Summary

• Gaea's horrifying metamorphosis shocks Thor and complicates his life greatly in Immortal Thor #8.
• The Elder Gods are returning to the Marvel Universe, causing chaos as Gaea adopts a more sinister and foreboding appearance.
• Thor must face his new worst enemy as Gaea changes in Immortal Thor #8.

Warning: contains potential spoilers for Immortal Thor #8!

Thor has just discovered the terrifying true form of his Elder God mother Gaea. Throughout the course of Immortal Thor, Marvel has seeded the return of the Elder Gods, extremely ancient beings whose power easily sures that of Thor, Odin and Loki. Now, in a preview for Immortal Thor #8, the Odinson ventures deep into the bowels of Earth to find his mother–and is horrified at what he finds.

The preview for Immortal Thor #8, written by Al Ewing and drawn by Ibraim Roberson, opens with Thor descending into the Earth. He enters a cave called “Death’s Hall,” a foreboding place that “no mortal has seen” and lives to tell the tale. Amidst ancient cave paintings, Thor continues his descent, and growing frustrated, cries out for Gaea to show herself. A door opens to a deep chamber, and entering it, Thor is shocked to find his mother, only she has changed, taking on a far more sinister appearance.

Gaea then tells Thor to speak.

The Return of the Elder Gods Complicates Thor's Life Greatly

And Gaea Has Changed for the Worse

Gaea’s horrifying metamorphosis is the latest shocking development in Al Ewing’s Immortal Thor run. The series, a follow-up to Ewing’s Immortal Hulk, has seen Thor contend with the return of the Elder Gods. The Elder Gods, a concept borrowed from the fiction of HP Lovecraft, are immensely powerful beings who predate humanity. Among their numbers are Chthon, the author of the Darkhold and the serpent god Set. The Elder Gods have been largely absent from the Marvel Universe for many years, but have recently begun reasserting themselves and preparing for something terrible.

Yet this was not the Gaea he knew.

So far, in Immortal Thor, Toranos, an Elder God who presides over storms and thunder, attacked New York City. Thor was able to defeat the Elder God, but Toranos escaped and will most certainly return in a future issue. The other Elder Gods, such as Chthon, have yet to reappear, but it is clear Ewing and his collaborators are setting them up for something huge. How this will play out in future issues of Immortal Thor remains to be seen, but if Gaea’s transformation is any indication, it will not be good.

Is The Elder Gods Return Linked to Recent Events with Roxxon?

Has Gaea Become Thor's New Worst Enemy?

Gaea has been changed into something horrible. The preview for Immortal Thor #8 leaves to fans’ imaginations what caused this shocking shift in appearance and perspective. It is most likely related to the rise in Elder God activity across the Marvel Universe, but how it relates to Immortal Thor’s other plot lines remains to be seen. The Enchantress and the Executioner have thrown their lot in with the evil oil conglomerate Roxxon to defeat Thor once and for all. The Odinson’s life is about to become more complicated, thanks to the return of his Elder God mother Gaea.

Immortal Thor #8 is on sale March 13 from Marvel Comics!