For the end of his run writing Thor, Jason Aaron is returning to its beginning. Aaron reteams with artist Esad Ribic, his collaborator on Thor: God of Thunder, for King Thor. the miniseries brings Aaron’s seven-year saga of the Odinson to a close. It isn’t Ribic’s return alone that calls back to Thor: God of Thunder. The issue sees Loki attack Thor. Loki is wielding All-Black the Necrosword, a powerful weapon introduced in the first arc of Aaron and Ribic’s Thor: God of Thunder. But it turns out Loki isn’t the only old foe come back to face All-Father Thor. SPOILERS for King Thor #1 follow.
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King Thor takes place far into the future, near the end of the universe. King Thor of Asgard and his granddaughters — Atli, Frigg, and Ellisiv — try to fight against the encroaching entropy, reseeding what’s left of Midgard with human life. But the universe is sick and dying, so the Goddesses of Thunder go to Omnipotence City to see what they can learn.
Elsewhere, All-Black the Necrosword passes from owner to owner, each more terrible than the last. Galactus bore it for a time, then Ego the Living Planet. Then Loki consumed Ego and took the Necrosword for himself. In King Thor #1, Loki returns to challenge is brother one more time.
Thor and Loki battle on an epic scale. Thor ignites a planet of napalm, tosses Loki into a sun, but none of it phases Loki. Loki traps Mjolnir in the sun he escaped. He pins Thor down, but Loki’s moment of triumph interrupted when a black blade pierces the trickster god’s heart.
The final page of the issue reveals the culprit. Gorr the God Butcher has returned.
Aaron and Ribic created Gorr as the first villain of Thor: God of Thunder. Gorr was an alien who felt abandoned by the gods. He grew to hate and resent all deities. He obtained an outlet for his rage when he discovered two dead gods who had landed on his planet. One had on him All-Black the Necrosword, a shapeshifting weapon designed to kill gods. Using All-Black, Gorr began a deicidal rampage that lasted for eons. Gorr almost succeeded in detonating a godbomb that would have wiped all divinity from existence. It took the combined might of three Thors from three different points in Thor’s life to stop Gorr.
The tragic irony of Gorr is that the power he accrued from the Necrosword and his god-slaying efforts turned him into a god, the thing he hated. Thus, King Thor introduces Gorr as the God of God Butchers.
What do you think of Gorr the God Butcher’s return in King Thor? Let us know in the comments. King Thor #1 is on sale now.
