Thor (Marvel)

Revision as of 10:15, 14 August 2022

Thor Odinson in Thor v5 #1.

Thor is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Thor Odinson

In this time, the Asgardian people discovered the existence of the so-called Dark Gods. When Odin's explorer Lonkarr accidentally slew the Dark God known as Tserron, her husband Perrikus the ruler of the Dark Gods declared war against Asgard. When Odin was defeated by Perrikus and his forces, he found new strength to fight back when young Thor refused to surrender. Odin and his warriors soon defeated the Dark Gods, but so traumatic the experience was the All-Father erased everyone's memories of the battle, including those of Thor. (Thor v2 #9) Later on, Odin began raising Thor's adopted brother Loki after slaying his father Laufey. (Journey into Mystery v1 #112) Early on Thor and Loki had a tight brotherly relationship, however this was soon tested thanks to Loki's constant mischief making. One day while Odin and his warriors were feasting, Loki convinced Thor to steal a bow and arrow and use it to shoot down a deer. Thor complied, but he was heartbroken over killing an innocent creature that he confessed the deed to his father, who comforted the boy. (Thor v2 #44)

During the 11th century, he came to encounter a being called Apocalypse who was empowered by the Celestials and wearing an impenetrable armor. This saw the Odinson being defeated where he sought revenge against his foe and came to find a spell which he used to enchant his axe Jarnbjorn with his own blood that allowed it to pierce the hide of his foe. (Uncanny Avengers v1 #6)

For 10 years, Thor remained within the form of Donald Blake until one day when he came to be drawn to Norway. Blake encountered a party of Stone Men of Saturn who pursued him into a cavern. Whilst there, Donald found a wooden cane and after being trapped in the cavern by a great boulder he came to strike it on the stone in frustration. This triggered into his transformation to Thor who came to escape the cavern and drove off the alien Kronan invaders. (Journey into Mystery v1 #83)

Avenger

Later on, the machinations of Loki forced several of Earth's mightiest heroes to band together to stop the Hulk. In the aftermath, Thor became a founding member of the superhuman champions known as the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #1)

Back in Asgard, Thor reported to Odin to begin the Trial of the Gods. The All-Father ordered both Thor and Loki to race through Skornheim with no weapons to see who was the better. However upon their arrival, Loki revealed that he has brought along the Norn Stones to help him through the test, and then showed Thor that he had dispatched the Enchantress and Executioner to Earth to terrorize Jane Foster to distract him. Despite these set backs, Thor managed to fight his way through Skornheim with his bare hands and wits, but he still lost the competition thanks to Loki's unfair advantage from the Norn Stones. (Journey into Mystery v1 #116)

Ragnarok

Returning Asgard to its own realm, Thor was faced with yet another Ragnarok threat when Loki teamed with Surtur using weapons created from the same forge from which Mjolnir was made. (Thor v2 #80)

Return

Traveling back to 'the void', Blake convinced Thor that he had ended the Ragnarok cycle and that if he returned to earth, he could rebuild Asgard and restore his Asgardian friends and allies. Informing him that he could only return 'with great pain', Thor was attacked by a horde of creatures. Disappearing, Donald Blake advised Thor that if he was to live again, he had to want to live again. Through the horde, Thor saw Mjolnir and reached for it. Grabbing it, a great bolt of lightning struck, throwing the horde clear of him. And Thor stood again, reborn in a new costume. (Thor v3 #1)

Thor used Mjolnir to recreate Asgard's capital in Oklahoma. Soon afterward, Iron Man met Thor in New Orleans. He greeted Thor as a friend but explained that he couldn't just appear and recreate Asgard here on Earth, even though he did now own the land. Thor told Stark that he knew of the clone that he used and how violated he felt that he used such an abomination to wage war against other heroes, many of whom Thor considered as close as family. Seeking a compromise, Stark rationalized that Asgard could be considered a foreign embassy, with diplomatic immunity granted to its inhabitants with Thor deeming this acceptable. (Thor v3 #3)

