Thor,the God of Thunder, is one of Marvel’s greatest powerhouses and is equally one of Marvel’s most well-known characters. However, while Thor may be incredibly popular, there are numerous misconceptions, falsehoods, and mistellings about the God of Thunder that MCU fans have a habit of following. Fortunately, this guide is here to set Thor’s story straight.
When Thor first debuted inJourney Into Mystery #83 (1962) -by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jak Kirby - Marvel Comics experienced a radical shift in power from costumed vigilantes and super soldiers to entertaining the raw strength of mythological gods. As Marvel Comics’ version of the God of Thunder drastically varies from the original mythology, it’s equally true that the MCU has veered away from the comics’ adaptation of the character.Here are eight things MCU fans always get wrong about Thor.
8"Loki and Hela Are Thor’s Only Siblings"
Thor Has Dozens Of Siblings, And Hela Isn’t One Of Them
Family is complicated, especially when you’re a multi-thousand-year-old god. While the goddess Frigga may be Thor’s loving mother in the movies, Thor’s true parentage has been complicated by numerous retcons in the comics. For some time, it was believed thatthe Phoenix Force’s first human host was Thor’s mother. However, it was later revealed thatThor’s true mother is the Elder God Gaea, who wished to bear a child that would save Earth from itself.
Through Gaea alone,Thor shares direct familial ties with multiple pantheons, including the Greek Olympians and the gods of Egypt. Likewise, through his father Odin, Thor has many other brothers including Vidar, Tyr, Balder, and Hermod Odinson alongside his sister Angela. While Thor may be one of Odin’s youngest children, his raw eldritch powers and noble heart made him a perfect candidate to take over as All-Father of Asgard.
7"Thor Doesn’t Know What It’s Like To Be Human"
Thor Has A Mortal Avatar Who He Used To Possess
To teach Thor a lesson in humility, Odin forced Thor to surrender his hammer andsent the God of Thunder to Earth in an amnesiac state to take the mortal guise of a human doctornamed Donald Blake. As a human, Thor learned true compassion as he discarded his Asgardian ties to become a full-fledged protector of the weak and feeble. After ten years had passed, and Donald had become a well-respected physician,Odin had stirred the winds of fateto lure his son to Norway.
There, Donald’s mind was fully unlocked and the God of Thunder returned without memories of his human life. While Thor later resumed his human alter ego,Donald Blake had slowly begun to develop into his own person.After Thor’s true identity was made known, the Donald Blake avatar was kept in a vault underneath Yggdrasil until it would later reawaken on its own and wreak chaos upon Asgard for revenge for its imprisonment.
6"Mjolnir Was Enchanted To Test Thor"
Odin Enchanted Mjolnir To Keep The Realms Safe
While the MCU makes Mjolnir’s iconic enchantment of possession look like a punishment from Odin, it was originally placed on the hammer to protect the Ten Realms from its uncontrollable power. Mjolnir was first constructed by the dwarves of Nidavellir as a gift when Odin first succeeded his father as King of Asgard. When Odin later faced a primordial power called the God Tempest,the All-Father had the dwarves imbue the Elder God into his weapon, enchanting it with uncontrollable, otherworldly powers.
With the God Tempest’s consciousness still trapped inside of Mjolnir’s metal, the hammer became an unpredictable weapon that only Odin could harness. To protectthe Ten Realmsfrom its wild power, Odin placed an enchantment of worthinessto ensure that no one except himself could wield its righteous abilities.Fortunately, this spell has kept Mjolnir out of the hands of those who would use the power for their nefarious purposes.
5"Thor’s Powers Come From Mjolnir"
Thor Doesn’t Need Mjolnir To Use Lightning
While Thor has certainly made it seem that his powers come from his mystically enchanted hammer in both the comics and the MCU, that isn’t actually the case. During writer Jason Aaron’s multi-seriesThorepic, the God of Thunder faced an internal moral quarrel after facing off against Gorr the God Butcher. In the seriesThe Unworthy Thor,Odinson believed in Gorr’s rhetoric that all gods were vain, self-serving, despots.
