Thor (Marvel Comics)

Thor Odinson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is based on the Norse mythological god of the same name, the Asgardian god of thunder whose enchanted hammer Mjolnir enables him to fly and manipulate weather, among his other superhuman attributes. A founding member of the superhero team the Avengers, Thor has a host of supporting characters and enemies.

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character first appeared in ''Journey into Mystery'' #83 (August 1962) and was created by artist Jack Kirby, writer Stan Lee, and scripter Larry Lieber. The character has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and appears in all volumes of the Avengers series. The character has been used in Marvel Comics merchandise, animated television series, films, video games, clothing and toys.

Chris Hemsworth portrays the character in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films: ''Thor'' (2011), '' The Avengers'' (2012), '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013), '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), ''Doctor Strange'' (2016, cameo), '' Thor: Ragnarok'' (2017), '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), and '' Thor: Love and Thunder'' (2022). Alternative versions of the character appear in the Disney+ series '' What If...?'' (2021).

Publication history

The Marvel Comics superhero Thor debuted in the science fiction/fantasy anthology title ''Journey into Mystery'' #83 (cover-date August 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 (February–April 1951). Lee in 2002 described Thor's genesis early in the Marvel pantheon, following the creation of the Hulk:

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." The story was included in '' Tales of the Unexpected'' #16, from 1957; and although the character had a different design, some details would be reused by Kirby when he created the Marvel Comics version. And in a 1992 interview, Kirby said " 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."

Subsequent stories of the 13-page feature "The Mighty Thor" continued to be plotted by Lee, and were variously scripted by Lieber or by Robert Bernstein, working under the pseudonym "R. Berns". Various artists penciled the feature, including Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Don Heck, and Al Hartley. With ''Journey into Mystery'' #101 (Feb. 1964), the series began a long and definitive run by writer and co-plotter Lee and penciler and co-plotter Kirby that lasted until the by-then-retitled ''Thor'' #179 (Aug. 1970).

Lee and Kirby included Thor in '' The Avengers'' #1 (Sept. 1963) as a founding member of the superhero team.DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 94: "Filled with some wonderful visual action, ''The Avengers'' #1 has a very simple story: the Norse god Loki tricked the Hulk into going on a rampage. In response, Rick Jones and his Teen Brigade tried to contact the Fantastic Four for help. However, Loki redirected the radio signal so Thor would hear it in the expectation that he would battle he Hulk" The character has since appeared in every subsequent volume of the series.

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. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "the adventures of Thor were gradually transformed from stories about a strange-looking superhero into a spectacular saga." Artist Chic Stone, who inked several early Thor stories, observed that "Kirby could just lead you through all these different worlds. The readers would follow him anywhere."

''Journey into Mystery'' was retitled ''Thor'' (per the indicia, or ''The Mighty Thor'' per most covers) with issue #126 (March 1966). "Tales of Asgard" was replaced by a five-page featurette starring the Inhumans from #146–152 (Nov. 1967–May 1968), after which featurettes were dropped and the Thor stories expanded to Marvel's then-standard 20-page length. Marvel filed for a trademark for "The Mighty Thor" in 1967 and the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration in 1970.

After Kirby left the title, Neal Adams penciled issues #180–181 (Sept.-Oct. 1970). John Buscema then became the regular artist the following issue. Buscema 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 title after Buscema's departure, working much of the time with the artist Keith Pollard; during this period Thomas integrated many elements of traditional Norse mythology into the title, with specific stories translated into comics form. Following Thomas's tenure, ''Thor'' had a changing creative team.

In the mid-1970s, Marvel considered giving the character a second series as part of parent company Magazine Management's line of black-and-white comics magazines. A story written by Steve Englehart for the aborted project appeared in ''Thor'' Annual #5 (1976). A black-and-white Thor story appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #10 (Winter 1977).

Walt Simonson took over both writing and art as of #337 (Nov. 1983). His stories placed a greater emphasis on the character's mythological origins. 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). Simonson's run, which introduced the character Beta Ray Bill, was regarded as a popular and critical success. Simonson's later stories were drawn by Sal Buscema, who describes Simonson's stories as "very stimulating. It was a pleasure working on his plots, because they were a lot of fun to illustrate. He had a lot of great ideas, and he took ''Thor'' in a totally new direction." Asked why he was leaving ''Thor'', Simonson said that he felt the series was due for a change in creative direction, and that he wanted to reduce his work load for a time. 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).

The character of Thor was involved in the year-long '' Marvel Super Heroes Secret War'' storyline written by Jim Shooter from May 1984 to April 1985, following his mysterious disappearance in ''The Mighty Thor'' #341 and ''The Mighty Avengers'' #242.

As a consequence of the " Heroes Reborn" crossover story arc of the 1990s, Thor was removed from mainstream Marvel continuity and with other Marvel characters re-imagined in an alternate universe for one year. The ''Thor'' 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 the character was returned to the mainstream Marvel Universe, Thor was relaunched with ''Thor'' vol. 2, #1 (July 1998). As of issue #36, the title used dual numbering in a tribute to the original Thor series, and the caption box for said issue became #36 / #538 (June 2001). The title ran until issue #85 / #587, dated December 2004. Dan Jurgens wrote the first 79 issues, with Daniel Berman and Michael Avon Oeming completing the series.

The third volume debuted as ''Thor'' #1 (Sept. 2007), initially written by J. Michael Straczynski and penciled by Olivier Coipel. Beginning with what would have been vol. 3, #13 (Jan. 2009), the third volume reverted to issue #600, reflecting the total number of published issues from all three volumes. Kieron Gillen took over from Straczynski in ''Thor'' #604 with artists Billy Tan, Richard Elson and Dougie Braithwaite, with his final storyline finishing in issue #614. Matt Fraction took over the series with issue #615, after having been announced as starting in ''Thor'' #610 and #611.

