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137-695: The Winter Guard are noted for being "Russia's answer to the Avengers ". Several members of the group formerly belonged to the Soviet Super-Soldiers , the People's Protectorate and the Supreme Soviets . Unlike those teams, which were often adversarial towards other costumed superheroes, the Winter Guard is much more heroic and representative in nature. Unlike other superhero teams, the Winter Guard currently has

274-848: A film series from Marvel Studios , known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe , culminating with The Avengers in 2012, with more appearances of the team in subsequent films. The team debuted in The Avengers #1 (September 1963). Much like the Justice League , the Avengers were an assemblage of superheroes who each had an existing series of his own. All of the characters were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby . This initial series, published bi-monthly through issue #6 (July 1964) and monthly thereafter ran through issue #402 (Sept. 1996), with spinoffs including several annuals , miniseries and

411-508: A berserker state and Thor is forced to kill him. As Bor was the rightful king of Asgard upon his resurrection, Thor is banished for regicide. While banished, Thor seeks out Sif, who was still lost from the destruction of the Asgardians. After Norman Osborn seizes power in the United States, he orders an attack on the new Asgard, and Thor returns to his home. Though Asgard is destroyed and Loki

548-710: A conflict between the Kree and the Shi'ar Empire . The team split when Iron Man and several dissidents executed the Supreme Intelligence against the wishes of Captain America. After a vote disbanded the West Coast Avengers , Iron Man formed a proactive and aggressive team called Force Works . During the team's first mission, Wonder Man was killed again, though his atoms were temporarily scattered. Force Works later disbanded after it

685-644: A four-issue miniseries in 1984, followed by a 102-issue series (Oct. 1985–Jan. 1994), retitled Avengers West Coast with #47; and the 40-issue Solo Avengers (Dec.1987–Jan. 1991), retitled Avengers Spotlight with #21. Between 1996 and 2004, Marvel relaunched the primary Avengers title three times. In 1996, the " Heroes Reborn " line took place in an alternate universe, with a revamped history unrelated to mainstream Marvel continuity. The Avengers vol. 3 ran for 84 issues from February 1998 to August 2004. Early issues were written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by George Perez . To coincide with what would have been

822-402: A giant-size quarterly sister series that ran briefly in the mid-1970s. Writers of the first series included Roy Thomas , Steve Englehart , Gerry Conway , Jim Shooter , David Michelinie and Roger Stern . Artists included John Buscema , Tom Palmer , Neal Adams , George Perez , John Byrne and Steve Epting . Other spinoff series include West Coast Avengers , initially published as

959-456: A god. I decided readers were already pretty familiar with the Greek and Roman gods. It might be fun to delve into the old Norse legends... Besides, I pictured Norse gods looking like Vikings of old, with the flowing beards, horned helmets, and battle clubs.  ... Journey into Mystery needed a shot in the arm, so I picked Thor ... to headline the book. After writing an outline depicting the story and

1096-713: A government liaison for the New Avengers with Rogers's backing. A second series, titled Secret Avengers , was released in May 2010, written by Ed Brubaker with Mike Deodato as the regular artist. The second volume of the New Avengers series was launched in June 2010, written by Bendis and drawn by Stuart Immonen . A fourth title, Avengers Academy , was launched in June 2010, replacing Avengers: The Initiative . Christos Gage served as writer, with Mike McKone as artist. Following

1233-465: A heavy-handed, obstructive manner, and insisted that the Avengers follow government rules and regulations or else lose their priority status with the government. Among Gyrich's demands was that the active roster be trimmed down to only seven members, and that the Falcon , an African American , be admitted to the team to comply with affirmative action laws. This last act was resented by Hawkeye, who because of

1370-501: A leave of absence and Ms. Marvel officially joined the team as her replacement. The first major development was the breakdown of Henry Pym, with his frequent changes of costume and name being symptomatic of an identity problem and an inferiority complex . After he abused his wife, failed to win back the confidence of the Avengers with a ruse and was duped by the villain Egghead , Pym was jailed. Pym would later outwit Egghead and defeated

1507-487: A limited experience where Black Widow and Hawkeye "assemble a group of young recruits to see if they have what it takes to be an Avenger." Marvel-related food and merchandise was also available throughout Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure during the "Summer of Heroes". Thor (Marvel Comics) Thor Odinson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics , based on

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1644-497: A magic hammer, Mjolnir , which is enchanted so that only the worthy may lift it. Thor had existed in a past form more reminiscent of the mythological Thor, but he was eventually reincarnated as a new version. In the past, Thor fought alongside the Vikings, but he condemned them after an attack on a Christian monastery . Deeming him too arrogant, Odin banishes Thor to modern day Earth with no memory of his Asgardian origins, giving him

1781-663: A meet and greet experience. From May to September 2017, Disneyland Resort featured the "Summer of Heroes", which sees members of the Guardians and Avengers making appearances throughout the Disneyland Resort. Additionally, the Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off event was featured, which involved Peter Quill / Star-Lord blasting music from his boombox, along with the Avengers Training Initiative,

1918-550: A meeting between Rogers and MI-13 , Captain Britain accepts a position with the Avengers. Noh-Varr later does as well. Bruce Banner made arrangements with Rogers for the Red Hulk to join. The " Shattered Heroes " storyline leads to several changes in the main Avengers lineup, with Quake and Storm being recruited, and the Vision rejoining the team. Wolverine and Spider-Man leave

2055-431: A mortal who obtained Thor's power and that his secret identity of Donald Blake was a fabrication created by Odin to teach him humility. As Kirby's work on Thor came to an end, the setting shifted back to Earth and Jane Foster was reintroduced. Kirby stayed on as Thor's artist until Thor #179 (1970). Lee eventually ceded control of the titles he worked on to other writers, and Thor was given to Gerry Conway , who at

2192-470: A new volume of the regular Avengers title. The roster was also changed, where following Iron Man being placed in a coma, and Spider-Man, Nova, and Ms. Marvel's resignation from the team (who instead teamed up with other heroes their own age to form their own group the Champions ), the remaining three members are joined by Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Hercules and Wasp (Nadia Pym) to form a new team. During

2329-575: A now-evil Scarlet Witch invades Latveria, Doctor Doom forms his own team of Avengers consisting of 3D Man, Elsa Bloodstone, Stingray, Valkyrie, and U.S. Agent. After various heroes and villains experience a moral inversion in the battle against the Red Skull empowered with Professor Charles Xavier's abilities, Rogers later assembles Magneto, Doctor Doom, the Absorbing Man, Carnage, Deadpool, the Enchantress,