At that instant, Mjolnir dropped from Thor’s hands as his powers seemingly ceased from existence. Thor, believing that Mjolnir was the source of his power, embarked on a quest with long-time ally Beta Ray Bill to uncover a new hammer. However, thanks toJane Foster’s intervention, Thor learned that his powers were given to him through birthright and that the lightning from Mjolnir only served to bolster his strength. Now, Thor reigns as one of the most powerful Gods of Thunder and hasunlocked the ability to drain other storm gods of their powers.
4"Thor Is Just a Dumb Brawler"
The God of Thunder Was Raised To Be A Smart Leader
The MCU’s version ofthe God of Thunderis admittedly a bit dumb. His wacky antics on screen make for hearty laughs, but it isn’t a genuine depiction of the character’s true qualities. In reality, Thor was bred to be a leader and a champion. His rulership over Asgard was one set in stone from the beginning. Thor is Odin’s greatest pride and joy, which is whyhe had one of the best educations in all the Ten Realms.
Even in his mortal form, Donald Blake was a renowned physician and was heralded for his work. When Thor later unlocks Donald’s memories,he has also retained the avatar’s knowledge.Regardless of whether he’s masquerading as Donald Blake or whether he’s resumed his full station as King of Asgard, Thor has never been a thoughtless oaf. While Loki may surpass Thor in intellectual brilliance, it takes brains and brawn to rule a kingdom.
3"Thor Is An Immortal God"
Thor Is Just A Long-Lived Mortal
The Asgardian gods are hearty, long-lived, and well-trained, but they are not immortal. In fact, the word “god” is more of a comparative term to describe the clear difference in strength between the Asgardians and normal humans. But this doesn’t mean that they are actuallygodsin the strictest sense. While the Asgardians do have tangible afterlives, like Hel or Valhalla,these realms are strictly meant to be inhabited by the dead.
In writer Jason Aaron’sKing Thorstoryline, we see a version of Thor who has ruled on Asgard’s throne for thousands of years. Old and weathered, this version ofthe All-Father fell to the brink of death, only to be spared by an ancient ritual only spared for the All-Father that would rekindle his weakening lifeforce. Granted, while Thor may not be immortal, his half-Elder God genetics make him more likely to outlive everyone on Asgard, that is, if he isn’t killed first.
2"Hela Cut Out Thor’s Eye"
Thor Didn’t Lose An Eye In Disgrace, He Lost An Arm
The MCU filmThor: Ragnarokis partially inspired by writer Jason Aaron’sUnworthy Thorarc. In the finale of the movie, Hela slashes Thor’s eye, causing the God of Thunder to adopt a new one from the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, inThe Unworthy Thorcomics,Thor actually loses his left arm to the dark-elf Malekithsometime after losing Mjolnir. Believing that he no longer possessed his powers, Thor proved to be the weaker opponent and later replaced his missing limb with an Uru prosthetic.
In time, asThor struggled with his worthiness, the God of Thunder slowly regained his sense of self alongside his missing arm. While this may seem like a minor difference in detail, Thor’s missing arm was a symbolic representation of his loss of worth. He, like his hammer, were no longer capable of fighting; they were both broken. It wasn’t until Jane Foster later reforged both Mjolnir and Thor’s sense of worth that the god would once again face Malekith and prove his worth as the new All-Father.
1"Thor And Deadpool Are Best Friends Now, Right?"
Thor Absolutely Hates Deadpool’s Antics
Admittedly, Thor and Deadpool are some of the least likely characters to ever run into each other in the movies or comics. But, after a quick scene inDeadpool & Wolverinethat featured a loving embrace between the Merc with a Mouth andthe God of Thunder, there began a new misconception that Thor and Deadpool were secretly close friends. However, in the comics, Thor actually despises Deadpool and has “killed” the antihero on numerous occasions.
InDeadpool #1 -by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan - Thor and Deadpool momentarily team up to take out a monstrous creature, which leaves Thor so drained thathe vowed never to work with Deadpool again.Then, inDeadpool Annual #1 -by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker - Thor returns to Earth and promptly incinerates Deadpool with a blast of electricity to subdue another villain. In truth, Thor despises Deadpool’s silliness, a quality that Odin never allowed his sons to display.
