Contains Spoilers for Immortal Thor #1!
Thor may be the most well known of Marvel's many gods and god-like figures, but there is one group of deities that are step beyond even the Asgardians: Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. Depicted as the gods of the Asgardian gods, who they claim dominion over, Those Who Sit above – and they might be set to make their return in the pages of Marvel Comics soon.
Introduced in X-Men/Alpha Flight #1 – written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Paul Smith, inks by Bob Wiacek, colors by Glynis Oliver and letters by Tom Orzechowski – Those Who Sit Above in Shadow are depicted as a council of gigantic Asgardian-esque figures in stark black and white. Those Who Sit Above claim to have created the Asgardians themselves, watching over them as apparently omniscient observers.
The 'Gods' Who Feast on the Gods
Since their introduction, subsequent appearances have clarified that Those Who Sit Above in Shadow are less gods, more cosmic parasites. In Marvel’s Norse mythology, Ragnarök and the death of the Asgardians is cyclical, a wheel of death and rebirth for them. In Thor (vol. 2) #85 – written by Michael Avon Oeming, with Daniel Berman, pencilled and inked by Andrea DiVito – it’s revealed that Those Who Sit Above feast on the energy that Ragnarök creates, feeding on the deaths and rebirths of their Asgardian ‘subjects’. Thor is able to finally end the cycle by smashing the Loom of Fate spun by the Norns, seemingly destroying Those Who Sit Above in Shadow.
Those Who Sit Above in Shadow Might be Back Soon
This Ragnarök doesn’t mark the end for Those Who Sit Above, however, who return in Loki: Agent of Asgard #14-17 – the god of stories suggests that if the Asgardian Gods were born from humanity’s belief in them, Those Who Sit Above in Shadow were perhaps created by the Asgardians’ belief in a higher power.
Those Who Sit Above in Shadow haven’t been seen since Secret Wars, but Thor’s newest adventure may hint to their return, in one form or another. In the recent Immortal Thor #1 – written again by Al Ewing, with pencils and inks by Martin Coccolo – the concept of the ‘gods of the gods’ returns, as Thor re a journey to “the Utgard-Lands. The shadow-lands home to those who sit above even the Gods”, which sounds similar to Those Who Sit Above. It would seem to be too direct a reference to "those who sit above" and to "shadow" to not be setting up their return.
Immortal Thor #1 also sets up ‘Utgard-Loki’ an elder God, said to be the brother to Thor’s mother Gaia, whose speech is depicted with similar white on black speech balloons as Those Who Sit Above. Considering Ewing has used the character concept previously, it would seem he has more stories to tell about the gods of the gods. It appears the writer may be tying the Elder Gods, or Utgard-Gods, and Those Who Sit Above in Shadow together, possibly combining the two concepts, but at the very least clarifying the relationship between the highest of higher powers in Thor’s worlds.
