Is Thor an alien?

[Radioactive Zombie]

Mmm... well, technically, he's a mythological figure, but as he's from Earth, you could say just a supernatural Earth being.

After all, you wouldn't call Jesus an "alien".

[StoneGold]

Mmm... well, technically, he's a mythological figure, but as he's from Earth, you could say just a supernatural Earth being.

After all, you wouldn't call Jesus an "alien".

Yeah, but he was born on earth. He'd be a legal resident of Judea. So there's no way he could classify as an alien.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Exactly how old is Thor?

[Roquefort Raider]

See The Mighty Thor Annual #10 for details.

Well said. Speculations may be interesting but are pretty pointless since Marvel defined the nature of its "gods" in that issue.

In a nutshell, and for those who didn't read Thor annual #10: we were told that when the Earth formed, it came with some kind of essence (irreverently called "godstuff") that could respond to mankind's thoughts and beliefs (once mankind appeared, that is).

Our dreams thus shaped several pantheons out of the godstuff. That is why it is possible for the Marvel universe to have many co-existing all-fathers (Osiris, Odin, Zeus, et al). Once formed, the gods do have a physical existence and live in one of several other planes or dimensions; their origin is however clearly earthly.

Asgardians aren't aliens. They're the stuff our dreams are made of!

[Arilou]

It gets more complicated when various demons (What's the difference between a demon and a god? :p) Sometimes impersonate gods. (And each other)

I mean, there are still debates on whether or not there are several demon-lords or if it's just Mephisto (perhaps by some other name) playing elaborate headgames.

It also makes you wonder whether or not the alien gods (Pama of the Kree, the Shi'ar deities...) are "real" as well.

[Roquefort Raider]

I mean, there are still debates on whether or not there are several demon-lords or if it's just Mephisto (perhaps by some other name) playing elaborate headgames.

Some things can be overexplained. I wish Marvel had left that up to our imagination. I find the story of Johnny Blaze or Daimon Hellstrom far more engaging and tragic if they are tangling with the actual Satan, who basically invented evil, that if they're dealing with just another other-dimensional entity with a mean streak.

It also makes you wonder whether or not the alien gods (Pama of the Kree, the Shi'ar deities...) are "real" as well.

Well, alien gods sound like a cool story idea. Marvel can certainly use its Thor annual #10 theory to justify their existence... There's no reason Earth should be the only planet suitable for the development of gods.

[Cthulhudrew]

It also makes you wonder whether or not the alien gods (Pama of the Kree, the Shi'ar deities...) are "real" as well.

I've wondered the same myself at times. On the one hand, the skrull and kree are known to have had both Eternals and/or Deviants (the skrulls actually are the Deviants, leading much speculation as to what their Eternals and Normals must have been like), but on the other hand, they may not have had entities like the Elder Demons/Gaea/Demogorge (IIRC, in at least one version of the gods stories, they are all the result of Atum/Demogorge dispersing his godly essence into the planet Earth.)

[DDM]

It gets more complicated when various demons (What's the difference between a demon and a god? :p) Sometimes impersonate gods. (And each other)

I mean, there are still debates on whether or not there are several demon-lords or if it's just Mephisto (perhaps by some other name) playing elaborate headgames.

It also makes you wonder whether or not the alien gods (Pama of the Kree, the Shi'ar deities...) are "real" as well.

Demons are parasites who feed on souls of their victims to live; they can also feed on other demons & gods. Gods are not parasites.

The Elder Gods degenerated into demons except for Gaea. She infused her essence into the Earth itself & gave birth to Atum (aka Demigorge) to destroy the corrupted Elder Gods. Demigorge is the god-slayer.

[DDM]

I've wondered the same myself at times. On the one hand, the skrull and kree are known to have had both Eternals and/or Deviants (the skrulls actually are the Deviants, leading much speculation as to what their Eternals and Normals must have been like), but on the other hand, they may not have had entities like the Elder Demons/Gaea/Demogorge (IIRC, in at least one version of the gods stories, they are all the result of Atum/Demogorge dispersing his godly essence into the planet Earth.)

