So from what i can tell gods like Thor in the regular marvel universe are not just space aliens with special powers,like when Thor mentioned a "parliament of pantheons" in the new thor issues so what exactly are they?

Gods, lol.

They are gods not aliens

The best I can tell is that they're nigh-omnipotent beings from another dimension - kind of like Q.

@Xwraith said:

The best I can tell is that they're nigh-omnipotent beings from another dimension - kind of like Q.

No, most of them are nowhere near omnipotent.

I don't get it ? Was wrong with saying there aliens that were worshiped like gods by early humans ? I mean if you want to go with that lodgic then superman, captain atom and seavral other would be constited gods to ? I mean captain atom has the power to..."Captain Atom's metal skin is tied into the Quantum Field, which enables him to absorb and manipulate infinite amounts of energy, for an infinite amount of purposes the amount of which he can do is limited solely by his will power and imagination. He truly reinforces this fact when he realized that the Quantum Field is completely under his control and he can do anything he wishes. With this realization he tests his powers and by simply thinking of it, he is able to instantly create a replica of our Earth from nothing, complete with life. His power was such that he was able to easily create his own replicas of Superman, Flash, Firestorm and even his own Spectre. His power is such, that he went even further and by simply thinking of it, was able to instantaneously create an entire universe out of nothing, and just as easily destroyed it, but he has never used this level of power again as a result of him mentally limiting himself. Captain Atom's energy absorption power is second to none in the DCU, as he is able to absorb any form of energy and store it in his person. Captain Atom can fire and control energy of any form. He commonly manipulates his energy into force field bubbles, or explosive bombs, but the most common form is a simple blast. Over the years, Captain Atom has become an expert at his energy manipulation and can fire from any point on his body, though he usually uses his hands for ease of aiming. He can fire in multiple directions at once or from every point of his body at once. Several times he has "detonated," releasing a massive amount of energy at once, destroying objects within a certain radius. On more than one occasion, he has used his ability to manipulate all forms of energy."

@Z3RO180: but what makes them different from aliens? the thing is though thor mentioned a parliament of pantheons which means that gods arent just aliens

Not sure, That did make me think.

"parliament of pantheons"

Maybe all of the "Gods" That are worshiped come together to talk about things xD

Almost all the Earths pantheons of gods were created as a result of Demogorge expelling energy after consuming a bunch of elder gods. Demogorge is the child of Gaea and Demiurge. Long story short, the gods of Earth are about as native as you can get really considering where they originated from. Unless you consider adjacent dimensions to Earth layered on and against the Earth not a part of Earth, and since thats where a lot of these gods reside you could say when they come to Earth they are aliens, except thats a bit of fuzzy logic. There was a non canon mini series that asserted that Marvels gods were aliens and a lot of people got confused and started assuming that that applied to mainstream Marvel. Complicating matters is many peoples understanding of gods/god include multiple definitions. There are many who only consider one definition of god and so sometimes may attempt to distance the Marvel gods from what they are, mythological non omnipotent all powerful Universe creating god.

Super short version: Marvels Earth gods are all children of Gaea and Demiurge but in a really weird abstract way that involves weird energy going ons.

@SC said:

Almost all the Earths pantheons of gods were created as a result of Demogorge expelling energy after consuming a bunch of elder gods. Demogorge is the child of Gaea and Demiurge. Long story short, the gods of Earth are about as native as you can get really considering where they originated from. Unless you consider adjacent dimensions to Earth layered on and against the Earth not a part of Earth, and since thats where a lot of these gods reside you could say when they come to Earth they are aliens, except thats a bit of fuzzy logic. There was a non canon mini series that asserted that Marvels gods were aliens and a lot of people got confused and started assuming that that applied to mainstream Marvel. Complicating matters is many peoples understanding of gods/god include multiple definitions. There are many who only consider one definition of god and so sometimes may attempt to distance the Marvel gods from what they are, mythological non omnipotent all powerful Universe creating god.

