Thor
Thor and his alter ego, Dr. Donald Blake as featured on the cover of Thor vol. 1, #334. Art by Mark Bright.
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Journey into Mystery vol. 1, #83 (Aug. 1962) Created by Stan Lee Larry Lieber Jack Kirby Based on the mythological character
Characteristics Full name Thor Odinson Species Asgardian, from Asgard Team affiliations Asgard Avengers Warriors Three Thor Corps Notable aliases Siegmund, Siegfried, Dr. Donald Blake, Jake Olson, Sigurd Jarlson, Eric Masterson Abilities Superhuman strength, stamina, reflexes, durability and longevity Abilities via Mjolnir: Flight Energy manipulation Weather manipulation Dimensional transportation

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

Publication history

Writer-editor Stan Lee described Thor's genesis as following the creation of the Hulk^[2] :

I wanted to come up with something totally different. I thought it would 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. I decided readers were already pretty familiar with the Greek and Roman gods. It might be fun to delve into the old Norse legends.... Besides, I pictured Norse gods looking like Vikings of old, with the flowing beards, horned helmets, and battle clubs. I liked imagery.
One of our established titles, Journey into Mystery, needed a shot in the arm, so I picked Thor ... to headline the book. After writing an outline depicting the story and the characters I had in mind, I asked my brother, Larry, to write the script because I didn't have time. ...[A]nd it was only natural for me to assign the penciling to Jack Kirby, who drew it as though he had spent his whole life in Asgard, the home of the gods.

Following Thor's debut in the science fiction/fantasy anthology title Journey into Mystery, the 13-page feature "The Mighty Thor" continued to be plotted by Lee but scripted by Lee's brother Larry Lieber or Robert Bernstein (working under the pseudonym "R. Berns"). Penciling was by either Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Don Heck, or, for a single issue, Al Hartley. Then with Journey into Mystery #101 (Feb. 1964), the series began a long and definitive run by Lee and Kirby that lasted until the by-then-retitled The Mighty Thor #179 (Aug. 1970).

The five-page featurette "Tales of Asgard" was added in Journey into Mystery # 97 (Oct. 1963) followed by "The Mighty Thor" becoming the dominant cover logo with issue #104 (May 1964). The feature itself expanded to 18 pages in #105, which eliminated the remaining anthological story from each issue; it was reduced to 16 pages five issues later.

Journey into Mystery was retitled The Mighty Thor with issue #126 (March 1966). "Tales of Asgard" was replaced by a five-page featurette starring the "The Inhumans", from #146–152 (Nov. 1967 – May 1968), after which featurettes were dropped and the Thor stories reverted to Marvel's then-standard 20-page length.

Once Kirby left the book, John Buscema and Neal Adams each drew a few issues. Buscema became the regular artist with issue #182 (Nov. 1970) and continued to draw the book almost without interruption until #278 (Dec. 1978).

Lee stopped scripting soon after Kirby left, and during Buscema's long stint on the book, the stories were mostly written by Gerry Conway, Len Wein or Roy Thomas. Thomas continued to write the book after Buscema's departure, working much of the time with the artist Keith Pollard, but for several years The Mighty Thor had a changing creative team.

Walt Simonson took over both writing and art as of #337 (Nov. 1983). Simonson's run as writer-artist lasted until #367 (May 1986), although he continued to write – and occasionally draw – the book until issue #382 (Aug. 1987). He introduced many popular characters, such as Beta Ray Bill, in a popular and critically acclaimed run.^[3][4]

After Simonson's departure, Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time, Tom DeFalco, became the writer. Working primarily with artist Ron Frenz, DeFalco stayed on the book until #459 (Feb. 1993).

As a consequence of the "Heroes Reborn" crossover event of the 1990s, Thor was removed from mainstream Marvel continuity and, with many other Marvel characters, reimagined in an alternate universe for one year. His series' title reverted to Journey into Mystery with issue #503 (Nov. 1996), and ran four different, sequential features ("The Lost Gods", "Master of Kung Fu", "Black Widow", and "Hannibal King") before ceasing publication with #521 (June 1998).