To coincide with the ''Thor'' film, Marvel launched a number of new series starring the character in mid-2010. These included ''Thor: The Mighty Avenger'' by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee, ''Thor: First Thunder'' by Bryan J. L. Glass and Tan Eng Huat, ''Thor: For Asgard'' by Robert Rodi and Simone Bianchi, and ''Iron Man/Thor'' by the writing duo of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.

In April 2011, ''Thor'' once again reverted to its original title of ''Journey into Mystery'' with issue #622, reuniting writer Gillen and artist Braithwaite in a series of stories starring Thor's adopted brother, Loki. An ongoing series, titled ''The Mighty Thor'', launched the same month with writer Fraction and artist Coipel. The series ended with issue #22 in October 2012.

In October 2012, Thor became a regular character in ''Uncanny Avengers'', beginning with issue #1. The following month, an ongoing series titled ''Thor: God of Thunder'' by writer Jason Aaron and artist Esad Ribić debuted as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch. This story arc was voted as the eighth best Thor story by Comicbook.com.

In October 2014, a fourth volume of ''Thor'' by Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman debuted that featured a female character (later revealed to be Jane Foster) in the role of Thor after the classic hero is no longer able to wield Mjolnir. Aaron stated that "this is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is Thor. This is the Thor of the Marvel Universe. But it's unlike any Thor we've ever seen before." The following October, Aaron and Dauterman signed an exclusive agreement with Marvel to continue their work together in a second volume of ''The Mighty Thor'', also starring Foster.

In July 2016, Marvel announced a new ongoing series titled ''The Unworthy Thor'' by Aaron and Coipel. The series follows the original Thor, who now refers to himself as Odinson, as he tries to find his purpose after relinquishing his name and title to Foster. Aaron stated that the series finds Odinson in a dark place explaining, "He failed for a reason we still don't quite understand. He dropped the hammer and hasn't been able to pick it up since. So then we go to a pretty dark place. A darker, more desperate, more driven version."

In January 2020, Thor volume #6 debuted, written by Donny Cates. This story follows Thor, as he becomes the new king of Asgard and tries to fulfill his duties as a king while fighting his destiny in an attempt to save the multiverse from an unknown threat.

Fictional character biography

1960s

Thor's father Odin decides his son needed to be taught humility and consequently incarnates Thor (without memories of godhood) on Earth as a mortal, partially disabled human medical student, Donald Blake. After becoming a doctor, Blake witnesses the arrival of an alien scouting party while he is on vacation in Norway. Blake flees from the aliens into a cave. After discovering Thor's hammer Mjolnir (disguised as a walking stick) and striking it against a rock, he transforms into the thunder god. Later, in ''Thor'' #159, Blake is revealed to have always been Thor, Odin's enchantment having caused him to forget his history as The Thunder God and believe himself mortal.

Defeating the aliens, Thor shares a double life with his alter ego: treating the ill in a private practice with nurse – and eventual love – Jane Foster, and defending humanity from evil. Thor's presence on Earth almost immediately attracts the attention of his adoptive brother and enemy Loki. Loki is responsible for the emergence of three of Thor's principal foes: the Absorbing Man; the Destroyer, and the Wrecker. On one occasion, Loki's tactics were accidentally beneficial – although successful in using an illusion of the Hulk to draw Thor into battle, it results in the formation of the superhero team the Avengers, of which Thor and Hulk, alongside Ant-Man, the Wasp and Iron Man, would be founding members. Thor's other early foes include Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man; the Radioactive Man; the Lava Man; the Cobra; Mister Hyde; the Enchantress and the Executioner, and the Grey Gargoyle.

Falling in love with Jane Foster, Thor disobeys his father and refuses to return to Asgard, an act for which he is punished on several occasions. Thor's natural affinity for Earth is eventually revealed to be due to the fact that he was the son of the Elder Goddess Gaea. Although Thor initially regards himself as a "superhero" like his teammates in the Avengers, Loki's machinations draw Thor into increasingly epic adventures, such as teaming with his father Odin and Asgardian ally Balder against the fire demon Surtur and Skagg the Storm Giant, and defeating an increasingly powerful Absorbing Man and proving his innocence in the "Trial of the Gods". This necessitates an extended leave of absence from the Avengers.

Thor encounters the Greek God Hercules, who becomes a loyal and trustworthy friend. Thor saves Hercules from fellow Olympian Pluto; stops the advance of Ego the Living Planet; rescues Jane Foster from the High Evolutionary and defeats his flawed creation, the Man-Beast. Odin finally relents and allows Thor to love Jane Foster, on the proviso she pass a trial. Foster panics and Thor intervenes. After Foster fails the test, Odin returns her to Earth, where she is given another chance at love, while a heartbroken Thor is introduced to the Asgardian warrior Sif. Thor battles the Asgardian troll Ulik for the first time when Ulik attempts to steal Mjolnir. The thunder god returns to Asgard to prevent Mangog from drawing the Odinsword and ending the universe, Thor learns the origin of Galactus and rescues Sif after she is kidnapped by Him.

1970s

Thor battles Surtur once again when the fire demon attempts to storm Asgard; encounters the Stranger and his pawn the Abomination; and overpowers an outmatched Doctor Doom.

In the fall of 1972, writers Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, and Len Wein crafted a metafictional unofficial crossover spanning titles from both major comics companies. Each comic featured Conway, Englehart, and Wein, as well as Wein's first wife Glynis, interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. Beginning in ''Amazing Adventures'' vol. 2 #16 (by Englehart with art by Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin), the story continued in ''Justice League of America'' #103 (by Wein, Dick Dillin

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