Alternative versions of Thor (Marvel Comics)

Alternate versions of Thor
Cover of Secret Wars #2 (July 2015), featuring many alternate versions of Thor. Art by Alex Ross.
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962)
Created by	Stan Lee Larry Lieber Jack Kirby
See also	Thor (Marvel Comics) in other media

This is a page that shows the alternative versions of Thor, based on the mythological character.

Prime Earth (Earth-616)[]

Red Norvell[]

Part of a documentary crew brought to Asgard by Loki, Roger "Red" Norvell meets and falls in love with Lady Sif. Red Norvell is given Thor's Iron Gauntlets and Belt of Strength by Loki to compete with Thor for Sif's affections, beating him and taking his hammer, with neither realizing this was part of a master plan by Odin to create a surrogate God of Thunder to die fighting the Serpent of Ragnarok and fulfill the prophecy.^[1]

Thori[]

Thori is the pet of Thor. Thori is a Hel-Hound with the powers and abilities including: Pyrokinesis: Thori and his littermates can exude flames. Interdimensional Tracking: Thori has the ability to track beings across dimensional planes. Speech: Thori appears to be the only pup of his litter with the ability to produce speech.

Beta Ray Bill[]

Beta Ray Bill is the champion of the Korbinites, an alien race. Debuting in Thor #337, the character was initially intended to be a surprise as an apparent monster who unexpectedly proves to be actually a great hero. As such, Bill becomes the first being outside of the Marvel Universe's Norse pantheon to be deemed worthy enough to wield Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. After an initial rivalry for possession of the weapon, both the Thunder God and the alien warrior reconciled as staunch allies. Bill is granted a war hammer of his own called Stormbreaker, which grants him the same powers as Thor.^[2] He has since made numerous appearances.

Eric Masterson[]

Thor initially bonded with architect Eric Masterson to save the latter's life when he was injured as a bystander during one of Thor's battles. The bonding allows Masterson to transform into Thor while Thor's mind gains control. Later, Thor is punished for apparently killing Loki and exiled. Masterson retains possession of Mjolnir and the ability to transform into Thor's form, continuing his roles as a member of the Avengers and protector of Earth. Thor is eventually released from exile, but asks that Masterson continue serving as in his stead. Tricked by the Enchantress Masterson attacks Thor, and soon after relinquishes Mjolnir to Thor. In gratitude for his services, Odin provides Masterson with an enchanted mace, Thunderstrike, the name of which he uses as his new code name.^[3] He later heroically sacrifices himself to defeat the Egyptian god Set. The weapon and name Thunderstrike are later taken up by Masterson's son Kevin.

Jane Foster[]

Marvel announced that in October 2014 there will be a new Thor who is female.^[4][5] As revealed in the aftermath of the Original Sin storyline, Thor lost his ability to wield Mjolnir, which was later found by Jane Foster who obtains Thor's power and his name.^[6] Thor, unaware of his successor's identity and believing Jane Foster would not be able to use Mjolnir due to her cancer, used the battle axe Jarnbjorn.

Alternative continuities[]

1602[]

A version of Thor appears with an alter ego of an elderly Christian priest named Donal—an allusion to Thor's original secret identity Donald Blake. Donal fears and despises his alter-ego, believing that the shared existence will damn him.^[7] This version of Thor speaks in Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse rather than the Shakespearean English that the mainstream universe Thor speaks in.

2099[]

Set in the year 2099, the role of Thor is taken by a man named Cecil MacAdam, who belongs to a class of priests known as "Thorites" who worship the original version of Thor. Avatarr, the CEO of Alchemax, grants him and others the powers of the Norse gods, along with brainwashing that both convinces them they are the gods and keeps them under his control^[8] Later, in "2099: Manifest Destiny", a rejuvenated Steve Rogers finds Mjolnir and becomes the new Thor. He gives Mjolnir to Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Man 2099) at the end of the story.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Age of Apocalypse[]

In this continuity, Donald Blake never discovers Mjolnir and thus never becomes Thor. Blake, as a member of the Human High Council, meets with Mikhail Rasputin (one of Apocalypse's horsemen) for peace talks. Knowing the mutant would never keep his word, Blake stabbed him through the chest with his cane and shoved him out a window, where both fell to their deaths.