When Thor and the other heroes returned to the Marvel Universe, the 85-issue Thor vol. 2 was launched, premiering with #1 (July 1998). This series began using dual numbering, as if the original Thor series had continued unbroken, with issue #36 / #538 (June 2001). (At the time, the Marvel Comics series begun in the 1960s, such as Fantastic Four and The Amazing Spider-Man, were given such dual numbering on the front cover, with the present-day volume's numbering alongside the numbering from the original series.) Dan Jurgens was writer for a majority of this series' run, leaving with issue #79 (July 2004). Scot G. Eaton joined him, as penciler, on #68-79. They were followed by co-writers Daniel Berman and Michael Avon Oeming and penciler-inker Andrea Di Vito for the "Avengers Disassembled" crossover storyline through the final issue #85 / #587 (Dec. 2004)

A new Thor ongoing series, Thor vol. 3, written by J. Michael Straczynski and penciled by Olivier Coipel, premiered with a first issue cover-dated Sept. 2007.

Fictional character biography

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, with his weak leg teaching him that one can only be strong by overcoming weakness, he later discovers Thor's disguised hammer and learns to change back and forth into the Thunder God.

The real Blake's persona remains until many years later, after Odin becomes satisfied of Thor's humility and lifts the spell, transferring the enchantment to the hammer of his ally, Beta Ray Bill, the first person he met who was capable of lifting the hammer by defeating Thor in combat. As a result, Thor no longer possesses a mortal alter ego.

The mortal experience, however, shapes Thor into an honorable and courteous individual, who is loyal to all comrades. With the aid of Nick Fury, Public Director of SHIELD, Thor adopted a new "secret identity", in the form of construction worker Sigurd Jarlson, although this new identity simply consisted of Thor dressed as a normal contemporary Earthman while wearing glasses.

Already in the original mythology, Thor's hammer was a powerful magical weapon. It did not, however, give him the power of flight; rather, the ancient Scandinavians depicted Thor as travelling in a carriage drawn by magical goats, who could be slaughtered and eaten and then brought back to life, as long as their bones were intact. This part of the original myth was left out of the Marvel version of Thor, who was given instead a flying ability owing more to the heritage of Superman and other flying superheroes than to Norse mythology.

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 battles against supervillains, 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,^[5] 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 ubiquitous foes of Thor — the Absorbing Man and the Wrecker. Loki also tricks others into fighting on his behalf, such as the Asgardian troll Ulik, the Fenris Wolf, 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 the superhero team the Avengers, of which Thor is a founding and longstanding member.^[6]

Thor's other mortal foes include the Radioactive Man; Grey Gargoyle and Wrecking Crew, but among his most 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. ^[7]

Thor & Eric Masterson

For a time, Thor was merged with the human Eric Masterson, an architect who first met Thor as Jarlson. The two men would exchange bodies using Mjolnir, as Thor had done before as Blake. After Loki attempted to kill Susan Austin, the woman who cared for Eric's son, Thor became furious and slew Loki. As punishment, he was exiled from Earth, and Eric Masterson was given the Thunder God's power to continue in the role of Thor, fighting alongside the Avengers during such prominent battles as the Kree-Shi'ar war. Eventually, after Loki reappeared, Eric was able to find Thor, who had been hidden within Eric's own subconsciousness, and rescued him from exile.

Eric had proven himself to be a hero in his own right, and Odin rewarded him with the enchanted mace Thunderstrike. Taking Thunderstrike as his alias, Eric continued to serve as a hero on Earth until he died heroically after battling the Egyptian death god Seth. Thor grieved for Eric, who had been the closest friend he had made among humanity.

Onslaught & Heroes Reborn

Once again attempting to thwart Ragnarok, Odin attempted to trick the world-ash tree Yggdrasil into believing that Ragnarok had already happened. To do so, the Asgardians were to be transformed into mortals so that they would not be recognized as gods. Odin intended that Thor would restore the Asgardians to normal, but Seth accidentally prematurely activated the plan. Compounding the situation, Thor, along with other heroes, disappeared battling the powerful Onslaught and wound up on the new Counter-Earth created by Franklin Richards. By the time Thor returned to Earth, the Asgardians had managed to regain their identities, but were then captured by the Dark Gods. Ultimately, Thor rescued his people from the Dark Gods with the aid of Hercules and the Destroyer.

After a paramedic named Jake Olson was slain during a battle between the Avengers and the Destroyer, Marnot, a servant of Odin, gave Thor Olson's form as a new identity. Although Thor could assume Olson's form, he had none of Olson's memories and thus found this identity to be troublesome for him. He also re-encountered Jane Foster while in this identity, and brief sparks were rekindled between them. Odin finally separated Olson from Thor, and Olson was allowed to return to his own life.

The Reigning

Much of the second volume of the title deals with the consequences of Thor's decision to intervene in the affairs of Earth.^[8] After reluctantly assuming the throne of Asgard, Thor sees mortals at their worst and reshapes the world in his image.

A nightmarish future follows as Thor and the Asgardians conquer Earth and slay or imprison those who oppose them, including a young religious mutant called Davis; Zarrko the Tomorrow Man; Perrikus of the Dark Gods; the U.S. Government, and even his fellow Avengers. He marries Amora, the Enchantress, and has a son, Magni.

Wracked with guilt, Thor is eventually drawn into a final battle with Tarene and a Desak-occupied Destroyer in a time-travel bid to undo what he has done. As soon as the timeline is reset, Loki revives Surtur, who forges new uru hammers for Loki's Storm Giant followers and begins Ragnarok, a.k.a. Götterdämmerung or "the twilight of the gods".

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 a self-induced state of non-existence, sleeping "the sleep of the gods." With his fate unknown to the Avengers, he is believed to be missing in action. ^[9]

Civil War

Two years later and just prior to the events of Civil War, Thor's hammer Mjolnir is found on Earth and put under U.S. Army protection. Six months later, Doctor Doom - who escapes from Hell as Mjolnir falls through that dimensional plane - tries unsuccessfully to claim the hammer. The hammer is later claimed by a mysterious man carrying a bag with the initials "D.B".^[10] During a battle between the two Civil War superhero factions, "Thor" appears and kills Goliath.^[11] This version of Thor is later revealed to be a fusion of cloning technology and cybernetics created by Reed Richards and Henry Pym. Anti-registration hero Hercules destroys the clone in a final battle between the factions. ^[12] The remains of the clone are currently stored in the laboratories at Camp Hammond. ^[13]

New beginning

The mysterious man seen during the events of Civil War is Donald Blake. When Blake touches the hammer Mjolnir, he is transported to the void where Thor has been in hibernation. Blake explains that when Odin originally removed the Donald Blake persona from Thor,^[14] Blake was transported to the void Thor now inhabits, and was returned to New York City when Thor broke the Ragnarok cycle. Blake convinces Thor to wield Mjolnir once more and return to Earth and renew the dual identity with Blake. Blake also reveals that Thor's fellow Asgardians are not dead but hidden on Earth.^[15]

Thor rebuilds Asgard in Oklahoma and after paying for the land with Asgardian treasure, seeks his fellow Asgardians. ^[16] Thor learns of the events of the superhero-registration "Civil War" and is angered that Tony Stark (Iron Man) and others used his DNA to create the Thor Clone without his knowledge or permission. Thor defeats Iron Man in a confrontation, and states he will respond with greater aggression unless left in peace. Seeking a compromise, Stark rationalizes that Asgard may be considered a foreign embassy, with diplomatic immunity granted to its inhabitants. Thor deems this acceptable, and soon after finds the first of the lost Asgardians, Heimdall, and restores him to his true form.

