Thor Odinson

Thor is a fictional character appearing comic books published by Marvel comics.The character was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Journey Into History #83(1962).

Thor is based on the mythological Norse God of the same name. He posseses the enchanted hammer Mjolnir which grants him the ability of flight and weather manipulation.

Publication History

Thor debuted in the science fiction/fantasy anthology title Journey into Mystery #83 (cover-date Aug. 1962), and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller-plotter Jack Kirby. A different version of the mythological Thor had appeared previously in Venus #12-13 (Feb.-April 1951). Lee in 2002 described Thor's genesis early in the Marvel pantheon, following the creation of the Hulk:

"How do you make someone stronger than the strongest person? 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.  ...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. ...and it was only natural for me to assign the penciling to Jack Kirby..."

In a 1984 interview Kirby said "I did a version of Thor for D.C. in the Fifties before I did him for Marvel. I created Thor at Marvel because I was forever enamored of legends, which is why I knew about Balder, Heimdall, and Odin. I tried to update Thor and put him into a superhero costume, but he was still Thor." And in a 1992 interview, Kirby said "I knew the Thor legends very well, but I wanted to modernize them. I felt that might be a new thing for comics, taking the old legends and modernizing them."(1)

Fictional Character Biography

Thor is one of several powerful ancient beings who dwell in a magical realm called Asgard. Through history, these beings have been revered and worshiped as Gods. Ages ago, Odin, lord of the Asgardian Gods, desired a child who would one day exceed him in power. Odin wooed Gaea, the earth Goddess, and from their union Thor was born in a small cave in Norway on Earth. Odin took him to be raised in Asgard by his wife, Frigga.

The young Thor grew up alongside his adopted brother Loki, the trickster, who was always jealous of his more favored sibling. Thor grew in power and popularity and on his eighth birthday, Odin had the hammer Mjolnir created for him, enchanting it with powerful magic. Odin decreed that Mjolnir would be presented to Thor when his son had been proven a worthy warrior. After spending the next eight years training and performing heroic deeds, Thor was given the hammer and declared the greatest warrior in Asgard.

While Thor continued to engage in many heroic battles and adventures through the years, he grew headstrong and proud. On one occasion, Thor broke a truce between the Asgardians and their enemies, the brutal Frost Giants, nearly starting a war. To teach his son a lesson in humility, Odin sent Thor to Earth in the mortal body of a crippled medical student, Donald Blake. Stripped of his hammer, his powers and memories of being an Asgardian, Thor, as Blake, graduated medical school with top honors, gained a reputation as a caring family doctor and a brilliant surgeon, and opened a private practice in New York City. He worked beside a caring and skillful nurse, Jane Foster, and the two fell in love.

After 10 years on Earth, Blake received a subconscious prodding from Odin to vacation in Norway where alien Kronans were preparing to invade Earth. Fleeing into a cave (which, unbeknownst to him, was also his birthplace) Blake discovered a plain walking cane in a secret chamber. When Blake struck the cane against a boulder, he transformed into Thor while the cane became Mjolnir. Thor fought against the Kronans and their invasion was thwarted. Tapping the ground with Mjolnir, Thor was able to transform back into Don Blake, holding the simple wooden cane once again.

Blake returned to New York, using his secret identity of Thor to fight crime, defend Earth and contend with the jealous and hateful Loki, who plagued Thor with many devious tricks and outright confrontation. One such trick led Thor and other heroes, including Ant-Man (Hank Pym), the Wasp (Janet van Dyne), and Iron Man (Tony Stark) to fight the Hulk (Bruce Banner). Learning of Loki’s manipulations, the heroes, along with the Hulk, bested Loki and agreed to continue their partnership, forming the Avengers.

While Thor faced many struggles as an Avenger, his personal life as a human was also tumultuous. Despite the sincere love between Blake and Foster, Odin was displeased by the relationship between a God and a mortal. He forbade Blake from revealing his identity to her, creating a strange love triangle between Foster, Thor and Thor’s alter-ego, Blake.(2)

Powers and Ablities

He gets a number of powers from the Mjolnir which such as dimensional transportation, electric manipulation, flight and weather manipulation.

Supporting Characters

Allies

Thor has a number of allies including his love interest Jane Foster, his father Odin, his mother Frigga,the overseer Heimdall, his friends Lady Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, Laufey and Hogun. Since he is one of  the founding members of the Avengers, they also help him when he is need.

Enemies

Over the years Thor has made a number of enemies, his archenemy being his adopted brother Loki. He has other enemies including Malakeith, the Chitauris, and the Destroyer.

Movies

Thor(2011)

Thor was directed by Kenneth Branagh. It featured Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig, Idris Elba as Heimdall and Clark Gregg as Phillip Coulson. The movie performance of the movie both financially and critically was moderate.

You can check out the trailer below.

The Avengers(2012)

The Avengers was the first MCU movie which consisted of Iron man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk. The movie was directed by Joss Whedon. It featured Robert Downey Jr. as Iron man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. The movie was a huge hit as it performed extremely well at the box office and received very good reviews. It is one of the highest grossing movies of all time.

You can check out the trailer below.

Thor: The Dark World(2013)

Thor: The Dark World was the sequel to Thor. It is the 8th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie was directed by Alan Taylor. It featured Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig, Idris Elba as Heimdall and Christopher Eccleston as Malakeith. The movie performed well financially and the performance was moderate critically. 

You can check out the trailer below.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron(2015)

Avengers: Age Of Ultron was the sequel to The Avengers and was the 11th installment in the MCU. It was directed by Joss Whedon and featured Robert Downey Jr. as Iron man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johannson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Paul Bettany as Vision, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Aaron Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver and Ultron voiced by James Spader. The movie performed well both critically and financially.

You can check out the trailer below.

Notable Comics(3)

You can check out our Thor products here.

Sources

1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_(Marvel_Comics)#Publication_history

2.http://marvel.com/universe/Thor_%28Thor_Odinson%29

3.http://comicbook.com/2014/09/28/10-greatest-thor-stories-of-all-time/