For the past few years, one of the biggest mysteries plaguing the Marvel Universe was what were the words Nick Fury whispered into Thor’s ear in order to make the Asgardian warrior unworthy of Mjolnir, effectively making him drop his trusted hammer right then and there, never to pick it up again. In the time since, he’s gone by simply “Odinson” (we’re glad he chose that over The Artist Formerly Known as Thor) and Jane Foster has taken up the mantle of Thor in his stead.
Fortunately, we learned just what those words were this week in the pages of The Unworthy Thor #5 and, no, they had nothing to do with his credit score or browser history as I previously suspected. Instead, they were simply, “Gorr was right.”
It’s around the time that information is divulged that we’re treated to a flashback showing a conversation between Thor and Gorr The God Butcher in which the latter claims that no god is worthy of such a weapon. Thus, the power wasn’t in Fury’s words themselves, but rather, in the power of belief in them.
As such, much philosophical discussion ensues followed by Odinson deciding not to claim Ultimate Thor’s Mjolnir. To me, this is akin to being in a position where you’re about to win a ladder match and opting not to pull down that championship gold (hey, pro wrestling makes for surprisingly good allegories).
So, unless Odinson turns out to be the War Thor/All-New Ultimate Thor that will likely claim the impressive piece of hardware, does that mean we’ll have three Thors running around the Marvel Universe? Only time will tell, but I have a sneaking suspicion that all this will go down in time for Thor: Ragnarok’s theatrical release this November.
The Unworthy Thor #5 is now available in comic shops.
