Don’t look now, but there is another (new) Thor in the Marvel Comics universe as of The Mighty Thor #20 (in stores now). We currently have the former wielder of Mjolnir, Odinson aka the Unworthy Thor, Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor, and the new mysterious War Thor. But who is this War Thor that has been found worthy enough to lift the Ultimate Universe’s hammer?

It’s none other than the Warriors Three’s Volstagg!

Wait, what?

Let’s back up a minute. What drove Volstagg to become a bloodthirsty hammer smashing Thor in the first place? It all went down in the pages of The Mighty Thor #20 from writer Jason Aaron and artists Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson, Valerio Schiti, and Veronica Gandini. Volstagg is joined by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Roz Solomon and Milkmane of Alfheim as they represent the Congress of Worlds on a journey to Nidavellir. The dark elf Malekith has caused war to break out all across the Ten Realms, and Nidavellir is his next target. We enjoy some quiet moments as Volstagg befriends a group of young light elf kids, but this doesn’t last long as an attack wipes out all the light elf refugees, including the young children. What makes it worse is it all happens right in front of poor Volstagg.

In a state of shock, Volstagg heads to Old Asgard where he hears the Ultimate Universe hammer call out to him. Brief recap: this hammer made its way to the Prime Marvel Universe after the events of 2015’s Secret Wars. Odinson debated claiming it for himself during The Unworthy Thor miniseries, but he decided against it. With that quick history lesson out of the way, a dazed Volstagg lifts the hammer to become the War Thor.

I get the feeling Aaron enjoyed writing multiple Gods of Thunder in the Secret Wars series Thors and decided to sprinkle them into the Prime Marvel Universe. You will quickly see, however, that our three featured Thors are uniquely different from one another.

Here is the Thor the general audience is most familiar with, as he has starred in countless comics and is a prominent figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As you can see above, the now-Unworthy Thor looks a bit different with a missing arm and buzzed haircut. Plus, he now goes by the name Odinson and instead of his trusty weapon Mjolnir, he carries an ax called Jarnbjorn. The reason for the weapon change is because Odinson became unworthy to lift Mjolnir in the 2015 event series Original Sin, which just so happened to be written by Aaron.

With Odinson not being worthy of picking up his hammer, someone else needed to take up the mantle of the Mighty Thor. And that person was Odinson’s friend and former lover, Jane Foster.

First, I’d like to point out that I was correct in guessing that Jane was really the new Thor back when it was still a mystery. Around the time that Odinson became unworthy, Aaron casually revealed that Jane was diagnosed with cancer. No one would assume that a sickly Jane Foster was secretly masquerading as this powerful golden-haired God of Thunder, but that’s what made her the perfect candidate.

Jane is doing her best to defend all of the Ten Realms, but with her secret finally revealed to Odinson and Volstagg as the War Thor, she looks to have some big time backup. The only question is what kind of Thor will Volstagg be? One of the final pages in The Mighty Thor #20 states the Ten Realms need a new a new kind of Thor, and only blood can put out the fire that is consuming the World Tree. We’ll have to wait and see how much bloodshed the War Thor causes in the months to come.

Which Thor ranks as your favorite hammer-holder? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Marvel Comics

Tim Adams is a freelance writer who loves comics and the TV and movies that feature them. Follow him on Twitter!