Warning! Spoilers for Thor Annual #1!Thor learns a lesson from Spider-Man on how to be a better hero. Peter Parker inadvertently advises Thor to not follow in his father’s footsteps and instead be a greater All-Father than Odin ever was.
In Thor Annual #1 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Ibraim Roberson, Dan Brown, and Joe Sabino, Thor is confronted with a fight he is not sure that he can win. He recounts his father’s strategy: “Odin never fought in a battle he did not know he could win.” Thor then runs from M.Y.T.H.O.S., the over-powered M.O.D.O.K. who has made it so that heroes never existed on Earth. Thor has a chance meeting with powerless Peter Parker as he saves fellow citizens on this post-apocalyptic M.Y.T.H.O.S.-ruled Earth.
Peter Parker has no Spider-Man powers here because of M.Y.T.H.O.S., but he still helps people in need. Talking with Thor, Peter tells him that he feels “a responsibility to make the effort,” even in failure.
Spider-Man Teaches Thor a Thing or Two about Being a Hero
Without his powers, Spider-Man is still overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility. Thor, as the new All-Father, has a great responsibility, but he still cowered from the threat that would enslave the ten realms. Peter Parker expounds on his earlier statement, saying, “the battles you can’t win are the most important to fight.” Thor and Spider-Man are not typically closely associated, but Thor has learned from the all-seeing Sif that Peter is a true hero. That Thor takes his advice and returns to defeat M.Y.T.H.O.S. is testament to the lesson Uncle Ben bestowed upon Peter all those years ago, but it also speaks to Thor’s character.
Odin would never have taken the advice of anyone, let alone a mere mortal of Midgard. The difference between Thor and Odin is what makes Thor a hero where his father was just a ruler. Odin would not understand that it’s his responsibility to go back and fight M.Y.T.H.O.S. to protect Asgard. Odin was only ever concerned with maintaining his image as the All-Father, the god of the ten realms; his rule was all about him and never about his charges. Thor, on the other hand, has often fought when it looked like he may not be victorious. He is an Avenger, after all.
Being All-Father is new to Thor, and he is still trying to figure out exactly what that means for him. Spider-Man gives Thor just what he needs to finally eliminate the part of him that thinks he needs to be like his father to be a good king. What Asgard and the other nine realms need is not another Odin — they need Thor.
Thor Annual #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.