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History

Origins[]

The being that would come to be known as Thor began its life on a distant world manipulated by the Celestials. As part of their method of reproduction, the Celestials imbued Thor's world with an embryo and manipulated the genetics of its inhabitants to grant them the power to defend their world, and thus the embryo within it. Thor and his people eventually reached a point in their mutation where they lost all shape and definition, instead becoming defined by the perceptions of others.

Escaping their world at some point, they made their way to Earth, where they encountered the ancient Norse. The Norse, and in particular one among their number, a storyteller known as Donnerson, shaped Thor and the other Asgardians by believing them to be the gods of their myths come to Earth. Donnerson would merge with two of the Asgardians and assume the role of Odin.

Thor became the god of thunder, favored son of Odin, now completely unaware of his true origins. Thor and the other Asgardians would spend the centuries unwittingly acting out Donnerson's stories.

The Age of Heroes[]

By the time of the 20th century, faith in the Asgardian gods had waned. Knowing that the very existence of the Asgardians as they were was determined by mankind's belief in them, Odin sent Thor to Earth, so that he might inspire further belief in the gods. In order to help in this cause, he also sent Thor's "brother", the god of mischief Loki to Earth, knowing that the battle between god and evil that the two brothers represented would help maintain humanity's belief in the gods.[1]

Loki's treachery and deceit would lead to the formation of the Avengers, a group of superhuman heroes of which Thor became a founding member.[1]

Thor's subsequent career as a hero largely mirrored that of his Earth-616 counterpart.

The Mutation of Humanity[]

Due to the release of the Terrigen Mist into the Earth's atmosphere, the entire human population of Earth began to mutate. This led to widespread anarchy, chaos and was compounded by a meat shortage which led to widespread starvation. Thor and his fellow heroes did their best to try and help humanity through these trying times.[2]

At some point after the mutation of humanity, Loki convinced Odin to teach Thor yet another lesson in humility. He claimed that Thor used his power to lord and lust over the people of Earth, and thus a fitting punishment would be to force Thor to live as a woman, the object of mortal men's lusts. Odin agreed, and transformed Thor. In addition, Loki cast a spell on the Bifrost leading to Asgard. Should Thor ever return to Asgard to reveal Loki's treachery and ask Odin to reverse his transformation, he would be forever unable to return to Earth, leaving mankind at Loki's mercy.[3] Thor realized Loki's scheme however, and accepted his new form and continued his career as a hero.[4]

The Final Host[]

Thor was summoned by his old teammate Bruce Banner for a visit with Clea, the Sorceress Supreme. Banner was troubled by recurring dreams of Kree hero Captain Marvel and the destruction of the Earth, and wanted Clea's aid in entering the Realm of the Dead to contact Mar-Vell. While en route to the Sanctum Sanctorum, Thor helped the Iron Avengers foil another of his brother's plots, defeating a rampaging group of Storm Giants.[4]

With Clea's help, the Hulk was able to enter the Realm of the Dead. Rather than finding Mar-Vell however, he instead discovered the soul of the comatose Dr. Strange. Strange told Hulk that Mar-Vell would find him in time, and also revealed to him that it was Clea who was responsible for his comatose state. When the Hulk seemed lost in the Realm of the Dead, Thor rushed in after him, leaving Bruce Banner alone with Clea. Clea realized that Banner had spoken with Strange, and was soon joined by her lover and co-conspirator; Loki. Thor and the Hulk soon emerged from the Realm of the Dead with Strange's help, prompting Loki to seemingly abandon Clea. Angry and afraid, Clea began casting a spell to destroy New York, forcing Thor to teleport her to Asgard. This was all according to Loki's plans, who now had free reign on Earth.[4]

While Thor was trapped in Asgard, the Celestials travelled to Earth to scour it of all life in order to protect the embryo growing within the planet's core. Loki was told the truth about his species by X-51, the new Watcher of Earth, and travelled to Asgard to beg Odin for help. Thor counseled his father not to heed Loki's lies, unaware that Odin knew Loki was speaking the truth. Odin refused Loki's request, forcing Loki to turn towards the deceased Asgardians within Hel. The Asgardians were able to buy time for Galactus to arrive and drive the Celestials away. Galactus removed the embryo from Earth, saving the planet, but also causing it to experience a drastic loss of mass which in turn led to global environmental disasters.[5]

Universe X[]

Three years after the death of the Celestial embryo, Thor had at some point found his way back to Earth, continuing to protect its people. Loki meanwhile had begun trying to find his own identity, and attempted to convince Thor to renounce his divine identity and to accept the truth. Thor refused, believing this to merely be one of Loki's many tricks.[6]

As Strange had promised, Mar-Vell returned to Earth, now reborn as a human child. Mar-Vell began gathering objects of great power, planning to use them to kill Death and create a Paradise for the dead to inhabit. After Mar-Vell's protector Captain America died, Thor was one of many heroes who joined Mar-Vell's quest. He would follow Mar-Vell to Hel Laboratories to collect the Psycho-Man's Emoto-caster, Egypt to collect the Re-animator Stone, and the Moon, collecting the Ultimate Nullifier from the Watcher. On the Moon, they faced the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree. After the Supremor revealed that it had absorbed the souls of every single Kree, a distraught Mar-Vell snatched Mjolnir from Thor's hands and used it to kill the Supremor, freeing the billions of souls trapped within it.[7]

