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
Thor Odinson (often called The Mighty Thor) is a Marvel Comics superhero, based on the 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, Thor acts as a superhero while maintaining the secret identity of Dr. Donald Blake, an American physician with a partially disabled leg. Blake can transform by tapping his walking stick on the ground; the cane becomes the magical hammer Mjolnir and Blake transforms into Thor.
Thor, a founding member of the superhero group the Avengers, often battles his evil adoptive brother 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, who became a female Thor.
Apart from this main superhero, Marvel features a number of characters based on him.
Chris Hemsworth portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, first appearing in the 2011 film Thor. Hemsworth reprised his role for The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder.
DC Comics
thumb|Thor, as depicted by [[Jack Kirby in Tales of the Unexpected #16 (1957).]]
Jack Kirby made a story featuring Thor in 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 the Marvel Comics character that Kirby would create five years later, although there are some minor similarities, such as the design of 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.
Thor appears in the first issues of Jack Kirby's Fourth World by 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.
Thor also appears briefly in Neil Gaiman's 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. In the later Sandman story, "Kindly Ones", he helps Odin capture Loki.
In another story, Wonder Woman and Superman travel to Valhalla and help Thor in a war for a thousand years.
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 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 Hod. 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. 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. 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. Dynamite Thor was a demolitions expert who was immune to the effect of explosives. He used dynamite to propel himself through the air. He used his abilities to fight spies, mad scientists and the devious War Maniac.
Other characters by the name of Thor in comics
Other characters by the name of Thor include:
- Johnny Hart's comic strip BC also features a caveman named Thor.
- The Quality Comics version of Manhunter had a dog named Thor that assisted him.