Marvel Reveals The Most Savage Thor Ever, And It Isn't Odin's Son
Warning: contains spoilers for Thor #12!
Over the centuries, many people have wielded the power of Thor. From Jane Foster to Volstagg to Adam Aziz, those noble souls who have raised Mjolnir have been empowered with the abilities of the God of Thunder. But Marvel Comics just revealed which of these Thors was the most noble - and the most savage - to wear the mantle, and it turns out that while Odin's son has many fine qualities, it's not his name at the top of the list. No, Thor #12 by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, and Matt Wilson reveals that honor goes to amphibian warrior Throg.
Throg was created by legendary artist Walter Simonson during his epic run on Thor in the 1980s. Originally a human, Throg was transformed into a frog by a sorceress, taking the name Puddlegulp. When Thor was later turned into a frog, Puddlegulp sought his aid in repelling an army of rats, ultimately proving himself a noble warrior and taking up a piece of Thor's enchanted hammer to become Throg. Throg has made sporadic appearances in Thor's adventures ever since, appearing in Pet Avengers and War of the Realms, but now Throg has made his full return, just in time to stop a rampaging, demonic Donald Blake.
The issue opens by bringing readers up to speed on Throg - his origin as a human, the battle against the rat armies, his time with the Pet Avengers and even his fight against Thanos; it states that, "amongst those warriors worthy to have worn the mantle of Thor, none have worn it more nobly and savagely than he." The scene is set up as if Throg has fallen to Blake, but the reverse is true, and Throg actually triumphs where other Thor allies failed, taking Blake down with the help of fellow Pet Avenger Lockjaw.
The fact that Throg was able to take Blake down, when others such as Beta Ray Bill and Doctor Strange fell quickly before him, is incredibly impressive, and when his worth is put in the context of other wielders of Mjolnir, he truly shines. He is described as the most noble of them all, despite the fact that Jane Foster gave her life during her tenure as Thor. He is also the most savage Thor, despite the fact that the War Thor Volstagg tried to genocide the Fire Goblin race when he was transformed by an otherworldly hammer. That Throg stands above these two in their most apparent qualities is quite the impressive feat.
While Throg has largely been considered a joke character - he is a frog with Thor’s powers, after all - this story establishes Throg as a force to be reckoned with. The idea behind Puddlegulp was always that he was a hero at a different scale, but a hero nonetheless, and Thor #12 definitively proves that it's not the size of the frog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the Throg.