Super short version: Marvels Earth gods are all children of Gaea and Demiurge but in a really weird abstract way that involves weird energy going ons.

pretty much this

In Marvel, there is a certain class of powerful beings that are classified as gods. This has been a clear point for years. These beings tend to share some sort of metaphysical link to the cultures and/or species that worship them. This link does not determine the power levels or roles of gods. They do not feed on faith, but several stories have shown that if a pantheon is destroyed yet retain enough believers the power of that belief can eventually restore a god or pantheon back to life. Also, if the gods are destroyed while they still have mortal believers the destruction of the gods can metaphysically weaken the culture that worship them. They also tap into mystical energies that are not utizlied by any other superpowered beings. Due in part to their mystical nature attempts to clone them by some of the best brains in the MU have failed. At best you get something close in power, but lacks the full magical power

Evidence that gods are a unique class of beings:

1. Earth and Skrull Eternals have always drawn a clear difference between themselves and gods. Eternals admit they are godlike and on the surface share many of the same powers of gods. But Eternals are beings of science not magic.

2. Desak the God Hunter tracked specific magical energies to hunt down gods. He ignored other superpowered beings.

3. Gor too restricts himself to gods and so far has left other superpowered beings alone.

Some beings will dispute them. Devout monotheists like USAgent, atheists, or strict scientists who set a very high definition of god treat Marvel gods more like extradimensional beings. IIRC, Hank Pym once referred to Thor and Hercules as extradimensional heroes. At the same time advanced alien races have accepted Thor and Hercules's claims of godhood. They do not revere them with any sort of religious sense. They treat it more as a classification of being.

@SC said:

Super short version: Marvels Earth gods are all children of Gaea and Demiurge but in a really weird abstract way that involves weird energy going ons.

This definition is pretty much other ultimate origin for all of Earth's gods.

Marvel gods are aliens, but somehow tied to their realms. Current Thor arc shows every living planet has, or has had, Gods and many resemble their people. Aliens means not indigenous to a planet or place. There are also elder gods who might be abstracts...not sure.

@drgnx said:

Marvel gods are aliens, but somehow tied to their realms. Current Thor arc shows every living planet has, or has had, Gods and many resemble their people. Aliens means not indigenous to a planet or place. There are also elder gods who might be abstracts...not sure.

Not all of them are aliens. Gaia was born on Earth. Thor was born on Earth. A number of them are said to migrated to their realms after they came into being. Some of the skyfathers like Izanagi may be from another plane but they fathered much of their pantheon on Earth. We do not know the origin of all alien gods. Some like Kly'bn and Sl'gur't were ascended mortals who originated on their home planets.

@SC said:

Almost all the Earths pantheons of gods were created as a result of Demogorge expelling energy after consuming a bunch of elder gods. Demogorge is the child of Gaea and Demiurge. Long story short, the gods of Earth are about as native as you can get really considering where they originated from. Unless you consider adjacent dimensions to Earth layered on and against the Earth not a part of Earth, and since thats where a lot of these gods reside you could say when they come to Earth they are aliens, except thats a bit of fuzzy logic. There was a non canon mini series that asserted that Marvels gods were aliens and a lot of people got confused and started assuming that that applied to mainstream Marvel. Complicating matters is many peoples understanding of gods/god include multiple definitions. There are many who only consider one definition of god and so sometimes may attempt to distance the Marvel gods from what they are, mythological non omnipotent all powerful Universe creating god.

Super short version: Marvels Earth gods are all children of Gaea and Demiurge but in a really weird abstract way that involves weird energy going ons.

This although it changes whenever a writer decides so >_>

@rondoudou: If you are interested to understand what God and Demon mean in marvel, marvel handbooks would be the best place to look at.

As far as marvel is concerned normal definition of god, the all powerful being, isnt one they subscribe to. But then rather than putting up only my view lets pull up some scans from handbooks :)

Marvel Glossary 1985 gives us a definition of what a God in marvel means

so yeah pretty straight forward:

1. They are generally humoniod and life longer than human

2. Are worshipped or where worshpiied at one time

Marvel Glossary 2007 gives us a defination of God as well which is pretty much identical to this

Again same thing: humonoid, better physical stats than normal humans and worshipped .

