Civil War turned out to be the golden opportunity for Thor's return, and over the past few months leading up to the event, Marvel began dropping clues that something big was brewing, most notably in Fantastic Four #536-#538, which centered around Thor's powerful mystical hammer Mjolnir falling to Earth and becoming an object of desire for Dr. Doom. Also in that same arc, readers were teased by recurring panels that featured a shadowy figure sporting the initials D.B. - a nod to Donald Blake, the one-time human alter ego of Thor - traveling to Oklahoma where the hammer touched down. That set the stage for Thor's dramatic return in Civil War #3, but his revival raises some questions for the fans.

HOW WILL THOR'S RETURN IMPACT "CIVIL WAR"?
"I think the real question that people will be asking is, 'How will Civil War affect Thor?" countered Quesada. "I'm not going to tell you. You're just going to have to read and find out. But Civil War will have a great effect on Thor and show a side of Thor we've never seen before."
When Thor makes his dramatic entrance, it appears he's being used as a secret weapon for Tony Stark's Pro-Registration faction (he's referred to as "Codename: Lightning"). But we expect to see Thor's loyalties torn between his current benefactor Iron Man and his closes Avengers ally, Captain America, before Civil War fires its final salvo.

WHAT PLANS ARE THERE FOR THOR FOLLOWING "CIVIL WAR"?
When asked about Marvel's big ongoing plans for the Thunder God, Quesada would only cryptically confirm that plans actually exist: "Oh yeah, there's plans."
However, it's safe to assume that Thor will most definitely be getting his own regular monthly series once more, probably some time in 2007.
"I think it's a decent assumption that Thor may come back in his own book." teased Quesada.
That, of course, leads into the next question...

WHO WILL BE THE CREATIVE TEAM ON 'THOR'?
"We've already go them, so...I'm sure [Wizard] will break the news," said the tight-lipped Quesada. "The thing that we are looking for with respect to a new Thor series is definitely something that modernizes the character a bit, but at the same time goes back to the basic roots of the character. It's the same kind of idea [as our Eternals relaunch], where it makes new sense of the mythology."
So we know Marvel has creators tapped, and though the publisher won't confirm, Wizard's got picks of it's own (see below).

WHAT'S UP WITH THE REST OF THOR'S ASGARDIAN PANTHEON?
"That won't be touched upon 'til later," was all Quesada would say when asked about Thor's Norse brethren. However, last we saw, Odin was already dead (although it was, like, the 37th time), even before Sif, Balder, Heimdall, Loki, the Warriors Three and the rest of the gods and goddesses perished during Ragnarok. Regardless of what happened in the past or what the current status of the gods is, any Thor relaunch will either re-introduce the entire cast, or explain away their fate to start with a clean slate (our money's on the former).

WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO BRING THOR BACK?
Marvel could have cranked out a random year-long Thor ongoing with some A-list creators and it probably would have sold like hot-cakes. But rather than rush the property back onto shelves, Marvel took a more patient approach - one that was probably driving some hardcore Thor fans absolutely crazy.
"It was something we had to feel," stressed Quesada when explaining the delay. "I think Moon Knight is the perfect example of a character that we waited and waited and waited until we got the right idea, and now we've got a character on our hands that nobody ever suspected would be a hit."
"What would serve fans better: just putting out a regular old Thor book that's not going to do gangbusters, or putting out a great Thor book that not only attracts old fans, but has people coming and saying 'Wow, I never really checked out Thor, maybe I'll like it this time'?"

WIZARD PICKS 10 POSSIBLE CREATIVE TEAMS FOR THOR
Marvel's already got a creative team tapped for an ongoing Thor book, but it's keeping the announcement under wraps for now. Since the publisher's not spilling just yet, Wizard pitches 10 Thor creative teams we wanna see!

Mike Oeming/Andrea DeVito
Oeming's proved his chops on superhero/mythology stories with his "Ragnarok" arc in Thor and Thor: Blood Oath. Teamed with DeVito, their closing arc before the Thunder God disappeared was one of the best Thor stories ever!
Neil Gaiman/John Romita Jr.
Want a complete reimagining of the Asgardians? Gaiman could write the Norse gods in his sleep, and JRJR already dazzled on Thor once before. Plus, look at what they're doing together on Eternals!
Walt Simonson/Olivier Coipel
The writer behind the most beloved, memorable Thor run of all time comes back to the book, joined by the crazy dynamic pencils of Coipel (House of M)!
Keith Giffen/Leonard Kirk
Giffen does plots like no one's business, and his humor will keep it from getting too overblown. Kirk's a rising star, as seen in his smooth, clean lines on Agents of Atlas.
Charlie Huston/Mike McKone
Huston's made it crazy-impossible to put down Moon Knight because of its hard-hitting action, and McKone's worth banking on any day.
Ed Brubaker/Greg Land
Bru's got us buzzed on Daredevil and Captain America, so why not the big godly Thor reboot? And Land proved he can rock the big guy in Ultimate FF, so he's a natural.
J. Michael Straczynski/Roy Allan Martinez
JMS isn't shy about doing radical overhauls (see Spidey's unmasking), and he's already set the stage for Thor's return in FF. Newcomer Martinez (Son of M) would bring a new feel and look and completely flip Asgard on its side.
Dwayne McDuffie/Scott Kolins
McDuffie's already thrilled us while writing a pantheon of "gods" on "Justice League Unlimited," and his Beyond collaborator Kolins showed the goods for large-scale action on Thor: Blood Oath and Flash.
Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuinness
This blockbuster duo blew fans away with the high-octane Superman/Batman, so it's not a longshot to thing they could tackle on of Marvel's heavyweights.
Brian K. Vaughan/Gary Frank
With BKV's respectful treatment of classic characters, we'll get a book that'll feel new and classic at the same time. Toss in Frank, who knocks it out of the park on Squadron Supreme, and it would be one hell of a title.

