Is Thor an alien?

[Wellman]

The only clear cut aspect of divine life in the Marvel universe is that there is a being call One Above or Beyond All that can smack anyone down and his representative in the Marvel universe is the living Tribunal that one would need the Infinity Gauntlet to match up with. Below him, a fully powered Franklin Richards, the Celestials, Galactus and then the godlings that exist in multiple worlds.

[Hero of Shadows]

Marvel is trying to have it both ways with this, if you read the stories set in Asgard Thor and JiM they're written from this mythological point of view you wouldn't get any space aliens ideas at all from them, but in every comic in which Thor has to interract with Midgard they they have to guard the religious/atheist % so thatwe don't get mass conversions to Norse-ism and makes the world too dissimilar from the one we live in so everybody is this ultra skeptic "They're all aliens" etc.

It also serves as a good shield to RL Religions because most holy books have instructions on how to to deal with other gods besides your own and believers following those percepts are not good for Marvel's business, I mean if they buy the books to burned I guess Marvel makes some money but I still think Marvel wants their books not to be burned.

I'm also curious if J.K Rowling went with the whole "they're aliens who just look like wizards, no sir no magic involved just science" defense would Harry Potter have had less problems about the again very widespread "no sorcery only divine sanctioned miracles" stance which exist in a lot of holy books.

In the King Thor run, that destroyer of gods dude (whose name I forgot) was seen whaling away on gods on other planets. Thus, are there sky father types floating around the universe. Given the number of galaxies and stars - must be quite a few.

To me, a deity should not be subject to normal physical forces. True, the Greek Gods could take an arrow in the butt and be annoyed by it, but to see a 'god' get shot down like happened to Heimdall or Celestials kick down the Destroyer implies that they are just part of the normal physical fabric of the universe and manipulated by Reed if he makes the right machine.

Of course, in all comic universes - Earth is special and the key to all creation - despite galaxy spanning empires.

Sorry if I get a little meta on you but this is probably because you were raised in a culture dominated by religions which preach omnipotent gods if you'd have grown up for example in Ancient Grece and somehow were reading the same comics you'd be way more open to the notion of limited deities and omnipotent ones would seem strange.

[Van Custo]

It's BOTH.

Asgardians are an alien race and they were also worshiped as Gods by humans. Thor's mother is Gaea, an Elder Goddess. The Elder Gods are some of the oldest beings around. Alien and "God" can fit together fine. Magic is something the Asgardian race uses - they are a magic using race from another dimension/space. Gods in the MU can all be viewed as extra-dimensional entities/aliens. It doesn't make them less "godly".

I guess people have trouble with this because they are used to thinking one way about "alien" and a completely different way about a "God", thanks to the Judeo-Christian definition of God. But honestly, wouldn't Jesus be an "alien"? He's not from Earth. Angels would be a supernatural/magical species. Adding magic to "alien" doesn't make it less alien.

[Lord Bravery]

I'm an atheist. But the whole "ancient astronaut" theories are something i could get into. That's basically how Marvel treats their "gods". Aliens, inter dimensional beings... whatever. But who were worshipped as Gods by primitive humans.

[seekquaze]

After reviewing this thread I think it is clear Marvel overall considers the Asgardians and other such beings gods. In Marvel, and many polythestic religions, being a god does not require being perfect or omnipotent. In some mythologies minor gods can be kicked around by highly skilled humans. A god of sewers would be far weaker than the god of thunder. In Marvel, there is a certain type of being that is classified as a god. Due to no two writers every fully agreeing on what that is there is no clear definition. About the only way to know is for the writer to somehow confirm it in story.

Are the Asgardardians, Olympians, and other such beings gods? Yes. This has been confirmed several ways. The Eternals confirm that they are not gods despite having powers similar to gods. They draw a clear distinction between magic-based gods and science-based beings like themselves. The gods have acknowledged and been acknowledge as gods by beings of other planets. The Skrull God/Eternal Kly'bn drew a distinction between Eternals and gods and acknowledged Earth's gods as gods. The Earth gods did the same to him. The old story "The Search for Odin" and Desak the Godslayer have confirmed there are certain energies unique to gods different from other superpowered beings. The High Evolutionary himself confirmed gods are different from other lifeforms. Galactus and other cosmic beings have used the term GODLING in relation to Thor. Godling is usually referring to a local or minor god. To a cosmic being like Galactus someone like Thor whose influence is mainly Earth is a godling. So the Asgardians have been confirmed as gods over the years in several ways.

Are the Asgardians aliens? Technically, many of them yes as well. None of them are naturalized citizens of the United States so they are alien in that regard. Thor was born on Earth so he is not alien to the planet. Many of the Asgardians however were born on Asgard so they are alien to Earth.

Are the Asgardians just advanced aliens? One could make this argument since the Asgaridans were previously demonstrated as more advanced than humans and many of them were aliens. However, their power is not just advanced science. As I already proved Marvel treats a certain type of being as a "god." The theory that the Asgardians were just aliens with advanced tech was an in-universe hypothesis put forward by SHIELD to try and make the Asgardians fit into their worldview. Nothing has ever before or after really supported it.

[Sighphi]

I'm an atheist. But the whole "ancient astronaut" theories are something i could get into. That's basically how Marvel treats their "gods". Aliens, inter dimensional beings... whatever. But who were worshipped as Gods by primitive humans.

But seriously, they are gods. That's their story, they come from the first generation of gods that were created by the planet itself.
All the gods in Marvel are born from Earth, they werent created somewhere else then came to the planet. They live in different dimensions but they originate from Earth.

[Zak213]

I think thor in the movie was just described as a powerful alien.

[Jabare]

Yes Thor is an alien. He isn't from earth.

Alien

noun.

