View source for Thor in comics

[[Thor]], the god of [[Norse mythology]], has appeared as a character in various [[comics]] over the years, appearing in series from a range of publishers.

==Marvel Comics==
{{Main|Thor (Marvel Comics)}}
{{See also|Thor (Ultimate Marvel)|Jane Foster (comics)}}
Thor Odinson (often called The Mighty Thor) is a [[Marvel Comics]] [[superhero]], based on the [[Thor|thunder god]] of [[Norse mythology]]. The superhero was created by editor [[Stan Lee]] and penciller [[Jack Kirby]], who co-plotted, and scripter [[Larry Lieber]], and [[first appeared]] in ''[[Journey into Mystery]]'' #83 (Aug. 1962). 

On a mission from his father, [[Odin (Marvel Comics)|Odin]], Thor acts as a superhero while maintaining the secret identity of [[Dr. Donald Blake]], an American physician with a partially [[disability|disabled]] leg. Blake can transform by tapping his walking stick on the ground; the cane becomes the magical hammer [[Mjolnir (comics)|Mjolnir]] and Blake transforms into Thor.

Thor, a founding member of the superhero group the [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]], often battles his evil adoptive brother [[Loki (Marvel Comics)|Loki]], a Marvel character adapted from the Norse god of mischief. He is among Marvel's most powerful superheroes. Many recurring characters in his stories are based on [[Norse Mythology]]. As with other superheroes, the Thor identity has been taken by other characters, including [[Jane Foster (comics)|Jane Foster]], who became a female Thor.

Apart from this main superhero, Marvel features a number of characters based on him.

[[Chris Hemsworth]] portrays [[Thor (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|the character]] in the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]], first appearing in the 2011 film ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]''. Hemsworth reprised his role for ''[[The Avengers (2012 film)|The Avengers]]'', ''[[Thor: The Dark World]]'', ''[[Avengers: Age of Ultron]]'', ''[[Doctor Strange (2016 film)|Doctor Strange]]'', ''[[Thor: Ragnarok]]'', ''[[Avengers: Infinity War]],'' ''[[Avengers: Endgame]] and [[Thor: Love and Thunder]]''.

==DC Comics==
[[File:Unexpected Thor.JPG|thumb|Thor, as depicted by [[Jack Kirby]] in ''[[Tales of the Unexpected (comics)|Tales of the Unexpected]]'' #16 (1957).]]
[[Jack Kirby]] made a story featuring Thor in ''[[Tales of the Unexpected (comics)|Tales of the Unexpected]]'' #16. A cowboy finds Thor's hammer in the American desert and uses it for his own gain, until it is reclaimed by Thor. This version of Thor is not similar to [[Thor (Marvel Comics)|the Marvel Comics character]] that Kirby would create five years later, although there are some minor similarities, such as the design of [[Mjolnir (comics)|Mjolnir]] and the circles in Thor's chest. Kirby would often cite this adventure to claim that he was the main creator of the Marvel Comics character.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dorkly.com/post/84742/6-weird-things-about-thors-original-origin-story-nobody-talks-about|title= 6 Weird Things About Thor's Origin Story Nobody Talks About|author= Jake Young|date= August 11, 2017|publisher= Dorkly|access-date= October 31, 2017|archive-date= January 9, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200109094756/http://www.dorkly.com/post/84742/6-weird-things-about-thors-original-origin-story-nobody-talks-about|url-status= dead}}</ref>

Thor appears in the first issues of [[Jack Kirby's Fourth World]] by [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]]. His appearance is explicitly based on Kirby's design of the Marvel character, but is more faithful to the original mythology having red hair, a beard and a more brutish personality. He and the other Asgard gods are stated to be related to, but not synonymous with, the Old Gods (the progenitors of the [[New Gods]]). Later Thor clarifies that they are "echoes" of the Old Gods and resemble them down to their names, thus explaining how the Norse gods can still exist in the [[DC Universe]] when the event that killed the Old Gods is implied to have been [[Ragnarök]].<ref>'Jack Kirby's Fourth World'' (vol. 1) #1-3 (March–May 1997). DC Comics.</ref>

