2025 was a seismic year for Thor lore, as Marvel’s God of Thunder finally met his end…and enjoyed a stunning rebirth.
Here’s everything you need to know about how Marvel removed Thor from official canon in 2025 and what that means for its stories as 2026 approaches.
Loki Finally Killed Thor in Marvel Lore
Thor spent 2025 fighting the gods of Utgard – immensely powerful gods as far above traditional deities as the Asgardians are above humans. Just when it seemed that Thor had triumphed and avoided death, his treacherous brother Loki stabbed him from behind with an enchanted arrow, thus ending his life.
However, this betrayal wasn’t quite what it seemed. Loki is involved in a battle with Utgard-Loki – the ultimate embodiment of the narrative, which was leading Thor towards disaster. Loki killing Thor was a way to change the narrative – a gamble that was successful in the moment, but comes with major risks.
When Thor died, the antihero Skurge shattered the Rainbow Bridge, severing all connections between Earth and Asgard. This erased all memory of Thor and his brothers from mortal minds, and erased him from Marvel’s past and present. Reality itself changed to erase it, with Thor even being retroactively replaced as the founding hero of the Avengers (his alien ally Beta Ray Bill took his place in Marvel history.)
Of course, for a god, even death is not the end. After battling his “brother” Donald Blake in the afterlife, Thor found a way to return to life. However, it was not a true rebirth. Rather than returning as a god, Thor is reborn as a mortal…
Thor is Born Again as Sigurd Jarlson
Of the The mortal ThorThor is reborn as Sigurd Jarlson – a heroic but fully mortal hero. An amnesiac construction worker, Sigurd was the target of Donald Blake, reincarnated in the same way, who threw the evil group the Sons of the Serpent at him. Taking a hammer, Sigurd struck back against both Blake and the evil Roxxon Corporation.
In an impressive twist, Sigurd found himself fighting using an everyday hammer and a piece of elastic rope that causes it to return to his hand when thrown. However, while Thor operated on a higher level, Sigurd is now the subject of a police investigation, showing just how different the life of a mortal vigilante is.
Although Sigurd was clearly the reincarnation of Thor in some sense, the comics made it clear that he was not really Thor and was instead an “echo” of the god. It looks like Marvel could make Sigurd his own character once Thor regains his godlike status.
Thor’s rebirth had major consequences
The reincarnation of Thor has major repercussions in Marvel history. Recently, Odin revealed that he came back to life following his death in 2022. In doing so, he sacrificed his ability to re-enter Valhalla and was reborn as “Odin the Wanderer”, declaring that he would never rule Asgard again.
This is a problem, because Thor’s death means Asgard is currently without a leader. Two candidates are announced to take the throne: Thor’s son Magni, recently summoned from an alternate dimension, and the recently born Heimdall, whom Thor saved before his death at the hands of Loki.
Importantly, Magni recently learned that he inherited Thor’s connection to the Odin power, making him essentially omnipotent – although so far he has almost no experience using this awesome power.
Finally, Thor’s reincarnation allowed Donald Blake to manifest into the mortal world. Once a false identity created by Odin, Blake has become the new God of Lies, harboring immense hatred for Thor and Loki. He became the leader of the white supremacist group the Sons of the Serpent and works as an enforcer for Roxxon.
2025 has totally remixed Thor’s world, resurrecting crucial gods and empowering others, all while making Thor himself (or at least Sigurd Jarlson) more vulnerable than ever. 2026 will continue the story and promises to brings back some classic villains who haven’t posed a physical threat to Thor in a long time, including the Gray Gargoyle and the Cobra.
THE Immortal/Deadly Thor This time is undoubtedly the most interesting that the hero has ever known in decades, with ThorThe deadly rebirth of , creating one of Marvel’s must-have titles in 2026.
The Immortal Thor #1-25 And Deadly Thor #1-5 are available now from Marvel Comics.
- First appearance
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Journey into mystery
- Alias
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Thor Odinson, Eric Masterson, Kevin Masterson, Beta Ray Bill, Thordis, Throg, Red Norvell, Jane Foster
- Alliance
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Avengers, Warriors Three, Thor Corps, God Squad
- Race
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Asgardian, Human
- Franchise
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Wonder
