Thor has grown into one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes. While Thor has been around since the ’60s, he’s rarely been among the most popular Marvel heroes. Thor was often second best in the eyes of fans when compared to Captain America or Spider-Man or Hulk or Wolverine; books like The Mighty Thor and Thor had great runs, but it was rarely among the bestselling comics every month. Fans got good Thor stories, but for the most part, there weren’t a lot of fans of Thor. However, all of this changed in the strangest way. It took an all-new Thor to get Thor to the top of sales charts.
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Original Sin ended with Thor losing his worthiness to Mjolnir, losing his place as the God of Thunder. Thor (Vol. 4) #1 would kick off with him being saved from Dark Elves by a woman wielding Mjolnir and calling herself Thor. There was a powerful new Thor in the Marvel Universe, and fans had no idea who it was. Eventually, it was revealed to be former Thor girlfriend Jane Foster, and Jane had a very successful run as Thor. Eventually, the Odinson became worthy again at the end of The War of the Realms, but he has never reached the heights of popularity as Jane. Frankly, Thor never should have been made worthy of Mjolnir again, and here’s why.
Jane Was a Better Thor and the Odinson Had Stories Left to Tell Without Mjolnir
People don’t really realize how popular Jane Foster as Thor was. When she first debuted in 2014, this was one of the first times that a major hero had been replaced in several years and was part of a passing of the guard at Marvel. While Thor wasn’t always the most popular character in the Marvel Universe, he was still very important overall, so changing him was a huge thing with fans. The MCU was also at the height of its power, so more eyes than ever were on the comics. Thor becoming a woman was announced on Good Morning America; this attention helped Thor (Vol. 4) become one of the bestselling comics every month. Jane dealing with the mythos of Asgard pulled readers in.
There have been lots of versions of Thor over the years; Jane wasn’t the first person to become Thor. However, writer Jason Aaron, working with the amazing Russell Dauterman, was able to make Jane the most interesting character to ever be Thor. Her battle with cancer and her desire to use the power for good were compelling, and watching her deal with the trials of Asgard was unlike anything that fans had ever seen in Thor comics. The funny thing is that, as much as Jane did as Thor, there was still way more left for her to do.
Just as interesting was the journey of Thor Odinson. Thor was still a warrior of Asgard, but much less powerful than he was before. He did his best to fight evil still, and tried to regain his worthiness to Mjolnir in books like The Unworthy Thor, where he tried to get his hands on the Ultimate Universe Mjolnir. Thor used the Celestial killing ax known as Jarnbjorn, and we finally got to see him in new ways. We got to watch Thor grow again as a character, learning to deal with his loss like a mortal would deal with the loss of a friend or family member. Thor’s arc during his unworthy years was intriguing, and there were still so many ways to go.
The Immortal Thor has been fantastic, but nothing between it and Thor regaining his worthiness has made the argument that Thor needed his worthiness. Jane as Thor would still be a vital character, and Thor Odinson would be going in new directions. Instead, we’ve gotten Thor as the king of Asgard yet again, dealing with the same all-powerful enemies we’ve seen him deal with a million times. Honestly, the story of The Immortal Thor would be better with Jane as Thor and the Odinson having to figure out a way to ensure his death would save the Ten Realms without Mjolnir, going on the journey of the book without his full power. There are so many options for Jane as Thor and Thor as the Odinson that we never got to explore.
Jane Needed the Power and the Odinson Doesn’t
Thor is a character who can be hard to get a hold of. He’s a warrior and a king, but as far as personality goes, he can be kind of stereotypical. You know what to expect from Thor. However, Thor Odinson was quite different from Thor, God of Thunder. The Odinson was trying to figure out his place in the universe and use what power he had left to be the same kind of warrior he always was. Meanwhile, Jane as Thor brought out all-new aspects of both her and of Thor. It was a different way of looking at multiple characters, and it hadn’t run its course yet.
As cool as Thor has been since getting his worthiness, pretty much every Thor story we’ve gotten hasn’t been all that different from the ones that we always got. The same thing can’t be said of the stories starring Jane Foster as Thor and the Odinson as he dealt with his unworthiness. Those stories were fresh and new, and we could still be getting them. Marvel made a mistake with Thor, and it makes me sad thinking about what could have been.
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