Thor also appears briefly in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[The Sandman (Vertigo)|Sandman]]'' series in the story "Seasons of Mists". In that story, he, Odin and Loki try (and fail) to get the key of [[Hell]]. Thor is portrayed as a lewd drunk. This is in contrast to the Marvel Comics portrayal of Thor, where Thor is portrayed as very noble and earnest.<ref>''Sandman'' (vol. 2) #24 (March 1991). DC Comics.</ref> In the later ''Sandman'' story, "Kindly Ones", he helps Odin capture Loki.<ref>''Sandman'' (vol. 2) #26 (May 1991). DC Comics.</ref>

In another story, [[Wonder Woman]] and [[Superman]] travel to Valhalla and help Thor in a war for a thousand years.<ref>''Action Comics'' (vol. 1) #761 (January 2000). Mc Comics.</ref>

==America's Best Comics (ABC)==
The deity Thor (called ''Þunor'' or ''Thunor'' as in Thor's [[Old English]] name) appears in the [[America's Best Comics]] [[police procedural]] series ''[[Top 10 (comics)|Top 10]]'' by artist [[Gene Ha]] and writer [[Alan Moore]], where officers interview the deity and other gods as witnesses to the death of [[Baldur]] at the hands of [[Höðr|Hod]].<ref name="top10">''Top 10'' (vol. 1) #7</ref> The god appears here as a belligerent, red-bearded, balding man, prone to swearing, whose lack of cooperation leads to a swift takedown by [[Smax]].<ref name="top10" />

==Comico Comics==
Thor is also a fictional character in the [[Comico: The Comic Company|Comico]] [[comic book]] series ''[[Elementals (Comico Comics)|Elementals]]''. He was created by [[Bill Willingham]] and first appeared in ''Elementals'' #23 (Volume 1).

==Willy Vandersteen group (Flemish)==
The [[Flemish people|Flemish]] comic artist [[Willy Vandersteen]] started three series in which a Thor was featured. His very first published newspaper comic series (when [[World War II]] stopped US-import in 1941) was "Tor de Holbewoner", about a caveman called Tor. Taking into account that "Tor" is a Dutch word for beetle, in Dutch the difference between [[T]] and [[Th (digraph)|Th]] is hardly (if at all) heard and that it was about a caveman living way before the invention of orthography, it is no miracle that this caveman returned (still during the war) with his name changed to  "Thor".

In "[[De Rode Ridder]]" series the existence of the thunder god Thor is shown in #45, (The Hammer of Thor, 1970) and the Thunderer has a role in #63 (The Valkyrie, 1974), in which the Rode/Red Knight has been chosen by Odin to complete a mission the gods cannot do themselves without causing Ragnarok. Both albums are by [[Karel Biddeloo]].  Unlike the Marvel Thor, Biddeloo's Thor is more or less a country boy, with enormous powers but bound by responsibility (avoidance of [[Ragnarok]]). The hammer of Thor was a weapon mortals could and did carry and use, but it was too powerful to control.

In the most popular series started by Vandersteen, Suske en Wiske ([[Spike and Suzy]]), Thor is featured once in #158 in a story by [[Paul Geerts]]. Thor in this version is a cruel, grey-bearded god, going a bit bald on top, thundering and lightninging with his hammer, without throwing it. (Odin in this story is the young-looking, bearded redhead). Like Biddeloo's Thor, this one is also dressed in animal skins, and that may be seen as a reference to the caveman.

==Madsen’s Valhalla Thor (Danish)==
This is Thor in the European "comedic adventure" tradition of [[Asterix]], [[Lucky Luke]] etc. with the difference that where those series are using history as source material, Peter Madsen uses mythology for his series [[Valhalla (comic)|Valhalla]] (1978), with the same freedom to make jokes about current reality or other works of fiction, mostly following the [[Edda]]s.

Thor is one of the main heroes of the series and can be seen as a central character.

Thor is here rather correctly put, as the honest, red bearded muscular, powerful god, with a bit of extra human weaknesses to keep the comic funny. Statements that he would be fat are false, but may be based on his disguise in #3 as [[Volstagg]], thus parodying Marvel's [[Asgard (comics)|Asgardians]].