2466-669: A pocket universe. Believing the main team to be gone, the Black Widow disbanded the Avengers, and only butler Edwin Jarvis remained to tend to the Mansion. The previous continuity of the Marvel Universe was set aside as the heroes were "reborn" in the pocket universe created by Franklin Richards to save his parents and their friends, while the " Heroes Reborn " line ended and the heroes returned to

2603-553: A prince and as a surgeon. Writers have intentionally sought to balance Earth-centric and Asgard-centric stories to keep the character interesting. Thor has a distinct manner of speech, inspired by the King James Version of the Bible and by the work of William Shakespeare . The extent of this style and how it is implemented has changed between writers. Thor's origin as a Norse god has allowed for religious themes to be invoked with

2740-828: A rotating pool of candidates to fill one of three roles on the team: Darkstar , Crimson Dynamo and Red Guardian . The Winter Guard first appeared during the Kurt Busiek run of Iron Man in (vol. 2) #9 (October 1998), where they had several guest appearances. They would later appear in Busiek's stint on the Avengers . The team made infrequent appearance in the Marvel Universe until Jeph Loeb brought them to attention in Hulk (vol. 2) #1. The Winter Guard soon appeared in She-Hulk and War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D. . David Gallaher brought

2877-457: A series retaining The New Avengers in its trademarked cover logo and New Avengers in its copyright indicia . Luke Cage led this team, consisting of himself, Echo , Ronin, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, Iron Fist , and Doctor Strange . During the long-term Secret Invasion by the shape-shifting alien race the Skrulls , it was revealed that Spider-Woman had been abducted and replaced by

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3014-556: A set of uru armor and a pair of iron gauntlets. When traveling with passengers or cargo as a consideration, Thor uses a chariot pulled by his two magic goats, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder . Thor's supporting cast includes the gods of Asgard: his father is the Asgardian king Odin, he was friends with Balder the Brave since childhood, and the Warriors Three sometimes accompany him. Thor

3151-507: A significant shift in Thor's characterization: the primary setting was moved from Earth to Asgard, Thor's love interest Jane Foster was written out of the story in favor of Sif, and Hercules became a major character. "Tales of Asgard" continued until Thor #145 (1967). The character's backstory was changed in Thor #159 (1968), when it was revealed that Thor was the actual mythological Thor rather than

3288-405: A superhero team, forming the Avengers. Odin eventually restores Thor as an Asgardian, revealing that Blake was a persona that he had invented for Thor. When Thor is defeated by Beta Ray Bill, Odin transfers the ability to transform into Blake from Thor to Beta Ray Bill. To continue living among mortals, Thor takes the name Sigurd Jarlson and becomes a construction worker. Odin later binds Thor to

3425-535: A team to tackle especially formidable villains. This in contrast to certain other superhero teams such as the X-Men , whose characters were created specifically to be part of their team, with the team being central to their identity. The Avengers were created to create a new line of books to sell and to cross-promote Marvel Comics characters. An Iron Man fan might buy an Avengers book because Iron Man appears in them, and perhaps in turn take an interest in Thor, who appears in

3562-647: A team under the aegis of the government's Fifty State Initiative program, and took up residency in New York City, joined by Ares , the Black Widow , the Sentry, the Wasp , Wonder Man , and leader Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel. After the events of the Secret Invasion story arc, Norman Osborn assumed control of the formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored Avengers, now under the auspices of his own agency, H.A.M.M.E.R. All but Ares and

3699-544: A team; the Wasp named the group Avengers . The roster changed almost immediately; in the second issue (November 1963), Ant-Man became Giant-Man, and at the end of the issue, the Hulk left once he realized how much the others feared his unstable personality. Captain America joined the team in issue #4 (March 1964), and he was given "founding member" status in the Hulk's place. The Hulk, upset about being replaced by Captain America and

3836-509: A tie in to the Avengers Disassembled storyline that saw major changes to Marvel's main characters. Issues #80–85 (2004) follow the events of Ragnarök as the story's primary setting, Asgard, is destroyed. This story arc was written by Michael Avon Oeming and drawn by Andrea Di Vito . A third volume of Thor began publication in 2007, written by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by Olivier Coipel . This volume began by addressing

3973-558: A younger and an older version of himself to defeat Gorr. Gorr's condemnation of the gods shakes Thor's confidence, and he finds himself unable to lift Mjolnir. The hammer is taken by Thor's ally Jane Foster , who temporarily becomes the new Thor before inspiring his confidence and returning the role to him. When Malekith the Accursed wages the War of the Realms , Thor sacrifices his eye in exchange for

4110-407: Is Thor's hubris that he finds himself unable to lift Mjolnir. He remains steadfast, consolidating his power over Earth for many years before he remorsefully goes back in time to prevent himself from seizing power over Earth. As Ragnarök begins, Thor learns that the Asgardians undergo an endless cycle of death and rebirth through Ragnarök, enforced by higher beings. To break the cycle, Thor destroys

4247-542: Is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers , and has played a significant role in Marvel crossover events, including Avengers Disassembled (2004), Siege (2010), and " The War of the Realms " (2019). Chris Hemsworth portrays the cinematic adaptation of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , first appearing in Thor (2011). Thor was created by Stan Lee , Jack Kirby , and Larry Lieber . After initially drafting

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4384-465: Is killed after coming to Thor's aid, Thor ends the attack and his banishment is commuted. After Thor discovers that Loki has been reborn as a child with no memories, they reunite as brothers. Odin's brother Serpent returns and wages war on Earth . Thor fights and defeats Serpent, sacrificing his own life. Kid Loki seeks out Blake to resurrect Thor. Thor then faces Gorr the God Butcher and teams with

4521-462: Is romantically involved with Sif , a fellow Asgardian. When Thor was banished to Earth as Dr. Blake, he met the nurse Jane Foster. Both Thor and his alter-ego Blake developed an attraction to Foster, creating a love triangle . When Thor returned to Asgard, he reunited with Sif. Thor's relationship with Foster has been the subject of disagreement between Thor and his father. Hercules of the Greek pantheon

4658-481: Is severed. When Odin seemingly dies, Thor becomes the king of Asgard. To cure humanity's ills, he relocates Asgard above Earth and takes control of human affairs to give them clean energy, healthcare, and economic prosperity. The extent of the entanglement and the resulting loss of liberties cause strife within Asgard and resentment from humanity. This leads to military conflict that destroys Asgard and New York City . Such

4795-629: The DC Extended Universe (DCEU), culminating with Justice League in 2017. Movies tend to have bigger audiences than comic books, so, the general public are more aware that the likes of Wonder Woman and Captain America existed in separate universes owned by different companies. The movies raised brand awareness of DC Comics and Marvel Comics. As of June 2022, the MCU is the highest-grossing film franchise in history, having collectively grossed over $ 26 billion in box-office revenue, more than twice that by

4932-591: The Fantastic Four , as well as various members of the X-Men , Heroes for Hire , and other prominent Marvel teams have served as members of the Avengers. The Avengers have a long list of villains they frequently face. Some of the most recurring include Ultron , Kang the Conqueror , Loki and Thanos . Abraham Josephine Riesman of Vulture included the Avengers team in their "12 Teams That Defined Superhero Storytelling" list. Michael Doran of Newsarama ranked

5069-492: The Grim Reaper and Klaw . The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with The Avengers #53 (June 1968). This was followed by the introduction of the android Vision . Pym assumed the new identity of Yellowjacket in issue #59, and married the Wasp the following month. The Avengers headquarters was in a New York City building called Avengers Mansion , courtesy of Tony Stark (Iron Man's real identity). The mansion

5206-403: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), culminating with the release of The Avengers in 2012. Before the MCU, superhero movies were usually isolated productions mostly because of licensing issues, but the shared universe model has led to its continued growing success. In response, Warner Brothers (which owns DC Comics) began to produce its own series of interconnected superhero movies known as

5343-430: The Marvel Cinematic Universe , appearing in Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Doctor Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). This version of Thor was introduced as a member of a technologically advanced alien race, placing less emphasis on

5480-459: The Marvel Now! relaunch. This run was written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Esad Ribic . The first eleven issues followed Thor, accompanied by an elderly Thor from the future and a young Thor from the past, battling Gorr the God Butcher . In the 2010s, Marvel began substituting its main characters with a new diverse cast of characters. Thor was replaced by Jane Foster as part of this trend during

5617-589: The Norse Mythology god, Thor ( Þór ). Created by artist Jack Kirby , writer Stan Lee , and scripter Larry Lieber , the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (1962) and first received his own title with Thor #126 (1966). Thor is an adaptation of the deity of the same name from Norse mythology , and many aspects of Thor's character are based on his mythological counterpart. Comic books featuring Thor have been published across several volumes since

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5754-700: The Ultimate Universe , Thor 2099 in Marvel 2099 , Throg the Frog of Thunder, and King Thor from the future. Wonder Woman of DC Comics wielded Thor's power after lifting Mjolnir in the 1996 miniseries DC vs. Marvel . According to Martin Arnold, Thor's existence as a comic book superhero has moved the ideas of Norse mythology from high culture to low culture , shifting it away from both its reputation as an academic topic and its association with Nazi iconography. Although

5891-582: The Wasp . Hulk left after a single issue, which would become a running gag among splinter team members (for example, Spider-Man leaving the second incarnation of the Avengers Unity Division), and his founder status was retroactively filled in by Captain America . Later additions and frequent members include Hawkeye , Wonder Man , Falcon , Black Panther , Captain Marvel , Scarlet Witch , Quicksilver , and Vision , among others. There are also numerous splinter teams that have formed, starting with

6028-584: The West Coast Avengers in 1984. Each of these splinter teams tends to specialize in a way the main team does not. Members of these teams can be on other splinter teams or on the main team. These teams are, in alphabetical order: Of these teams, only the main team, Avengers World, the Great Lakes Avengers, the Savage Avengers, and the Young Avengers are currently active. Additionally, all members of

6165-534: The West Coast Avengers ; and "Avengers Under Siege" which involved the second Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil taking over the mansion and severely injuring Jarvis and Hercules. "Assault on Olympus" featured Hercules' father, Zeus, blaming the Avengers for his son's injuries and brought them to Olympus for trial, and the "Heavy Metal" arc saw the Super Adaptoid organized several robotic villains for an assault on

6302-408: The 2014 Original Sin story arc, and she became the main character in the Thor franchise. The original Thor was called The Odinson during this period, and he starred in a separate series, The Unworthy Thor , written by Aaron and drawn by Olivier Coipel . Thor was relaunched with Marvel's Fresh Start branding, still written by Aaron, restoring The Odinson as Thor and leading up to " The War of

6439-458: The 2017 " Secret Empire " storyline, when Captain America was 'reprogrammed' to believe that he had been a Hydra sleeper agent since childhood, the Hydra regime formed their own Avengers. This team consisted of Odinson (Thor currently doubting his worth and believing that Rogers must be 'right' as he could wield Mjolnir when Thor couldn't, unaware that Hydra had used the cosmic cube to change the nature of

6576-536: The 500th issue of the original series, Marvel changed the numbering, and The Avengers #500–503 (Sept.– Dec. 2004), the one-shot Avengers Finale (Jan. 2005) became the " Avengers Disassembled " storyline and final issues. In January 2005, a new version of the team appeared in the ongoing title The New Avengers , followed by The Mighty Avengers , Avengers: The Initiative , and Dark Avengers . Avengers vol. 4 debuted in July 2010 and ran until January 2013. Vol. 5

6713-476: The Asgardians, Thor is one of the most powerful. He possesses superhuman strength , and centuries of combat have trained him as a proficient warrior. Thor is also educated in human medicine from his experience as Blake, who was a surgeon. Thor wields an enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, which is crafted from the fictional metal uru, making it nearly indestructible. Wielding it grants him control over wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, amplifying his natural control over

6850-455: The Avengers 1st in their "10 Best Superhero Teams of All Time" list. Jason Serafino of Complex ranked the Avengers 2nd in their "10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics" list. Chris Isaac of Screen Rant the Avengers team 2nd in their "15 Best Superhero Teams Of All Time" list. Geoff Boucher of Deadline ranked the Avengers team 3rd in their "Stan Lee's Legacy: Ranking The Hollywood Heroes Co-Created By The Marvel Comics Icon" list. Most of

6987-585: The Avengers Unity Squad continues to operate to support mutant relations. Iron Man forms a new team of Avengers in the All-New All-Different Avengers series consisting of himself, the Vision, Nova , Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Captain America (Sam Wilson), and Thor (Jane Foster). Following the " Civil War II ", storyline, the title was canceled and replaced with

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7124-403: The Avengers team 1st in their "Best Superhero Teams of All Time" list. Comic Book Resources asserted, "The Avengers are known as Earth's mightiest heroes, and that appellation is self-explanatory. The team combines Marvel's greatest heroes into one powerful unit, an assemblage of heroes that faces down the deadliest threats the Marvel Universe can throw at them. The team has proven to be one of

7261-567: The Avengers. The U.S. government revoked the Avengers' New York State charter in a treaty with the Soviet Union. The Avengers then received a charter from the United Nations and the Avengers split into two teams again with a substitute reserve team backing up the main teams. At this point, ongoing storylines and character development focused on the Black Knight, Sersi , Crystal , Hercules,

7398-645: The Celestials set upright the corpse of the long-time dead Progenitor in the North Pole. The Avengers refurbished the Progenitor's corpse, transforming it into their base of operations, the Avengers Mountain. The Avengers team lineup is known for being perpetually fluid and changing, with many members coming and going, often more than once. The founding members of the team were Iron Man , Thor , Hulk , Ant-Man and

7535-405: The Children of the Sun. The "Multiversal Avengers" division of this team consists of Abyss, the Ex Nihili (including Ex Nihilo), Hyperion, Nightmask, Odinson, and Star Brand. Following the destruction and reconstruction of reality in the 2015 " Secret Wars " storyline, a new team is created known as Avengers Idea Mechanics, set to tackle Avengers-level threats beyond simply fighting villains, while

7672-415: The Crimson Dynamo. When She-Hulk points out that Darkstar and Red Guardian were dead, Iron Man tells her that they were replaced with new people. It is unknown if the other members of the team are new as well. After teaming up with War Machine to fight the Skrulls , the team was later seen clashing with She-Hulk and the Lady Liberators – and again with The Presence and Igor Drenkov . This version of

7809-425: The Hobgoblin, the fifth Jack O'Lantern, Loki, Mystique, and Sabretooth, all temporarily 'inverted' to act as heroes, to assist he and Spider-Man in defeating the inverted Avengers and X-Men until the original spell can be undone. During the " Time Runs Out " storyline, Sunspot created a team of the Avengers, consisting of himself, Black Widow, Cannonball, Manifold, Pod, Shang-Chi, Smasher, Spider-Woman, Validator, and

7946-412: The Maximoff twins, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (Marvel Comics) . Giant-Man, now calling himself Goliath, and the Wasp rejoined. Hercules became part of the team, while the Black Knight and the Black Widow abetted the Avengers but did not become members until years later. Spider-Man was offered membership but did not join the group. The Black Panther joined after rescuing the team from

8083-418: The Realms " (2019). A new volume of Thor began publication in 2020, written by Donny Cates and drawn by Nic Klein , which follows Thor as the ruler of Asgard. The next series, The Immortal Thor , premiered in 2023. Thor was born to Odin , the king of Asgard, and Gaea , the Earth goddess. He was then raised by Odin's wife, Frigga , believing her to be his mother. As Thor comes of age, Odin gifts him

8220-403: The Sentry left this team — the Wasp appeared to have died — and the team migrated to the series Dark Avengers . Osborn recruited Marvel Boy to pose as Captain Marvel and Daken to pose as his father, Wolverine , bringing Moonstone, Bullseye, and Venom from his previous Thunderbolts team to impersonate Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man respectively. In The Mighty Avengers , Pym, assumed

8357-403: The Skrull queen Veranke before she even joined the team. After the Skrulls' defeat, Spider-Woman was rescued along with other abducted and replaced heroes. During the company-wide story arc " Dark Reign ", Echo and Iron Fist left the team and the Avengers gained Ms. Marvel , Bucky Barnes as a fill-in Captain America , and Mockingbird . Iron Man, in the series The Mighty Avengers , formed

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8494-527: The Soviet Union. Other major villains include Surtur , Enchantress , Executioner , Hela , Malekith the Accursed , Ulik , Mangog , the Destroyer , Serpent , Ymir , Laufey , Fafnir , Perrikus , Gorr the God Butcher , the Midgard Serpent , Kurse , the Wrecking Crew , Ragnarok , and Galactus . Other characters have taken the title of Thor, including Jane Foster, Beta Ray Bill, Eric Masterson, Volstagg , and Storm . The Marvel Multiverse features many variants of Thor, including Ultimate Thor in

8631-440: The Unexpected #16 (1957). Shortly after Thor premiered, Lieber moved on to other projects, and Thor was given to other writers. Various artists worked on Thor in his first issues, including Don Heck and Joe Sinnott . Lee soon took over writing duties for several Marvel superhero titles, as the writers did not meet his expectations, and he became the writer for Thor beginning in Journey into Mystery #97 (1963). Kirby became

8768-399: The United Nations. Members joining during that period included Jack of Hearts and the second Ant-Man . A new Captain Britain was added to the team. The " Avengers Disassembled " storyline followed. Titled Chaos , the story featured the deaths of some members and a loss of credibility for the team. The culprit is revealed to be the Scarlet Witch , who had gone insane after agonizing over

8905-443: The Vision, and the Black Widow. Their primary antagonists in this run were the mysterious Proctor and his team of other-dimensional Avengers known as the Gatherers. During this period, the Avengers found themselves facing increasingly murderous enemies and were forced to question their rule against killing. This culminated in " Operation: Galactic Storm ", a 19-part storyline that ran through all Avengers-related titles and showcased

9042-429: The Wasp identity in tribute to his fallen ex-wife, led a new team of Avengers, and claimed the name for his team as he was the only founding Avenger on any of the three active Avengers rosters (Wasp and Cap were dead, Thor was acting solo, and Iron Man was on the run from Osborn). His team operated under a multinational umbrella group, the Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity (GRAMPA). This team featured

9179-458: The Wasp, reformed the team in response after complaints from Jarvis. Mantis joined the team along with the reformed Swordsman . "The Avengers-Defenders Clash" storyline crossed over between the two team titles. "The Celestial Madonna" arc linked Mantis' origins to the very beginnings of the Kree-Skrull conflict in a time-spanning adventure involving Kang the Conqueror, and Immortus , who were past and future versions of each other. Mantis

9316-650: The Winter Guard were seen fighting monsters that were attacking Moscow. The Winter Guard is later reassembled with Ursa Major, Crimson Dynamo, Red Guardian, Darkstar, Vostok, Perun , Chernobog and Red Widow. Their current membership is: The Winter Guard appear as playable characters in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 . Avengers (comics) The Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics , created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby . The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 (cover-dated September 1963). Labeled "Earth's Mightiest Heroes",

9453-487: The Witch. Taskmaster and Black Ant free the imprisoned Champions in exchange for leniency, and the true version of Steve Rogers was restored, using Mjolnir against his counterpart. In May 2018, another volume for the series was launched as part of Marvel's Fresh Start initiative, written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Ed McGuinness . This new volume also saw the return of the main three core members, as Steve Rogers and Thor met up with Tony Stark to convince him to reassemble

9590-450: The ability to travel through time, but it has since lost this power. When Thor transforms into a human, Mjolnir takes the guise of a walking stick that he can use to transform back into Thor. During these times, being separated from the hammer for sixty seconds reverts him back to his human form. Besides his hammer, Thor possesses a magic belt that doubles his strength, but it drains him of energy and he uses it only sparingly. He also owns

9727-450: The apparent betrayal by Rick, sought revenge against the Avengers, who teamed up with the Fantastic Four to stop him in The Fantastic Four #26 (May 1964). The Avengers went on to fight foes such as Baron Zemo , who formed the Masters of Evil , Kang the Conqueror , Wonder Man , and Count Nefaria . The next milestone came when every member but Captain America resigned; they were replaced by three former villains: Hawkeye and

9864-466: The artist shortly afterward, beginning in Journey into Mystery #101 (1964). When Marvel's distributor allowed them more monthly releases, The Avengers was developed as a new comic book series. Thor was included as an inaugural member of the titular superhero team . By 1965, the difficulty of maintaining continuity between The Avengers and the titles of the individual characters prompted Lee to write

10001-581: The broader setting. DC Comics pioneered this idea with the Justice Society of America and the Justice League , likewise promoting and developing the DC Universe . Many readers devoted themselves to just one of these two comic book universes. After all, they were both quite large and didn't overlap. Thus, the superhero fan community developed sub-communities of DC devotees and Marvel devotees. Marvel Studios repeated this business strategy when it produced

10138-452: The character's introduction. Thor is one of the gods of Asgard and the son of the Asgardian king Odin . In addition to his Asgardian strength and extended lifespan, Thor wields control over the weather, including rain and lightning. He also carries the enchanted hammer Mjolnir , that enhances his abilities and grants him the ability to fly. Thor was first introduced as the alter ego of surgeon Donald Blake , who acquired Thor's power, which

10275-504: The character, Lee gave the project to his brother Lieber to write the stories. Kirby developed Thor's visual design, and he had an interest in ancient mythology that lent itself to the character's creation and design. Bulfinch's Mythology was used as a reference during Thor's creation. As superhero comics became more popular, Marvel began replacing its previous comic book lines with superheroes. Thor first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (1962). Like other superheroes created at

10412-525: The character. He is also reminiscent of the Vikings and invokes positive aspects of their image, but he has rejected the brutality associated with Viking raids . Thor is one of the gods of Asgard, granting him exceptional strength, durability, and endurance. Though not fully immortal, Asgardians have immense lifespans and are immune to disease. Until Thor ended the Ragnarok cycle, the Asgardians went through an endless series of deaths and reincarnations. Among

10549-494: The characters I had in mind, I asked my brother, Larry, to write the script because I didn't have time. ...and it was only natural for me to assign the penciling to Jack Kirby... The idea for adapting Thor as a superhero was first developed when Lee and Kirby heard of Marvel being discussed as "twentieth-century mythology". Thor was well-suited to be recreated as a superhero, as the mythological character already had an established supporting cast, superpowers, and sense of justice. At

10686-551: The characters that appear in Marvel Comics ' books are set in the same fictional universe, known as the Marvel Universe . They occasionally make guest appearances in each other's books, and more regularly in team books, such as The Avengers . Such crossovers encouraged readers to buy other books in the Marvel Comics catalogue, and readers became engrossed not just in the individual characters but in their web of relationships across

10823-552: The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992. The Winter Guard made their debut with that name in Iron Man (vol. 3) #9, and fought alongside the Avengers during both the " Maximum Security " crossover, and the " Kang War ". Whilst investigating the murder of the Abomination (who was killed by Red Hulk ), Doc Samson , She-Hulk and Thunderbolt Ross encounter the revitalized Winter Guard, consisting of Ursa Major, Red Guardian, Darkstar and

10960-414: The direct applicability of Marvel's Thor to the mythological Thor is limited, Marvel's Thor is a prominent representation of Norse mythology in popular culture and represents an entry point for the understanding of Norse folklore in modern times. The character created a 20th century American audience for Norse myth that expanded significantly when Marvel's Thor was adapted to film. Thor has appeared among

11097-512: The dynamic of Thor introducing a second character who Odin recognized as worthy of Thor's power. In the 1990s, Marvel briefly supplemented its main superheroes with more violent anti-hero versions. During this time, Thor was replaced with Eric Masterson . During the Heroes Reborn event, many of Marvel's superheroes were given new volumes, restarted at issue #1, but Thor's series was not renewed. A new volume of Thor instead launched during

11234-552: The earlier films and the gauntlet and boot from an action sequence in Iron Man 3 . The exhibit for Thor: The Dark World was called "Thor: Treasures of Asgard", and featured displays of Asgardian relics and transports guests to Odin 's throne room, where they were greeted by Thor. Captain America: The Winter Soldier ' s exhibit, "Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage", featured

11371-446: The enchantment), Deadpool, a Chthon-possessed Scarlet Witch, Vision (who was suffering from an A.I. Virus created by Arnim Zola ), Taskmaster , Eric O'Grady 's Life Model Decoy counterpart Black Ant , and Doctor Octopus ' Superior Octopus appearance. However, in the final stand, Odinson rejects Rogers' authority and sides with his old allies, while the Vision's daughter purges him of the virus and Brother Voodoo exorcises Chthon from

11508-505: The flagship title of the Marvel NOW! initiative. The title is written by Rick Remender with art by John Cassaday , and the team contains members of both the Avengers and the X-Men. As well, a biweekly Avengers title was launched, written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by different artists for each story arc. Hickman also began writing New Avengers . During the 2014 " AXIS " storyline, when

11645-457: The granddaughter of Thanos . The team relocated for a period to a floating island off the coast of New York called Hydrobase after Avengers Mansion was severely damaged during the events in "Under Siege". Hydrobase was later sunk during the Acts of Vengeance crossover. The Avengers and West Coast Avengers changed to allow members to be active when available and reserved when not available and merged

11782-524: The group with themselves at its core. The reunion was consolidated by the machinations of Loki, who facilitated the arrival of the world-threatening Dark Celestials as a ploy to get the Avengers back in action, resulting in the participation of Black Panther , Captain Marvel , She-Hulk , Ghost Rider and Blade , with the Black Panther being elected chairperson. After the Dark Celestials were defeated,

