Talk:Thor (Marvel Comics)/Article expansion

Character biography

Origin

The character Thor in the Marvel universe follows the traditional Norse myth to a point. (See "Deviations from Norse mythology", below). The Marvel version has been seen in flashbacks as a child and teen godling who, in his early adulthood, became arrogant and self-righteous. Odin, determining his son needed to be taught humility, placed Thor, without memories of godhood, into the body and memories of an existing, partially disabled human medical student, Donald Blake. Getting his M.D. and thoroughly believing himself to be the young surgeon Blake, he later discovered Thor's disguised hammer and learned to change back and forth into the Thunder God, in the manner of a superhero's secret identity. The real Blake's persona remained elsewhere until many years later, after Odin had become satisfied of Thor's humility and lifted the spell, obviating the need for a mortal alter ego.

The latent Thor persona, inhabiting the body and memories of Dr. Blake, first "became" Thor while on a European vacation. (Many years after Thor's first appearance in Journey into Mystery #83, it was retconned that Odin planted a subconscious desire prompting the partially lame Blake to explore a specific wilderness.) Once there, extraterrestrial aliens attacked and trapped "Blake" in a sealed cave with little hope of escape. Desperately, "Blake" tried to use a newly discovered walking stick as a lever to remove the blocking rubble. Unable to, he struck the rocks in frustration — triggering the spell of the stick and transforming (still not knowing the truth) into Thor. The stick itself became the uru war hammer Mjolnir. With his Asgardian abilities, he escaped the cave, defeated the aliens and dedicated himself to protecting humanity.

It was revealed years later, that the real Blake had been in suspended animation and accidentally killed by Sigyn, who then created a Blake duplicate who believed itself to be the real Donald Blake.

Personality

[[Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg -->|thumb|200px|Thor and Loki battle. Solicitation cover to Thor #84. Art by Steve Epting.]] In battle, Thor is a legendary braggart, which has long been accepted as a natural part of the character's charm. He will often use this as both a means of sustaining morale and to convince a lesser foe to yield, usually by adding commentary to a display of power. Outside of battle, he is an honorable, loyal, and courteous individual, in Asgard considered second only to Odin in terms of nobility. He is, however, rather short-tempered.

Protector of Midgard

Thor battles enemies such as his adoptive brother Loki, who has sworn to kill him. To that end, Loki created powerful minions like the Absorbing Man and the Wrecker and manipulated other enemies like Ulik of the Trolls to challenge the thunder god; one of these manipulations resulted in the formation of the superhero team called The Avengers, a team in which for years Thor has served as one of the core members. At the same time, Thor had a romance with his (Donald Blake's) nurse, Jane Foster, which Odin disapproved of; that attitude proved a source of constant frustration for Thor, who at one point even unsuccessfully appealed to Odin to allow him to bring Foster to Asgard.

Beta Ray Bill

Beta Ray Bill (with Mjolnir), from the cover of Thor #337. Art by Walt Simonson.

This status quo in the comics was shaken up in the 1980s under the authorship of Walt Simonson, beginning with Thor's encounter with the monstrous yet noble alien called Beta Ray Bill. Thor was sent to encounter Bill at the request of S.H.I.E.L.D., who had observed Bill's ship destroy a star to refuel; S.H.I.E.L.D. feared that the ship might do the same to the Sun. During the subsequent fight, Thor lost contact with his hammer for too long, causing him to revert to Blake. Ignorant of the hammer's power, Bill picked up the cane and struck it in frustration against a wall, enacting its mystical enchantment. Being judged worthy to hoist Mjolnir in the process, Bill was transformed, gaining Thor's power (and a variant of Thor's costume) for his own, before being summoned to Asgard by Odin, who confused Bill with his son. Upon realizing his mistake, Odin retrieved Thor as well.

Bill claimed Mjolnir as a prize of fair combat, which Thor — being disadvantaged by his reversion to Blake — naturally disputed. Odin had the matter settled by combat in the volcanic World of Skartheim, "where even gods may perish." Bill won an evenly matched fight due to his distinct biological make up that caused the heat from the volcanic world to revive him. Though Bill's ability to defend his people would have been greatly aided by Mjolnir's power, he did not feel it was right to claim a hammer forged for Thor. On hearing this, Odin worked out a compromise for the equally worthy warriors, with Bill receiving a close copy of Mjolnir called Stormbreaker and transferred the transformation spell to it so that Bill — whose altered form he despised and made him, essentially, a pariah to the people he had taken it to defend — could enjoy his original form when he wanted it, while Thor finally abandoned the Don Blake identity. The Lady Sif, who had become depressed and estranged from Thor, left with Bill.