In an interview with Frank Cho and Brian Bendis, they discuss the upcoming title Mighty Avengers, and discuss some gods

Wizard: Frank, was there a character you were really excited about approaching for the book?
One of the characters I had fun drawing is Ares. I read Mike Oeming's mini-series, but for whatever reason I didn't like the mohawk. I recently saw Russell Crowe's "Gladiator" and I thought we could go more toward that look. He'd still have that mohawk on his helmet, so people would know right away who he is, though.
Wizard: If Ares were on the team, would you have him sporting the huge sword pictured here or his normal battle-axe and machine guns?
Cho: Everything.
Bendis: He'd use every weapon available. And someone pointed out to me he'd be the first Avenger with a gun, so that's kind of cool.
Wizard: Where did you go for his design, Frank?
Cho: Final Fantasy. You see all thee guys carrying huge friggin' swords - big phallic symbols.
Bendis: Ares is a great character, but is wide open as far as subplots in his life. I have to give Oeming credit for this, because he said, "We never tell you who Ares' kid's mother is." It's someone in the Marvel Universe. Could be someone on the team.
Cho: Aunt May?
Wizard: Who would win in a fight between Ares and Thor?
Bendis: Ares. I believe you will be seeing that.
Wizard: Who'd win in a fight between Ares and Wolverine?
Cho: Ares would kill him. He's a god, dude!

Wizard did a countdown of the 50 Greatest Fights Of All Time

#42 - THOR, LOKI AND ODIN VS. SURTUR
The Mighty Thor #353
Ragnarok - the end of days for Asgard - is moments away. Thor lies beaten and bloodied and his father, wise Odin, trapped in a frozen prison; Asgard's fate falls to its greatest villain...Loki. As Surtur dips his enchanted sword into the Eternal Flames, making him nearly unstoppable, the trickster god (and Thor's half-brother) finally takes action to save his home - but his motives are not all altruistic. "Why aspire to become lord of all I survey," he asks, "if all I survey is burned to a cinder?" Freed to act, Thor and Odin join Loki to stop the rampaging god, and a father and his two sons put aside their differences to stop an ultimate evil. Blow after blow and bolt after bolt of magic build to a sad, shocking ending as one of the three falls before the battle is done.



On Thursday's Civil War panel

Asked about the Thor project he was supposed to do with Greg Land, Millar said, "Oh sh*t, I knew there was something I forgot to do."

"There's a very good reason as to why Thor took a side," Quesada said when asked why Thor apparently is fighting on the Pro-Registration side in Civil War #3.

On Friday's New Joe Friday's from Newsarama

Joe, something in context for this week - Thor appeared this week in Civil War. While we've spoken with Tom Brevoort about his appearance in Civil War not particularly matching up with what we've been seeing in Fantastic Four, you were the one who said that Thor fans would love you and hate you and love you this year at last year's SDCC. Okay - he's back, so there's the love...but the hate, and the love again?

JQ: Better that than be bored or dispassionate, no? [laughs] Thor fans are in for a heck of a ride, we plan on doing some incredible things with the Thunder God including creating a new villain for him that fans have already been introduced to and dont even know it. Man, I love laying down the tease!

On Saturday's Future of Marvel Films panel

Feige said that the first three films that Marvel is looking at are Captain America, Nick Fury, and Thor, and all are currently being worked on, actively

[asgardian]

Huh. I fully expect Marvel to screw it up.

[Doctor Doom]

Odds are, they'll screw it up.

Give the book to JMS and we might be in for some pretty good times. Give the book to Millar and we'll be in for a GREAT time. Give the book to Brubaker and watch Thor rise to the top once more

[Tana Nile]

The Son of Odin will be going to JMS! See link to Newsarama:

forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=83671

I like the sound of a return to the Lee/Kirby Thor, not so sure about some of the other stuff.

Oh, and this is my first post, and I have to say I have really enjoyed the site. Nice to find some 'real' Avengers fans!

[The Night Phantom]

Welcome, Tana!

For more discussion on this news, see Ultron’s thread.