Thor (Marvel Comics)

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For other uses, see Thor (disambiguation).

Thor
Thor Vol. 1, #334 (Aug. 1983). Cover art by Bob Layton
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962) Created by Stan Lee Larry Lieber Jack Kirby Based on the mythological character
Characteristics Full name Thor Odinson Species Asgardian, from Asgard Affiliations Asgard, Avengers, Warriors Three, Thor Corps Notable aliases Dr. Donald Blake, Jake Olson, Sigurd Jarlson Abilities Superhuman strength, durability, stamina, speed, agility and reflexes, Greatly extended lifespan. Weather control. Via Mjolnir: Flight, energy projection, dimensional travel, matter manipulation, massive force blast.

Thor (often called The Mighty Thor) is a fictional character and appears in the Marvel Comics Universe. Thor is based on the god of the same name from Norse mythology and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug. 1962). The uncredited initial inker was Joe Sinnott.^[1]

Contents 1 Publication history 2 Fictional character biography 2.1 Origin 2.2 Protector of Midgard 2.3 The Reigning 2.4 Ragnarok 2.5 Civil War 3 Powers and abilities 4 Other versions 4.1 Age of Apocalypse 4.2 Marvel 2099 4.3 Ultimate Marvel 4.4 Marvel 1602 5 Appearances in other media 5.1 Television 5.2 Video games 5.3 Film 6 Bibliography 6.1 Main series 6.2 Annuals 6.3 One-shots and limited series 7 Footnotes 8 References

[edit] Publication history

Writer-editor Stan Lee described Thor's genesis as following the creation of the Hulk. "I thought it would be fun to invent someone as powerful as, or perhaps even more powerful than, the Incredible Hulk. But how do you make someone stronger than the strongest human? It finally came to me: Don't make him human — make him a god".^[2] Following Thor's debut in issue #83 of the extant science fiction/fantasy anthological title Journey into Mystery, the 13-page feature "The Mighty Thor" continued under scripter Larry Lieber and consecutive pencilers Jack Kirby and Don Heck.

One element Lieber created in Marvel's Thor mythos was the description of Thor's weapon as the "Uru Hammer". While the hammer was later named Mjolnir, in accordance with Norse mythology, Lieber's made-up "uru" was eventually retconned to be the metal from which it was forged.

The five-page featurette "Tales of Asgard" was added in #97 (Oct. 1963), with The Mighty Thor becoming the dominant cover logo with #104 (May 1964), and the feature itself expanded to 18 pages the following issue (eliminating the remaining anthological story from each issue). The main feature became 16 pages beginning with #110 (Nov. 1964) and with #126 (March 1966) the book was renamed The Mighty Thor. "Tales of Asgard" was replaced by the five-page featurette "The Inhumans" from issue #146-152 (Nov. 1967 - May 1968), after which featurettes were dropped and the Thor stories reverted to Marvel's then-standard 20-page length.

As a consequence of the "Heroes Reborn" crossover event of the 1990s, Thor was removed from Earth-616 and revamped in a new universe. As a result he was removed from his own series, and with #503 (Nov. 1996) the book returned to its original title, Journey into Mystery.

When Thor and the other heroes returned to the regular Marvel Universe in the subsequent "Heroes Return" crossover, Thor starred in a new solo title, Thor Vol. 2, which ran 85 issues (July 1998 - Dec. 2004). It received dual numbering partway through, continuing the original series' numbering; the final issue was #85/#587.

Marvel announced in 2006 that Thor will receive a new solo title, to be written by J. Michael Straczynski, in 2007.^[3]

[edit] Fictional character biography

[edit] Origin

The Marvel version of Thor is noble and very self-assured, sometimes to the point of arrogance. Odin decides his son needs to be taught humility and consequently places Thor (without memories of godhood) into the body and memories of an existing, partially disabled human medical student, Donald Blake. After becoming a doctor and thoroughly believing himself to be the young surgeon Blake, he later discovers Thor's disguised hammer and learns to change back and forth into the Thunder God. The real Blake's persona remains elsewhere until many years later, after Odin becomes satisfied of Thor's humility and lifts the spell, thereby removing the need for a mortal alter ego. The mortal experience, however, shapes Thor into an honorable and courteous individual, who is loyal to all comrades.

