# How well-known is Thor, the Marvel comics character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578 "2010-02-26T22:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/1 "2010-02-26T22:37:11Z")
Do many people outside the comic-book-collecting community know this character? [http://media.comicmix.com/media/2008/11/14/thor-kirby.jpg](http://media.comicmix.com/media/2008/11/14/thor-kirby.jpg) [![](https://graphicworlds.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/300px-thor-2.jpg) ](https://graphicworlds.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/300px-thor-2.jpg) [![](https://media.photobucket.com/image/thor%20marvel%20comics/bmeets/thor.jpg) ](https://media.photobucket.com/image/thor%20marvel%20comics/bmeets/thor.jpg) The hammer probably gives him away as the Norse God of Thunder, I am thinking. Of course, I could be wrong! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/2 "2010-02-26T23:10:57Z")
I can sing the song…about the rainbow bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar, you’ll behold in breathless wonder, the god of thunder, MIIIIIGHTY THOR. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/3 "2010-02-26T23:26:25Z")
Is there a DC version of Thor? I know both they & Marvel used Hercules. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/4 "2010-02-26T23:32:53Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > Is there a DC version of Thor? I know both they & Marvel used Hercules. I am pretty sure that there is, but DC’s Thor has only put in a very few appearances, as far as I can tell. A Wonder Woman comic from the late 1970s – I think it was 1978’s "Wonder Woman Spectacular – featured him briefly. I am very hazy about any other showings. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/5 "2010-02-26T23:37:20Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I can sing the song…about the rainbow bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar, you’ll behold in breathless wonder, the god of thunder, MIIIIIGHTY THOR. I never saw the cartoon – they didn’t run it in my area when I was a child (in the 1960s)-- until the late 1980s, I think! ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/6 "2010-02-26T23:41:40Z")
DC’s Thor- atleast Vertigo’s version of Thor is a hulking good-natured brute in the the Sandman comic. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/7 "2010-02-26T23:49:42Z")
I loved Marvel’s Thor, being a sucker for long blond hair and mythology. Very interesting and different. I remember his ‘girlfriend’ was transformed into a Norse goddess temporarily and she couldn’t handle it and made an embarrassment out of herself, lol. I don’t know if anyone today is familiar with Thor, other than him being a name out of mythology. If they’re making a movie, it will resonate with baby boomers, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/8 "2010-02-26T23:50:56Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > DC’s Thor- atleast Vertigo’s version of Thor is a hulking good-natured brute in the the Sandman comic. Interesting! I have never followed “Vertigo” – I will have to check it out sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/9 "2010-02-27T00:46:43Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Interesting! I have never followed “Vertigo” – I will have to check it out sometime. Loki is a major character in the Sandman saga; Thor is peripheral but very amusing when he does appear. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/10 "2010-02-27T02:02:36Z")
I know he exists as a character, but little else. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/11 "2010-02-27T03:01:01Z")
I’m vaguely aware of the fact that there exists a comic book character “Thor”, and given that, I might have guessed correctly given your second photo. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/12 "2010-02-27T03:32:49Z")
I have been told that I am a threadshitter in these threads with answers like, “Not known to anyone outside the comic community,” so I will say, "Why do you ask? My own mother has her bedroom plastered with Thor posters. 😉 Guys, you enjoy your comics. The rest of us can’t be bothered, but we don’t begrudge you your pleasure, as long as you don’t force it on us. You read “Thor” comics. I read “Road & Track.” To each our own, and I don’t poll the R&T vs Car and Driver readers for some localized popularity poll. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/13 "2010-02-27T03:33:18Z")
Well, he was in a Hulk TV movie back in the 80’s (just like Daredevil). So some people might be aware of him from that. Here’s the [link](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095368/). I collected Marvel comics extensively through the 90’s and a little into the 00’s, so I’m fairly knowledgeable about him, but the question isn’t directed towards me. I even have a couple of Beta Ray Bill issues. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/14 "2010-02-27T05:10:38Z")
There was some movie I was watching, perhaps a TV show, where a daughter was going as Thor to a party or some other reason. I would have thought she was making it up, but it was too, well planned to have been. That was the first I heard of him. It was only later that I heard the name again, that it clicked for me. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/15 "2010-02-27T05:18:28Z")
He’s the little girl’s obsession in _Adventures in Babysitting_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/16 "2010-02-27T05:33:56Z")
> [@Wolverine](#): > > Well, he was in a Hulk TV movie back in the 80’s (just like Daredevil). So some people might be aware of him from that. > > Here’s the [link](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095368/). > > I collected Marvel comics extensively through the 90’s and a little into the 00’s, so I’m fairly knowledgeable about him, but the question isn’t directed towards me. I even have a couple of Beta Ray Bill issues. That would be Walter Simonson’s run of Thor. I recently purchased the whole thing in trade paperback, in which it is now available. Expensive, but the best comic run I have ever seen. Odin was my favorite character. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/17 "2010-02-27T05:37:08Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I have been told that I am a threadshitter in these threads with answers like, “Not known to anyone outside the comic community,” so I will say, "Why do you ask? My own mother has her bedroom plastered with Thor posters. 😉 > > Guys, you enjoy your comics. The rest of us can’t be bothered, but we don’t begrudge you your pleasure, as long as you don’t force it on us. You read “Thor” comics. I read “Road & Track.” To each our own, and I don’t poll the R&T vs Car and Driver readers for some localized popularity poll. :rolleyes: The rollseyes and the entire second paragraph is probably why you’re accused of such. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/18 "2010-02-27T06:47:24Z")
I believe this is the thread I was privately called on for threadshitting, though in my case the accusation don’t mean shit. To my accuser: Nobody, beyond you and a few other fanboys, have paid more than a cursory glance at Thor for as long as I can remember. He was a secondary character 30 years ago and you should be demanding discounts for buying his issues today. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/19 "2010-02-27T06:49:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I can sing the song…about the rainbow bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar, you’ll behold in breathless wonder, the god of thunder, MIIIIIGHTY THOR. sweet.. (sing)when doc bruce banner belted by gamma rays turns into the HULK ain’t so glamourous.. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578/20 "2010-02-27T07:55:43Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > The rollseyes and the entire second paragraph is probably why you’re accused of such. I’m pretty sick of, when the question is how well-known or even NOTICED by the general population certain comic book characters are, that I’m the one getting reported to the mods when I say, “Nobody outside your fraternity gives a shit.” The Emperor not only has no clothes, he’s been dancing naked for years. Everybody else is convinced you are useless twits. It’s a painful lesson, but after all these years it’s one you have to learn. The question in the OP was, “How well-known is Thor, the Marvel comics character?” By any realistic estimation the only answer is “Not very.” Eat it or repeat it, anything out of your mouth is bullshit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-thor-the-marvel-comics-character/530578.md?page=2)