When I first joined Deadliest Fiction way back in 2017, my first battle was based around mythology. I've since drifted away from mythology and dabbled in history, video games, movies, comics, and anime, but for my twenty-third battle and the conclusion of my second season, I've chosen to return to my roots and settle a classic rivalry, which will double as a match for the DFederal Homelessness Relief Initiative: the one between Thor, the strongest of the Asgardians, and Zeus, the womanizing king of the Olympians! Let's find out which thunder god is DEADLIEST!
Thor[]
| “ | Everybody can imagine how frightened the farmer became as he watched Thor’s eyebrows sink down low over his eyes. The small part of Thor’s eyes that was visible was a sight that alone could have killed. Thor’s hands clenched the shaft of the hammer until his knuckles whitened.
— The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson
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The ever-famous Thor is the Norse god of thunder. The son of Odin and Frigga, king and queen of Asgard, Thor is competitive and adventurous. He often travels through Jötunheim in search of combat and excitement, picking fights with the Æsir's enemies, frost giant. Like all of the Norse gods, Thor is bound by fate to meet his death at Ragnarök, the final battle that will end the world. Thor's ultimate enemy is Jörmungandr, the serpent that encircles the world, and has been ever since Thor attempted to kill the beast in its youth. At Ragnarök, Thor will finally kill his rival just moments before dying himself.
- Mjölnir: Although Thor's famous warhammer is small, it is an extremely powerful weapon. Each swing creates thunder and lightning and is powerful enough to open up a canyon in the earth or obliterate a mountain. More often than not, it's enough to kill any of the giants he faces in a single stroke. Mjölnir is said to never miss its target when thrown and it will always return to Thor's hand afterward.
- Járngreipr: A gift from a helpful giantess, Járngreipr is a pair of gloves that Thor wears to aid in wielding Mjölnir. The gloves also provide impressive protection for his hands, and he once used them to catch a heap of molten metal so hot that it could melt a hole through an iron pillar without injury.
- Megingjörð: Megingjörð is a magical belt that doubles Thor's already impressive strength when worn. It can be assumed that most of Thor's feats of strength were performed while he wore this belt.
- Chariot: Thor travels the Nine Realms in his chariot, which is pulled by his two goats, Snarler and Grinder. As the chariot crosses the sky, it is said to set the land ablaze and make mountains burst open. Snarler and Grinder can be resurrected by Mjölnir if they are killed, which allows Thor to feast on their flesh daily.
Zeus[]
| “ | Oh father Zeus, who shakest with fiery light the world, deep-sounding from thy lofty height! From thee proceeds the ethereal lightning’s blaze, flashing around intolerable rays.
— The Orphic Hymns
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The son of Kronos, king of the Titans, Zeus is the latest in a cycle of familial revolution. Kronos had overthrown his father, Uranus, and conquered the world, but he lived in fear of the same being done to him. Upon the birth of his children, Kronos swallowed each of them, so that they would never grow powerful to defeat him. However, his wife saved the youngest of them, Zeus, and kept him hidden from his father. In adulthood, Zeus challenged his father and freed his siblings. Together, now known as the Olympians, they cast the Titans in Tartarus and claimed the world for their own. Zeus took the sky as his domain, but he always restless and lustful. He seeks to manipulate the lives of the mortals who worship him, and chaos often follows.
- Weather Control: In addition to his iconic lightning bolts, Zeus has control over other forms of weather like clouds and rain. He demonstrated this by hiding Io within clouds so thick that not even Hera could see through them, creating a lifelike image of Hera out of clouds, and by summoning rainstorms to flood all of Greece up to the mountaintops, destroying most of the early human race.
- Thunderbolts: Gifted to him by the cyclopes, Zeus's thunderbolts are powerful enough to destroy mountains or reduce entire cities to cinders. The impact of these bolts is enough to shake the world and, when Zeus unleashes the true power of his bolts, the sea, the land, and Olympus are all in danger of being destroyed by the resulting inferno. Zeus's bolts can be wielded by other beings, but they require a deal of skill to be effective.
- Shapeshifting and Transmutation: In several myths, Zeus takes on the forms of humans, animals, or even inanimate objects, usually either to disguise himself and move about undetected or to partake in some irregular methods of lovemaking. He also frequently punishes mortals for their crimes by transforming them into animals, plants, mountains, and statues, or rewards them by making them into constellations. However, he has never used the latter ability against anything capable of fighting back.
- Immortality: Like all of the Greek gods, Zeus is unable to die. However, this does not make him immune to injury or even being crippled.
X-Factors[]
Experience
As a warrior god, Thor frequently travels the Nine Realms in search of adventure, usually alongside Loki. His competitive and violent nature often brings him into conflict with the inhabitants of Jötunheim, leading a number of battles against the giants. That said, most of the giants that Thor has faced pose little threat to him and he usually could kill them with a single blow. Jörmungandr is the only being capable of giving him a true challenge.
In his youth, Zeus frequently had to battle to claim and maintain his rule. He fought alongside his siblings in the Titanomachy to oust Kronos and the Titans. Gaia sent Typhon and the Gigantes to avenge the Titan, but Zeus defeated the latter alongside Heracles and the Olympians and alone fought Typhon, who was so terrifying that the other gods fled in fear. He even fought against his fellow Olympians when they conspired to overthrow him. However, much time has passed since Zeus faced a real threat and he spends most of his days womanizing and interfering in the lives of mortals.
Physicality
Thor is one of the strongest of the Norse gods, surpassed only by his son, Magni. He's strong enough to raise the head of Jörmungandr, a serpent so large that it encircled Midgard. When he struggled against the entirety of Jörmungandr's weight while the monster was in the form of a cat, he managed to lift one of the cat's paws. It was said that if he had lifted any more, the stability of the Nine Realms would have been put in danger. Thor is also very resistant to injury; having a massive whetstone embedded in his head was only a minor inconvenience and he will survive long enough against the sky-filling poisonous gases exhaled by Jörmungandr to kill the monster at Ragnarök.
As the Olympian's king, Zeus surpasses them all in might. He is strong enough to use mountains as projectiles and is far superior in strength to Athena, who could lift and throw the island of Sicily. Although his immortality does not make him immune to injury, Zeus is highly resilient and capable of powering through and eventually healing from otherwise debilitating wounds. He recovered from having his head split open by an ax and fought and eventually defeated Typhon after having his sinews ripped out of his body.
Notes[]
- The battle takes place on Mount Olympus.
- Voting ends whenever.