Thrud and Modi are his firstborn children (in #2), their mother is Sif (pregnant from the start of the series). Magni has Jarnsaxa as mother and shows up in #9.

==Other uses of Thor in comics==

===Other uses of the Norse myth in comics===

Other uses of the Thor of Norse mythology include:
* Thor is a semi-regular character in the Karl Vincent: Vampire Hunter series from KRG comics
*'''Thor''' and '''Dynamite Thor''': The Golden Age [[anthology]] ''[[Weird Comics]]'' by the [[Fox Feature Syndicate]] featured two characters named Thor. The first, seen in issues #1-5, is a mortal man given strange lightning powers by the Norse God.<ref name=Mougin>{{cite book |last1=Mougin |first1=Lou |title=Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics |date=2020 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=9781476638607|pages=45–46}}</ref> Grant Ferrell was chosen by the real Thor, looking down at humanity from his perch in Valhalla. Thor decided to bestow powers on a mortal, and spied Grant, a meek man who lost his girlfriend Glenda at a nightclub. Thor picked Grant up and brought him to Valhalla, where he was trained in using the powers of lightning and Mjolnir, Thor's magic hammer. Grant returns to Earth dressed in a revealing costume — just trunks, a cape and a helmet. He rescues Glenda from a group of spies, and decides to devote his life to heroic deeds.<ref name=Mougin/> He goes on to fight spies and Germans.<ref name=Nevins>{{cite book |last1=Nevins |first1=Jess |title=Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes |date=2013 |publisher=High Rock Press |isbn=978-1-61318-023-5 |page=270}}</ref> That character lasted for five issues, and was then rebooted in issue #6 as a new character, Peter "Dynamite" Thor, with different powers, but the same girlfriend.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Kurt |last2=Thomas |first2=Roy |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944 |date=2019 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490892 |page=32}}</ref> Dynamite Thor was a demolitions expert who was immune to the effect of explosives. He used dynamite to propel himself through the air.<ref name=regrettable>{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Jon |title=The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half Baked Heroes from Comic Book History |date=2015 |publisher=Quirk Books |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-1-59474-763-2 |page=45}}</ref> He used his abilities to fight spies, mad scientists and the devious War Maniac.<ref name=Nevins/> Dynamite Thor appeared in ''Weird Comics'' #6 and 7, and then moved to ''[[Blue Beetle]]'' #6-8.<ref name=Mougin/>
*Thor, along with the other Norse gods, appears in David Brin's comic, ''[[The Life Eaters]]''.
*''Thôrr-Sverd: The Sword of Thor'' #1-3, published ca. 1987 by Vincent Creations, began the telling of the story of the impact of the gods on the Proto-Indo-European people. It suggested that perhaps, contrary to canonical mythology, the giants were the good guys and the gods were the villains.
*Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon has its own version of Thor, a red-headed villainous thunder god.
*A villainous Thor appeared in [[Rob Liefeld]]'s comic book ''[[Youngblood (comics)|Youngblood]]''.
*[[El Cazador de Aventuras]] from Argentina included in its 32-34 issues a remake of the [[Ragnarok]], with Cazador in the middle of it.
*In [[Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya]], the antagonist Beatrice Flowerchild uses the Berserker Class Card to gain Thor's powers and his hammer, Mjolnir.
*Thor and other [[Asgards]] appears in various Disney comic stories most nobly in [[Carl Barks]]'s [[Uncle Scrooge]] story ''Mythtic Mystery'' first published  by [[Dell Comics]] in ''Uncle Scrooge"#34, june, 1961''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cbarks.dk/THEBUTCHEREDSTORY.htm | title=Thebutcheredstory }}</ref>

===Other characters by the name of Thor in comics===
Other characters by the name of Thor include:
*[[Johnny Hart]]'s comic strip ''[[B.C. (comic)|BC]]'' also features a caveman named [[B.C. (comic)#Characters|Thor]].
*The [[Quality Comics]] version of [[Manhunter (comics)|Manhunter]] had a dog named Thor that assisted him.

==References==
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{{Thor}}

{{Set index article|comics}}
[[Category:DC Comics deities]]
[[Category:Fictional gods]]
[[Category:Mythology in comics]]
[[Category:Thor]]