Fear Itself

Sometime after, Sin lifted a strange hammer in Antarctica and was transformed into Skadi. She then freed the enigmatic Serpent, who claimed to be the true All-Father of Asgard. Sensing this, Odin retreated from Midgard. Thor objected and so was beaten into submission by Odin. (Fear Itself v1 #1)

Unworthy

After plunging himself into the Sun, he sacrificed his eye to the World Tree for knowledge on how to end the war. This saw him gaining this knowledge where he summoned the past and future version of himself who were joined by Jane Foster who once more became Thor after claiming the hammer of the War Thor. Together, they bypassed the spell of Malekith that only allowed Thor entry with the four heroes arriving to save Odin along with Freyja. Initially, the Thors were overpowered by the Dark Elf due to his use of the Venom Symbiote but the Odinson tapped into the power of the Mother Storm which released Mjolnir whose power was used to defeat Malekith. The Dark Elf in desperation attempted to have his hounds attack the heroes but the beasts sensed his fear and turned on him with Malekith seemingly being killed thus bringing an end to the War of the Realms. By this point, Thor had come to terms with his status and that of Mjolnir which could once more be wielded by him. His father Odin in recognition of his son's actions decided to step down and name Thor the new Lord of Asgard who had become the King of the Asgardians. (War of the Realms v1 #6)

King Thor

Entering into the dark cloud, he was confronted by the Black Winter itself which took the form of Thor's various foes. It showed all his deaths to him and prophecised his final future demise. The Odinson came to unleash a powerful God-Blast against the entity where he demanded it reveal itself. It was then that the Black Winter took a form that was a dark reflection of the god of thunder and revealed that it was not here to bring its doom but rather it had come for its herald namely Galactus himself. (Thor v6 #5)

In an effort to find the truth, Thor decided that he needed to enter the elder-sleep like how he used to do when he and Donald Blake shared bodies. Thus, he asked his brother Loki for help whilst Thor switched places with Blake but something went wrong and found that he could not commune with the old kings. Instead, he found himself trapped in the idyllic world that was crafted for Blake to serve as a temporary place until he switched with Thor. However, in the years since their last switch, Blake came to learn the truth that this world was a false one and driven mad as a result where he killed the people that inhabited it. (Thor v6 #9)

Overview

Personality and attributes

He was referred to as being the God of Thunder. (Journey into Mystery v1 #83) He also came to be known as the Golden Avenger. (Journey into Mystery v1 #115)

He had an older half-sister by the name of Aldriff Odinsdotter who was believed to had been killed but had in fact been kidnapped by the Angels and raised in Heven as the warrior Angela. (Original Sin v1 #5.5)

Powers and abilities

Thor had once resisted the gravity of a neutron star. (Thor v1 #281) Among his incredible feats of strength included lifting the planet-sized Midgard Serpent. (Thor v1 #327)

He was also capable of bringing the entire weight of his godly power into forming a powerful and devastating God-Blast. (Thor v6 #5)

Thor could also petition his mother Gaea to lend her aid where the planet itself came to serve him. With this, he could form an energy tornado where it could emit no outward force and instead trap a target within. It was said to be impenetrable with no earthly force capable of penetrating a field that dense. (Thor v6 #22)

As an Asgardian, he cold suffer from the Warrior's Madness which was also known as the Sin Unpardonable. Those that fell to this state were expected to be punished in accordance to the laws of Asgard and had to carry out an act of penance. (Thor v1 #167)

At one point, he began to make use of a special axe known as Jarnbjorn. (Thor: God of Thunder 1 #2) The axe was later given a special magical enchantment that had been made by the Asgardians for use against the Celestials. This allowed it to pierce Celestial armour but broke the terms with the space gods meaning that it became cursed with it regarded as a Wrecker of Worlds. (Uncanny Avengers v1 #6)

After Mjolnir was reforged, Thor became worthy again after recognizing that the struggle to become worthy allowed to become worthy again. (War of the Realms v1 #6)

