Warning: contains spoilers for Immortal Thor #9!Thor has leaped head first into the “art” versus “content” debate, taking a page out of Disney’s playbook in the process. In Marvel’s new Immortal Thor, Dario Agger, the head of the evil Roxxon Corporation, has thrown in with the Enchantress. Together, they have hatched a plan to enslave Thor, and it comes to a head in Immortal Thor #9. Along the way, it explores art versus content.
Immortal Thor #9, written by Al Ewing and drawn by Ibraim Roberson, begins with Thor confronting the Enchantress and Dario Agger, the Minotaur. The Enchantress is unfazed by Thor, as if she knows something the Thunder God does not. She has created a spell, and she calls it an “art.”
Then, Agger’s skull appears in the sky, telling them he prefers the term “content.”
Agger then asks Thor if he “is content.” The Enchantress then hands Thor a comic book starring him.
He learns that she has cast a spell that will essentially turn Thor into a slave of Roxxon.
In just 22 pages, Ewing and Roberson succinctly sum up the “art” versus “content” debate currently raging in the entertainment industry. As streaming platforms become more ubiquitous in society, certain corporations have begun referring to shows and movies on their services as “content.”
This label has rubbed many artists the wrong way. They feel it dehumanizes their work, and turns it into yet another commodity to be exploited. This new label has also coincided with the rise of IP-driven blockbuster movie franchises, such as the MCU. Immortal Thor #9 calls out the relationship between art and commerce.
In addition, the move towards calling it “art” over “content” has also come at a time when the corporatization of media is at an all-time high. Studios regularly cancel completed projects because of a tax write-off. Some studios have also begun using AI in movies and TV, a move that further disenfranchised artists. In Immortal Thor #9, Dario Agger becomes a stand-in for media executives Bob Iger and David Zaslav. Agger has no interest in art, he only wants to acquire more wealth and power, and the issue shows readers his terrifying endgame: a desolate, corporate hellscape run by Roxxon.
Thor is central to Agger and Roxxon’s plans. Immortal Thor #9 reveals that gods, like Thor, are susceptible to story-telling magic. The spell Enchantress wove taps into this, and Thor walked right into hers and Agger’s trap. The duo intend to reshape reality in Roxxon’s favor, and Thor is their first victim.
Solicitations for future issues of Immortal Thor have revealed a Roxxon-endorsed variant of the Thunder God. The “art” versus “content” debate inspired by studios like Disney is not likely to die down in society anytime soon, nor will it in the pages of Immortal Thor.
Immortal Thor #9 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!