What Thor Teaches Us About Godliness
“Divinity is its own logic. It’s the inexplicable nature of godhood that makes it so.
A recent issue of Screenrant examines the new Immortal Thor comic series to discover some insights on what it means to be “god.”
In Thor’s newest adventure, his powers have been given a change that perfectly reflects what makes gods so special, even compared to superheroes.
One of the many interesting things about the series Immortal Thor is its fascination with Thor’s divinity and what his godhood means both practically and philosophically.
As Thor embarks on his newest saga, his powers have been given a perfect redefinition that makes it clear what makes gods so special in the Marvel Universe and shows that gods can do things that even other superheroes can’t. By highlighting the mythological aspect of godliness, characters like Thor can really be explored in new ways.
Other characters have the ability to affect atmospheric pressure and manipulate the whether. But Thor commands lightning and thunder as though they are servants who must obey him.
. . . as the God of Thunder, Thor can literally talk to thunder, lightning and storms as if they’re sentient. This distinction gives a perfect mythological bent to Thor’s power set, giving a clear distinction between superhero powers and what a literal god can do.
This raises the question, are lightning and thunder actual characters (in the same way that Thanos represents death)? According to Jansons, maybe, but who’s to know. Wrestling with this and other such puzzles of Thor’s divinity, he acknowledges something deep:
Divinity is its own logic. It’s the inexplicable nature of godhood that makes it so. If the gods made perfect sense to mortals, then they wouldn’t be worth worshiping, would they?
Key Texts
Psalm 147:5 (ESV):
“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV):
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Matthew 8:23-27 (ESV):
“And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?'”
Key Topics
God’s power, God’s ways, godliness
Source
Isaac Jansons, “Thor Demonstrates the Core Difference Between Superhero Powers & GOD Powers,” ScreenRant, Nov 2023, https://screenrant.com/immortal-thor-god-power-command-lightning-mythology/.
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