Thor: God of Thunder#1

Thor: God of Thunder #1

Jan 2013 · Marvel

📊 ~110,443 copies sold its debut month

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★ 1st appearance — God Butcher★ Key event — Thor★ Key event — Jane Foster

About this Issue

Thor: God of Thunder #1 launched Jason Aaron's celebrated multi-year run on the character and introduced the three-era storytelling structure — Young Thor in 893 A.D., present-day Thor, and a far-future King Thor — that redefined what a Thor comic could be. The issue also plants the seeds for Gorr the God Butcher, whose name appears in the present-day sequence, setting up the arc that would inspire the 2022 MCU film Thor: Love and Thunder starring Christian Bale as the villain. As the flagship debut of Marvel's 2012–2013 Marvel NOW! publishing initiative for the Thor franchise, it signaled a darker, more cosmically ambitious direction for the God of Thunder that would shape the character's mythology — including the groundwork for Jane Foster's later tenure as Thor — for over a decade.

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History

The series grew directly out of the Marvel NOW! initiative, a line-wide creative reshuffling in which, as Aaron himself described it, every Marvel book was 'up for grabs' and creators were free to pitch what they wanted. Aaron had been drawn to the character after reading Matt Fraction's Ages of Thunder one-shots, and when the initiative launched, he seized the opportunity to take on Thor. Croatian artist Esad Ribić was attached to the book early, and Aaron later noted that Ribić's painterly, weighty style matched exactly the 'dark, weird Kirby-ish vibe' he was pursuing. The series was formally relaunched from the then-current Mighty Thor title (which ended with issue #22) and was edited by Axel Alonso's team, with Lauren Sankovitch and Jake Thomas serving as editors on the first issue.

Trivia · 8 facts

Written by Jason Aaron with art and cover by Esad Ribić, colors by Dean White, and letters by Joe Sabino; released on stands November 14, 2012, with a cover date of January 2013.
Launched as part of Marvel's 2012–2013 Marvel NOW! initiative, relaunching the Thor solo title from where Mighty Thor (Vol. 1) left off at issue #22.
Introduces the three-timeline narrative structure: a young, pre-worthy Thor in 893 A.D. Iceland, the present-day Thor investigating vanishing gods across the cosmos, and King Thor — a one-eyed, one-armed future All-Father — making his first appearance in this issue.
King Thor (Earth-14412), the aged future incarnation of the God of Thunder who rules a desolate, near-empty Asgard millennia from the present, debuts here for the first time in comics.
Gorr the God Butcher is mentioned by name in the present-day sequence (present-day Thor recognizes his handiwork from over 1,000 years prior), though Gorr does not physically appear until issue #2.
The 'God Butcher' arc that begins here (issues #1–11) served as the primary source material for the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), in which Gorr was portrayed by Christian Bale.
The issue shipped with multiple variant covers, including a 1:25 retailer incentive variant and a 1:50 variant by Daniel Acuña, as well as a later second printing variant.
Aaron's run on the Thor franchise that began with this issue ultimately spanned seven years and laid the groundwork for the Jane Foster/Mighty Thor saga, which began in the relaunched Thor (Vol. 4) series.