Greetings fair reader! Upon ye eyes rests the cov’td Reading Guide for the Mighty Thor! A most renown epic that hath been cherished across the nine realms for nigh over a decade, the saga of Thor Odinson and Jane Foster is now to be thine treasured tale, should ye complete the collections below. Foretelling the fable of Thor: Love and Thunder, the grand adventures gathered ahead giveth account to the complete chronicles composed by Jason Aaron, telling of the unworthiness of Thor, the rise of the Mighty Thor, and the nefariousness of Gorr!
The Mighty Thor comics quick start:
- Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-11
- Thor (2014) #1-8
- Mighty Thor (2015) #1-23, 700-706
- Generations: The Unworthy Thor & the Mighty Thor (2017) #1
- Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla (2018) #1
These 52 issues cover everything you need to know about Thor, Jane, and Gorr the God Butcher before the new movie coming out this July.
At the end of March, Marvel Comics will release Thor by Jason Aaron Omnibus Vol. 1, a massive high-quality hardcover containing the first four years of this groundbreaking, expansive run. Feel free to grab that collection if you’d like, since it’ll make it super easy to read and follow everything in one place. For now, I’ve chosen to focus on the other trade paperbacks in order to clear some of the confusion from the more complicated collecting formats.
So read on! In the guide below, we’ll go into depth on the different ways these comics have been collected, as well as some additional reading and tie-in events that could help enhance your reading experience. Strong recommendations are in bold. Enjoy reading!
Whosoever reads these books, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor!
Thor: God of Thunder (2012)
The time-spanning epic begins here, with Gorr the God Butcher! Who is this beast and why does he butcher gods? Read on to find out! You’ll also get to meet young Thor and old Thor, and maybe some more Thors in between!
This series is not included in the Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman hardcover collection.
- Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
- Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-18
- #1-11 is the Gorr storyline
- #19-25 are collected in Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
- Also collected as:
- Thor: The Saga of Gorr the God Butcher
- Also collected as:
- Thor: God of Thunder: The God Butcher
- Thor: God of Thunder: Godbomb
- Thor: God of Thunder: Accursed
Extra reading:
- Venom (2018) #4
Original Sin (2014)
Thor becomes unworthy after learning a secret about Gorr! Could we see something similar in Love and Thunder?
Original Sin was a strange storyline that’s not great and mostly skippable. It’s technically important for the Thor/Mighty Thor transition, but everything you need to know is recapped in the main Thor comics. Feel free to move on to the next section if you want.
Also note that Original Sin #5.1-5.5 take place literally between Original Sin #5 and #6. Yeah, it was a weird time for comics numbering.
- Original Sin: Thor & Loki – The Tenth Realm
- Original Sin (2014) #5.1-5.5
- Ties into Original Sin (2014)
- Also collected in:
- Loki: Agent Of Asgard – The Complete Collection
- Original Sin (2014) #5.1-5.5
Extra reading:
- Original Sin (2014) #0-8
Thor (2014)
Following Thor’s unworthiness, a new Mystery Thor has appeared! But she has a mysterious secret, and being a hero may come with a cost…
A quick recap Jane Foster’s comics history up to this point:
In the vein of typical silver age superhero comics, the Jane/Thor relationship started as a love triangle between Thor, Donald Blake (Thor’s human alter ego), and Jane. As Thor grows closer to her, he struggles with Odin’s disapproval, to the point that Odin eventually wipes Jane’s memories of Thor. Having forgotten everything, Jane moves on, marries a doctor, has a son, and becomes a doctor herself. But when Thor comes back into her life, she leaves her family and follows Thor to Asgard. In short, Marvel never really knew what to do with a flat love interest like Jane Foster. That is, until Jason Aaron changed everything.
Jane’s story starts here.
- Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
- Thor (2014) #1-8, Annual #1; Thors (2015) #1-4
- Thor #1-8 lead into Secret Wars (2015)
- Thors #1-4 is a fun but inessential tie-in to “Secret Wars: Battleworld”
- Police procedural starring multiversal Thors
- Also collected as:
- Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman, Vol. 1
- Also collected as:
- Thor: The Goddess of Thunder
- Thor: Who Holds The Hammer
- Thors (Secret Wars: Battleworld)
- Thor (2014) #1-8, Annual #1; Thors (2015) #1-4
Extra reading:
- Thor (2007) #8
- Jane’s backstory, divorce, and new relationship with Thor
- Secret Wars (2015)
- Secret Wars: Battleworld (2015)
The Mighty Thor (2015)
The pinnacle of Jane’s time as the Mighty Thor! Meanwhile, classic Thor gets his own Unworthy Thor miniseries, which runs parallel to Mighty Thor (2015) #19. And picking up from Secret Wars, Ultimate Mjolnir shows up from across the multiverse!
- Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 3-4
- Mighty Thor (2015) #1-23, 700-706
- Unworthy Thor #1-5 (2016)
- Generations: Unworthy Thor & Mighty Thor #1
- Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla #1
- Also collected as:
- Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman, Vol. 2-3
- Also collected as:
-
- The Mighty Thor: Thunder in Her Veins
- The Mighty Thor: Lords of Midgard
- The Mighty Thor: The Asgard/Shi-Ar War
- The Mighty Thor: The War Thor
- The Mighty Thor: The Death of the Mighty Thor
-
Extra reading:
- All-New, All-Different Avengers (2016)
- Relationship with Sam Wilson
- Marvel Legacy (2017) #1
- Monsters Unleashed (2017)
- Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) #6-8
- Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018)
- Venomized (2018)
War of the Realms (2019)
After the finale of Mighty Thor, the original Thor has to reclaim his title! This leads into War of the Realms, the bombastic line-wide event finale of Jason Aaron’s 8-year saga. Finally, flash forward with King Thor, the quieter 4-issue epilogue focused solely on Thor.
- Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 5
- Thor (2018) #1-16; King Thor (2019) #1-4
- Thor (2018) #12-14 are parallel to War of the Realms
- King Thor is after War of the Realms
- Also collected as:
- Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman, Vol. 4
- Also collected as:
- Thor: God of Thunder Reborn
- Thor: Road To War Of The Realms
- Thor: War’s End
- King Thor
- Thor (2018) #1-16; King Thor (2019) #1-4
- War of the Realms (2019) #1-6, Omega #1
Extra reading:
- Avengers (2018) #1-17
- Ties into War of the Realms
- Thor/She-Hulk relationship
Valkyrie: Jane Foster (present)
Jason Aaron continues his work with Jane Foster as a Valkyrie and leaves Thor to the new creative team of Donny Cates and Nic Klein. Following the events of War of the Realms, both characters receive significant upgrades, with Jane being chosen to wield the all-mighty All-Weapon and Thor becoming not only the new All-Father, but the Herald of Galactus as well.
- Valkyrie: Jane Foster (2019) #1-10
- Valkyrie: Jane Foster: The Sacred and the Profane
- Valkyrie: Jane Foster: At the End of All Things
- Thor (2020) #1-24 (ongoing)
- Thor: The Devourer King
- Thor: Prey
- Thor: Revelations
- Thor: God of Hammers
- King in Black: Return of the Valkyries (2021) #1-4
- Ties into the King in Black (2021) event
- The Mighty Valkyries (2021) #1-5
Extra reading:
- King in Black (2021)
And that’s the Mighty Thor comics saga! Jason Aaron’s unforgettable epic stands as one of the greatest comic runs of all time, and it’s thrilling to imagine how it could continue to influence the MCU in Thor: Love and Thunder and beyond! How much have you already read? What are you reading next? Let me know on Twitter @vinwriteswords and remember to follow the site @MyCosmicCircus!
Be sure to check out our other reading guides here, share the links on social media, and stay tuned to the Cosmic Circus for more coming soon! To learn more about The Mighty Thor aka Jane Foster, visit the official page.
All images courtesy of Marvel Comics.