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 millennia. The strongest of the Norse gods, Thor has performed feats such as lifting the World Serpent, lifting and hurling the Odinsword, an extra-dimensional object of incredible power, through a Celestial.^[17] He is also capable of matching other Marvel powerhouses such as the Hulk, ^[18] Hercules,^[19]Beta Ray Bill ^[20]and Gladiator. ^[21] 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 state known as the "Warrior's Madness", which will temporarily increase his strength tenfold.^[22]

As heir to Odin's power, Thor has controlled the Odinforce and displayed a mastery of Rune magic, becoming even more powerful than his father, Odin. In this form, Thor is capable of manipulating vast amounts of energy for a variety of purposes including temporary augmentation of physical attributes, energy projection, matter manipulation and interdimensional teleportation. While in possession of the Odinforce, Thor is capable of decapitating a Desak-occupied Destroyer with one hammer throw, unmaking Mangog and teleporting the entirety of Asgard to a new location^[23]. 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 he entered into hibernation in an unknown location in space. ^[24]

Thor is also 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,^[25] while the second is used for flight; weather control; energy projection and absorption; dimensional control; matter manipulation and the most powerful of Thor's offensives, the God Blast^[26] and the Anti-Force.^[27]

Other versions

In mainstream comic continuity

Eric Masterson

Eric Masterson is initially bonded with Thor after Thor is punished for apparently killing Loki. Masterson carries the mantle of Thor for several years, continuing his roles as a member of the Avengers and protector of Midgard. Thor is eventually freed from Eric's mind, and asks that he continue serving as God of Thunder. Tricked by the Enchantress Masterson attacks Thor, and soon after relinquishes the hammer to Thor. In gratitude for his services, Odin provides Masterson with an enchanted mace, which he uses under the alias of Thunderstrike.^[28]

Red Norvell

Part of a docummentary crew brought to Asgard by Loki, Roger "Red" Norvell meets and falls in love with Lady Sif. Red Norvell is given Thor's Iron Gauntlets and Belt of Strength by Loki to compete with Thor for Sif's affections, with neither realizing this was part of a master plan by Odin to create a surrogate God of Thunder to die fighting the Serpent of Ragnarok and fulfill the prophecy. ^[29]

Alternate continuities

1602

A version of Thor appears with an alter ego of an elderly Christian priest named Donal — an allusion to Thor's original secret identity Donald Blake. Donal fears and despises his alter-ego, believing that the shared existence will damn him. ^[30]

2099

In the Marvel 2099 line of comics, set in the year 2099, the role of Thor is taken by a man named Cecil MacAdam, who belongs to a class of priests known as "Thorites" who worship the original version of Thor. ^[31]

Age of Apocalypse

In the 1995-1996 fictional crossover event "Age of Apocalypse", published in X-Men and related titles and taking place in an alternate universe, Donald Blake never discovers that he is the reincarnation of Thor, and is instead an agent of the Human High Council and a doctor, traveling with Gwen Stacy to provide aid in human refugee camps. He dies alongside Mikhail Rasputin, a Horseman of Apocalypse, when trying to keep him from killing the members of the Council. ^[32]

Amalgam Comics

In the Amalgam Comics universe, Thor is joined with Orion to make Thorion. Don Blake is combined with Scott Free to form Don Free.

Thor was also joined with Superman Blue in Unlimited Access to make Thor-El.

Marvel Zombies

In the alternate-universe miniseries Marvel Zombies #1-5 (Feb.-June 2006), Thor appears as a cannibalistic zombie wielding a makeshift version of a hammer composed of a concrete block and pipe due to him no longer being worthy to wield Mjolnir.

Spider-Ham

In the 1985-1987 alternate-universe series Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham' from Marvel's children's line, Star Comics, Thor made at least one appearance as a dog called Thrr Dog of Thunder.^[33]

Dargo Ktor

Dargo Ktor is the host of a 26th-century version of Thor, who is empowered when holding Mjolnir - a subject of worship in that century. ^[34]

Ultimate Marvel

Main article: Ultimate Thor

Thor is a member of the superhero team the Ultimates in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. ^[35] Despite his claims to be a Norse god, he is regarded by many to be delusional during the first months of his career. It is not until he is seen summoning an army of Asgardian warriors to fend off an attack on Washington DC by demonic forces commanded by Loki that Thor's teammates realize he is exactly who he says he is. ^[36]

In other media

Television

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

• Thor's Donald Blake identity appeared in the 1980's Spider-Man episode "Wrath of the Sub-Mariner" voiced by Jack Angel.

