Thor: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Thor Odinson

First Appearance: Journey into Mystery #83 (August, 1962)

Powers: Superhuman Strength, Speed, Endurance, and Longevity

Affiliation: Avengers

Enemies: Loki, The Destroyer, Absorbing Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hera, Surtur, Ragnarok

Love Interests: Jane Foster, Sif

Did You Know: Thor was created by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.  He was created to offer a physical match to the Incredible Hulk.

A Little History

Thor’s origin can be traced back to 1962. In his first appearance, the audience meets an America doctor named Donald Blake. The story begins with Blake visiting the countryside of Norway. While walking, he encountered a couple of aliens from the planet Saturn. He overheard them discussing their planned invasion.

Fearing his safety, Blake hid in a nearby cave. It was only once he was inside that he realized that the other exit was blocked by an immovable boulder. Just as the aliens approached, an ancient door swung open and inside laid an old cane. Frustrated by his predicament, Blake took the cane and hit the nearby rock. Upon being struck, the cane transformed itself into a hammer and Blake into the Norse God, Thor.

With the power bestowed on him, he was easily able to move the boulder and escape. While he played around with the hammer and its power, he learned that to remain Thor, he must continually hold the hammer, Mjolnir.

Shortly thereafter, the aliens began their invasion. As you would expect, Earth’s defense was unable to hold its own against the vastly superior army. As luck had it, he was able to use Mjolnir to defeat the army, thus saving the Earth.

Now older and wiser, Blake/Thor looked for answers regarding his past. While he knew who he was, he wondered how and why he got there. He called to his father, Odin and Odin obliged.

He told him that due to his reckless behavior and lack of humility, he banished him to Earth to live the life of a mortal man with a disability. On top of this, he made him into a doctor so that he would have to help the needy and sick. Likewise, he hid Mjolnir until after he learned the lessons to be taught. Once learned, Odin cast a series of events that would lead him to it.

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