Thor's Darker Path Makes Him The God of Blood and Thunder
Warning! Spoilers for Thor Annual #1 below.
Thor was just shown what would happen if he took a much darker path in life, as in one reality, he became the God of Blood and Thunder. In Thor Annual #1, part of Marvel's Infinite Destinies crossover event, the God of Thunder is forced to deal with a version of himself where he killed Loki and went down a much more violent path.
Thor Annual #1 by Aaron Kuder, Cam Smith, Chris O'Halloran, and Joe Sabino tells the tale of the Ten Realms coming together to remember those lost in the War of Realms. The Highelf Everdrop is seen preparing for the peaceful event as the caretaker of Qaoyak, originally a seedling from Vggadrasil, waters his beloved tree. However, during his morning visit, he's attacked by a mysterious shadowy force that overtakes his body and later joins the celebrations as an imposter. As the Light Elves of Alfreim welcome guests from across the Ten Realms, including Hawkeye as an honorary member of the League of Realms, the being inside Everdrop delivers a dark gift to Thor.
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As the celebration is underway, the villain disguised as Everdrop presents Thor with a rare fruit from the Qaoyak tree. But, the fruit attaches itself to the God of Thunder's face and transports him to a world - reminiscent of his earliest adventures - where he's fighting against Loki. Meanwhile, the imposter rips off Everdrop's skin and reveals he's a being from a different universe named Valg. His people feed of chaos and violence. Valg sends Thor's essence across reality and creates a dark version of Thor who killed Loki, became the champion of Hela, led the armies of the dead, and became the God of Blood and Thunder.
After Thor frees himself from Valg's control, the dark version of Thor appears alongside him. The God of Thunder battles the God of Blood and Thunder as the two exchange blows. But, Thor realizes as the All-Father, he can send dark Thor back to his reality to give him a fresh start and prevent him from becoming the dark God. With the alternate Thor defeated, Valg retreats.
Thor Annual #1 provides an exciting glimpse into what would happen if Thor went down a much darker path. Killing Loki, aligning himself with Hela, and leading a dark army as the God of Blood and Thunder are all decisions Thor wouldn't make now but would have chosen in a different universe. Thankfully, the Marvel Universe got the heroic Thor, who was able to defeat his dark equal and send him on a new, brighter path. Thor Annual #1 is in comic book stores now.