The Dire Wraiths are another subset of Deviant Skrulls. The females are drastically different from the males. The male Dire Wraiths are dependent on technology; while the female Dire Wraiths are dependent on sorcery. The Dire Wraiths still may live in the Black Galaxy, although it was supposedly destroyed by Rom.

Most of the "normal" Skrulls, Eternal Skrulls & subset of Deviant Skrulls have all been killed by the Deviant Skrulls.

[Question27]

Actually after The Might Thor Annual #10, wasn't their a run of Thor that covered this issue as well, basically retconning Said issue? Will have to wait till I get home and start looking around to see what issue it was. But what I believe it said was that the Asgardians, are really aliens that were mistaken for the Norse gods when they arrived. They decided to pose as the gods after they arrived.

I know Earth X did this as well, but then Earth X isn't considered real continuity. But definately had some very interesting things in it.

And to those that use Gaea and Odin reasons as saying Thor is a god. Who is to say they're not aliens posing as gods?

But now that I think about it more there have been stories for both sides. Some have said he's a real god, other writers have said Gods are aliens. But as another poster has said, all it comes back to is one simple question.

But then again, what IS a god exactly? In the Marvel U this is especially vauge as there are lots of beings running around with powers that could be called godlike. (Galactus to name but one)

[Captain Smith]

It also makes you wonder whether or not the alien gods (Pama of the Kree, the Shi'ar deities...) are "real" as well.

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.

[Arilou]

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.

Except that the Celestials themselves are known as "Star Gods". Galactus, Eternity, Death et. al. have as much, if not more, claim to Godhood as Odin.

[Hulk Strongest One]

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.

IIRC, the little device that Strange used to suck away King Thor's Odin-force was given to him by the Council of Pantheon Heads, or some such, i.e. the group that would have Odin (if still alive, which he wasn't), Zeus, and the heads of all the other pantheons of Earth. i.e. Skyfather Bar & Grill

I think they mentioned 22 or 26 such pantheons, but don't quote me. So there are at least 22 or 26 Odin/Zeus-level head gods floating around Earth, and probably several thousand supporting cast gods like Thor, Volstagg, and the like. I'm willing to bet the number came about when someone counted up all the major pantheon mythos of (real-world) Earth.

It's interesting to note that magic (not in Marvel necessarily) was originally considered basically similar to prayers in that you were going through the motions necessary to cause god X to do something. Indeed prayers (i.e. words), hand movements and other physical behavior, and "reagents", i.e. stuff usually burned or sacrificed, are all part of a superstitious behavior to influence the gods.

The idea that spellcasting is channeling some mysterious magical force, independent from the gods, is a relatively new concept. Hence, originally, "magic" was the same as "holy" power. It's a tidier solution, but some writers then suggest the gods get their godlike power merely by being experts at manipulating this independent magical power, or pulling it in and through their beings somehow.

Personally, I prefer the concept that magic is derived from gods, and not that gods are just immortals who use magic well.


There could, of course, be a hybrid of this, with one or more realms that are the source of magical power, independent of any gods, but that the gods also generate their own magical power that may be called on via prayer and/or spellcasting (which are really the same thing in this sense.) Marvel seems to be like this with a "chaos magic", or whatever the Scarlet Witch uses, and gods like Odin who have both internally-generated magic/holy power, and cast spells themselves, including the marvelously powerful and ancient Runic spells.

[Hulk Strongest One]

Except that the Celestials themselves are known as "Star Gods". Galactus, Eternity, Death et. al. have as much, if not more, claim to Godhood as Odin.

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.

[Area_hulk]

In the movie he is from another species. In the comics i'm pretty sure he's supposed to be a god. Also, what issue was it that you read? about the thing with firebird and thor?