The Surtur War

Soon afterward, the fire-demon Surtur would forge his sword, Twilight, and march on Asgard to light it with the Eternal Flame, with the intention of bringing an End to Everything. Odin summoned all of Asgard's warriors to the battle, including Bill and Sif. Loki was the only one not to respond. The armies of Asgard then left for Earth, to prevent Surtur and his armies from crossing Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. Having set light to New York, Surtur then tricked Thor into drenching the city in a rainstorm to extinguish the flame, creating a rainbow for a brief moment as he cleared it, allowing Surtur passage to Asgard, who then shattered Bifrost behind him. Thor teleported himself to Asgard, leaving Bill in charge of Asgard's armies in the fight that still raged on Earth, but Sif was stopped by Bill from following. Enraged, she lept further into the battle, vanishing as she fought a rearguard action. The rest of the army, aided by the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the Norn Queen's army, destroyed the portal Surtur's army came through, returning them to Muspelheim.

Meanwhile, Thor engaged Surtur at Asgard's gates, and was overwhelmed by the fire-demon. Upon his defeat, only Odin seemingly stood between Surtur and Armageddon. Soon, even Odin fell, and Surtur lowered his sword into the flame...

...to find nothing happened. He turned to find Loki taunting him over falling for such an illusion. Loki bought enough time for Odin and Thor to recover, then the three attacked Surtur in concert. Thor, realizing just how much of Surtur's strength came from Twilight, managed to knock it from his hand, and Odin knocked the demon into Muspelheim, pledging to prevent Surtur's return as he fell with him.

In the aftermath on Earth, Sif was found badly injured, but recovered quickly with the help of the Asgardians' healing techniques and teleported to Asgard to find Odin gone and Thor as emotionally shattered as the remains of the Rainbow Bridge. He bade her to return to Earth and co-lead Asgard's warriors with Bill, until a way could be found to return them to Asgard. (Due to Bifrost's shattering, only Thor, Sif, Bill and the Enchantress were able to move directly from Earth to Asgard), while Thor left for the mountains to grieve. After his rescue from a Hela-engineered avalanche by Tiwaz (unbeknownst to Thor, his great-grandfather Buri), he remained with Tiwaz at his insistence until he was recovered.

After, by the combined powers of Thor and Bill's hammers, the Asgardians were returned to Asgard to find Odin gone, Thor declined to take the throne that was his birthright, instead passing the regency to Balder the Brave.

Eventually, Odin was found, imprisoned by Set, the Egyptian god of death and, with a few hiccups, remained the Lord of Asgard until his recent, true death.

Eric Masterson

Main article: Thunderstrike

Later, Thor would be merged with an Earth architect called Eric Masterson, who - after Thor seemingly killed Loki - would be given the form and power of Thor in the original's stead while Thor was sealed in a corner of the merged body's mind.

Eventually, Loki would be revealed to have possessed Odin to manipulate matters, and both he and Thor were restored to their own bodies, while Masterson would be given the mace and heroic identity of Thunderstrike.

Lord of Asgard and Earth

Thor becomes the ruler of Asgard upon Odin's death. Solicitation cover to Thor #44. Art by Ariel Olivetti.

Upon Odin's death, the other Asgardians naturally expected Thor to claim the throne of Asgard and rule, but Thor resisted at first. Eventually Thor visited Orikal and learned that Odin was indeed dead and that Jake Olson--Thor's human side whom Odin had recently separated from Thor--was soon to follow if Thor didn't help him. While Thor went to Earth to rescue Jake, it was revealed in a conversation between Orikal and Geirrodur that the Odinforce was slowly passing into Thor and that his reign would bring about a hellish future. After rescuing Jake, Thor returned to Asgard and claimed the throne to much applause from his fellow gods. Thor delegated the responsibilities of protecting Earth to Tarene the Designate, who had granted herself similar powers to Thor.

Eventually, a conflict with Desak and the Grey Gargoyle prompted Thor to return to Earth. Desak looked like he would overwhelm Thor even with the Odinforce, but Thialfi used his super-speed to deliver the Bloodaxe to Thor and Thor apparently killed Desak, but when Thor thereafter turned his attention to the humans in the area, he found them looting from corpses and buildings that had been damaged in the battle. Disgusted by what he saw, Thor decided that the people of Earth needed divine guidance once again and, breaking the centuries-long pact of noninterference Odin had established, Thor teleported the entire city of Asgard to hover over Manhattan island.

