Summary
Many characters arein contention for the title of strongestin theMarvelUniverse, andone of them – the cosmic character Prince Otherone – has just adopted the perfect codename: Apex.No-one can deny the might of the newly christened Apex, as his first victory with his new moniker proves beyond any doubt.
Immortal Thor Annual#1 – written by Al Ewing, with art by David Baldeón – the incredibly powerful hero, Prince Otherone, renames himself Apex to represent his unbeatable power.
In the issue, Otherone cycles through a few names before settling on Apex, beginning with the extremely on-the-nose Powerstone, named after the artifact which empowers him and is part of his body. Otherone’s previous name was ‘Prince of Power’, a title which, while appropriate, was already claimed by his friend Hercules – leading him to ultimately settle on Apex.
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APEX, The Ideal New Nickname For A Cosmic Marvel Powerhouse
Immortal ThorAnnual#1 (Main Story) – Written By Al Ewing; Art By David Baldeón; Color By Federico Blee; Lettering By Travis Lanham
Along with the new name comes a new status quo for Apex…To keep Apex close, Thor invites him to live in New York City, which seems… unwise.
Introduced in 2020’aGuardians of the Galaxy#3, Otherone is one of the princes of the Musculans, a muscle-bound race whose one-dimensional good vs evil conflict is a parody of theMasters of the Universefranchise. The character’s journey toward taking the name, depicted inImmortal Thor Annual#1, is itself packed with humor. As Otherone rejects sharing the “Prince of Power” title, his clueless commentary gently pokes fun at the proliferation of multiple versions of popular Marvel characters:
“you’re able to’t have two heroes walking around with the same name! Just ask the great heroes of Earth – Like Spider-Man, Hawkeye or Captain America!”
Of course, as readers know, all of these heroes do share their identities.
That said, Otherone’s refusal to do so leads him tosettle on a name that perfectly captures his power.Along with the new name comes a new status quo for Apex. InImmortal Thor Annual #1, Thor searches for Apex because Thor might need the Power Stoneto combat the Utgard-Gods, one ofImmortal Thor’smain threats. To keep Apex close,Thor invites him to live in New York City, which seems… unwise. Apex means well, but his combination of stupidity and immense power is volatile.
Afterbeing chosen by the Power Stoneof the Infinity Stones as its mortal host, Otherone gained the ability to channel infinite power, soon discovering he could channel more power the less he consciously engaged in thinking, which wasn’t hard for him. After accidentally destroying his whole planet, he temporarily joined a new group of the Guardians of the Galaxy, before meeting Hercules. Now, Thor hopes that Earth’s heroes will teach him, and maybe Apex will become a real superhero one day, but that said, bringing an Infinity Stone to Earth doesn’t have a great track record.
Apex May Be Marvel’s Most Powerful Hero, But He Still Has A Lot To Learn
APEX, First Appearance:Guardians of the Galaxy (2020)#3 – Written By Al Ewing, Art By Nina Vakueva
Apex’s stupidity makes him hard to corrupt, and it’s better that something like one of Marvel’sInfinity Stones stays in the hands of someone who doesn’t know what “ulterior motive” even means.
Apex also proves that he’s really Marvel’s most powerful heroImmortal Thor, in the most roundabout way possible. FromOdin’s All-Power being equated with his fabled knowledge, toThor constantly outthinking his villains, one of the most important themes of the series so far has been that knowledge itself is power. InImmortal Thor Annual #1, Apex hilariously twists this. He is depicted such an idiot thatthe power needed for him to think at all is so great that he drains it from the issue’s villain, the Champion, who’d stolen said power from Apex by knocking him out.
In this way, Apex’s infinite power isn’t worth much, if he can’t find ways to use it. Thor, Hercules, the Guardians and his own people taught him to emulate superheroes, but he doesn’t have a clue beyond that. No wonder knowledge is power: without it, power is unfocused. Yet, this might not be entire a bad thing. Apex’s stupidity makes him hard to corrupt, and it’s better that something like one ofMarvel’sInfinity Stones stays in the hands of someone who doesn’t know what “ulterior motive” even means.
Thor
Associated with the mythical realm of Asgard, Thor is a Marvel Comics hero who channels the power of thunder to slay their foes. Though the name is chiefly tied to Thor Odinson, several other characters also take on the role of God of Thunder, including Odinson’s love interest, Jane Foster. Odin is portrayed as a physically imposing hero with incredible strength and typically wields the dwarven forged hammer, Mjolnir.
