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As Thor tours the Ten Realms as the Asgardian All-Father, he encounters a nightmarish version of himself from across the multiverse.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Thor Annual #1, on sale now from Marvel.
As the series finale of Loki officially turns the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, complete with divergent timelines and variants of classic characters that have since been radically reimagined, his adopted before Thor has just had a harrowing encounter with his own variant. And while the two Gods of Thunder certainly share certain elements of their respective origins, the Thor of this alternate Marvel Universe is far more sinister than the hero and current King of Asgard as the two characters face off for the fate of the Ten Realms in Thor Annual #1, by Aaron Kuder, Cam Smith, Chris O’Halloran and VC’s Joe Sabino.
As Thor Annual #1 by Aaron Kuder, Cam Smith, Chris O’Halloran and VC’s Joe Sabino unfolds, the Council of Realms convenes to ensure further cataclysmic incidents like the crossover War of the Realms don’t occur again. A supervillain from a different universe named Valg, lurking under an elaborate disguise on the Light Elf Realm of Alfheim seizes the opportunity to strike out at Thor. Feeding off chaos, War of the Realms gave Valg enough strength to gain strength and corrupt a version of Thor from a different alternate universe to serve as his brutal enforcer. And as Valg reveals himself, he explains how exactly his own God of Thunder differs from the main Marvel Universe.
Thor receives visions of his dark doppelgänger’s backstory and the tragic domino effect that Valg initiated to transform him into a supervillain. A showdown between this universe’s Thor and Loki turned particularly violent, with Thor slaying Loki before being defeated by the fearsome Mangog, whereas the main Marvel Universe Thor showed his brother mercy and fought a cadre of trolls instead. This change caused a ripple effect of Odin permanently banishing Thor from Asgard, resulting in Thor taking out his frustrations on humanity before forging an alliance with Mephisto and conquering the universe with Hela at his side. Now the biggest tyrant of his universe, this evil Thor has come to the Marvel Universe to assist Valg in conquering the Ten Realms and plunging them into chaos.
Rather than attempt to match his doppelgänger blow for blow, Thor opts to show his counterpart the compassion and mercy that Odin had denied his dark double for years. Restraining the variant by resting Mjolnir on him, Thor taps into his powers as the All-Father to transport the evil Thor back to his universe and give him the opportunity for a fresh start to atone for his descent into villainy. This parting is left with a warning as Thor reminds his variant that should he attempt another invasion of the Marvel Universe and threaten his family again, Thor will not be anywhere nearly as merciful in a potential rematch between the two Gods of Thunder.
While the Thor of the main Marvel Universe has long had a complicated relationship with his father Odin, the dark world corrupted by Valg shows just how close the Odinson could have broken bad should he have been exiled by the All-Father forever. This void and deep-seated pain would transform the God of Thunder into a despot working with some of the most evil figures in the universe to build his own kingdom and one steeped in blood across its foundations. And while this Thor has the chance to redeem himself in his own universe, there remains just as good a chance he will menace the Marvel Universe again seeking vengeance.
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