[edit] Protector of Midgard

Being the son of the Elder Goddess Gaea, Thor has a natural affinity for Earth and feels obliged to protect the mortals that occupy it. Thor's time on Earth is marked by constant battles against super villains, monsters, cosmic beings and even other gods. Thor's principal foe is his adopted brother Loki, who has hated Thor since childhood. While a master of magic with power that dwarfs even that of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange^[4], Loki prefers to employ the use of minions in his battle against Thor. Ever the schemer, Loki is cautious not to be seen to be directly involved for fear of angering Odin. To that end, Loki creates two long-lasting foes — the Absorbing Man and the Wrecker. Loki also tricks others into fighting on his behalf, such as the giant Asgardian troll Ulik, the dragon Fafnir and the Silver Surfer.

Sometimes, however, Loki overreaches himself and faces disaster. Guiding a mortal to the shrine of the Asgardian Destroyer — which then absorbs the mortal's essence and battles Thor — almost proves fatal for Loki, as Odin became aware of the conflict and promises that should Thor perish, the trickster god would quickly follow. On another occasion, Loki uses the Hulk as a lure to draw Thor out; while this proved successful, it resulted in the formation of superhero team the Avengers, of which Thor is a founding and longstanding member. ^[5]

Thor's other mortal foes include the Wrecking Crew and the Grey Gargoyle, but among his powerful foes are the Asgardian monsters as Mangog, the Frost Giants, the Enchanters Three, the Midgard Serpent and the fire-demon Surtur. Thor's gallery of mystical/cosmic rogues extends to Mephisto, Thanos, the God Eater, the Dark Gods, the Sh'iar Praetor Gladiator, and the god-slayer Desak. Thor has even fought against the combined might of the Celestials, when their Fourth Host arrived to judge Earth. ^[6]

[edit] The Reigning

The second volume of the Thor comic saw significant development for both Thor and his supporting cast. Much of the title dealt with the consequences of Thor's decision to intervene in the affairs of Earth. ^[7] After reluctantly assuming the throne of Asgard, Thor sees mortals at their worst and reshapes the world in his image. A young religious mutant called Davis; Zarrko the Tomorrow Man; Perrikus of the Dark Gods; the U.S. Government and even his fellow Avengers oppose him in vain. A nightmarish future follows as Thor and the Asgardians conquer Earth and slay or imprison those who oppose them, including many of Thor's former allies. He marries Amora, the Enchantress, and has a son, Magni. Wracked with guilt, he is eventually drawn into a final battle with Loki and a Desak-occupied Destroyer in a time-travel bid to undo what he has done.

[edit] Ragnarok

In this arc marking the start of Ragnarok, a.k.a. Götterdämmerung or "the twilight of the gods", Loki revives Surtur, who forges new uru hammers for Loki's Storm Giant followers. Thor learns that the Ragnarok cycle is the result of self-styled "gods to the gods" known as Those Who Sit Above in Shadow, who feed on the cycle. Thor confronts the Norns (Fates), breaking the Ragnarok cycle, and then enters hibernation in deep space, with his fate unknown to the Avengers, who believe him missing in action.

[edit] Civil War

Main article: Civil War (comics)

In Fantastic Four #536, Thor's hammer Mjolnir is found on Earth and put under U.S. Army protection. Six months later, Doctor Doom, who escaped from Hell as Mjolnir fell through that dimensional plane, tries unsuccessfully to claim the hammer. The hammer was later claimed by a mysterious man carrying a bag with the initials D.B.

A cloned version of Thor appears in Civil War, the main limited series for the crossover. Grown from hair fragments taken during an early Avengers meeting, the clone brought a battle between the heroes to a standstill when he killed Goliath (Bill Foster) in Civil War #4 (Oct. 2006) with what was later revealed to be a technological copy of Mjolnir.

[edit] Powers and abilities

Thor is the Norse god of thunder and lightning. Like all Asgardians, Thor is not truly immortal but relies upon periodic consumption of the Golden Apples of Idun to sustain his lifespan, which to date has lasted many millenia.

The strongest of the Norse gods, Thor has performed feats such as lifting a section of the World Serpent and hurling the Odinsword, an extra-dimensional object of incredible power, through the Celestial Arishem. ^[8] Thor possesses superhuman strength rivaling that of other Marvel powerhouses such as the Hulk, Hercules, and Gladiator. He also possesses godly stamina, is highly resistant to physical injury and possesses superior speed and reflexes. If pressed in battle, Thor is capable of entering into a "berserker rage" which will increase his strength tenfold. ^[9]

In addition, Thor is a superb hand-to-hand combatant and has mastered a number of weapons such as the war hammer, sword, and mace. Thor is also very cunning and intuitive in battle, with many centuries of experience. Thor possesses two items that assist him in combat: the Belt of Strength and his mystical hammer Mjolnir. The first item doubles Thor's strength, ^[10] while the second can used for flight; weather control; energy projection; dimensional control; matter manipulation and the God Blast, which is a channelling of Thor's godly essence into one massive burst of energy.

