Creators: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby
First Appearance: “Journey into Mystery” #83
When I think of Norse Gods, I used to imagine vikings, Beowulf, and gold buried with mighty Kings. Now all I can picture is Thor and his magic boomerang hammer. Marvel has really been hitting the movies since Spider-Man in 2002. Let’s take a look at the hero behind their newest super-protagonist making his way to the big screen: Thor Odinson of Asgard.
Thor Odinson, son of Odin on the God’s plane of Asgard, controls Thunder and Mjolnir, his hammer of strength. After proving to his father he lacks humility and responsibility, Thor is cast to Earth to inhabit the body of an already existing human with a minor disability named Donald Blake, memories erased, so that he may learn discipline and respect.
While on a trip in Norway, Blake is found by alien hunters, and chased into a cave, where he discovers Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Taking up arms, Thor’s mind is restored, and Thor defeats the aliens before transforming back into his weak human counterpiece. Agreeing to share their existances, Blake and Thor work at a private medicinal firm saving lives, falling for the same woman (nurse Jane Foster) and saving the world from several menaces with The Avengers at their side.
The idea of a God as a superhero came from Stan Lee after his creation of the Hulk. Wanting to create a hero larger then the normal super-figures that were coming out, and trying to move past his green masterpiece, he decided to delve into Norse mythology, as most people already knew at least a general amount of Roman or Greek myth. Taking his readers into the lesser known of ancient Gods, he based his next hero on Thor, the God of Thunder, and so far the blond hammer-weilding man has been a great success. Get ready for Thor the movie on May 6th this year (starring Natalie Portman as Jane Foster and Chris Hemsworth as Thor), and to learn the true story, all you need to do is check out your neighborhood comic book store.