Marvel Comics has just published a significant rewrite of its own history, removing Thor and Asgard from the timeline and replacing the God of Thunder with the popular alien hero Beta Ray Bill, even as a founding Avenger.
The move comes as the Immortal Thor series concludes and a new chapter, The Mortal Thor, begins next month.
The change happens in today’s The Immortal Thor #25, the final issue from writer Al Ewing and a team of artists including Jan Bazaldua and Pasqual Ferry. In the story, Loki uses a cosmic artefact called an Eternity Arrow to kill his brother. This act doesn’t just send Thor to the afterlife; it rewrites reality. The Rainbow Bridge is shattered, and Asgard, along with its entire history, is severed from the main Marvel Universe, Earth-616. The issue confirms, “All links between Asgard and Midgard were sundered. Even in history. Even in memory.”
With Thor erased from the timeline, his essential role, including that of a founding Avenger, has been filled. The Korbinite hero Beta Ray Bill is now the one who helped form Marvel’s premier super-team. Long-time comic fans will recognise this as a clever choice, given the character’s history. Beta Ray Bill, a creation of the celebrated writer and artist Walter Simonson, first appeared in Thor #337 in 1983. He proved himself worthy of lifting Mjolnir, earning Odin’s respect and his own enchanted hammer, Stormbreaker. The two have since been allies and blood-brothers. The new continuity raises questions about Bill’s own origin, which was deeply tied to Odin and Asgard, and the fate of Stormbreaker, which Thor himself shattered in a recent storyline.
While his divine past has been wiped from memory, the individual formerly known as Thor still exists. He is reborn on Earth as a mortal man with no recollection of his godhood, living under the name Sigurd Jarlson. Geek Native readers with long memories might recall that Thor used this exact alias in the 1980s while living secretly on Earth as a construction worker. It appears he won’t be entirely alone, as a mortal version of Loki, calling himself ‘Lucky’, will be on hand to guide him.
This new status quo will be explored in The Mortal Thor, a new series launching on August 27th from the same creative team, with Pasqual Ferry taking on the main art duties. Marvel’s summary for the first issue sets a grounded tone:
The Norse Myths tell of Gods who walked the Earth, doing great deeds for the mortals who believed in them. But Asgard isn’t real, and never was. The Gods never soared in our skies, never stood with our heroes, never fought for kindness or justice. It was all just a story. Nobody’s coming to help us. But somewhere in the city… a man is waking up. A man with a hammer.”
The creative force behind this change, Al Ewing, is known for deep-dive character studies, such as his work on Immortal Hulk. This new Thor story appears to be a companion piece, likely running for a similar number of issues and offering a long-term exploration of the character’s new reality.
Al Ewing, the writer, explained the thinking behind the radical shift to Marvel.com.
Now that IMMORTAL THOR #25 is on the stands for you to read – and please do – we can be a little more open about the exact nature of the second act of the story. This was an idea that sprang into being from the original pitch; I wanted to treat Thor as a God, and give him a truly mythological story… but as well as the son of Odin, he’s the son of Gaea. So we find ourselves in winter. Thor is dead, and Sigurd Jarlson walks the Earth – without power, without fame, without memory. And yet the fate of Asgard and Midgard rests on this mortal man making the journey to return the magic of the Gods to the Earth. And to get there – to even learn the nature of the quest – he’s going to have to fight.”
In a discussion with ComicBook, Ewing also hinted at the threats this new mortal hero will face, confirming the return of several classic villains. The Enchantress will continue her schemes in the background, while the Sons of the Serpent will make a more immediate appearance. Readers can also expect to see Cobra, Mister Hyde, Grey Gargoyle, and the Radioactive Man cause trouble for the powerless Sigurd Jarlson.
The Immortal Thor #25 is available now, with The Mortal Thor #1 set to arrive in comic shops and digitally on August 27th.
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