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Newman, Nicholas. "The War of the Frogs and the Rats: The Batrachomyomachia in Marvel’s The Mighty Thor." New Voices In Classical Reception Studies 13 2020. Accessed 9Jun. 2022. <https://fass.open.ac.uk ... e13/nicholas-newman.pdf>. 
Added by: joachim (6/9/22, 12:02 PM)   
Resource type: Web Article
Language: en: English
Peer reviewed
BibTeX citation key: Newman2020
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 Categories: General
Keywords: "Batrachomyomachia", "Thor", Classical antiquity, Intertextuality, Literature, Middle Ages, Myth, Superhero
Creators: Newman
Collection: New Voices In Classical Reception Studies		 Views: 12/729
Attachments   URLs   https://fass.open. ... icholas-newman.pdf
Abstract
In the story arc beginning in Thor 363 and running through Thor 366 something very unusual happens to the hero. In order to keep Thor from participating in the Althing to elect a new king after the disappearance of Odin, Loki puts a spell on Thor and turns him into a frog. In this new frog form, Thor ventures into Central Park, where he meets other frogs and aids them in their war against the rats. Eventually, Thor returns to Asgard and confronts his brother before being returned to his normal form.
By putting Thor into the context of a war between frogs and rats, Simonson creates an intertextual relationship between his own text and the Batrachomyomachia (among a variety of other texts as well). This paper looks at this intertextuality on two levels:
  1. As a means of satirical reduction. The reduction of Thor to the state of a frog parallels the reduction of the heroes of the Iliad to frogs in the Batrachomyomachia, this reduction plays on the idea that a comic book hero must act in a certain way, even as a frog.
  2. As a way to drive the narrative of the comic forward. Following the disappearance of Odin and Thor’s scarring adventures in Hel, the narrative threatens to end, as Thor may take over as king of Asgard. His experiences as a frog allow him to reset and to decide to continue as the defender of earth.

  
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