Loki Gives Marvel the Perfect Excuse for Its Thor Continuity Error
Thor’s writer recently apologized for a continuity error regarding Mjolnir, but Loki’s involvement in the story offers a simple explanation.
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Warning: contains spoilers for Thor #18!
While Marvel Comics recently made a notable continuity error in the pages of Thor – one called out by the issue’s writer Donny Cates – the moment isn’t beyond salvaging, and the God of Thunder’s brother Loki offers an easy way to explain the mistake without making changes to the comic’s art in later collections.
Ever since becoming the new king of Asgard, Thor has been struggling to control Mjolnir. First, the enchantment which means only the worthy can wield the hammer went haywire, allowing any random person to pick it up, and even to gain the fabled power of Thor. Then, the hammer itself turned on Thor, resisting his efforts to wield it, and even attacking him when he tried. In Thor #15, Thor asked Captain America to take possession of the hammer in order to prevent it falling into the wrong hands, but issue 17 concluded with Steve Rogers informing him the hammer had been stolen.
Thor #18 – from Cates and artists Pasqual Ferry and Bob Quinn – sees Thor begging Loki to help him find the missing weapon, saying, “I fear it is lost. I fear it is in the hands of evil. But I… I cannot, as King, allow this information to leave these halls. … Will you help me find Mjolnir?” Loki prompts Thor to seek out another ally – the amphibian hero known as Throg. Thor teleports into the kingdom of Foreverglade to speak with Throg, appearing with Mjolnir in his hand… despite the fact he’s here to get help finding the iconic hammer. Asked on Twitter how Thor already has Mjolnir when his whole quest is to recover it, writer Donny Cates admitted, “A lot of very, VERY tired creative team members who are very very upset with themselves for not catching this one. Sorry guys.” But while the error is hard to ignore once it’s pointed out, Marvel has a long history of addressing this exact kind of slip-up in retrospect, and there’s a simple way to do so.
Marvel has a long history of rewarding readers who spot continuity errors or plot holes with a ‘No-Prize.’ Once a physical award, and now simply an acknowledgement usually handed out in a comic’s letters page, a No-Prize is awarded to fans who not only spot comic errors, but offer up a tidy solution. In this case, there’s an obvious one to hand. Having told Loki, a master of illusion, that he doesn’t want news of Mjolnir’s theft to get out, Thor then teleports to Foreverglade to get Throg’s help. It therefore stands to reason that Loki would have lent his brother a little magic to make him appear to be holding his hammer, both to protect his pride and to prevent word of its absence spreading.
The comic actually sets up this explanation perfectly, as Thor both asks Loki for help and states that he doesn’t want news to spread. The error only appears in a single panel – after which Thor is pictured inside Throg’s home without Mjolnir – making it entirely believable that the hammer was a brief illusion (Loki’s specialty) to save face. The comic’s art and writing can remain exactly as they are, with just a simple reference in a future issue to the fact Loki is maintaining this illusion.
No-Prizes are a celebrated tradition because they encourage readers to be understanding to skilled creators working to tight deadlines, acknowledging that when juggling a monthly story with more than eighty years of continuity, sometimes a ball is going to get dropped. Like other continuity errors before it, Thor’s missing hammer will be looked back on fondly by comic fans, but it needn’t embarrass the creators when – in classic Marvel style – Loki can retroactively explain why his brother only seemed to have already reclaimed Mjolnir.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/thor-continuity-error-mjolnir-loki-explained-comics/