Thor was greatly distressed by Mar-Vell's actions, and by the fact that he had wielded Mjolnir so casually. Thor began to wonder if Loki was telling the truth. When the Absorbing Man was restored and began absorbing all of New York, Loki saved the city and the world by revealing to him the truth about the Asgardian herb he had consumed to gain his powers and convinced him to transform into Vibranium which the superheroine Iron Maiden could redistribute throughout the planet to repair the damage done by the loss of the Celestial embryo. Thor now realized that Loki had been telling the truth. Returning to the cave where -- as Donald Blake years ago -- Thor found his hammer, Thor accepted the truth and realized that Odin had been lying to him. Heartbroken, Thor transformed back into his male form, now through his own will.

Ragnarok[]

Agreeing to join Loki, the two Asgardians realized that their lives had been shaped for centuries by Odin's whims, and decided that the only way to free their people was to end Odin's reign. They began plotting to do so by undermining Odin's stories.

Their first attempt at overthrowing Odin began when they agreed to travel to Asgard with Dr. Strange and the super-team known as Xen to free Clea from Odin's imprisonment. There Thor and the others were forced to battle various species and warriors from all over Asgard. Thor struggled with being forced to kill his friends the Warriors Three, and found himself slipping under Odin's control. When Odin called an end to the conflict, he agreed to free Clea, whom he had banished to Hel, however he would only do so if someone took her place. Odin chose Thor, believing that Thor wouldn't disobey his wishes. This played right into Thor and Loki's plan, and when Thor was banished to Hel, he convinced those there that all of them (including Hela) were free from Death's grasp and free to return to Asgard.[8]

Thor returned to Earth thereafter and hid in New Jersey with Loki while they planned the next phase of their operation. Now allied with Surtur, they returned to Asgard with X-51 to bring down Odin's world and have the robot document the events, to prevent Odin from undoing them. Disguised as the Fenris Wolf and Midgard Serpent in order to invoke the imagery of Ragnarok, the three made their way to Asgard and were met by Odin at the head of an army of Asgardians.[9]

Odin desperately attempted to bring Thor and the others back under his will, but as the battle wore on, more and more Asgardians realized the truth and rejected Odin's vision. Desperate, Odin willed Asgard into a different realm all-together, weaving a new story. This possibility had been predicted by Thor and Loki, who had brought X-51 along to prevent it. As X-51 was not affected by this change, he was able to restore everyone's memories.[10]

With the truth revealed, and after destroying Yggdrasill, everyone on Asgard returned to their original forms and the golden realm disappeared. With even the last oxygen vanishing, Odin, now Donnerson once again, was left in space, unable to die but also unable to utter anymore words that might manipulate the Asgardians. While they had seemingly succeeded, most of the Asgardians returned to Donnerson, wishing to continue to live out his stories, though they now did so of their own free will.[10]

Returning to Earth, Thor, Loki, and Surtur were now free to choose their destinies. Thor chose to transform into Donald Blake once again, believing the world needed a doctor more than a god of thunder.[10]

Attributes

Powers

The nature of Thor's powers are dependent on what is believed that he can do. As such, his identity for the longest time was believed to be that of the mythical thunder god of Norse myth, and therefore that is exactly what he became. When Thor was in his thunder god form, he had powers that were presumably similar to that of his Earth-616 counterpart.

One major difference is that while on Earth-616, his hammer Mjolnir, was considered an enchanted item that was gifted to Thor, turned out to be an actual extension of his alien physiology, and that its properties and form were also based on the belief that it was really Mjolnir. It too presumably had the same properties as its Earth-616 counterpart.
When Thor realized his true nature, he gained total mastery over his form and therefore could become anything he wanted. In this capacity he was able to change himself into any shape he desired, and presumably could assume any super-human abilities he wanted. In that regard he has changed his form into that of the Fenris Wolf and the Midgard Serpent, and possible was able to mimic their abilities and powers. He was also able to reverse the "curse" Odin placed on him that changed him into a woman.

Thor could also change the shape and form of his hammer, when he realized his potential the weapon became grafted to his body, and he was able to reshape it into an axe.

Presently, he has resumed his Donald Blake's body, and as such presumably has the same powers, limitations and weaknesses as that form originally had.

Weaknesses

Thor's weaknesses are dependent on what he believes his weaknesses are.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Mjolnir. However, it was previously believed that Mjolnir was an actual weapon that was given to him, when it has now been revealed that it was an extension of his own body the whole time.

Notes

  • The design that Jim Kruger and Alex Ross chose for the female Thor was inspired by Jane Foster of Earth-788, which was an alternate reality featured in What If? #10, which featured a tale of what could have happened if Thor's hammer was found by Jane Foster instead of Donald Blake. Jane would gain Thor's power and be dubbed Thordis.

See Also

Links and References

References

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