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The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to... The Mighty Thor

By Gus

Whosoever reads this blog shall gain the publication order of the comics of Thor! It’s the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to Marvel’s God of Thunder!

Youth Youth featured
comic covers arranged in a grid

Who is The Mighty Thor?

After being humbled by his father, Thor the Norse God of Thunder returns to Earth as a superhero. Using an enchanted hammer that only he is worthy to wield, he protects Midgard and fights alongside the Avengers as the Mighty Thor!

Later, when Thor becomes unworthy of using his hammer, Doctor Jane Foster takes it up in his place as her own version of Thor.

Classic Thor

Straczynski/Fraction run (2007-2012)

The defining aspect of this run is bringing Thor and Asgard back down to Earth - literally, as the home of the Norse gods appears hovering over the ordinary town of Broxton, Oklahoma. This era ends with Norman Osborn's invasion of this floating city in Brian Michael Bendis and Oliver Coipel's Siege.

Marvel NOW! - Thor, God of Thunder meets the God Butcher

Beginning in 2012 with the Marvel NOW! relaunch, Thor: God of Thunder by Jason Aaron and artist Esad Ribic introduces Gorr the God Butcher, a vengeful alien who wants to destroy every god across time and space. To stop him, Thor teams up with his younger self from his Viking days and an older, surlier All-Father Thor from the future.

Jane Foster becomes Thor

During the Original Sin storyline, Thor learns a devastating truth that causes him to become unworthy of wielding Mjolnir. The hammer goes to Doctor Jane Foster, Thor’s ex-girlfriend, and she headlines a new series as The Mighty Thor. Meanwhile, Odinson wanders the cosmos trying to find a new hammer (and reason to be worthy) as The Unworthy Thor.

The reading order for this period is as follows:

The War of the Realms

Jason Aaron’s last Thor series has Thor Odinson reclaim Mjolnir, while his enemies from across the Nine Realms band together to invade Midgard and take over Earth. This results in the crossover series The War of the Realms.

Jane Foster, Valkyrie

After her tenure as Goddess of Thunder, Jane Foster gains a new weapon in Undrjarn the All-Weapon and becomes Valkyrie, leading souls to the afterlife while balancing her career as a doctor.

A variant of Valkyrie, based off Tessa Thompson's portrayal in the MCU Thor films, is a member of the Exiles, a multiverse-hopping team of heroes.

All-Father Thor

After the War of the Realms, Thor becomes the All-Father of Asgard in Odin's absence, becoming the most powerful Norse god. However, with greater power comes greater responsibilities, so the new All-Father must contend with bigger threats, like the 'Black Winter' and the 'God of Hammers'.

The Immortal Thor

In Immortal Thor, the God of Thunder returns to defend Midgard from an ancient storm god, face a series of trials set by Loki, and faces losing his sense of self after his myths are turned into intellectual property.

Beta Ray Bill

Did you know that an alien was once worthy of wielding Thor's hammer? Beta Ray Bill from the planet Korbin got a hold of Mjolnir while Thor was inspecting his crashed spaceship, and Bill briefly took on the role of God of Thunder. Bill became an ally to Thor, and was eventually given his own Asgardian hammer named Stormbreaker.