Thor

Thor is a series of comic books from Marvel Comics featuring the titular god's adventures on Earth, in outer space and in the home of the Norse gods, Asgard. Thor is a member of the Avengers team of Marvel superheroes, which also includes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man and Captain America, and will appear in the Avengers film slated for release in 2011. He is also the subject of a planned live-action film to be directed by Kenneth Branagh and an upcoming animated series to be released in the Fall of 2010.

In creating Thor, a character designed to be stronger than any human, Stan Lee decided to use the Norse myths as his springboard.

Thor's father, Odin, decided his son needed a dose of humility. He created the mortal Donald Blake and fused Thor's essence with him. Blake lived his life ignorant of this until he discovered the hammer of Thor, Mjolnir, during a sabbatical in Norway. He is transformed to his true form of Thor in time to thwart an invasion of stone aliens allegedly from the planet Saturn.

Much of Thor's power is embodied in the hammer, a two-sided weapon with a short handle and looped thong at the end. By whirling it over his head then quickly releasing and catching it, Thor is propelled through the air, in flight. Additionally, the hammer has magnetic properties and can influence the weather on a global scale. It is required for Thor to travel to and from Asgard, the realm of the Norse gods.

There have been three different comic book series with the name Thor. The first run ended when Thor appeared to have died, but was actually trapped in an artificial "pocket universe." The second ended after the twilight of the Norse Gods, Ragnarok, when Thor was left in stasis.