Couple of handbook even gives us a distinction of gods and demons (neither are the all powerful, or truly evil or benevolent)

Marvel Handbook 1983

So in short gods and demons are similar with Gods , generally, being a bit more evolved and generally good, but there are few evil gods.

Pretty much exactly the same thing has been said in Marvel Handbook 1985

And the same thing is again said in Book of Angels , Demons and other Monsters 2007

Hope this clears it out for you

:)

@Pyrogram said:

"parliament of pantheons"

Maybe all of the "Gods" That are worshiped come together to talk about things xD

Its likely more similar to say Council of Godheads, where skyfathers (godheads) from various pantheons sit together to talk about important stuffs.

Seem to me the new name was redundant, lets see if they change next issue.

@Killemall: yer lol, made me laugh thinking about it though

@seekquaze said:

@drgnx said:

Marvel gods are aliens, but somehow tied to their realms. Current Thor arc shows every living planet has, or has had, Gods and many resemble their people. Aliens means not indigenous to a planet or place. There are also elder gods who might be abstracts...not sure.

Not all of them are aliens. Gaia was born on Earth. Thor was born on Earth. A number of them are said to migrated to their realms after they came into being. Some of the skyfathers like Izanagi may be from another plane but they fathered much of their pantheon on Earth. We do not know the origin of all alien gods. Some like Kly'bn and Sl'gur't were ascended mortals who originated on their home planets.

Yeah, thanks!

For the most part all of the relevant gods in Marvel are descendants of people that actually played a big role in shaping the universe.

I've always thought of them as just standard gods from their respective mythologies. However, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe they are pretty much aliens - but worshipped as gods because of their super human attributes and abilities.

@Killemall: Thanks for the definitions.

If I was to update them to try and make them a bit more universal and include all aspects mentioned in the different definitions do you think this would work:

God: A quasi-mystical being who either itself or kinsmen were once worshipped, but is independent of its worshippers and possesses a longer lifespan and greater physical attributes than its worshippers.

Demon: A parasitic quasi-mystical being inclined toward evil and draw power from other creatures.

What do you think? The quasi-mystical part sets gods apart from mutants like Apocalypse or science beings like Eternals that either masqueraded as gods or were mistaken as gods.

@Killemall: but so than is magneto a god? why doesn't gorr the god butcher go after him? what about Dr.doom? or apocalypse ? update: yes seekquaze i think you gotta bettwer describtion but what about dr.strange..doesnt he technically fall under your description?

@Killemall: but this was said at "omnipotence central" which was supposed to be the nexus of ALL the gods

@ThunderGodsWrath said:

Gods, lol.

Put simply!

@rondoudou said:

@Killemall: but so than is magneto a god? why doesn't gorr the god butcher go after him? what about Dr.doom? or apocalypse ? update: yes seekquaze i think you gotta bettwer describtion but what about dr.strange..doesnt he technically fall under your description?

No, none of them are gods. As I stated earlier, gods are quasi-mystical beings who use a specific type of magical energy. None of the guys you mention use are inherently mystical. And Dr. Strange would not either. He is still human. His natural lifespan was not beyond that of other humans and physically he is no different than other humans. Gods do not merely use magic. Magic is part of their very being. @rondoudou said:

@Killemall: but this was said at "omnipotence central" which was supposed to be the nexus of ALL the gods

The Council of Godheads has been described as sort of a U. N. for Earth's gods. I would take Omnipotant City to be the same for gods except on a universal level. It is a meeting place for different pantheons. A pantheon like Asgard or Olympus would have little presence there given their relative youth and focus only on Earth compared to other gods. The gods who operate on a far greater level thanks to their worshipping species like the Shi'ar would need to meet with gods of alien worlds more and so would need a meeting place.

ah okay then i understand