Thor Just Killed an Elder God of the Marvel Universe – And It Was Heartbreaking

Marvel's Immortal Thor just changed the face of an entire pantheon, and the consequences will be dire.

Immortal Thor #20 opens to find the titular God of Thunder deep in discussion with his mother, Freyja, only to be pulled away by some new tragedy that has befallen Asgard. Or rather, by some new tragedy that has appeared high above Asgard, specifically that of the Utgard-Thor himself, Toranos. Under any other circumstances, Thor would be happy to battle his towering opponent, though these particular circumstances are unlike any either have ever known. Instead of looking for a fight wielding his massive wheel, Toranos has been crucified on his iconic weapon, and the only help he needs from Thor is that of putting an end to his torment.

Immortal Thor #20

• Written by AL EWING
• Art by JAN BAZALDUA
• Colors by MATT HOLLINGSWORTH
• Letters by VC's JOE SABINO
• Main cover art by ALEX ROSS
• Variant covers by DAN PANOSIAN and MARK BROOKS

First seen in 2023's Immortal Thor #1 by Al Ewing and Martin Coccolo, the ancient Toranos was one of the Elder Gods who hid away from the might of the Demogorge in the realm known as Utgard. There, alongside a handful of other Elder Gods including Kemur, Mejed, Nrgl, and the still unnamed Utgard-Loki, Toranos bided his time until the day he might be set free from his self-imposed exile. When that day finally came, Toranos took to the skies above New York City, where he called upon a massive supernatural storm before being bested by Thor.

Although Thor was never capable of overpowering Toranos outright, he was able to put the threat of the raging Elder God to rest by simply opening himself up to the opposition. By allowing Toranos to claim the power of Thor, the God of Thunder also imparted his conscience unto his towering enemy. Apart from quelling the literal and figurative storms that Toranos brought with him, this convinced the Elder God to let Thor in on Gaea and Utgard-Loki's plot to destroy the entire world, setting up an even more dire confrontation down the line.

While the Elder Gods now known as the Utgard-Gods are a relatively recent addition to the overarching Marvel Comics mythos, their home realm of Utgard itself is not. First seen back in 1985's X-Men/Alpha Flight #1 by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith, Utgard was introduced as a then-unnamed, extradimensional space is also home to the Asgardian pantheon known as Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. These entities, best described as the gods of the gods, have long been the source of great amounts of speculation regarding their origins. Even though Those Who Sit Above in Shadow have previously presented themselves as original entities unto themselves, there is good reason to think that they were brought into form through the faith of ancient Asgardians who told stories of and worshiped them.

Immortal Thor #20 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics