Marvel: The 3 Strangest Versions of Thor
With Thor: Love and Thunder set to hit theaters on May 6, Marvel will be bringing fans a different incarnation of our hero, as Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) takes over the Thor mantle. In the comics, Jane and Thor Odinson aren’t the only ones to hold the title. There are multiple Thors, and some of them are pretty weird. Here are three of the strangest versions of Thor.
Even frogs can be worthy
Fans of Loki loved the God of Mischief’s crocodile variant. But in the comics, there’s an animal who takes over his brother’s mantle, as well. Throg is a frog who was formerly a college football star named Simon Walterson. Which is pretty clever, as he was created by Walter Simonson during his 1980s run of the Thor comics.
When Simon forgets to bring his payment with him when he sees a mystic, the mystic turns him into a frog, as Marvel explains. But he becomes the recipient of the mighty hammer Frogjolnir and becomes Frog Thor, or Throg.
The religion of Thor
In the 1990s, Marvel reimagined many of its heroes in its 2099 comics, which eventually became a separate continuity. In the case of Thor, the mantle s passed to Cecil McAdams, a chuch custodian who belongs to a religious order called the Thorites, who worship the original Thor.
He gains his powers through a nano-engineering, genetic manipulation procedure. He hopes to restart the age of heroes. However, when Steve Rogers wields Mjolnir, it ultimately puts an end to Cecil’s tenure as Thor.
Volstagg as the War Thor
In the 2017 The Mighty Thor comics by Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman and Valerio Schiti, we encounter the mysterious War Thor. His identity is revealed in issue #20, and it turns out to be none other than Volstagg of Warriors Thee fame.
What’s memorable as Volstagg’s tenure as War Thor is that the character, whom we usually see as being pretty jovial, is more somber in these comics. More drive toward, well, war. At this time, Jane Foster is wielding Mjolnir as Thor. She uses her friendship with Volstagg to convince him to put an end to his warlike ways and to hang up the War Thor mantle.
Bonus: Storm Thor
It’s not strange at all that Storm serves as Thor for a time. In fact, it makes sense. Anyone who’s worthy can wield Mjolnir, and of course, that would include Storm. So even though she isn’t one of the strangest characters to wield the hammer, it’s certainly worth mentioning that she takes on the mantle for a time. Because how perfect is it that a character who can manipulate the he weather has a turn as the Goddess of Thunder?
Storm first appears as Thor in 2015’s Secret Wars. She’s from an alternate Earth where she’s part of a multi-dimensional “Thor Corps,” whose job is to protect the multiverse from a range of threats.
Clearly, the Thor mantle has had some interesting and widely varying chapters in its comics history. And that’s a tradition that will continue on screen when Jane Foster takes up the title in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder.
