While Thor joined forces with all of Asgard to stave off a mutual threat, the God of Thunder might be headed towards a showdown with another god.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Thor #14, by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matt Wilson and VC’s Joe Sabino, on sale now.
After a long bloody battle that spanned different dimensions and saw numerous heroes bested in brutal combat, the rampage of Thor’s unhinged alter ego Donald Blake has finally come to an end. A combined coalition of Asgardian heroes and allies led the charge into the heart of Asgard, including the retired All-Father Odin, back from parts unknown on the far side of the cosmos.
And while Thor was able to defeat his twisted shadow and, with Loki, condemn Blake to the darkest corners of his kingdom in Thor #14, the God of Thunder may soon have words with his estranged father that could lead to a different kind of showdown for the fate of Asgard.
Years ago, Odin created Donald Blake as an artificial persona to help teach his son humility and allow him to walk amongst the humans, imbuing Blake with false memories of his own life separate from Thor’s. Following the crossover event War of the Realms and a narrow assassination attempt on his life after the devastation of Asgard, Odin opted to abdicate the throne to his son and go on a self-imposed exile to the backwater parts of the Marvel Universe. In the wake of his failing marriage, Odin spiraled downward in an alcohol-induced haze while Blake snapped upon learning of his true nature and carried out a vengeful rampage on all who wielded the Odin Force.
When the wayward Blake carved a path of violence and destruction through the Marvel Universe, Odin returned to Asgard and attempted to slay the defeated Blake, only to be stopped by Thor. With the God of Thunder reaffirming his position as King of Asgard and the new All-Father, Thor has Loki prepare his own fitting punishment for Blake before vowing to Odin that they will soon have a reckoning between father and son themselves. With their business regarding Blake concluded, Thor demands Odin depart from Asgard once more, in more disgrace than he faced at the start of his retirement, and to give his regards to his mother, likely unaware of Odin’s recent marital woes.
Considering what Thor has learned about his mother recently in Avengers, his words take on an even more ominous tone. For years, Thor assumed his biological mother was the Elder Goddess Gaea, the divine personification of life and renewal on Earth, which explained why the cosmic superhero had such a deep, unwavering affinity for the planet all his life. But in a recent confrontation with the Phoenix Force as the cosmic entity searching for a new host on Earth, Thor was shocked to discover that the Phoenix was his true biological mother all along. Though Thor expressed his doubts over the revelation, the Phoenix’s claims visibly shook the God of Thunder to his core over his true parentage, and he most certainly has some pressing questions for his father.
Thor’s tenure as King of Asgard has been a tenuous one, fraught with both cosmic and internal threats. And while Thor was able to reassert control over his kingdom and restore his people to their home, free of Donald Blake, he still has plenty of unfinished business with his father. Thor and Odin have one of the most dysfunctional father-son dynamics in the Marvel Universe. With recent revelations that have directly impacted Asgard and Thor’s personal history, things remain as raw between the two men as ever. And never one for words, the promised follow-up reunion between Thor and Odin will probably not be a pleasant one.
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