Amalgam Comics[]

In the Amalgam Comics universe, Thor is joined with Orion to form Thorion. Thorion was the son of Thanoseid (Thanos/Darkseid), but was traded to All-Highfather Odin in order to seal a truce between the realms of Apokolips and New Asgard.

During one adventure, L'ok D'saad (An amalgamation of Loki and Desaad), he for whom Thorion was traded, sought to use the Mother Cube (a mixture of a Mother box and the Cosmic Cube) and its Infinity Essence to awaken the Sleeping One called Surtur and bring about a second Ragnarok that would end everything. Thorion, however, invoked the power of the Source via his hammer to halt L'ok's evil wishes. Because of the great energies released during their conflict, Thorion was remade into a cosmic being known as The Celestial.^[9]

In Unlimited Access, a limited series which further explored themes introduced in DC vs. Marvel, the hero known as Access formed an amalgamation of what appeared to be the Silver Age versions of Thor and Superman (in his then-current blue energy form). Together, they were known as Thor-El.^[10]

King Thor[]

This version of Thor first appears in Thor: God of Thunder #1. He is visually based on Odin, having only one eye, but in addition one of his arms is replaced by one of the arms of the Destroyer armor. He also is in possession of the Odinforce, now renamed the Thor Force. He also has adapted some of Odin's mannerisms, notably his bitterness and cynicism. Until further continuity changes, this version of Thor seems to be the destined future of the Prime/Earth-616 Thor.

Millennia from the present, Thor becomes the All-Father of Asgard. However, some time before this, Loki successfully destroys the Earth, and King Thor comes to him for revenge for killing everyone he loves. Loki raises an army of undead from the corpses of the Avengers, and Thor fights them off before Loki retreats into the past to corrupt the Thor of the present. This experience leaves Thor a bitter and cynical king, much like his father.

Some time after this, Gorr the God Butcher razes Asgard with an army of Black Berserkers, killing or capturing its inhabitants. Gorr spares King Thor as a form of torture, marooning him in the ruins of Asgard to look back on his failures, keeping him there with an army of Black Berserkers to guard him. King Thor remains imprisoned in Asgard for 900 years, only to be liberated when the Prime Thor travels through time in pursuit of Gorr, who has fled his present. Together, along with a young version of Thor from the 9th century AD, the Thors defeat Gorr and save the surviving Asgardians and other gods.

Some time after this, Galactus returns to Earth to consume what is left of it. King Thor, having grown sentimental over what the Earth once was, attempts to fight Galactus off, but is blasted into space by the Devourer of Worlds. King Thor retrieves All-Black the Necrosword from the black hole he cast it in after Gorr's defeat, returns to Earth, and makes short work of Galactus, sparing the Devourer of Worlds only when he collapses from the exhaustion of the battle. During this, King Thor's blood restores life to Earth. King Thor then agrees to let Galactus live and gives him leave to consume Mars in exchange for his life. However, Galactus acquires All-Black shortly after this and goes on a planet killing spree across the universe, becoming the Butcher of Worlds.

Millennia later, King Thor and his granddaughters repopulate the Earth with flora and fauna, with Thor personally creating two new humans, naming them Jane and Steve. The human race steadily regrows and prospers under Thor's guidance. However, the universe eventually starts to get consumed by entropy. King Thor heads to the edge of the universe in an attempt to stop it, only to be confronted by an older version of Wolverine, who is now in possession of the Phoenix Force. Logan is bitter at Thor for having disrupted the natural order of things out of sentiment, warning him that his actions have attracted the attention of Doctor Doom, who is still alive in this time and in possession of the Starbrand, the Iron Fist, the Spirit of Vengeance, and is also the Sorcerer Supreme. Doom returns to Earth to conquer it, only to be opposed by King Thor and Old Man Phoenix. After their combined might still proves to be unable to defeat Doom, Logan sacrifices himself by transferring the Phoenix Force into Mjolnir, imbuing Thor with the power of the Phoenix. Phoenix King Thor fights Doom in the Earth's mantle for 99 years, emerging victorious but collapsing into the Forever Sleep to recover from his efforts.

