As Thor continues to explore the lore of Marvel's primordial gods, fans just met Kemur - the King of the Elder Gods, and a vital piece of Marvel lore. The Elder Gods were the first beings on Earth, with all subsequent gods being shadows of these totemic figures. And as Immortal Thor asks, "Why would there not be one who was king?"

In Immortal Thor #23, Thor faces off against Kemur - an Elder God who embodies kingly rule. Fans find out Kemur's backstory as one of the first Elder Gods, stirring up war between his all-powerful siblings. The comic describes this cosmic being as "the very concept of rule," and far too great of a physical threat for Thor to defeat unaided.

Immortal Thor has been following the return of the Elder Gods or 'Utgard-Gods,' with Thor first going up against Toranos - the primordial thunder god on which his own mythic existence is based. Now, finding himself outside reality, Thor has exposed the story of the King of Elder Gods, as well as his mythic opponent, the very first "true god" in Marvel lore.

Thor Battles Kemur, King of the Elder Gods

Marvel Fans Are Learning the Primordial Lore of the Multiverse

Before the multiverse existedm there was a cosmic force known as the Demiurge Primordial, which seeded the cosmos with aspects of its own personality, creating the Elder Gods. This pantheon of cosmic beings shaped the development of life on Earth, with Chthon embodying dark magic, Gaea controlling the living world, and Set inventing the concept of murder. The Elder Gods quickly plunged into a seemingly apocalyptic war that was only ended when the "first true god" Atum became the Demogorge, devouring many of the Elder Gods. Now, fans are learning more about these cosmic gods, with some staggering implications that have big consequences for Marvel lore.

Kemur is shown to be a minotaur-like beast with his horns described as a "horned crown" that makes him "ruler of all." This is fascinating for fans, as Thor's recent nemesis Dario Agger - aka the Minotaur - shares this appearance. This suggests a link between an Elder God from the dawn of creation and Thor's current foes - a concept that we'll discuss further shortly.

Thankfully, Loki's warning about the Elder Gods prompts Thor to see Kemur as a puzzle to solve, not a warrior to fight. Thor reforges his mystic belt (made from Zeus' thunderbolt) into a ring, putting it through Kemur's nose in defiance of his supposed authority. The narrative reflects that while Kemur is unbeatable to those who believe in his power, "the strength of any king is a lie - true only to those who would believe it." The comic then reveals how Kemur was beaten by Atum, including a major revelation about Marvel's "first god."

Marvel's Atum Was the First God... But Did He Also Create Superheroes?

Earth's Superheroes Are Shadows of the Elder Gods

The comic explains that the first non-Elder God to be created was Atum, who was a god in the more traditional sense. Atum saw through Kemur's power, and when he ed the Godwar, Kemur fled reality rather than face the unbeatable. It's an interesting piece of trivia about the earliest parts of Marvel lore, but it exposes far more than fans might think.

When describing Atum, the narration describes him as "the man of fire that signaled a new era of marvels." This title is clearly supposed to evoke the first Human Torch, aka Jim Hammond. Marvel's real-life first superhero, Hammond is also treated as the first true superhero in Marvel lore, kicking off the period later labeled the Age of Marvels, during which superhuman beings became far more common. The Human Torch was an advanced android who fought in WWII alongside Captain America and Namor the Sub-Mariner, surviving to the modern day.

Drawing a connection between Atum and the Human Torch suggests that just as the gods are lesser reflections of the Elder Gods, superheroes are lesser reflections of the gods. Immortal Thor has established a hierarchy where power correlates with abstraction - the closer to mortality you get, the more individual personality and perspective beings have. Elder Gods are gigantic concepts and have huge, outsized moods and personalities, while gods are more individual and exist in the context of a given society or culture. Finally, humans are true individuals who are capable of more sophisticated, versatile thought, and even of doing things that are against their 'nature.'

Marvel's Cosmos Is a Complex Spiral of Good vs Evil

And As the Reader, You're the Endpoint

Fans saw the same logic in Defenders Volume 6, by Ewing and Javier Rodriguez. There, the Defenders visited an earlier incarnation of the multiverse, discovering a species of archetypal beings - creatures who represented raw ideas but also had clear links to today's superheroes. One example is the skull-headed archetype "Of-Vengeance" who is clearly connected to both Ghost Rider and the Punisher.

In Defenders and Immortal Thor, Ewing is crafting a wild new level of Marvel lore, where the battle between good and evil has played out again and again, first on an abstract level and then in increasingly complex and meaningful ways by superheroes and mere mortals. This comes with the implication that the readers are the end result - people whose complex choices might be guided by the ideals superheroes represent, just as superheroes are playing out the conflict of the gods and the gods playing out the conflict of the Elder Gods.

Immortal Thor is continuing to serve up heady revelations about the Elder Gods and their place at the heart of Marvel lore, with implications that reach beyond the page, commenting on superheroes inspire their fans.

Immortal Thor #23 is available now from Marvel Comics.