Thor (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Thor Odinson is a fictional character portrayed by Chris Hemsworth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and the Norse mythological god of thunder. In the MCU, he is depicted as one of the most powerful Asgardians, Avengers, an ancient alien civilization with long ties to Earth, who humans consider to be gods. Thor wields a powerful hammer called Mjolnir, and is initially depicted as the arrogant heir to the throne of Asgard whose brash behaviors causes turmoil among the Nine Realms under Asgard's protection. This brings him into conflict with his villainous adopted brother, Loki, the god of mischief.
This article is about the character. For the 2011 film, see Thor (film).Thor
Thor (2011)
- Chris Hemsworth
- Dakota Goyo (young)
- Sasha Hemsworth (young)
- Tristan Hemsworth (young)
Thor Odinson
Donald Blake[1]
- God of Thunder
- King of New Asgard
- King of Asgard
- Prince of Asgard
- Avengers
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Revengers
- Kingdom of Asgard
Love (adopted)
Asgard
- Godlike strength, stamina, durability, speed, agility, reflexes, healing factor, longevity, and senses
- Manipulation of weather, lightning, thunder, energy and matter
- Skilled hand-to-hand combatant
- Mjolnir and Stormbreaker grants:
- Lightning Manipulation
- Energy Absorption and Projection
- Flight
- Interdimensional teleportation via Bifrost Bridge
Thor commits himself to the protection of Earth, and becomes a founding member of the Avengers. He eventually becomes the King of Asgard after Odin's death, but the entire realm is destroyed during the battle with his sister Hela. Thor then comes into conflict with Thanos, who slaughters half of the Asgardians and uses the Infinity Stones to erase half of the life in the universe before Thor himself kills Thanos. Thor later joins his fellow Avengers in obtaining the Stones from the past using time travel and they successfully undo Thanos' actions. When an alternate version of Thanos enters their timeline, Thor and the Avengers manage to defeat him. Thor then passes the crown of New Asgard to Valkyrie and joins the Guardians of the Galaxy for a brief time. Thor comes into conflict with Gorr the God Butcher and the Olympian god Zeus, while reconnecting with his terminally ill ex-girlfriend, the now Mjolnir-wielding Jane Foster. After Foster succumbs to her cancer to assist in Gorr's defeat, Thor adopts the latter's daughter, Love.
Thor is a central figure of the MCU, having appeared in nine films as of 2023. Thor's characterization and early films received mixed reception, however his storyline following Thor: Ragnarok (2017) was received much more favorably, with that film often being credited as revitalizing the character and his arc.[2][3][4][5]
Alternate versions of Thor appear in the animated series What If...? (2021), with Hemsworth reprising the role. One version in particular, which depicts an alternate Thor raised without Loki who is recruited into the Guardians of the Multiverse by the Watcher in the battle against an alternate version of Ultron.[6]
Differences from the comic books[edit]
A major divergence from the comic books is the absence of Thor's comic book alter ego, Donald Blake,[53][66] although he uses the name 'Donald Blake' as a pseudonym during his time on Earth in Thor, an Easter egg homage to the comics.[1] In the comics, as in the MCU, Odin stripped Thor of his powers and sent him to Earth as punishment for Thor's arrogance and intemperance. However, in the comics, Odin puts Thor into the body of Donald Blake, a crippled human doctor, for the course of a long-running storyline, encompassing years of adventures during which Thor's alter ego is occasionally able to cause Thor to re-emerge to fight villainy. In the MCU, with no element of an alter ego, this banishment is resolved within the first film, over the course of days.[53] The lack of an alter ego also impacts Thor's relationships. In the comics, Thor's love interest, Jane Foster, is an assistant to Donald Blake. In the films, she has no prior connection to the character, and meets him due to her work as a physicist studying the type of phenomena his appearances generate.[53]
Another significant difference from the comic books is the destruction of Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, in the MCU and the origin of its replacement, Stormbreaker. In the comics, Stormbreaker is created by the dwarf Eitri by Odin's decree, to be given to the character Beta Ray Bill, after Bill fights Thor in hand-to-hand combat to determine who should possess Mjölnir. In the MCU, Thor himself assists Eitri in creating Stormbreaker as a replacement for the destroyed Mjölnir, to use as a weapon with which to face Thanos,[67] though he does later retrieve Mjölnir for a brief period while travelling through time.