The enchanted belt of strength when worn increased the wearers strength. (Journey into Mystery v1 91)

For transportation, he could also travel on a chariot drawn by two huge mystical goats called Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder who could fly nearly anywhere he desired almost as easily as with Mjolnir. (Thor v1 #364)

Upon being made king, he had access to the great book of kings that was written and read only by the lord of Asgard. Within its infinite pages contained the collected history until the present. (Thor v6 #8)

When sharing a body with Donald Blake, the two would regularly swap positions with the mortal ending up in an idyllic world crafted by Odin. Meanwhile, Thor when switching places was transported into the elder-sleep where he could commune with the spirits and the old dead kings. (Thor v6 #9)

During Ragnarok, Thor went through the same trials that gave his father his great power by undergoing the Seid or the Knowing of the Runes. This involved sacrificing both his eyes for the power of wisdom from Mimir's Well and than hanging himself from the branches of Yggdrasil. The magic afforded to him allowed Thor to know the past, control the present and guide the future. By destroying himself was he being reborn and he came to know the magic of the runes. This combined with the Odinforce made him incredibly powerful as he was easily able to deal with the Mangog and devastate the city of Asgard that was under Loki's control. (Thor v2 #84)

Notes

• Thor was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Journey into Mystery v1 #83 (August, 1962).
• The character was based on the Norse mythological character Thor.

Alternate Versions

• In Thor v2 #67 (2003), an alternate version of the character known as Lord Thor was shown during the events of the Reigning as an inhabitant of Earth-3515. This version wanted to bring the realm eternal to the mortal world and bring about peace among mankind but was attacked by humanity leading to the city of Asgard's destruction. As a result, Thor decided to enforce his rule and made his home and that of the Asgardians on Earth in New York where they kept the mortals under their control.
• In Avengers Disassembled, an alternate Thor was shown who inherited the Odinforce from his father and also sacrificed both his eyes in the Well of Mimir gaining ultimate knowledge of the past, present and future. (Thor v2 #84)
• In What If? Thor v1 #1 (2018), an alternate version of history was shown in a What If where Laufey had killed Odin long ago. The young Thor was then kidnapped by the Frost Giants to be raised as a Prince of Jotunheim where he grew into a favoured son of Laufey as the God of Winter. During this time, he came to meet his adoptive brother Loki with the two striking a friendship though Laufey's son came to resent the Asgardian as he came to be highly regarded by his father.

In other media

Television

• In The Marvel Super-Heroes, Thor appeared in the 1966 animated "The Mighty Thor" shorts where he was voiced by actor Chris Wiggin.
• In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Thor was a cast in member in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Rick D. Wasserman.
• In Marvel Future Avengers, Thor appeared in the setting of the anime television series where he was voiced by Japanese actor Yasuyuki Kase and English actor Patrick Seitz in the dub.

Films

• In Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Thor appeared in the setting of the direct-to-animated film where he was voiced by actor Michael Adamthwaite.
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Thor, the character made his first appearance in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Chris Hemsworth.
  • In Avengers, Thor returned in the live-action film where he was portrayed again by actor Chris Hemsworth.
  • In Thor: The Dark World, Thor starred in the live-action sequel film where he was portrayed by actor Chris Hemsworth.
  • In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor returned to the live-action film where he was portrayed once more by Chris Hemsworth.

Video games

• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Thor appeared as a playable character in the video game where he was voiced by actor Cam Clarke.
• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Thor appeared as a playable character in the video game where he was voiced by actor Jim Cummings.
• In Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Thor appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game with actor Travis Willingham reprising his role.
• In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Thor appeared as a playable character in the video game where he was voiced again by actor Rick D. Wasserman.

Appearances

• Journey into Mystery v1: (1962)
• Thor v1:
• Avengers v1:
• Thor v2:
• Mighty Thor:
• Thor: God of Thunder:
• Thor v5:
• War of the Realms v1:
• Avengers v6:
• Thor v6: (2020)

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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