War of the Realms was published as a Marvel event series from April to July 2019, and in trade paperback at the end of August 2019. Marvel has been building to this event in the various Thor series over the preceding years, including Thor, The Mighty Thor, and The Unworthy Thor, all written by Jason Aaron. It will be most enjoyed but those who have followed those titles, but also worth reading on its own. It is marked by epic action depicted with great art.
The “realms” referred to in the titles are roughly based on the worlds of Norse mythology, from whence the character Thor originally comes. One of the key surviving sources of medieval Norse legends refers to the “nine realms.” One of these realms is Midgard, where humans live, and which simply means “the middle enclosure” or “the middle realm.” J.R.R. Tolkien’s use of the term “Middle-Earth” is based on this phrasing. It is notable that the Norse myths never contain a list of what all the other realms are; a few are named, and there is some hint of the role of World Tree, Yggdrasil, in connecting them.
In the modified version of Norse myth that exists in the Marvel universe, there are now ten realms. Over the past few years of Thor comics, an alliance led by long-time Thor villain Malekith has been gradually consolidating control of these realms. At the opening of War of the Realms, every realm, except Midgard, has either joined Malekith or has had its dominant power defeated.
The series opens with a beautiful two-page spread, with a map of the ten realms laid out along Yggdrasil. The feel of the map resembles something from the Lord of the Rings. A brief recap explains how many of these realms have been plunged into chaos and destruction during the preceding few months. We see Thor on Earth, wishing he could take the fight to the enemy, but unable to travel between realms to do so.
The action opens in earnest with an attempt by Malekith to take both Thor and Odin off the table. With two major players occupied, the invasion begins in earnest. Dark elves, trolls, frost giants, and other beings from across the realms invade, and we see the Avengers, some Asgardians, Spiderman, Wolverine, Punisher, and Daredevil fighting back across the streets of New York City. Doctor Strange arranges an evacuation of non-combatants, and despite some unexpected reinforcements, the various protectors of Earth do not fare well in this first encounter.
The good guys regroup and develop a multi-pronged strategy to strike back. The odd and unexpected team-ups necessary to carry out this plan provide some of the highlights of the series. For example, Blade, She-Hulk, Ghost Rider, and the Punisher accompany Freyja, while Captain America, Spiderman, Wolverine, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are together on another mission. These missions meet with some success, including returning Thor to the Avengers and bringing other allies back into the fight. However, Malekith acquires a key bargaining chip, and even as the tide begins to turn, Thor is faced with an impossible choice.
To solve his dilemma, Thor resorts to a dangerous option. Finding the World Tree growing in the sun, he has Daredevil pin him to it with an ax. Hanging there in the fire, he makes a significant sacrifice in exchange for an answer of how to end the war. This moment intentionally parallels several scenes in Norse myth. More relevantly, in the poem Havamal, Odin famously says he “hung on a wind-battered tree nine long nights, pierced by a spear and given to Odin, myself to myself” and that by sacrificing himself in that manner, he gained wisdom. In this series, Thor, instead of being hung, is nailed to a tree. And he is nailed to it by Daredevil, one of the most explicitly Catholic characters in the Marvel universe, and who says it is necessary to “save the world.”
Jason Aaron’s long run on Thor has been preoccupied with the relationship of humanity to the gods. At the beginning of his run, the villain Gorr argued that the gods of the Marvel universe are not worthy of humanity’s faith. Throughout the following story arcs, various characters, including Thor himself, wonder if Gorr is right. This question was an overarching premise of the story arc of Thor losing his hammer. At the end of issue two of this series, the narration offers a cynical claim that “no god is listening” to the prayers of Earth’s terrified residents. Yet despite advancing these thoughts, Aaron repeatedly gives us a Thor who does save the world.
The main Thor of the Marvel universe is the son of Odin, who identifies as the All-Father. While Odin occasionally says he is omnipotent, this is not the case- multiple forces have defeated him throughout the time he has been a Marvel character. None of the Asgardian “gods” are the “Prime Mover” of the Marvel universes; neither Odin nor Thor are analogues or types of the God of Abraham. Yet we see that Thor is nevertheless somewhat Christological. First, Thor could live continuously in Asgard, coming to the other realms only when he needs to fight some threat. Instead, he lives in Midgard, among humans, even at times assuming a human alter ego. Next, Thor suffers for the sake of saving humanity. In this story, we are specifically told “The Thunder God’s suffering and sacrifice has unlocked the answer he sought” and enabled him to save the Earth from the war. Finally, during the previous story arc, when Jane Foster held the title of Thor, she died to save others and then was resurrected. Jane, of course, is not an Asgardian, but by taking up the hammer of Thor, was able to share in his role. This is perhaps not so different from how the Christian is incorporated into the Divine life in Baptism and shares in Christ’s roles of priest, prophet, and king.
Ultimately, Gorr is right- the gods of the Marvel universe are not worthy of humanity’s devotion. As Captain America quipped in the first Avengers movie, there is only one God. Only He is ultimately worthy. Yet it is fitting that in these undeniably lesser heroes, we have glimpses of how He chooses to save the world. These glimpses do not so much reveal Him, as remind us of what we are called to be: living in this world but not of it, willing to sacrifice ourselves, and willing to pick up the tools we are given and cooperate with grace.
Because our universe is in a war of realms as well: a war that started in Heaven but has certainly spilled over into our Middle Earth. Our adversary has cunning and power beyond what anything Malekith and his allies could muster, but he is also opposed by heroes. Revelation 12 tells us that these include the Archangel Michael, whose assistance we can count on. It can also include each one of us who is willing to stand up for truth, protect the defenseless, grow in virtue, and pray for our world.
Matthew Heffron
Matt Heffron is an Iraq veteran and an attorney. He lives with his wife and nine kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and loves Catholic tradition, practicing martial arts, riding motorcycle, and superheroes.