While re-reading Marvel's EARTH X collection, I noticed that writer Jim Krueger advanced the idea that originally the gods of Marvel-Earth were a race of shapeshifters who took on the personas of the gods and became "fixed" in those forms. I'm wondering if this is the first time anyone advanced this idea.
The last "grand theory" that was even suggested in canonical Marvel was that the gods just "happened" in response to human desires, Roy Thomas's THOR.ETERNALS crossover seems to be the first story that really organized this concept, creating new pantheons that hadn't been seen in Marvel Comics before.
EARTH X first appeared in 1999, and I think it influenced the run of J, Michael etc on THOR and the THOR movies. Is Krueger the first one to advance the shapeshifter idea?
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The last "grand theory" that was even suggested in canonical Marvel was that the gods just "happened" in response to human desires, Roy Thomas's THOR.ETERNALS crossover seems to be the first story that really organized this concept, creating new pantheons that hadn't been seen in Marvel Comics before.
Neil Gaiman has used this concept in his Sandman series and in his novel American Gods. Bill Willingham also used this concept in his Fables series. If a "fable" is killed and has a lot of mortals that enjoy the character, he/she gets better quickly. If not, not so much.