Thor’s darker half has become a new God of Thunder, and he’s carving a bloody path through Asgard and its gods to his ascension.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Thor #10, by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matt Wilson, and VC’s Joe Sabino, on sale now.
Thor has been trying to figure out what’s been wrong with Mjolnir, and he called in his brother Loki as part of his plan to fix it. Thor intended to bring back his human side, Doctor Donald Blake, and enter the Odinsleep in hopes of finding an answer for his problems. But by bringing Donald Blake back for the first time in years, Thor found himself trapped in the realm Odin created for Blake and unleashed a monster that’s unlike anything the Asgardians have ever faced before.
Immediately upon returning, Donald Blake reveals he is not the lowly mortal the Asgardians know him to be, before dispatching a Mjolnir-wielding Loki with ease and revealing himself to be Marvel’s parallel to genre-show Heroes‘ power stealing serial killer Sylar.
After his battle with Loki, Donald Blake is met by Lady Sif, Volstagg and Beta Ray Bill. Blake makes quick work of all three heroes, as well as some of Asgard’s fiercest warriors. Blake reveals that he is able to do so because he retains memories of every battle Thor has had with them in addition to his own surgical expertise, which he uses to incapacitate his opponents. What makes Blake even more dangerous is his apparent ability to absorb the powers of his foes at will, as he does to Beta Ray Bill, the Asgardian serpent Jörmungandr, and is hinted to have done to other Thor-like beings like Red Norvell, and Thunderstrike. By the end of the issue, Blake has set his sights on the former Mighty Thor, and current Valkyrie, Doctor Jane Foster.
Blake’s defeats of Jörmungandr and Loki alone hint that he may be the most powerful Thor yet, but his plan to absorb the powers of all Thors is what makes him truly terrifying and dangerous. In addition to that, his apparent ability to take the powers of any being, hinted by his absorbing of Jörmungandr’s power, combined with his surgically precise attacks set him up as a villain who is bound to be a universal threat with nigh-unlimited power potential. After having spent many decades in what amounts to a magical playpen, Blake is for from the humble earth doctor he was originally known as and now has a bloodlust for revenge against Odin and all things Asgardian.