11919-403: The identity of Donald Blake. As Blake, Thor visits Scandinavia where he stumbles upon a walking stick, which he discovers can turn into Mjolnir and give him the powers of Thor. In a plot to defeat Thor, Loki provokes the Hulk into attacking a train. While Loki is successful in luring Thor out, he is accompanied by Iron Man , Ant-Man , and Wasp . After defeating Loki, the heroes come together as

12056-528: The king of Asgard , giving him political power that he abused. An alternate version of the Avengers, the Ultimates , debuted in 2002 as part of the Ultimate Marvel branding that re-imagined Marvel characters in an alternative universe. This universe's version of Thor has the same powers, but he is a pacifist and it is left unclear whether he is truly a god or mentally unstable. Thor volume two ended with

12193-415: The latest incarnation of the Masters of Evil single-handedly, and proved his innocence. Pym reconciled with the Wasp, but they decided to remain apart. Pym retired from super-heroics, but returned years later. This was followed by several major storylines, such as "Ultimate Vision" in which the Vision took over the world's computer systems in a misguided attempt to create world peace; the formation of

12330-476: The main team and become more involved with the New Avengers . During the events of the " Avengers vs. X-Men " storyline, Storm quits to side with her fellow mutants as a member of the X-Men. The Avengers dismiss Noh-Varr after he attempted to betray the team, though ultimately he did not. The conflict ends with both teams united but defeated by an unrepentant Cyclops . A new series, Uncanny Avengers , debuted in

12467-454: The major crossover event " Acts of Vengeance " where Loki assembled many of Marvel's arch-villains, his inner circle consisted of Doctor Doom, Magneto , Kingpin , Mandarin , Wizard , and Red Skull , in a plot to destroy the team. Loki orchestrated a mass breakout of villains from prison facility, the Vault , as part of his "Acts of Vengeance" scheme, but he ultimately failed in his goal to destroy

12604-507: The memory of her lost children and who subsequently lost control of her reality-altering powers. With the team in disarray and Avengers Mansion ruined, the surviving members agreed to disband. A new Avengers team formed, in the series New Avengers after a group of heroes banded together to thwart a break-out at super-villain prison the Raft, composed of Iron Man, Captain America, Luke Cage , Wolverine , Ronin , Spider-Man , Spider-Woman , and

12741-464: The mortal Donald Blake and the immortal Thor. Thor finds himself split between Asgard and Earth, having an established life and loyalty to both. Though he is an Asgardian, he was born to Gaea, the Earth goddess, and he is imbued with an intrinsic connection to Earth. While he is bound to Dr. Blake, Thor holds significant responsibilities in both realms, and he is often forced to choose between his role as

12878-469: The mortal Eric Masterson to save Masteron's life. Thor is exiled for seemingly killing Loki, but Masterson retains the powers of Thor and becomes the superhero Thunderstrike . During the Onslaught attack, Thor is one of the heroes who is transported to an alternate dimension by Franklin Richards , but they are soon returned. Thor is again bound to a mortal, this time to Jake Olson, but this connection too

13015-430: The most potent groups in all of comics, boasting legendary heroes and battling in titanic wars for the fate of all reality," and ranked the Avengers team 1st in their "10 Most Important Marvel Hero Teams" list, 1st in their "Every Marvel Superhero Team" list, 1st in their "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams" list, and 2nd in their "Marvel: 10 Most Powerful Teams" list. Poushali Guharauth of Sportskeeda ranked

13152-472: The mysterious Sentry . This was soon followed by the House of M event. In the company-wide " Civil War " story arc, Marvel superheroes were split over compliance with the U.S. government's new Superhuman Registration Act , which required all superpowered persons to register their true identities with the federal government and become agents of same. The New Avengers disbanded, with a rebel underground starring in

13289-403: The original Avengers series with issue #672. Starting with issue #675, all four Avengers titles being published at the time ( Avengers , Uncanny Avengers , U.S. Avengers and Occupy Avengers ) were merged into a single weekly series dubbed Avengers: No Surrender, lasting 16 issues , designed to close out this era of the team's history. Following the conclusion of No Surrender in 2018,

13426-400: The original Avengers consisted of Iron Man , Ant-Man , Hulk , Thor and the Wasp . Captain America was discovered trapped in ice in issue #4, and joined the group after they revived him. The Avengers are an all-star ensemble cast of established superhero characters from the Marvel Comics portfolio. Diegetically, these superheroes usually operate independently but occasionally assemble as

13563-476: The original cast out of The Avengers, including Thor. Lee created a second series that centered on Norse mythology, "Tales of Asgard". First appearing in Journey into Mystery #97 (1963), this series focused on Thor's mythological adventures and greatly expanded his roster of supporting characters, including Sif , Balder the Brave , and the Warriors Three . Journey into Mystery was eventually renamed to Thor , beginning with Thor #126 (1966). This marked

13700-572: The prime Marvel Universe. This restoration also undid recent changes to the team members such as the Wasp being mutated into an insectoid state, Hawkeye being rendered deaf, and Stark being replaced by his teenage self, attributed to Franklin's childish perception recreating the heroes in the manner he was more familiar with. After the Heroes Reborn series concluded, the Avengers comic was restarted with vol. 3 #1 written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by George Pérez . New members during this run included

13837-641: The ramifications of Avengers Disassembled and slowly reintroducing Thor's supporting characters. Thor was then a central character in the Siege event in 2010, which featured Marvel's cast of superheroes defending Asgard from Norman Osborn . To coincide with the Thor film, Marvel launched a number of new series starring the character in mid-2010. These included Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee, Thor: First Thunder by Bryan J. L. Glass and Tan Eng Huat , Thor: For Asgard by Robert Rodi and Simone Bianchi , and Iron Man/Thor by

13974-442: The revived Wonder Man, Justice , Firestar , Silverclaw , and Triathlon . The Avengers fought many of their traditional villains such as the Grim Reaper , Ultron , Count Nefaria , and Kang the Conqueror . The limited series Avengers Forever , starting during this period, was a time travel story that explored the history of the Avengers and resolved many outstanding questions about Kang and Immortus's past manipulations of

14111-670: The roster of Hercules , Amadeus Cho , Stature , the Vision, Jocasta , U.S. Agent , Quicksilver , Magneto , and Pym. Loki in disguise as the Scarlet Witch was a recurring character. Iron Man and the Hulk were briefly with them. After Osborn's Dark Avengers are exposed as criminals and their attack on Asgard was thwarted, the next iteration of the Avengers roster consists of Thor , Hawkeye , Spider-Man , Wolverine , Captain America , Spider-Woman , Iron Man , and team leader Maria Hill . Steve Rogers , briefly eschewing his Captain America persona, responds to Luke Cage's concerns about

