Forget Loki, Thor's Other Brother Is Back and Ready to Show Up the Trickster God
Warning: Spoilers for The Immortal Thor #22!Thor has more than just one brother in Marvel Comics, and now, when he needs help the most, the God of Thunder’s underrated speedster relative, Hermod, has returned. Hopefully, this is a sign of bigger things to come for the oft-forgotten hero, and not a sign of his imminent demise, but even if he doesn’t stick around, it’s still a great inclusion in this series.
The Immortal Thor #22 by Al Ewing and Jan Bazaldua sees the return of the speedster Hermod, Thor’s most underrated (half) brother.
Hermod was last seen in The Immortal Thor #12 by Ewing and Valentina Pinti. In that issue, Hermod was seemingly killed by his brother Tyr, who was possessed by Oblivion, one of Marvel’s abstract cosmic entities. As Tyr said, "nothing is faster than Hermod," which allowed Hermod to be killed by the very concept of nothingness. However, it’s that trickery that allowed Hermod to return in #22.
Loki Takes a Massive Step Back in Marvel Lore as Thor's Speedster Half-Brother Hermod Returns
The Immortal Thor #22 by Al Ewing, Jan Bazaldua, Matt Hollingsworth, and Joe Sabino
As Hermod explains to Thor and Skurge in The Immortal Thor #22, he’s been trapped in the living, endless city, part of Utgard, the realm where several of Marvel’s elder "Utgard-Gods" were banished countless millennia ago. Because Utgard is outside conventional reality, it is "nowhere" and therefore the landing place for Norse Gods who leave reality. This includes Hermod, who was "destroyed" by nothingness, and therefore ended up here, a land that is technically nowhere. However, the very city itself exists to play tricks on the brain, and Hermod has no conception of how long he’s been gone.
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This is hopefully the start of a larger story for Hermod, who’s usually been relegated to a background character in the Asgardian mythos, despite being the son of Odin and the half-brother of Thor. In both real-life mythology and Marvel’s Asgardian pantheon, Hermod serves as a messenger for Odin, usually using his super-speed to transport news and messages, and little else. Even so far in The Immortal Thor, Hermod has mostly been impulsive, rushing off into danger. Hopefully his role in the continuing story will see greater things for him, otherwise he could be in for another ignominious end shortly.
The Immortal Thor Is Fascinated by Thor's Whole Family, Even Beyond Loki
Page from The Immortal Thor #11 by Al Ewing, Valentina Pinti, Espen Grundetjern, and Joe Sabino
One of the things that Hermod’s inclusion in this story highlights is how interested The Immortal Thor is in the entirety of Thor’s family, both literal and found. Ewing and Pinti’s #11-12reunited all of Odin’s living children, and other issues, like The Immortal Thor #5 by Ewing and Martín Cóccolo, saw Thor team up with a pantheon of other heroes worthy of wielding Mjolnir. The Immortal Thor cares about the entire breadth of Thor’s supporting cast and life, and that means that even a minor, if underrated, character like Hermod can have his own moment to shine.
The Immortal Thor #22 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Created By
- Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby
- First Appearance
- Journey into Mystery
- Alias
- Thor Odinson, Eric Masterson, Kevin Masterson, Beta Ray Bill, Thordis, Throg, Red Norvell, Jane Foster
- Alliance
- Avengers, Warriors Three, Thor Corps, God Squad
Associated with the mythical realm of Asgard, Thor is a Marvel Comics hero who channels the power of thunder to slay their foes. Though the name is chiefly tied to Thor Odinson, several other characters also take on the role of God of Thunder, including Odinson's love interest, Jane Foster. Odin is portrayed as a physically imposing hero with incredible strength and typically wields the dwarven forged hammer, Mjolnir.
- Race
- Asgardian, Human
- Franchise
- Marvel