Some time later, Loki attacks Asgard again, this time in possession of All-Black the Necrosword, wanting to kill Thor once and for all. However, in the midst of their battle, Loki is unexpectedly stabbed by Gorr, whose consciousness has remained in All-Black for all these years. Thor, Loki, and Thor's granddaughters attempt to kill Gorr, but Gorr has transcended mortality by becoming one with All-Black, which has also been perfuming itself throughout the universe, slowly destroying it. King Thor finally defeats All-Black after it takes over a massive black hole, traveling to its center and unleashing the full power of the God Tempest from within Mjolnir. This destroys All-Black and renders Gorr mortal, this time with amnesia.

Eventually, King Thor leaves Earth in the care of his granddaughters, and sails to the edge of the universe in Skidbladnir to stave off the inevitable entropy.

Marvel Cinematic Universe[]

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999), this version of Thor is played by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth.

Marvel Noir[]

While Thor does not appear in Marvel Noir, the Noir version of Baron Zemo reveals that his castle was previously inhabited by a mad Norse Man who believed that he was a God of Asgard, and would frequently attack people with a hammer. Zemo holds up his skeleton, and the skull is wearing a helmet reminiscent of Thor's original helmet in the 616 continuity.^[11]

Marvel Zombies[]

Briefly, Thor appears as a cannibalistic zombie wielding a makeshift version of a hammer composed of a concrete block and pipe as he is no longer worthy to wield Mjolnir, which he breaks when trying to attack the Silver Surfer. When the Silver Surfer is finally struck down, only a handful of zombies manage to eat a piece of his body, and Thor is not one of them. Those who did consume the Silver Surfer acquire his cosmic powers, and Thor, along with the rest of the zombies, is seemingly slaughtered. Giant-Man can be seen throwing away his skeleton after burning his body.^{[volume & issue needed]}

But in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days- a one shot prequel to the main events of the Zombie universe-, Thor is amongst the heroes on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier who survived the first wave of the zombie plague. After Reed Richards was driven insane following his construction of a device to travel to other universes, Thor, on Nick Fury's orders, destroyed the device rather than using it to escape to another dimension unaffected by the virus, in order to ensure that what had happened to their world couldn't happen to another.^[12]

Ruins[]

In Ruins an alternate universe where "everything that can go wrong will go wrong" Donald Blake (Thor's human alter ego) appears claiming to have found Mjolnir when in fact he ate hallucinogenic agaric mushrooms. However, Mjolnir appears at the site where the Avengers of this reality had perished at the hands of the United States military indicating Thor and Donald Blake are two separate people in this reality.

Thrr[]

In the Spider-Ham comics, which take place on Earth-8311, a universe populated by talking animal parodies of Marvel Comics characters, Thor appears as Thrr, an anthropomorphic dog from "Arfgard".^[13]

Ultimate Marvel[]

Thor is a member of the superhero team the Ultimates in the Ultimate Marvel Universe.^[14] Despite his claims to be a Norse god, he is regarded by many to be delusional during the first months of his career. It is not until he is seen summoning an army of Asgardian warriors to fend off an attack on Washington DC by demonic forces commanded by Loki that Thor's teammates realize he is exactly who he says he is.^[15]

Infinity Wars[]

