Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "asgard"

There was a somewhat interesting part in the movie, Thor: The Dark World in regards to the deity of the Asgardian characters according to Paul Asay at Plugged In

Thor, Odin, Loki et al are, of course, plucked from Norse mythology. They are sometimes referred to as deities, and Loki tells his father that he wanted to rule Earth like a beneficent god. Odin, however, rebukes Loki's claim on the divine.

"We are not gods," he tells Loki. "We're born. We live. We die. Just like humans do."

"Give or take 5,000 years," Loki amends with a smirk.

This is a significant quote and it was also interesting to note that the introduction to the last season of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes introduced Thor as "The prince of thunder."

In many ways, the statement by Odin in the movie seems a lot more consistent with how Marvel has dealt with Asgardians in general. They exist and they're powerful but they can be killed. Never is it suggested that the Asgardians are worthy of worship. Respect, sure, worship no. They're powerful aliens when you come down it.

That stands in contrast to Wonder Woman in the DC Universe where the Greek pantheon exists, speaks to people, and commands the worship of Amazonians, and at points, Wonder Woman even makes veiled criticism of patriarchal religions in some of the more modern comics.

For my part, I'm a lot more comfortable with how Marvel is dealing with introducing mythological characters into their storyline and the movies.