Thor eventually inherited the Odinforce, which saw him become as powerful as his father, Odin. In this form, Thor was capable of manipulating vast amounts of energy for a variety of purposes including; powerful energy blasts, matter manipulation, temporary augmentation of his physical attributes, and interdimensional teleportation. Thor could use Mjolnir for some of these feats, although without nearly as much power. While in possession of the Odinforce, Thor was capable of decapitating a Desak-occupied Destroyer with one hammer throw. Thor later acquired the knowledge of the Runes and a level of enlightenment that allowed him to free Asgard from the eternal cycle of Ragnarok. Leaving Asgard to become "Endgame Thor" and a cosmic deity, he entered into hibernation in an unknown location in space.

[edit] Other versions

[edit] Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Donald Blake never discovered that he was the reincarnation of Thor, instead he was an agent of the Human High Council and a doctor, travelling with Gwen Stacy to provide aid in human refugee camps such as those of Wakanda.

[edit] Marvel 2099

The comics set in the future of Marvel 2099 featured Thor worshippers known as "Thorites". While Thor remained missing, Mjolnir was discovered and used briefly by a resurrected Captain America.

[edit] Ultimate Marvel

Main article: Ultimate Thor

Thor, a member of the superhero team the Ultimates in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, is a mysteriously presented character who believes himself to be the Norse Thunder God, but whom many other characters believe is delusional.

[edit] Marvel 1602

Thor appeared in Marvel 1602 - his alter ego was an elderly Christian priest named Donal.

[edit] Appearances in other media

[edit] Television

• Thor's first appearance in television was in the segment "The Mighty Thor" of the syndicated, anthological animated television series Marvel Super Heroes, originally syndicated in 1966.

• Thor appeared in an episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends titled "Vengeance of Loki" (1981/1982)

• Thor appeared in the live action TV-movie The Incredible Hulk Returns. Thor was played by Erik Kramer, and Donald Blake by Steve Levitt. This Thor was not a god, but a viking warrior summoned via a magic hammer that also gave off electrical bursts. The TV movie meant to serve as a pilot for a Thor television series^[11].

• Thor has a cameo in one part of the X-Men Animated Series, and guest starring roles in two episodes of the Fantastic Four animated series and one in the Incredible Hulk animated series, voiced in all three by John Rhys-Davies.

[edit] Video games

• Thor has a cameo in the video game Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.

• Thor is mentioned in the Spider-Man video game.

• At the end of Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, Daily Bugle runs an article stating that Thor was the hero who defeated Hyper-Electro not Spider-Man.

• Thor is a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

[edit] Film

• Marvel Studios plans to release a Thor feature film,^[12] however the studio gave no further details.

• Ultimate Thor appears in the direct-to-video animated features Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2.

• Thor is referenced in the 1987 film Adventures in Babysitting, with a blond-haired garage mechanic named Dawson (Vincent D'Onofrio) whom one of the young children believes is Marvel Comics' Thor.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Main series

• Journey into Mystery #83-125   (Aug. 1962 - Feb. 1966)
• Thor (a.k.a. The Mighty Thor) Vol. 1, #126-502   (March 1966 - Sept. 1996)
• Thor Corps #1-4   (Sept.-Dec. 1993)
• Thor (a.k.a. The Mighty Thor; #1-85   (July 1998 - Oct. 2004)
  • Cover-titled The Mighty Thor: Lord of Asgard, most issues #45-67; and The Mighty Thor: Lord of Earth, most issues #68-#79

[edit] Annuals

• Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (1966)
• Thor (a.k.a. The Mighty Thor) Annual #2-19   (1966 - 1994)
• Thor Annual '98; '99; 2000; and 2001  (1998-2001)

[edit] One-shots and limited series

• Thor: Rough Cut #1   (Sept. 1998; pencil-only reprint of Thor Vol. 2, #1)
• Thor: Godstorm #1-3   (Nov. 2001 - Jan. 2002)
• Thor: Son of Asgard #1-12   (May 2004 - Jan. 2005)
• Thor: Blood Oath #1-6   (Nov. 2005- Feb. 2006)

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Marvel.com Bio
• MDP: Thor - Marvel Database Project
• Marvel Directory entry for Thor
• Larry Lieber interview, Alter Ego Vol. 3, #2 (Fall 1999)
• The Grand Comics Database
• The Immortal Thor of Asgard