• 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 Eric Allan Kramer , and Donald Blake by Steve Levitt. The TV-movie was to be a backdoor pilot for a Thor television series.^[37]

• Thor has a cameo in one part of the X-Men Animated Series.

• Thor also guest stars in two episodes of the Fantastic Four animated series voiced by John Rhys-Davies.

• John Rhys-Davies reprises his role as Thor the Incredible Hulk episode "Mortal Bounds" with Mark L. Taylor voicing Donald Blake.

Video games

• Thor is a character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. He is voiced by Cam Clarke.

• Thor is a partner assist in 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, the Daily Bugle runs an article stating that Thor was the hero who defeated Hyper-Electro.

Film

• Ultimate Thor appears in the direct-to-video animated features Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2. He is voiced by Dave Boat.
• The name of Thor's alter ego, Doctor Donald Blake, is mentioned over the hospital public-address system in the 2007 direct-to-DVD feature Doctor Strange.

• In August 2007, director Matthew Vaughn was hired to direct a live action feature film based on the character. A script written by Mark Protosevich was scheduled to begin filming begin in late 2007.^[38] Vaughn explained, “When I went into Marvel for my first X-Men meeting, I saw a figure on the desk and said ‘are you guys going to make Thor?’ They said, ‘We’re just going to commission a script. We want to do it like Gladiator with Norse mythology and the birth of a superhero’. That really stuck in my mind. And when Marvel saw Stardust, they asked me to do it. So here I am, back again and prepping Thor." The film will purely be set on Asgard.^[39] Ilan Eshkeri, who composed Stardust, will collaborate with Vaughn once more on Thor.^[40] Vaughn is rewriting the script in order to bring down the budget to $150 million, as his first draft would cost $300 million to produce.^[41]

Toys

• In the 1970s, Mego released a Thor action figure, one of many Marvel characters released by them. This figure is one of the primary characters used by Toyfare: The Toy Magazine for their comic strip Twisted ToyFare Theater.
• A Thor action figure was released by Toy Biz in the early 1990s as part of its Marvel Superheroes toyline.
• Toy Biz released a Thor action figure as part of a box set of the original Avengers.
• A short-lived Avengers toyline was produced by Toy Biz which included both Thor and his half-brother Loki.
• Thor has appeared twice in the Toy Biz's Marvel Legends toy line, and once in Hasbro's.

Bibliography

Main series

• Journey into Mystery #83-125   (Aug. 1962 - Feb. 1966)
• Thor (a.k.a. The Mighty Thor) #126-502   (March 1966 - Sept. 1996)
• Thor (a.k.a. The Mighty Thor) #1-85   (July 1998 - Oct. 2004)
  • Cover-titled The Mighty Thor: Lord of Asgard from #45-67; The Mighty Thor: Lord of Earth from #68-#79
• Thor (a.k.a. The Mighty Thor) #1-   (July 2007 - )

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)

One-shots and limited series

• Thor - I, Whom The Gods Would Destroy (1988: Marvel Graphic Novel #33)
• Thor Corps #1-4   (Sept.-Dec. 1993)
• Thor: Rough Cut #1 (Sept. 1998; pencil-only reprint of Thor vol. 2, #1)
• Thor: Godstorm #1-3 (Nov. 2001 - Jan. 2002)
• Thor: Vikings #1-5 (2004)
• Thor: Son of Asgard #1-12 (May 2004 - Jan. 2005)
• Thor: Blood Oath #1-6 (Nov. 2005- Feb. 2006)

Footnotes

References

• Marvel.com: Thor
• Grand Comics Database
• Marvel Directory: Thor
• Larry Lieber interview, Alter Ego vol. 3, #2 (Fall 1999)

External links

• The Immortal Thor of Asgard (fan site)
• Comparing Thor of myth with Marvel's Thor

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