Thor immediately began interfering with the affairs of Earth. Thor's actions were received on Earth with mixed reactions--some condemned Thor outright, some (like Spider-Man) appreciated Thor's intentions but insisted that Thor was hurting humanity more than helping by giving them handouts, and some appreciated Thor's help so much that they began worshipping him as the benevolent deity he purported to be. Surprisingly, even Thor's old enemy the Absorbing Man joined the Church of Thor.

Several missteps hindered Thor's public image, however. A young religious fanatic and mutant with the power to decay things began a very public campaign against Thor by sabotaging several of Thor's new power plants. When Thor confronted him, the mutant martyred himself. The oppressed masses of Slokovia prayed to Thor for salvation and Thor answered, ordering the fascistic government to leave the country or face his power. Thor's Avengers co-founder Iron Man intervened and tried to explain to Thor that he was going about things the wrong way. The primary resistance to Thor's ascendency came from his old enemy Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man. After his plot with Perrikus failed, Thor imprisoned Zarrko in an Asgardian dungeon. The priest offered Thor one last chance to leave Earth but Thor refused, so the priest triggered a nuclear bomb buried under the island. Thor attempted to halt Asgard's fall and fix the damage, but he was interrupted by the Smiths' ground troops. Jake Olson then took Mjolnir and attacked Thor, which Thor responded to by killing Olson outright. When Thor tried to retrieve Mjolnir afterwards, however, he found himself unable to lift it.

The next time we see Thor, it is the year 2020 and he has converted Earth into New Asgard under his own rule. A resistance has sprung up against Thor's regime, comprised of many of Thor's former compatriots, such as Captain America, Wolverine, Doctor Strange, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, the Vision, the Thing, the Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and Jane Foster. Eventually, with help from Balder, who believes Thor has gone mad with power, they finally make their move against Thor. With assistance from the other pantheons, Dr. Strange managed to prevent Thor from using the Odinforce against his attackers. While Amora guards the infant Magni, Thor loses an eye and an arm in the battle, displaying awsome strength and skill. Even without the Odinforce, Thor manages to kill both the Hulk and the Thing. Assisted by Loki, the Odinpower returns to Thor and they dispatch the rest of their opponents, including Balder.

One hundred fifty years later, Thor's dominion over Earth continues. After a brief clash with Asgardian soldiers to save a young woman named Jordahl, Loki teleports Thialfi and Jordahl to Asgard. Thor welcomes Thialfi and introduces him to his son Magni, now fully grown and bearing an uncanny resemblance to Thor in his prime. Thor leaves with Thialfi and Jordahl meets Magni. Thialfi, who was once a human being himself, is amazed by and proud of Thor's vision for Midgard made reality.

Kya appeals to Thialfi's past as a human to show him the error of Thor's ways, but Thialfi refuses to believe her until she shows him Mjolnir, abandoned where it fell beside Jake Olson's corpse. Thialfi and Magni talk and, although Magni denies it, Thialfi sees that Magni is starting to believe Thor's rule is wrong. Loki defeats the humans and Amora manages to free Fenris, who devours Thialfi.

Thor's own son now has doubts, however. Desak tears through Asgard's defenses easily and would have killed both Magni and Thor if Loki hadn't released the Destroyer to combat it. Realizing that Loki may have doomed Asgard, Thor allows Desak to kill his foster brother and proves his worth by picking Mjolnir up again. Utilizing the Odinforce in conjunction with Mjolnir, Thor destroys Desak.

Thor freezes time with the Odinforce, says goodbye to Magni, Amora, and Sif, and then he and Tarene's spirit use Zarrko's time travel device to go back to before Asgard's fall. The younger Thor, whole once again, quickly realizes his error and returns Asgard to its proper dimension.

Ragnarok

Solicitation cover to Thor #83. Art by Steve Epting

The Odinforce became sentient, however, and left Thor. In addition, Loki recovered the Mould of Mjolnir and raised Surtur, who in return agreed to forge new hammers. Loki and his followers devastated Asgard, shattering Mjolnir and heralding Ragnarok, the end of the gods. Leaving Beta Ray Bill in charge of Asgard, Thor underwent an even more brutal version of the trials of Odin, and in so doing learned the Ragnarok cycle was the result of self-styled "gods to the gods" known as Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. Thor destroyed Valhalla, beheading Loki there, and deceived Surtur into reforging Mjolnir in exchange for a supposed clear path to Asgard. This allowed Thor to reach and destroy the "temporal loom" of the Norns (i.e., the Fates), which contains all events in linear form. Though the Asgardians perished and Fenris, as prophesied, consumed their remains, the shattering of the loom ostensibly broke the Ragnarok cycle. Sending Beta Ray Bill to Earth to serve as witness, Thor then entered the vaguely defined "sleep of the gods." Thor's fate is unknown to the Avengers, the only others beings aware of Asgards disappearance are the other elder God's.

