Monday, December 22, 2008

The Eye of Odin explains the Christmas miracle

In The Mighty Thor #293 (March 1980) the malevolent Eye of Odin, cast into a magical well by its previous owner as part of a bargain to gain knowledge imparts some forgotten Asgardian history upon Thor. In a several issues long story that covers several mythological epics the Eye tells the Thunder God about the Cycle of Ragnarok, that the destruction of the Norse pantheon is a recurring and not a singular event. Along the way, the Eye of Odin tangentially reveals the true story behind the miracle of Christmas.

You know, I'm going to make a point of insisting that the fabled Star of Bethlehem was actually the burning ruins of Asgard in any of my future discussions of religion. No reason one myth can't be grafted onto another.

9 comments:

  1. Most awesome...
    story...
    EVER!

    seriously this is the coolest thing I've read all week.
    thanks for sharing!

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  2. Leave it to Roy Thomas to recon Jesus

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  3. I've always loved how Thor just looks so...flabberghasted.

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  4. So, Thor's observing the birth of The Watcher?

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  5. Ugh, so that's where Brother Eye picked up that wretched "eye"/"I" pun? And liked it so much he just forgot to stop doing it long, long after it was annoying.

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  6. " No reason one myth can't be grafted onto another. "


    Please learn more about the functions, purposes, and structures of mythology. There is a good chance you can take a few classes on this excellent field of study at your nearby community college or university.

    Or you could continue to write about it from a position of snarky, blathering ignorance. Your choice.

    (So many of your posts are excellent that these petty ones really stand out as subpar for your output!)

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  7. Appreciate the viewpoint. But I don't need a college course to know that the supernatural, magic and god and the other pantheons don't exist.

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  8. I'm not criticizing your opinion, Sleestak; I'm correcting your misuse of the word "mythology". You're using it falsely.

    " But I don't need a college course to know that the supernatural, magic and god and the other pantheons don't exist. "

    No, what you need is something to teach you that mythology deals with intangible human issues of identity, perspective, cultural norms, and existential concerns. It has nothing to do with concrete fictionality or literalism.

    The term you want is "fiction", as in "No reason one fiction can't be grafted onto another."

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