The Skrull invasion of Earth doesn’t just threaten the major
metropolises of the Marvel Universe. The people in small towns around
the world are in grave danger as well. But this summer, one town in
particular has a very special guardian who speaks loudly and carries a
big hammer, his name Thor, God of Thunder. CBR News spoke with writer
Matt Fraction about the three issue "Secret Invasion: Thor"
mini-series, which kicks off this August.
While working on his first Thor assignment, "Thor: Ages of Thunder"
with artist Patrick Zircher (hitting stores on April 23rd), Fraction
discovered just how much he enjoyed writing Thor. "Superheroes are
kind of the modern mythology in a lot of ways so to work with a
character who straddles the line between the new mythologies and the
old ones is very interesting," Fraction told CBR News. "And now with
him so close to humanity and all these innocent people again, he’s at
the nexus, both figuratively and literally, of all these interesting
things. Plus he has a GIANT goddamn hammer, which he uses to hit
things, and that is freaking rad."
In "Thor" #2, the Thunder God restored Asgard so the fabled kingdom
floats over a small town in Oklahoma. This fired Fraction’s
imagination and inspired his story for "Secret Invasion: Thor." "The
Crux of this story is that because Thor chose to keep Asgard this
close to Earth and mankind, the Skrulls see this town as a giant
military target," Fraction explained. "In a way Thor has inadvertently
endangered the town of Broxton and everybody there. So once it’s clear
the invasion is coming and they know the invaders are coming for
Asgard, because it was a surprise to everybody, Thor takes this
inordinate amount of responsibility upon himself.
"The first big moment of the series is when Heimdall realizes the
invasion is coming. There’s this inevitable, unstoppable force
barreling down on Thor and these innocent people might get hurt. So
it’s time to dig in and fight back," Fraction continued. "It’s sort of
like '300’ re-imagined with a half dozen Asgardian Gods standing
against an onslaught of Skrulls. It’s almost kind of a self contained
story you don’t even have to know that much about 'Secret Invasion.’"
Asgard’s sudden reemergence means that confronting Thor and the
Asgardians was not a part of the Skrulls’ original invasion plans but
that doesn’t mean the Skrulls coming for the Thunder God are
unprepared or ill equipped. "They’ve adapted and improvised," Fraction
stated. "The Skrulls tend to be pretty lateral thinkers. Their plan is
to destroy Asgard, and they’re coming armed with all kinds of special
weapons."
The destruction of Asgard is more than a military mission to the
Skrull invaders: it’s a moral imperative. "The Skrulls are evangelical
crusaders. This is a holy war for them," Fraction explained. "And
there’s literally a pantheon of gods in their way. So they’re going to
destroy them."
When Thor returned from the oblivion of Ragnarok, he had inherited
much of the vast mystical power wielded by his deceased father, Odin.
If the Skrulls were facing Thor at his best, they would need to bring
some immensely powerful weapons to bear. Unfortunately for the people
of Broxton and the Asgardians, Thor isn’t at full power. In recent
issues of "Thor," the Thunder God expended much of the Odin Power in
order to revive the Asgardians who were "sleeping" on earth, hidden in
mortal bodies. "His batteries are a little worn down," Fraction said.
"Thor’s very much a god and very much reconnected to his greatness and
the power of Asgard. But at the beginning of this story he’s not at
the top of his game and he’s crucially aware of it. Now when he needs
to be at full capacity, he’s not. So it puts him at a real
disadvantage."
When Thor’s inherited powers revived his half brother Loki, it
resulted in the mischievous god mysteriously being reborn in female
form. Loki may have changed sexes but she’s still just as
opportunistic and scheming. She’ll find though, that when the Skrulls
invade there won’t be any opportunities to exploit. "The Skrulls
aren’t buying what Loki is selling," Fraction remarked. "It’s either
the Asgardians stand together or they fall together. There’s no
bargaining, no bartering, no back room deals to be cut for Loki. The
Skrulls have come to replace all of our gods."
Thor and his fellow gods are the central characters in "Secret
Invasion: Thor," but the people of Broxton are just as important to
the story. "It’s very much about the town," Fraction said," "It’s also
very much about Thor and the Asgardians’ relationship with the town.
It’s about the intersection of man and god and what that means in a
logistical way."
In "Secret Invasion: Thor," the Asgardians and the people of
Broxton find themselves in a bleak situation but the tone of the story
is not exactly grim. "It’s my flavor of grim, which is very much like
a Heavy Metal grim," Fraction explained. "My Thor is very much a 'Led
Zeppelin III’ kind of Thor. It’s very power metal; lots of power
chords, huge riffs and epic colossal guitar noises. So it’s grim, but
it’s only grim as all things awesome have to get a little grim before
they get awesome."
The artist drawing Fraction’s epic of awesome action is still being
kept under wraps. "I was shocked that we got this person," Fraction
said. "I was literally stunned. I never in a million years thought it
would happen. So I’m super psyched."
The opportunity to work with the book’s mystery artist and to add
to the legend of Thor has made "Secret Invasion: Thor" an immensely
enjoyable assignment for Fraction. "I’m super thankful to write this,"
he said. "It’s cool that Thor is back and such a big part of the
Marvel U. Hopefully this series will both scratch everybody’s Thor
itch and blow the doors off the place."
