How does a guy known for writing Punisher and Wolverine tackle the highfalutin fantasy of Asgard? If you're comic scribe Jason Aaron, you bring in berserkers, beer, beards, and a mystical serial killer who targets gods.
In a press call today with the creative team behind Marvel's upcoming comic book series Thor: God of Thunder, Aaron and artist Esad Ribic told io9 about the Norse deity's new adventures, which will span the hero's careless youth, his current cosmic escapades, and his potential bleak destiny. Aaron's tripartite approach is broken down as follows:
● Thor's past focuses on pre-Mjölnir adventures on Earth, hanging out with vikings, getting tore up, and swinging a battle axe.
● Thor's present takes place in space, where he encounters space gods. (Ribic promised that he'd be drumming up some impossible extraterrestrial architecture in the style of Moebius.)
● Finally, Thor's future sees the hero in Asgard at the end of the universe. He's missing an eye, an arm — fortunately, he's replaced his missing limb with one from the mechanical war machine, The Destroyer — and all of his friends. Thor's the last Asgardian. He's not alone in this far-flung reality, but it's unclear who's left. One thing's for certain — his adventures with the Avengers happened so long ago they barely register.
Each of these Thors narrates his own story, and the mystery of the god serial killer — "Gorr The God Butcher," who Aaron characterizes as a creepy little nemesis who hangs out in the shadows — is interwoven throughout each story. Aaron's making a point to pare down Thor's supporting cast for storytelling purposes, but he did mention that such characters as Mangog, Sif, The Warriors Three, and Beta Ray Bill may be among those making appearances.
As far as inspiration goes, Aaron drew from Walt Simonson's lauded 1980s run on the book, but he also mentioned that he'll be channeling the spaced-out aesthetic of Jack Kirby's 1960s work. Definitely sounds promising, but my final verdict truly depends on whether or not the Ding-A-Ling Gang shows up. Thor: God of Thunder hits stands Wednesday, November 14. Here are some new pages by Esad Ribic below.