During the Infinity Wars storyline, where the universe was combined in half, Thor was fused with Iron Man creating Iron Hammer. Sigurd Stark was the fifth richest person on the world thanks to his genius about technology. However, due to his lack of memories five years earlier, he was driven to drink. After going through the Norvegian, he was attacked by some Dark Elves, lead by Krimson Kurse (fusion of Crimson Dynamo and Kurse). He got poisoned by an arrow, slowing killing him, and taken by the Elves to aid their other prisoner Eitri (fusion of Eitri and Ho Yinsen) in order to build powerful weapons for the Elves. Then, Sigurd became friends with Eitri and together they build an armor, that prevented the poison from killing Sigurd, along with a hammer in order to escape the Dark Elves. However, during their escape, Eitri is killed. After Sigurd defeated the Elves and Krimson Kurse, he discovered that Krimson was his lost friend, who had turned into a Thrall to be a servant to Dark Elves, and after that he killed his friend out of mercy. Sigurd then decided to go to the All-Father on Asgard, to seek help into defeating Malekith (fusion of Malekith and Mandarin), and with the help of his A.I. assistant H.E.I.M.D.A.L.L. (fusion of Heimdall and J.A.R.V.I.S.) opened the B.I.F.R.O.S.T. and went to Asgard. When travelling, he remembered his old memories: his true name was Stark Odinson who, due to his arrogance, his father Howard Odin (fusion of Howard Stark and Odin) banished his son to Earth, where he would learn how is like to be a mortal. Upon arriving, Malekith had trapped the Aesir and had allied with Madame Hel (fusion of Madame Masque and Hela) and Stane Odinson (fusion of Loki and Obadiah Stane). Luckily, Iron Hammer was able to defeat Malekith and Odin allowed his son to become a god again. However, Sigurd refused, feeling better as a human.^[16]

What If?[]

In an early What If story, Jane Foster discovered the stick rather than Donald Blake, spending time as a female Thor (called Thordis) before she was recalled to Asgard, allowing Odin to return the hammer to its rightful owner, although Jane went on to be elevated to godhood so that she could marry Odin.^[17]

In What If Rogue possessed the power of Thor?, Rogue accidentally permanently absorbed Thor when she and Mystique attempted to break the Brotherhood out of prison, resulting in her killing most of the Avengers and the Brotherhood when she was unable to cope with Thor's power. Although Loki attempted to manipulate her into waging war on Asgard after she was able to lift Thor's hammer, the sight of Odin's genuine sense of loss allowed Thor's remnants to manifest in her subconscious, affirming that he was an ideal as well as a person, allowing Rogue to inherit his power and position as she became the new Thor.^[18]

In What if Thor was the Herald of Galactus?, Galactus comes to devour Asgard. His herald kills Sif and Thor kills the herald in revenge. Galactus then announces that Asgard has fed him enough, and asks Thor to become his new herald in exchange for leaving Asgard alone. Thor agrees and directs Galactus to worlds with bloodthirsty races he deems worthy of destruction. Until the day Munnin, one of Odin's ravens, reaches him to inform him that Odin is dead and Asgard has fallen. Thor returns to Asgard, now under control of Loki and the frost giants, who reveal that Galactus' coming to Asgard was part of his plan to weaken Odin. After recovering Mjolnir, which he left behind, Thor guides Galactus to Asgard to feed in order to defeat Loki, since Asgard is an insult to what it once was. Thor frees Balder and the other imprisoned Asgardians, telling them to flee to Midgard. Thor defeats Loki, but continues being Galactus' herald: if he can be bold enough to decide which world is to be devoured, he is still worthy of wielding Mjolnir. On Earth, Balder becomes the premier super hero of Chicago.^[19] Thor also later becomes the Herald of Galactus in the 2020 run of the main Thor comic book series.^[20]

Wastelands[]

A grown up Dani Cage, daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, is a recurring character in the Old Man Logan miniseries and its sequel, Dead Man Logan. In the Wastelands, Thor died many years in the past and his hammer lies in the countryside, with nobody able to lift it, and a small cult is formed around it. Dani is shot in the area, and falls next to the hammer. She takes it before dying, and becomes a new Thor.^[21] The character would be used next in the limited series Avengers of the Wastelands, to be released in January 2020.^[22]

References[]