A few moments established Thor‘s thunderous presence in the Marvel universe, right from the ancient Norse mythology to the Avengers.
Thor is a significant part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the very scratch of it. He’s conquered over and over, downing barrels of mead for decades. He’s considered one of the mightiest heroes in Marvel’s powerhouses, sometimes judged worthy or unworthy of power and his godly presence.
1. Mjölnir, the enchanted hammer
Thor appeared first in Journey Into Mystery #83 (1962). He was born when Doctor Don Blake clutched an old, crooked cane out of a cave and hit it hard against a boulder. Little did he know that this was the enchanted hammer, Mjölnir, and Blake was transformed into Thor right away. Similar to Hulk and Spider-Man ahead of him, Thor was just another human who gained supernatural powers. Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby created Thor to instill hope in young minds that they were strong and capable of anything in the world.
Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor,
is inscribed on Mjölnir , the hammer.
This view was made clear in the very first appearance.
2. Lee, Kirby, and the birth of Avengers
The team was founded by Thor’s half-brother, the god of mischief, who had come to terrify humans on Earth. The Avengers were not such goliaths back then. Avengers #1 (1963) revolves around the idea of Stan Lee uniting the mightiest heroes on Earth to defeat Loki. After triumphing over him, they decided to remain as a troop, which in turn, got to be known as The Avengers. Thor is one among the Marvel Trinity, who accompanied by Captain America and Iron Man, has by far, put the Earth’s strongest heroes at war against the greatest possible threats since their foundation.
3. End of Donald Blake
Thor‘s alter ego, Doctor Donald Blake is the sole reason why he’s more connected to the mortal beings on Earth, rather than the Asgardian deities. Blake’s secret identity infused confusion in the audience and it was in Thor #159 (1968) that Lee and Kirby revealed his identity and how he came to be. Thor’s father, Odin, wiped his son’s memory and sent him to Earth under the new identity of Doctor Donald Blake, all that only to teach him a lesson on humility and kindness. His plan rendered success in transforming him into a powerful yet humble god, who was close to the people of Midgard.
4. Beta Ray Bill and Mjolnir
Walt Simonson‘s take on Thor is different from that of Lee and Kirby’s only on the grounds of impact on the character. It had a new addition, Beta Ray Bill, who was fierce enough to shake Norse mythology to its core. During his battle, he grabbed Blake’s cane, which was originally Mjölnir, hit it against his ship, and converted him into Thor. This was the first time someone other than Odin or Thor himself, held the Mjölnir. Thor realized that he was not the only one worthy of power or the enchanted hammer.
5. Avengers Disassemble
In Norse mythology, the end of things was just the beginning of a new one. It started with the birth of the nine realms ended in Ragnarok, and began again.
The cycle of Ragnarok tortured Thor’s citizens for centuries, but the God of Thunder finally did something about it, in Thor #85 (2004) by Michael Avon Oeming and Andrea Divito. During the Avengers Disassembled event, Thor left the battlegrounds to put an end to all the battles against Surtur and visit the Norns, who constantly frame the tapestry of life. Thor found out that the threads of the tapestry reach the beginning again, which means that the existence of the gods is meaningless, they could never achieve eternal rest. With a mighty thrash from Mjolnir, he ended this centuries-old cycle.
6. The rebirth of Thor
Finally, three long years after the last Ragnarok, Thor returned in After almost three years sitting idle following the final Ragnarok, Thor finally returned in J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel’s Thor #1 (2007). It revolved around the journey of Donald Blake discovering Mjölnir in a crater near Broxton, Oklahoma, giving birth to the resting God of Thunder. Blake motivates him to rebuild Asgard which has resided in Oklahoma for years now. He also explains to him that it was the concern of humanity to decide if they wanted to believe in the existence of gods or not, it wasn’t up to Thor. Thor built Asgard out of the storm and dust of Oklahoma and filled it with reborn Asgardians whom he found to be normal people on Earth. Thor’s respect for mortals grew every passing day and Asgard was well aware of his softness for Midgard.
7. Gorr the God Butcher
Gorr the God Butcher is a major reason for Thor’s unworthiness. In Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic’s Thor: God of Thunder, Thor began his journey by evaluating the fairness of the gods. Gorr’s hatred for the gods is the reason for the death of his people, he wandered around the universe killing each and every god that met his eye. His presence was so highly ignored that his disbelief came from the same, but after he got to know that gods are no different from mortal beings or their worshippers, he went on a god-killing spree. Thor finally defeated him with the help of his devotees.
8. The three words of Fury
Due to the immense powers possessed by our God of Thunder, Marvel’s Original Sin event ended abruptly. Amid the battle in Original Sin #7 (2012), Nick Fury whispered three words to Thor, which moved him so far, that he dropped his hammer, which he could not pick up again in the next five years. The three words of Fury were,
Gorr was right,
which interpreted the worthlessness of the gods. Thor’s feeling of unworthiness impacted his character severely.
9. Jane, a mighty Thor
It’s important for a Thor to exist. But Thor had become unworthy of holding his hammer after Fury’s whisper so, someone had to shield the powers of the Storm God. Jane Foster, Thor’s girlfriend was able to lift the Mjölnir and was vested with the powers of Thor. Jane could make a mighty Thor but was not well taken by Asgard.
In Thor #4 (2014), the earlier God of Thunder returned to Jane, who was carrying his hammer and his name. This could seem like the end of a relevant character to some, but for Thor, this was a true turning point, when he could keep his past behind and carry on with his duties in the future.
10. Father of all
Even though Thor regained his title, he had to prove himself worthy again during the final time of the War of the Realms. Jason Aaron explored with Thor where he re-forges Mjölnir, and defeats Malekith. The War of the Realms #6 (2019) was everything readers had awaited. It showed Thor the way. He understood that no god was worthy but the ultimate fight was becoming so. Odin bowed to his son, who became worthier than him and Thor was labeled as the rightful ruler of Asgard, messiah of the realms, and the new universal father.