Summary
- Marvel is expanding its cosmology, with the introduction of multiple new deities and god-level characters in 2023 representing a concentrated effort to tell stories at a higher power-level.
- Jonathan Hickman's G.O.D.S. series is working to redefine the Marvel cosmos at large, in the vein of the author's 2019 reboot of the X-Men franchise.
- Al Ewing's Immortal Thor is revealing the true history of the Marvel Universe; together, the work of Ewing, Hickman, and many other creators at Marvel is both testing the limits of classic characters, and introducing exciting new ones, proving Marvel is more willing to take creative risks than it has in some time.
Stan Lee created the Oblivion as a major antagonist.
Also notable this year – as Marvel vastly expanded the scope of its fictional universe, in a coordinated storytelling decision across several of its titles – were the introduction of elevation of Carnage to near-godhood.
At the forefront of Marvel's cosmic reordering remained Al Ewing, whose Immortal Thor has already significantly revised the hierarchy of creation in the Marvel Universe in its first five issues. Ewing and others have continued to build on the foundations laid by his previous series, Immortal Hulk, while once more carving out an entirely new section of Marvel's mythology.
G.O.D.S. is a Mind-Bending Odyssey Through the Edge of the Marvel Universe (REVIEW)
Marvel's new G.O.D.S., by Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti, is a heavy and mind-bending trip through the edges of the Marvel Universe.
Jonathan Hickman's "G.O.D.S." Radically Redefines The Marvel Universe
While Marvel's Heroes And Villains Played, "The Powers That Be" And "The Natural Order Of Things" Have Always Been At Work
Hickman's cosmic follow-up, G.O.D.S., benefits from his experience rebooting the X-franchise and ushering in mutantkind's Krakoan era. It is an even more expansive, deliberate, and ambitious project – which says a lot, considering those were among the primary virtues that made House of X/Powers of X successful.
In 2019, Jonanthan Hickman rebooted the X-Men franchise, leading it into an era of peak storytelling that only now appears to be ending – or more accurately, shifting into a new gear, and "Natural Order of Things" and the "Powers That Be." G.O.D.S also promises to encom the many classic Marvel cosmic entities, first introduced by fabled creators like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Hickman has said that he conceived of the project that became G.O.D.S. contemporaneously with his re-envisioning of X-Men, which was realized as 2019's House of X/Powers of X. Those miniseries were dense, mature works that extended the possibilities of what X-Men storytelling could be. Now, Hickman's cosmic follow-up, G.O.D.S., benefits from his experience rebooting the X-franchise and ushering in mutantkind's Krakoan era. It is an even more expansive, deliberate, and ambitious project – the primary virtues that made House of X/Powers of X successful. In a sense, after countless writers have played in Stan Lee's sandbox for decades, Jonathan Hickman is the first to be given true license to create his own.
Immortal Thor Reveals The True History Of The Marvel Universe
Al Ewing's Latest Series Unravels The Long-Uncertain Nature Of Marvel's "Elder Gods"
In a sense, after countless writers have played in Stan Lee's sandbox for decades, Jonathan Hickman is the first to be given true license to create his own.
One writer who very much continues to operate within the lineage of Stan Lee, while still pushing the limits of what Lee would've conceived of as possible, is Al Ewing, writing of Immortal Thor. Though Ewing has remained busy at Marvel since his Immortal Hulk series ended in 2021, Immortal Thor is its true successor. The debut issue introduced Thor's mother Gaia to be an Utgard-deity herself, making the All-Father and Avenger half-"Elder God" himself.
Ewing went even further in Immortal Thor #5, introducing the One-Below-All, who was given an origin story by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson in 2023's Incredible Hulk #3, following on what Al Ewing established in his run. How the One-Above-All relates to the newly introduced Demiurge Primordial remains to be seen – more important is what it is indicative of. Marvel is increasingly comfortable letting creators like Ewing or Jonathan Hickman revise and revitalize its lore at the highest levels.
Marvel's Cosmos Will Continue To Get Bigger...And More Dangerous
Earth's Mightiest Heroes Aren't Prepared For The Coming Threats
Marvel is increasingly comfortable letting creators like [Al] Ewing or Jonathan Hickman revise and revitalize its lore at the highest levels.
While this disparate and dangerous group of new cosmic entities – some good, and some very, very bad – may not add up to an entirely consistent cosmological scheme, it shouldn't necessarily. Comic book mythology often works better when it is semi-integrated; that is, even in a shared continuity like Marvel's, each title should have some degree of narrative autonomy, with elements being combined, reinterpreted, and superseded as needed to tell the best possible story at any given time. Emphasis should be placed on the larger context of Marvel's trend towards more cosmic-level narratives: the company is willing to take new, energizing creative chances in a way it hasn't been in previous eras.
This should be an exciting conclusion to draw for comic book readers – Marvel will never stop telling Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and X-Men stories, nor would anyone ever want it to. At the same time, the majority of the company's new characters come as variations on its legendary roster, something Al Ewing's introduction of beings the Asgardians modeled themselves after could be considered the playful antithesis of. The recent work of Al Ewing and others proves Marvel is set on testing the limits of its classic characters, while Hickman's G.O.D.S provides a needed set of new, exciting characters, who may very well prove to have a sustained impact moving forward.
