The cosmic 'science' tree of life

[Vartha]

It certainly makes him a more interesting character. I remember Branagh talking about how the first draft was going to focus on how an Old Testament God becomes a New Testament God (or some such). But that's, of course, not the only way to view a god born from Norse myth.

@ Vartha: I would've included the super hero genre, but that's something that's being redefined more and more. Thor is exceptional in that he isn't exactly limited to the storytelling formats that govern traditional superhero books. Not that it's bad, or that he cannot be written within those formats.

@Corpulent1: That's one of the things what's cool about the book(s); it's contradictory. The mixture of science fiction adds to that fantasy the same way a real mythology worked (presumably) for the Norse people. To them, Tales of Asgard were science. Think that's the way they're approaching the film?

That's what makes Thor unique, he fit's in more than one Genre. Like you said it all depends on the story.

 

[Wynter]

Frankly, that's something I really like about Thor: the fact that earth legend was inspired as much by the Asgards as the Asgards were inspired by preexisting concepts.

 

[Wynter]

Okay, time for a myth and history lesson:

1. The Aryans (of which the Norse culture is a part) are descended from the ancient Persians, and their lore reflects this. The Persians were well know for their wise men (magicians), who were extremely well educated and versed in a wide range of mystic/religious concepts. Most notably, Daniel (the guy from the Bible) left them with a lot of Jewish lore and some writings he instructed them to keep.

2. The tree of life is another name for the Sephirot. It's not a physical tree, but a concept of how an almighty being we can't comprehend manifests in a manner to help finite beings understand something about itself. Think of it something like Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. Fascinating stuff really. Guess what? It's a ring/cycle.

3. As of one of the upcoming Thor comics, they've shown the tree of life with the appropriate dots representing the Sephirot around it, so it's clear that Marvel writers are associating the tree of life with the Sephirot.

Also, Kirby's "lines and dots" on the traditional costumes: those dots are Sephirah. Thor has the first and third pillar on his costume. Loki has the second pillar on his own.
Thor has the full pillar (Hod, Gevurah, Binah, Chokhmah, Chesed, and Netzach) Loki's costume (maybe not Kirby's since Loki's had many) shows only one (unless you count the pattern around the neck of his costume). So, Loki's carrying Tiferet (Grace) and Yesod(Purity)

 

[Vartha]

Nice Wynter, That's some things I hadn't known.