Thor (Marvel Comics): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Thor is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics' universe, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and loosely based on the thunder god from Norse mythology. His visual appearance is much different from that Thor, as Marvel Comics' Thor is blond and usually clean-shaven. There are a number of other differences between Marvel Comics' version of Thor and the other Norse gods, such as undoing the death of Balder and making Thor's wife Sif a brunette.

According to the current version, Thor's history follows the traditional myth and later on, he abandoned his worshippers in disgust when they massacred a Christian mission; although he has been seen in flashbacks to have befriended many of his followers and personally guaranteed their passage into Valhalla, he and his other Asgardians have abandoned their roles as figures of worship.

Much later, his father Odin decided that Thor had to be taught humility, and so transformed into Donald Blake (aka Chad Don Blake), a human medical student who was lame in one leg, and erased his memory. For years, Thor trained to be a physician and lived upon Midgard with no knowledge of his true nature. Eventually, Odin was satisfied that Thor had spent enough time without his power and subconsciously guided him on an mountain outing where he discovered a wooden walking stick.

Just then, aliens attacked and trapped Blake in a sealed cave with little hope of escape. Desperately, Blake tried to used the walking stick as a lever to remove the blocking rubble. When he struck the rocks, he triggered the special change spell of the stick and Blake was transformed into his true form of Thor and the stick became the uru war hammer Mjolnir.

The hammer amplifies Thor's control over the elements, grants the user the ability to fly, and always returns to the master after being thrown. The hammer is mystically enchanted so that only those of worthy character can wield it. Thor is immune to all terrestrial diseases due to his god-like physical constitution. Thor is a superb hand to hand combatant, even against other Asgardians. He is very cunning and intuitive in battle, but is not the greatest thinker.

With his rediscovered power, he escaped the cave and defeated the aliens. With that, Thor dedicated himself to fighting evil. At this time, Thor had no memory of his true identity and history for some time and the character was depicted as a Norse version of Captain Marvel. That situation was reinforced with a new spell on the hammer that would change Thor back to Don Blake if he was out of physical contact of his hammer for more than 60 seconds. That condition reinforced the notion for Thor that Don Blake was his true identity, but fortunately Mjolnir was small enough to tuck in his belt so he would not have to continually hold the hammer to keep his Thor form. (It was later revealed that Donald Blake was a real person who had been placed into suspended animation by Odin; the real Blake was accidentally killed by Sigyn, who then created a duplicate of him that would reappear years later, believing itself to be the real Donald Blake.)

Soon he gained of enemies such as his adoptive brother Loki, who had sworn to kill him. To that end, he 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 Thor has for years served as one of the core members. At the same time, Thor had a romance with his nurse, Jane Foster, which Odin disapproved of; that attitude proved a source of constant frustation for Thor, who at one point even unsuccessfully appealed to Odin to allow him to bring Foster to Asgard.

This status quo in the comics was shaken up in the 1980s under the authorship of Walt Simonson. This included the permanent integration of Jane with the Norse Goddess, Sif who was powerful ruler in her own right.

As well, Thor encountered an alien sleeper that was guarded by the formidable and monstrous sentry called Beta Ray Bill. The dedicated guardian confused Thor with his people's deadly enemy and engaged him. During the fight, Thor lost contact with his hammer and Bill inadvertantly gained it instead with his good nature being judged worthy of the weapon. Bill changed into a variant of Thor's costume and was shortly summoned to Asgard by Odin, who confused Bill with his son. Realizing his mistake, he retrieved Thor as well. Bill claimed Mjolnir as a prize of fair combat, and Thor naturally disputed that. Odin had the matter settled by trial by combat which Bill won. 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 Bill could enjoy his original form when he wanted it. Thor on the other hand, abandoned the Don Blake identity and settled for a change of clothes and hairstyle that could instantly changed into his usual livery when he needed.

Bibliography of Thor titles

• Journey into Mystery #83-125 (Marvel Comics, August 1962 - February 1966)
• Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (Marvel Comics, 1966)
• Thor #1-502 (Marvel Comics, March 1966 - September 1996)
• Thor Annual #2-19 (Marvel Comics, 1966 - 1994)
• Thor Corps #1-4 (Marvel Comics, September - December 1993)
• Thor (1998 Series) #1-present (Marvel Comics, July 1998 - present)
• Thor Annual '98 (Marvel Comics, 1998)
• Thor Annual '99 (Marvel Comics, 1999)
• Thor Annual 2000 (Marvel Comics, 2000)
• Thor Annual 2001 (Marvel Comics, 2001)
• Thor: Rough Cut #1 (Marvel Comics, September 1998)
• Essential Thor #1 (Marvel Comics, February 2001, ISBN 0785107614)
• Thor: Godstorm #1-3 (Marvel Comics, November 2001 - January 2002)
• Thor: Son of Asgard #1-present (Marvel Comics, May 2004-present)