14248-482: The same book as Iron Man's friend and comrade. The cast usually features a few highly popular characters who have their own solo books, such as Iron Man, alongside a number of lesser-known characters who benefit from exposure, such as Quicksilver , Wonder Man and Tigra . The Avengers have appeared in a wide variety of media outside of comic books, including several different animated television series and direct-to-video films. Beginning in 2008, they were adapted in

14385-582: The second largest franchise, Star Wars . After the acquisition by Disney in 2009, Marvel films began to be marketed at the Innoventions attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland . For Iron Man 3 , the exhibit, entitled "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries", featured the same armor display that was shown at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, with the Marks I-VII and the new Mark XLII. In addition, there

14522-467: The series was relaunched again as Avengers . When the Asgardian god Loki seeks revenge against his brother Thor , his machinations unwittingly lead teenager Rick Jones to collect Ant-Man ( Hank Pym ), the Wasp and Iron Man to help Thor and the Hulk , the latter of whom Loki used as a pawn. After the group vanquished Loki, Ant-Man stated that the five worked well together and suggested they form

14659-516: The seven-member limit lost his membership slot to the Falcon. The Falcon, in turn, was unhappy to be the beneficiary of what he perceived to be tokenism , and decided to resign from the team, after which Wonder Man rejoined. The true origins of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were revealed in a three-part story that ran in issues #185–187 (July–Sept. 1979). After this adventure, the Scarlet Witch took

14796-509: The subsequent Heroes Return event. This volume was written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by John Romita Jr. . To humanize Thor, he was again bound to a mortal to humanize him, this time giving him the alter-ego of paramedic Jake Olson. The subsequent period of Marvel's history reflected the political turmoil that followed the September 11 attacks and the War on Terror . For Thor, this involved becoming

14933-514: The tapestry of the Three Fates, reincarnating the Asgardians as mortals. In the meantime, a clone of Thor is created by the pro-registration faction during the civil war between superheroes. While in the afterlife, Thor once again binds himself to Blake to resurrect himself, and creates a new Asgard floating over Oklahoma , gathering the Asgardians who had been reincarnated as mortals. When Loki resurrects Thor's grandfather, Bor , Bor goes into

15070-461: The team back in Hulk: Winter Guard which first appeared as a Marvel Digital Comic and was later reprinted as a comic book . Gallaher returned to writing the team with a 3-issue limited series called Darkstar and the Winter Guard in 2010. The Winter Guard were originally known as The Soviet Super Soldiers and appeared in various comics from the mid-1970s. That name lost meaning following

15207-538: The team crossed into an alternate dimension and battled the Squadron Supreme , and fought in the Kree-Skrull War , an epic battle between the alien Kree and Skrull races and guest-starred the Kree hero, Captain Marvel . The Avengers briefly disband when Skrulls impersonating Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man used their authority as founders of the team and disbanded it. The true founding Avengers, minus

15344-460: The team in Avengers #159 (1977). In the mid-1970s, Marvel considered giving the character a second series as part of parent company Magazine Management 's line of black-and-white comics magazines . A story written by Steve Englehart for the aborted project appeared in Thor Annual #5 (1976). Doug Moench wrote for Thor from 1981 to 1983. This run was poorly received, which Moench argued

15481-457: The team reverting to old methods by granting Cage's "New Avengers" recognition as an official team independent of Stark's more traditional Avengers. Bucky Barnes as Captain America joined the main Avengers, while Iron Fist, Power Woman , and the Thing joined Cage's team, Spider-Man and Wolverine maintaining dual membership in both teams. Rogers was an occasional presence and Victoria Hand was added as

15618-640: The team soon after. A seven-part story featured the Squadron Supreme and the Serpent Crown . Other classic storylines included " The Bride of Ultron ", the " Nefaria Trilogy", and "The Korvac Saga", which featured nearly every Avenger who joined the team up to that point. Henry Peter Gyrich became the Avengers' liaison to the United States National Security Council . Gyrich was prejudiced against superhumans and acted in

15755-520: The team uses an old alien ship, from the Dire Wraith race, as a headquarters. They were mentioned by Storm as possible back-up while Rachel Summers was investigating in Madripoor. The Winter Guard was apparently destroyed by The Intelligencia, who tested their ultimate weapon The Zero Cannon on the unsuspecting heroes. However they were later seen to have survived. During the " Monsters Unleashed " storyline,

15892-576: The team, featuring various Avengers from the past (Captain America immediately after " Secret Empire ", Hank Pym early in his Yellowjacket delusion, and Hawkeye just after the Kree-Skrull war), present (Hank Pym as Giant-Man and Janet as the Wasp) and possible futures (Genis-Vell and Songbird) working alongside Kang the Conqueror and Rick Jones as part of Kang's attempt to escape his perceived 'destiny' as Immortus. The Avengers were granted international authority by

16029-630: The team. New members during the 1980s included Tigra ; the She-Hulk ; Monica Rambeau (then going by the name Captain Marvel); Starfox (the brother of Thanos ); Hawkeye's wife, Mockingbird ; and Namor , while Henry Pym emerged from retirement to join the West Coast Avengers. Spider-Man was again offered membership, but failed to gain admission due to security concerns by the Avengers' government liaison. The villain Nebula falsely claimed to be

16166-555: The team. This story revealed that the Scarlet Witch's powers included wide-range reality manipulation and she was what the time-traveling Immortus refers to as a "nexus being" setting the stage for 2004's eventual Chaos and Avengers Disassembled storylines. This played out in the Darker than Scarlet storyline which ran in Avengers West Coast from issues #51–62 (Nov. 1989–Sept. 1990). The Avengers titles in late 1989 were involved in

16303-564: The time Thor was created, there were approximately 15 million Scandinavian Americans , and the United States had a general cultural awareness of historical Scandinavian culture through ideas of Vikings and Leif Erikson . A previous adaptation of Thor had appeared in Venus #1 (1948), published by what is now Marvel Comics. Kirby had previously adapted Thor for DC Comics in Adventure Comics #75 (1942), Boy Commandos #7 (1944), Tales of

16440-403: The time was a teenager. John and Sal Buscema were the artists for this run. After Conway gave up the series, editor Len Wein took over as its writer. After returning to the Avengers, Thor was again removed in Avengers #151 (1976) because writer Steve Englehart believed that Thor was too powerful for the group. Fan backlash ensued, and the subsequent writer, Jim Shooter , returned him to

