Thor Corps Reunion Tour

I cop up front to never having read a single comic they’ve appeared in—though I desperately want to—but I think from observation and what I’ve gleaned via the Internet alone that I’m not wrong in saying few concepts could be more definitively 90’s than the Thor Corps.

I’ve said before that I didn’t read much Thor back when I was a kid, but I was dimly aware of the Thor Corps via stuff like Wizard, Marvel Age and just passing the covers in the shop. It was a concept that both baffled and delighted me as so many comic book-related things did at the time. I could understand the idea that somebody else could wear Iron Man’s armor, fill in for Batman or even make a claim—or four claims—to the name of Superman, but even I knew Thor was different than that; he wasn’t a costume or even a name to be passed down, he was a mythological figure whose whole deal was that he was in fact Thor, the Norse god of thunder. There couldn’t be four guys who were Thor.

And yet there were.

Actually there was another Thor in the Marvel Universe even before that, but that’s a story for another day…


Anyways, they made for a cool visual, and examining each character on their own, it’s actually a neat mix:

-The original and legitimate Thor; son of Odin, prince of Asgard and all that jazz.

-Thunderstrike, the “Everyman Avenger,” in reality architect Eric Masterson who got fused with Thor for a time and was in fact subbing for him when the Corps originally formed; he eventually got his own identity and ultra-90’s costume, sleeveless leather jacket and ponytail included.

-Beta Ray Bill, freaking phenomenal horse alien who proved worthy of wielding Thor’s hammer back in the Walt Simonson days, got his own golden mace, Stormbringer, and has been “oath brother” to the big T ever since.

-Dargo Ktor—‘Nuff Said.

So from what I’ve read, the Thor Corps formed when the original Thor’s old nemesis Zarrko the Tomorrow Man—great name—tricked Dargo into fighting Masterson, then Bill stepped in and they decided to join forces as what could have been the greatest hair band since Poison, but instead turned out to be a pretty solid super hero team who had a crazy time travel adventure. Later on, after Masterson became Thunderstrike, the band got back together with the real Thor along for the ride this go-around and fought a dude named Demonstaff.


It honestly sounds tremendous and I’m begging for a trade of this stuff to coincide with Thor’s movie next year.

More than that, now that I know guys like Dan Slott and Evan Skolnick are hanging on my every word here, I’m gonna appeal to whoever’s game, be it current Thor writer Matt Fraction, Thor Corps creator and steward Tom DeFalco, or even that Christos Gage kid if there are no other options: Let’s bring back the Thor Corps, guys!

I will guarantee you that if Marvel.com doesn’t make Dargo Ktor the shocking fan favorite character of 2011, it won’t be from lack of trying.

(Thanks to the aforementioned Mr. DeFalco for not only giving me a topic to write about tonight, but creating an idea here I seriously think sounds rockin’ and could have legs given the chance)