Thor #294
New Asgard for Old
Seeking answers to a forgotten past, Thor has just learned that before his version of Asgard an earlier one existed. These secrets are being revealed to him by the severed eye of Odin in order for the thunder god to learn the truth to his father’s claim that he had killed Thor in the past.[1]
Following Old Asgard’s destruction in Ragnarok only seven of the Aseir survived: Balder, Vili, Ve, Vali, Magnir, Hoenir, Modi, Vidar, and Hoder. Many of these gods Thor had never seen before and confused by how this can be, the eye explains that Asgard exists on a Celestial Axis that surrounds the Earth and how, every 2160 year cycle that connects the fabled land of the gods with the Earth.[2] Thor doesn’t understand the purpose of seeing all of this and thinks it is some kind of deception. After threatening the eye, it assures the thunder god the previous Ragnarok cycle is important to understanding and assures that everything will be answered if allowed to explain things fully.
Taking Thor back in time to the birth of Christ, they once again look upon the ruins of old Asgard. A series of storms and rainfall cause the land mass to rejuvenate itself. The last survivors of the Aseir then wander the wilderness trying to figure out their next move. Soon, Balder comes across small wooden statues carved in the shape of the fallen gods who died during Ragnarok. Not far away, Thor’s sons Modi and Magni come upon their father’s hammer, Mjolnir. They discover that together they can lift it and contemplate using it to gain power over the others. Realizing how dangerous such feelings can be, they decide to discard Mjolnir by tossing it down to Midgard where it crashes into the Rhine river. There, the enchanted hammer forms into a mound of gold which the locals will come to call the Rhinegold.
As Modi and Magni are disposing of Mjonlnir, Odin’s son Vidar finds his father’s enchanted spear, Gungnir. Along with Odin’s brothers Vili, Ve and Vali, they all vow to rule Asgard together. However, when they all touch Gungnir to make this vow its magic causes them all to merge together forming a brand new Odin, the father of the present day Thor. The remaining Aseir also vanish, leaving only Odin, who now has the collective memory them all. Odin then comes upon the wooden carvings and decrees that the people of Asgard will live again. Using his magic, Odin transforms the carvings into the versions of the Asgardians that Thor knows best. He then sends away the various trolls, giants, and monsters and spreads them across the land. The newly resurrected Asgardians have no memory of the past and are confused by their sudden existence. To placate them, Odin uses his power to fill their minds with Norse mythology to give them as past. Among these is the creation of myth of Asgard which leads them to believe that they were responsible for creating the first humans: Aske and Embla.[3]
Odin then put the new Asgardians to work and they rebuild a new kingdom of Asgard. With the city’s completion, Odin then reconnects his domain with Earth by restoring the Bifrost bridge that was severed during the last Ragnarok. One day, while sitting upon his throne, Odin felt a void in his life and although he fathered his entire race with magic, he desired a blood son and so he ventured to Earth to find the perfect mate. Thor is very interested in learning more about this as he doesn’t know the true identity of his mother, but the eye moves ahead in the story saying that this is unimportant to the answers the thunder god has sought.[4]
Instead, he turns Thor’s attention back to the Rhine river, where mermaids have been placed to guard the Rhinegold by Odin’s decree. One day they are visited by a dwarf named Alberich of the Nibelung clan. Distracting the three mermaids, Alberich then managed to abscond with the Rhinegold, leaving the three women to pray to Odin for forgiveness. In Asgard, Odin and his wife Frigga were busy overseeing the construction of Valhalla by two Storm Giants named Fafnir and Fasolt. They are working in exchange for Idunna, the goddess who provides the gods with the golden apples that maintain their immortality. Odin only did so because Loki had promised to find a way to renege on the deal. Unfortunately, Loki appears and hands Idunna over to the two giants. Thor soon arrives with Idunna’s brother Frey, but they are too late to stop Loki.
Thor then attacks Fafnir and Fasolt, prompting the two giants to defend themselves. From the sidelines Odin, whose word is his bond, orders Thor to stand down vowing to slay those who continue fighting with his enchanted fear if hostilities continue.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Odin, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Balder, Karnilla, Grand Vizier, Idunn, Frey, Vili, Ve, Vali, Magni, Hoenir, Modi, Vidar, Hoder, Jormungand, Enchantress, Executioner, Ymir, Loki, Fafnir, Fasolt, Aske, Embla, Alberich
Odin made this claim in Thor #291. Odin removed his eye and fed it to Mimi to stave off Ragnarok in issue #274 it has terrorized another dimension until Thor found it in issue #292.
This story does a real shit job trying to explain how this cosmic axis works. A footnote here tells readers to check the letter page for more details. If you happen to be reading a reprint of this story — depending on the version — the letter page explanation may be absent. In a nutshell: This cosmic axis is based on the zodiac signs and governs the cycle of death and rebirth in Asgard. It’s a bunch of heavy mumbo-jumbo used to explain how the Asgardians can be aware of Ragnarok well before it happens and explains that while the twilight of the gods is an unavoidable inevitability it is followed by a rebirth of the gods. About this:
This is all refuted by Bor, Odin’s father, in Thor #355. However, Thor (vol. 2) #83 reinforces the rebirth cycle.
At the time of this writing (September 2021), Asgard has already gone through two rebirth cycles in the comics, notable Thor #491-501 and Thor (vol. 2) #80-85.
The idea of past Ragnarok cycles was also explored in a number of one shots: Thor: Age of Thunder #1, Trial of Thor #1, The Rage of Thor #1, Reign of Blood #1, and Man of War #1.
Versions of these origin stories were originally told in Journey into Mystery #97, 98, 103 and Thor Annual #5.
Thor #300 reveals that Thor’s mother was Gaea the Earth goddess. It should be noted the Gaea is Thor’s mother of the current Ragnarok Cycle and he has been birthed through others in earlier cycles. For example, Avengers (vol. 8) #43, the Phoenix Force has claimed to be Thor’s original mother, giving birth to the first incarnation of Thor in Year One Million BC.
Topical References
This story’s states that the events Thor witnesses here happened about 2000 years ago. Due to the Sliding Timescale, this measurement of time will change. Modern readers should ignore specific measurements of time between the past and this story and instead just focus on the idea that this all happened shortly after the birth of Christ. The length of time between then and the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe will always change.