16577-485: The time, Thor usurped a comic book anthology that had previously been dedicated to monster fiction . Thor arose from Lee's desire to create a superhero who was more powerful than Hulk or the Fantastic Four . Lee in 2002 described Thor's genesis early in the Marvel pantheon, following the creation of the Hulk: [H]ow do you make someone stronger than the strongest person? It finally came to me: Don't make him human — make him

16714-456: The top five in several ranked lists of greatest Avengers characters. Kirby had intended to replace Thor and his cast of characters with a new pantheon of deities; this idea was nixed by Lee, but it eventually became the New Gods and Fourth World stories that Kirby created for DC Comics. Thor influenced the comic book Black Hammer , which features various homages to the character. Thor

16851-493: The two separate Avengers teams into one team with two bases. The Vision had his personality fundamentally altered, along with the discovery that the children of the Scarlet Witch and the Vision were actually illusions. The loss of the Scarlet Witch's children and the Vision, who was disassembled by government agents in retaliation for the Ultimate Vision storyline, drove her insane, although she eventually recovered and rejoined

16988-405: The weather. He can use the hammer to fly by throwing it into the air and grabbing the leather strap to pull himself off the ground. The hammer also allows Thor to travel between dimensions, moving him between Earth and Asgard. Mjolnir is enchanted so that it may only be lifted by those who are worthy. Another enchantment causes it to always return to its wielder when thrown. It previously gave Thor

17125-611: The wisdom to defeat him, and Thor then reunites with his past and future selves as well as Foster's Thor to win the battle. When Galactus arrives to warn of the Black Winter, he imbues Thor with the Power Cosmic and enlists him as a herald, only for Thor to use the power to kill him. As with many Marvel superheroes, Thor was created as a flawed character. He is conflicted between his sense of moral purity and his pride, and his father Odin seeks to teach him humility. For his arrogance, he

17262-452: The writing duo of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning . The limited series Thor: The Mighty Avenger was published across eight issues from 2010 to 2011, following Thor in his earlier years as a less serious, family friendly interpretation of the character. This series was written by Roger Langridge and drawn by Chris Samnee , and was met with critical praise. The next Thor series, Thor: God of Thunder , began publication in 2012 during

17399-412: Was a simulator game, titled "Become Iron Man", that used Kinect -like technology to allow the viewer to be encased in an animated Mark XLII armor and take part in a series of "tests," in which you fire repulsor rays and fly through Tony Stark's workshop. The game was guided by J.A.R.V.I.S., who is voiced again by Paul Bettany. The exhibit also had smaller displays that included helmets and chest pieces from

17536-421: Was considered for its own spin-off, but this was not seen through due to the ongoing writers strike and concerns about the character's design. A Thor movie was set for production with Universal Pictures in 1981, but it was one of several planned Marvel projects that were not produced. Lee also pitched a Thor film to Fox Studios , but it was not accepted. Chris Hemsworth portrays an adaptation of Thor in

17673-415: Was due to the limitations imposed by editor Mark Gruenwald . Walter Simonson subsequently took over the series, revitalizing it and increasing sales. Simonson's run was highly regarded by critics, and it included several major milestones in Thor's history, including "The Surtur Saga", "Skurge's Last Stand", "Mjolnir's Song", and "The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill". His introduction of Beta Ray Bill shifted

17810-642: Was first adapted in The Marvel Super Heroes , an animated television serial, in 1966. Thor has since appeared in various animated television programs featuring Marvel characters, as a main character in ensemble casts and through guest appearances in other Marvel properties. The character also stars in the animated direct-to-video film Thor: Tales of Asgard . A live action adaptation of Thor appears in The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988), portrayed by Eric Allan Kramer . This version of Thor

17947-528: Was forced by Odin to live as a mortal, and Thor's experience with humanity provides his character growth. When Thor was first created, he was an exception to Marvel's real world approach to storytelling, emphasizing the fantastical over current events and modern social issues. As he became more connected to the Marvel Universe, social commentary became more common. Thor was also one of several Marvel characters who underwent physical transformation to explore different aspects of his character, transforming between

18084-610: Was initially introduced as a rival to Thor, but the two eventually became allies. Beta Ray Bill became an ally of Thor after proving his worthiness and receiving a hammer of his own from Odin, Stormbreaker. On Earth, Thor is allied with the Avengers, of which he is a founding member. Thor's nemesis is his half-brother Loki . As Thor is the heir to Asgard's throne, Loki envies Thor and engages in plots to seize power over Asgard for himself. Thor regularly fights mythological creatures such as trolls and giants. Besides his supernatural opponents, Thor also fights human groups such as agents of

18221-457: Was later revealed to be a fabrication by Thor's father. Thor has since assumed other human identities and sometimes ruled as king of Asgard. Thor's cast of supporting characters includes his fellow Asgardians Odin, Sif , The Warriors Three , and Balder the Brave , as well as other allies such as Jane Foster , Beta Ray Bill , and Hercules . Thor's arch-nemesis is the Asgardian Loki . Thor

18358-509: Was launched in February 2013. After Secret Wars , a new Avengers team debuted, dubbed the All-New, All-Different Avengers , starting with a Free Comic Book Day preview. Following Civil War II , the book was relaunched in 2016 as Avengers , while retaining the same writer and much of the cast from the All-New, All-Different run. The series ran for 11 issues before reverting to the numbering of

18495-494: Was revealed that Iron Man became a murderer via the manipulations of the villain Kang, the same storyline seeing Iron Man sacrificing himself and being replaced by his teenage counterpart from a parallel timeline. During the Heroes Reborn event, many of the Avengers together with the Fantastic Four and others, died trying to stop the psychic entity Onslaught , although it was revealed that Franklin Richards preserved those heroes in

18632-515: Was revealed to be the Celestial Madonna, who was destined to give birth to a being that would save the universe. It was revealed that the Vision's body had only been appropriated, and not created by Ultron, and that it had belonged to the 1940s Human Torch . With his origins clear to him, the Vision proposed to the Scarlet Witch. The "Celestial Madonna" saga ended with their wedding, presided over by Immortus. The Beast and Moondragon joined

18769-602: Was serviced by Edwin Jarvis , the Avengers' faithful butler, and furnished with state of the art technology and defense systems, and included the Avengers' primary mode of transport: the five-engine Quinjet . The prequel comic Avengers #1 1/2 (Dec. 1999), by writer Roger Stern and artist Bruce Timm, told a retro-style story taking place between issues #1 and #2, detailing Ant-Man's decision to transform himself into Giant-Man. The team encountered new characters such as Arkon in issue #75 (April 1970) and Red Wolf in #80 (Sept. 1970). The team's adventures increased in scope as

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