The Mighty Thor is gearing up for a new era with an all-new creative team behind him, and the writer of his upcoming relaunch, Al Ewing, recently shared his thoughts on what makes the founding Avenger so special--even referencing his first appearance. In an email interview with Polygon, writer Al Ewing gave insight on his upcoming Immortal Thor series alongside Martín Cóccolo and Alex Ross. With Thor Annual #1 and Immortal Thor #1 marking the beginning of a new era for Thor as the iconic hero and current Allfather of Asgard, Ewing built excitement for the next chapter of the hero while noting what made him such a captivating character all the way back in his early days in the Silver Age of comics.

Ewing, a veteran Marvel writer, is no stranger to some of Marvel's most iconic heroes. From the recently concluded Wasp and Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants titles of this year to the critically and commercially celebrated Immortal Hulk series that concluded with issue #50 in 2021, Ewing acknowledges the excitement around the new title along with its provocative association with Immortal Hulk. However, he assures readers that Immortal Thor won't just be a retreading of the same journey as Bruce Banner. Thor's original Jack Kirby design is an element Ewing notes as part of his characterization of the Odinson, calling the choice of a man sporting long hair in his debut era of the 1960s a flex, and a statement on masculinity, fantasy, and hopefulness.

"Thor tacks more toward fantasy and hope. Bruce Banner is fractured by his origin, going through a hell of his own making to gain the power of a monster — Don Blake becomes the person he truly is inside, and in so doing, gains the power of a god. (An unconventional god! Long hair in the early ’60s was more of a flex than we might credit, though I do remember Jane fantasizing about giving him a haircut.)"

Ewing's Immortal Thor Honors the Original Spirit of the Avengers Icon

Originally introduced alongside human alter ego Donald Blake in 1962's Journey Into Mystery #83 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby, Thor Odinson is one of the rare comic book characters whose design has rarely strayed far from their original inception. Based on the Norse god of the same name, Thor's larger-than-life strength and extensive fantasy lore are met with usual identifying Asgardian armor, magical hammer, and long blonde hair. Ewing identifies that as a key element of what makes Thor a hero that was able to make a lasting impression in the age of so many groundbreaking origin stories. With a signature look that was a sharp departure from what was typically thought to be socially acceptable by 1960s standards, Thor stood out compared to clean-cut teammates like Captain America, Ant-Man, and Iron Man, adding to his sense of other-worldliness as an ancient alien god.

Ewing points to those elements not only as a fun piece of trivia around Thor's original design but rather as a key feature of what made him so special from the jump. As opposed to his darker exploration of Bruce Banner in Immortal Hulk, he describes Thor as a character who "tacks more toward fantasy and hope." In creating such a clear distinction between Thor and the characters around him with his early look, he was able to stand out as a mythical being by Earth's standards while still serving to introduce a new idea of what masculinity could look like posed against the narrow standards of the time.

As one of comics' busiest writers in the modern era, Al Ewing has proven himself to be a creative force in nearly every corner of the Marvel Universe. Whether it be huge-scale intergalactic adventures or introspective character studies, whatever is in store starting in Immortal Thor #1 is sure to keep fans on their toes. With a long history of pushing boundaries and opening up the imagination of readers since his Silver Age debut, Thor's future under Al Ewing's guidance is sure to be an exciting one.

Immortal Thor #1 is available this August from Marvel Comics!

Source: Polygon