1.a resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization ( distinguished from citizen).
2.a foreigner.
3.a person who has been estranged or excluded.
4.a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.




ex·tra·ter·res·tri·al   [ek-struh-tuh-res-tree-uhl]
adjective
1. outside, or originating outside, the limits of the earth.

[XPac]

Yes Thor is an alien. He isn't from earth.

Alien

noun.

1.a resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization ( distinguished from citizen).
2.a foreigner.
3.a person who has been estranged or excluded.
4.a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.




ex·tra·ter·res·tri·al   [ek-struh-tuh-res-tree-uhl]
adjective
1. outside, or originating outside, the limits of the earth.

Generally speaking I think we'd have to consider Asgardians aliens.

But if Thor's mom is the spirit of earth itself, he sort of is from earth too. It sort of depends on how you look at it.

[Aaric Rivad]

As much as magic and mysticism give me hives, I really hate the pseudo-scientific explanations for Thor and the other Asgardians. I think the idea of them as aliens possessing ultra-advanced technology takes away from the mythological aspect that always made the character so interesting. Also, as an Iron Man fan, having his technology being completely overshadowed by a bunch of guys with swords and hammers is ridiculous.

I would definitely buy the extradimensional aspect, though.

[RDMacQ]

He's an alien in order not to offend people. Gives people an easy way out if they want to get all "Harry Potter is teaching kids WITCHCRAFT!" on the whole thing.

[Van Custo]

As much as magic and mysticism give me hives, I really hate the pseudo-scientific explanations for Thor and the other Asgardians. I think the idea of them as aliens possessing ultra-advanced technology takes away from the mythological aspect that always made the character so interesting. Also, as an Iron Man fan, having his technology being completely overshadowed by a bunch of guys with swords and hammers is ridiculous.

I would definitely buy the extradimensional aspect, though.

Again I have to ask: why is everyone making it an "either or" thing? The question is: what is a "God"?

I don't see the need to strictly split it into either "powerful aliens using science" or "supernatural Gods using magic". It's simply both. They are an extra-dimensional race of beings worshiped as Gods, who use magic like we use science. Magic IS their science. "Alien" doesn't have to mean conventional technology and little green men.

So then, what is the difference between Asgardians and other "alien races" like the Skrulls? Simple: Skrulls are just another biological species like humans, while Asgardians are a more magical race with mystical origins. They are not flesh and blood that evolved in the conventional way. The Elder Gods for example formed out of Demiurge, the "sentient life-force of Earth". So the main difference is just their mystical origins, relationship to the universe itself and power levels. Thor being an "alien" doesn't make him less of a God.

Gods by nature are "alien" to us in general. If I wanted to, I could argue Jesus was an alien and the "father" that sent him to Earth was the powerful alien leader. Does anyone have any reasons to claim the Judeo-Christian God couldn't just be an extremely powerful alien being? What would be the difference, really?

Even if Marvel never uttered the word alien in relation to Thor, and only used the word Gods, it wouldn't matter; Asgardians, a race of beings from another dimension, could still be considered magical aliens.

Answer to thread: Yes, Thor is of an alien race. Yes, Thor is a God, just not the God.

[Majinoaw]

I hate to say it, but as far as gods go, Thor's pretty darned wimpy. Even as a top-end bad@$$ at the superhero/villain level, he's still pretty sad when you think of how powerful The God of Thunder should be. I don't think he should be bench pressing planets, but controlling weather on a worldwide scale involves energies a lot more than he usually displays. The only event I can recall him doing that approaches this was smashing a hole in a Celestial helmet, which blew down mountains nearby and knocked over buildings on the other side of the planet. And that took a huge, Dragonball-Z like grunting powerup (like most of his Godblast-type smacks.)

It might be interesting to list Thor's Biggest Godblast Hits. I can think of several:

1) Driving away Galactus using the waves of force in his hammer.
2) Smashing a hole in a Celestial helmet
3) Stopping and driving back the Juggernaut

I wouldn't include smashing the Destroyer/Desak hybrid armor/person face in that future story because he was aided by the Odin power.

Thor gets coached up so much it's ridiculous. There is no reason why he should constantly get beaten by both Juggernaut and the Hulk.

[The Black Guardian]

Dudes. Gotta give Odin props for managing to have sex with a planet! :D

I dunno. Gaea gets around. And it probably only amounted to him having a mud bath.

Anyway, Thor's probably got more rights to call himself an Earthling than many Earthlings.

[Brannon]

If the Demiurge/Elder god origin still stands, all Earth gods are technically natives in the extent that they evolved from beings that were native, and came into being, on Earth. Going by this origin, their ancestors clearly lived on the planet billions of years ago. At some point, though to my knowledge it's never been covered, the various pantheons moved to adjacent dimension. I always thought it would be interesting to see each "tribe" evolve in a story and show how their distinct cultural differences manifested, perhaps influencing the culture, dress, etc, of mortal civilizations. I could even see the Celestial's first visit a million years ago (when they created the Eternals and Deviants) as the perfect explanation of why the gods left.

As for Thor being a god, I think people get far too hung up on, and show too much reverence for, the term "god." A mortal can technically be a god, as long as he/she has followers and is worshiped. Hell, even totems and animals can be gods. To me a god in the fictional sense as most people use it is any being that's powers are derived from "magic" and are not explainable through normal applications of science, physics and evolutionary theory. To go one further, perhaps the demiurge/Elder god origin has been repeated on many other worlds in the Marvel Universe (say the Kree, Skrulls, etc) and this is simply what gods are as opposed to highly advanced aliens such as the Watchers and Elders of the Universe. Obviously you can get to the same levels of extreme power either by being born into a magical race (Odin), or a highly evolved race with explainable scientific origins (Uatu). It's simply two different courses.