Comic Book Excerpts:
knowledge

BELOW: Thor ponders Captain America's belief system:

What would he have told Rogers? That Loki had taken a special interest in him? Rogers believed in flag and country, nothing else. His was a pure belief, not ignorant of nuance but dismissive of it, deeply invested in a black-and-white view of the world. There was an innocence about it that gave Rogers much of his strength, but that innocence was also part of what made him a useful tool for those who operated by deceit. Strength of belief, Thor thought, was admirable, but it was a lever that when used against you always tipped you long before you knew it was being used.

And so, Thor thought. I have come looking for him to call him a naif and tell him that my half brother, another god he doesn't believe in, has a plan for him. Hardly an errand with good prospects of success.

To know, and not be believed. This was the lot of the gods. All the same, Thor was glad he wasn't a mortal. Fate would do what Fate did, to Steve Rogers and to them all.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 45. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: belief; gods; knowledge; fate; disbelief; patriotism; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Thor (Donald Blake); Loki

BELOW: Thor feels that Nick Fury is going to great lengths to rationalize rather than accept the facts of Thor's and Loki's existence. Thor gently chides Nick Fury for his inability to believe that Thor is a god and that Loki has just appeared before them in the form of somebody else. Nick Fury's secular mindset simply can't allow for such possibilities. Thor tells Fury: "I know what I know." Fury's disbelief will not dissuade Thor from his convictions.

"And you," Fury went on, now pointing to Thor, "are one crazy son of a bi---."

Thor spread his hands. "General. After all we've seen in this past year, you still think it's crazy to believe in shapeshifters?"

Fury glared daggers at him.

"And the truth is, I don't care about what you think where my mental stability is concerned. I know what I know. However you want to rationalize it to yourself is fine."

"Oh," Fury said. "You're going to lecture me about rationalizing? Let me get out my tape recorder."

"General Fury," Thor said. "That was Loki... If you need to think I'm crazy because that's the way your world makes sense to you, be my guest," Thor said. "But this happened. And what needs to happen now is..."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 41. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: rationalization; knowledge; disbelief; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Atheist; Thor (Donald Blake); Nick Fury; Loki

BELOW: Thor ponders the fate of gods and the goodness of Captain America:

...At times like these, Thor thought, I would just as soon fly, and to hell with this pretense for mortals and their small fears. He felt the absence of Mjolnir in his hands... Being immortal had its privileges . . . and its drawbacks, Thor thought, remembering the dark and shining malice on the face of his half brother.

Steve Rogers is my favorite, Loki had said. That much Thor had told Fury. What he had not mentioned was Loki had said something else. Rogers I love, Loki had said, because he will squeeze so hard with his fists of order that chaos will inevitably squirt out. And laughed, Loki had, long and loud.

Thor picked up the pace, spurred on by a sense he couldn't shake that something was about to happen, some trick about to be played on a man whose goodness would be the lever that evil would use against him. To be a god was to know things; the joke of fate was that too often, what even the gods knew was not quite enough.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 44-45. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; evil; order; knowledge; fate; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Thor (Donald Blake); Loki