Civil War

Solicitation cover for Civil War #4. Art by Steve McNiven.

In early 2006, beginning with Fantastic Four #536, Thor's hammer Mjolnir returns to Earth after passing through several realities and dimensions, including Hell, crashing into Oklahoma and put under U.S. Army protection. Six months later (in Marvel Universe time), Doctor Doom, who had escaped from Hell during Mjolnir's return, tries to claim the hammer for himself. However, he is unable to lift it. After this, a man wearing a backpack with the initials "D.B." (initials shared by Thor's former alias, "Donald Blake") is seen boarding a bus for Oklahoma. Soon afterwards, D.B. makes his way to the hammer where he finally lays his hands on it only for both of them to vanish in a flash of white light. {{spoiler}} Thor appears on the last page of Civil War #3, apparently on the side of the Superhuman Registration Act. Referred to by S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Hill as Codename: Lightning, he is heralded by a bolt of lightning which strikes down fellow god Hercules, one of Captain America's "Secret Avengers", before another bolt strikes down several other members of the "Secret Avengers", including Luke Cage, Dagger and the new Hawkeye. In Cable & Deadpool #31, Cable claims that Thor killed one of the Secret Avengers. [1]

Deviations from Norse mythology

Though usually clean-shaven, Thor has resembled his mythological counterpart more closely at different times. Here he is seen bearded, like the classical Norse version. Solicitation cover for Thor #45. Art by Tom Raney.

Marvel's writers have varied in the degree of actual Norse mythology they implemented into the character's series. During a storyline that culminated in The Mighty Thor Vol. 1, #300, Roy Thomas tried to explain the differences between the myths and the Marvel version by claiming (through Odin's expelled eye, which had become a sentient being) that the original pantheon of Norse gods had died in a previous Ragnarok and that the current Thor and his people are all their reincarnations. While the Eye is possibly capable of lying, nothing in subsequent stories has indicated that this explanation is not canonical, and the "Ragnarok" storyline provides corroboration with its statement that the Norse Gods have undergone a constant cycle of death and rebirth.

Marvel Comics' Thor is blond and usually clean-shaven. The classical Norse version has red hair and a red beard (though Thor's appearance has resembled the classical Norse version at times). The Doctor Doom of Earth-772 says that his Earth's Thor has red hair.
Marvel's Mjolnir looks like a mallet. In the Norse stories, it is a war hammer, in which the metal top is curved.
In the Norse myths, only Thor and his son Magni can lift Mjolnir. In Marvel, only those "worthy" can lift the hammer.
In Marvel Comics, Thor is a childless bachelor, except in an alternate history where he and Amora the Enchantress have a child, Magni. In the Norse myths, Thor and his wife Sif have two children, Thrud and Modi, and a stepson, Ullr. With Jarnsaxa, Thor sired Magni. In the Marvel version, Sif is Thor's lover.
In the Norse myths, Thor will kill and be killed by Jormungand at Ragnarok. In Marvel, Thor kills Jormungand and survives, as he was then cursed by Hela to be denied the gift of death.
In Norse mythology, Loki was not a god but a giant with god-like powers who had earned the right to walk with gods from an Oath of Brotherhood with Odin. This alliance ended when the mythological Loki killed the god of the sun (Balder), and was subsequently chained to a rock for eternity, tended to only by his faithful wife, Sigyn. In Marvel Comics, Loki is dark haired, is the son of the deceased frost giant Laufey instead of being a god of fire, and is the adopted brother of Thor rather than a blood brother of Odin.
In Marvel Comics, Thor speaks in faux-Shakespearian prose. In the Norse myths, his speech is in the grammar and tone of the average Norseman.
In the Norse myths, only a few gods survive Ragnarok, but Thor is not one of them. In Marvel Comics, it appears Ragnarok has claimed all but Thor.
In Norse Mythology Sif is often described as being of golden hair and is compared to a wheat field. In the comics, however, she has dark hair that is almost black, because in their childhood Loki played a trick on her and cut her blonde off.

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