What You Need to Know for 'Roxxon Presents: Thor' #1

A new God of Thunder is headed to the Marvel Universe, and this one has the big business backing of the Roxxon Corporation! Spinning out of the pages of IMMORTAL THOR (2023), ROXXON PRESENTS: THOR (2024) #1's corporate-sponsored deity is ready to save the day and hype Roxxon's projects, so long as he stays safely within the guidelines of his bosses' contracts. 

This new Thor makes a big splash while acclimating to the pressures of being a super hero in the public eye, causing plenty of familiar Asgardian faces to surface, each with their own responses to Roxxon getting into super hero business. Here is everything you need to know about Roxxon Thor as he makes his big debut, from the link between Thor and the Roxxon Corporation to the destructive consequences for all of the Marvel Universe to the new roles that characters like Loki and Enchantress play in Roxxon's latest high-profile venture.

WHO IS ROXXON THOR?

Frustrated by his run-ins with Thor and the forces of Asgard, which often interfere with his corporate plans and bottom line, Roxxon CEO Dario Agger decided to introduce the world to a Thor of his own making. After buying the multimedia rights to Thor and his associated realm, Roxxon turned artificial intelligence spokesman Chad Hammer into the latest Thor, complete with his own branded hammer and million-dollar smile. Ready to please focus groups and corporate leadership alike, the Roxxon Thor made a big splash upon his comic book debut by vanquishing Roxxon's enemies while hawking their latest goods.

Dario, who is secretly the magical super villain the Minotaur, plotted to use this business-backed Thor to skew public perception of the Asgardian Avenger, making him both a corporate shill and a boorish buffoon. Roxxon published a comic book series documenting its Thor's adventures—something that the actual Thor Odinson didn't hesitate to let Dario know he didn't appreciate.

WHAT IS THOR'S HISTORY WITH ROXXON?

Debuting in CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #180, the Roxxon Corporation is one of the biggest, most nefarious businesses in the Marvel Universe, heavily informed by exploitation and murderous corporate malfeasance to boost profits. Dario was introduced in THOR: GOD OF THUNDER (2012) #19 as an enemy for Thor, and first encountered the Asgardian super hero when his plans to sell off-world ice were foiled by a joint operation between Thor and S.H.I.E.L.D. After Thor destroyed several Roxxon facilities that knowingly harmed the environment, Dario swore revenge, kickstarting a long-standing and increasingly ugly feud between Thor and the Roxxon Corporation in THOR: GOD OF THUNDER (2012) #20.

Dario started his vendetta by polluting Broxton, Oklahoma with floating Roxxon factories, keenly aware that Thor lived in Broxton for a time and had befriended many people in the community. In the ensuing battle with Thor, Broxton was leveled in the crossfire.

Dario used Roxxon's vast media resources to blame Thor and the Asgardians for the incident, heightening their grudge. Unsatisfied with this development, Dario decided to expand Roxxon's operations into the Ten Realms, ready to greedily mine the resources from these fantastical worlds and manipulate their locals at any cost.

ROXXON AND WAR OF THE REALMS

One of Roxxon's most ambitious attempts to destroy Thor and broaden its control in the Marvel Universe went down in WAR OF THE REALMS (2019). Dario entered an alliance with the evil Dark Elf Malekith, who was in the midst of conquering the Ten Realms while Asgard was distracted by crises elsewhere. Realizing their goals aligned and that they shared a mutual hatred for Thor and Asgard, Roxxon and Malekith's secret partnership proved successful, with only Earth standing relatively free from their bloody campaign across the realms.

As Malekith and the Roxxon Corporation's combined forces launched a bold attack on Earth, Dario personally led his Roxxon troops to conquer Antarctica, where they fought Jane Foster and S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Roz Solomon. Roxxon and Malekith were soundly defeated and Dario's double life as the monstrous Minotaur was exposed to the public, causing Roxxon's stock value to plummet. However, Dario managed to avoid wider legal consequences for his partnership with Malekith by successfully claiming the Dark Elves coerced him into attacking Earth.

WHO ARE THE UTGARD GODS?

Roxxon's constant mistreatment of Earth finally caught the full attention of Gaea, the Goddess of Earth and Thor's mother, who was understandably upset by what was happening to the planet's environment. In retaliation for humanity's mistreatment of Earth, Gaea unleashed Utgard Loki and Utgard Thor, the God of Superstorms to remind the people of the planet's wrathful potential in IMMORTAL THOR (2023) #1. Thor himself intervened to defend humanity from this vicious version of himself and learned why his mother had grown so frustrated. 

The Utgard Gods are Elder Gods that were imprisoned for millennia because of their destructive capabilities, whereas the true Thor was sent to Earth by Gaea as a form of mercy towards humanity. Thor quickly realized the key to saving the planet came from dismantling Roxxon's widespread pollution and unchecked exploitation of Earth's natural resources. Determined to reverse this devastation, Thor set out to confront Dario and end Roxxon's assault on the planet, unaware that the conniving businessman and super villain had formed new godly alliances himself.

THE IMMORTAL THOR AND ROXXON

Through an arrangement between Dario, the Enchantress, and the Executioner, Enchantress used her magic to help Roxxon stay one step ahead of Thor despite his best efforts. Enchantress advised Roxxon to acquire the publishing rights to Thor's official comics by having Dario acquire the Marvel Universe's equivalent of Marvel Comics, then cast a spell to decipher what these in-universe comics mean. Through these comics and the Enchantress' magic, Dario could witness future events coming for Thor in its pages.

With this publishing company now under Roxxon's control and imbued with the Enchantress' magic, Thor has to act quickly to prevent his worst enemies from changing his future. But with the Roxxon Thor now altering public perceptions of him, the Son of Odin may find he has been outmaneuvered and outsmarted for the last time.

Meet Roxxon's very own Thor in ROXXON PRESENTS: THOR #1, on sale now!

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