# Thor - The comic book movie no one asked for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457 "2010-12-17T01:56:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/42 "2010-12-18T08:14:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > We weren’t inundated with 75 different piratical movies at the time. The problem right now is the continuing release of at least five superhero movies or TV shows per year. My point was about the over-saturation of increasingly lower tier superheroes in movies and the box-office underperformance thereof. And my point is that you should recognise the difference between superheroes that are low tier because they’ve been found lacking and superheroes that are low tier because they’re unknown or underused. Besides, the worst superhero movies have been bad because of how they were handled, not because of the weaknesses of the characters. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/43 "2010-12-18T08:42:17Z")
Superhero movies have two significant problems: [ul] [li]The built in audience is getting smaller[/li][li]The over-saturation, and the failure of each successive new superhero movie to deliver a satisfying experience to the audience in the last four or five years, means the non-superhero audience isn’t bothering anymore either. Their good faith and hopes have been dashed too often.[/li][/ul] Marvel and Hollywood are _relying_ on the built-in audience to keep the genre afloat, and yet as each superhero they choose gets lower on the recognisability tier, the drop-off for even that audience is significant. You might think a fantastic movie using your favourite superhero will turn things around, but Marvel clearly don’t give a shit about quality; they don’t even trust their directors to deliver, poking their Executive interference in at every opportunity. It’s time for Hollywood to leave it alone for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/44 "2010-12-18T12:44:14Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > The closest I ever came to being a superhero comic fan was being really into the Bill Bixby “Hulk” in the late seventies and early eighties. (I read the hell out of EC horror comics, but that’s something else.) > > I like superhero movies. Superman, when I was a kid - Batman, Spidey, Iron Man, Hulk - I’m there. Loved Watchmen in the eighties, turned up for the movie. I like the stuff that riffs on the genre. > > I can’t really imagine watching _Thor_. (Or Captain America, for that matter.) > > These characters just stink of Comic Book Guy, and I have a hard time figuring how they will appeal to a broader audience. Wasn’t Thor in the “Hulk” TV show? But in anycase, I agree with the OP. There’s a line amongst superheroes where the concept is “too goofy for a movie”. I think Thor is pretty cleanly on the wrongside of that line. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/45 "2010-12-18T12:58:55Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Wasn’t Thor in the “Hulk” TV show? > > But in anycase, I agree with the OP. There’s a line amongst superheroes where the concept is “too goofy for a movie”. I think Thor is pretty cleanly on the wrongside of that line. And Daredevil too. Played by the guy from Street Hawk. In a ninja costume… I disagree on Thor being on the cheese side. It’s completely related to what angle you chose to adapt said comic. The problem with SH movies recently is that they all go for more or less the same kind of formula, instead of really realizing what specific flavor they have in their hands. Thor could be the ultimate SH/ Fantasy movie. No other SH in comic books is that linked to fantasy. Considering the appeal fantasy has today, and considering Asgard is well liked by Marvel readers precisely because of its right blend of fantasy and superheroics, Thor should be an interesting movie to make. Unless you go for your standard “Science-fictionalize everything” trope that seems to be the cue to the genre since X-Men. What’s good for X-Men isnt for Thor. And judging by the trailer, I dont see much of Kirby inspired crazy fantasy (or Art Adams. Art Adams’s Asgard in the New Mutants is what hooked me to comics when I was ten). ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/46 "2010-12-18T14:36:53Z")
I was unusual in that as a young girl, I bought every Marvel comic I could get my hands on, waaaay back in the good old days. (Even the lamer ones like Ant Man.) I ADORED Thor. The storylines (except that stupid nurse of his, in his human form, who was offered immortality and couldn’t hack it…). I loved the artwork, and really enjoyed Thor’s beef with Loki. Of course, I was the type of kid (and am today) who would spend all summer reading Edith Hamilton’s Mythology instead of, oh, waterskiing. I don’t see what’s so wrong with a movie version, it can’t be any worse than the utter crap they’ve made from comic books, put out over the last years. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/47 "2010-12-18T16:15:35Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Marvel and Hollywood are _relying_ on the built-in audience to keep the genre afloat, and yet as each superhero they choose gets lower on the recognisability tier, the drop-off for even that audience is significant. Hollywood does rely on the comic fans as guarenteed ticket sales, because they’ve found them to be a group that will buy tickets based solely on the genre. Even if the buzz is bad, they’ll buy tickets. They basically assure that the movie will make a minimum box office return, which is appealing to Hollywood. But Hollywood really wants to target the _mainstream_ viewers, since that is where the money is. I think that the successful comic-derived movies have appealed to Joe Average, instead of to Comic Book Guy. I think that is the “drop-off” audience. Thor was greenlit because it too has the built-in audience of comic book fans who’ll go to anything similar. The movie will only be successful if it manages a wider appeal. Myself, I’m thinking that with Hopkins an Branagh there’s a good chance. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/48 "2010-12-18T16:28:20Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Wasn’t Thor in the “Hulk” TV show? Not in the series itself, but he was one of the things that made the reunion special suck so hard. (That and that I wasn’t ten years old any more. :p) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/49 "2010-12-18T17:32:29Z")
As I’ve remarked before, _Thor_ is merely a Stan Lee/Jack Kirby reboot of C.C. Beck’s _Captain Marvel_. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/50 "2010-12-18T23:03:30Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > As I’ve remarked before, _Thor_ is merely a Stan Lee/Jack Kirby reboot of C.C. Beck’s _Captain Marvel_. How so? Thor as a character was around long before either. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/51 "2010-12-19T00:11:06Z")
And the very early Marvel Thors were done by Larry Lieber as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/52 "2010-12-19T00:15:07Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > How so? Thor as a character was around long before either. Not the comics version. Both have– [ul] [li]Vast strength[/li][li]power of the gods[/li][li]old bearded mentor (Shazam/Odin)[/li][li]Humble secret ID (Billy Batson/Don Blake)[/li][li]Remote, rocky, interdimensional HQ (Asgard/Rock Of Eternity)[/li][li]Small group of close supporters, one of whom is a fat, clownish boob (Captain Marvel Jr, Mary Marvel, Uncle Marvel/ Warrior Three, which includes Volstagg The Vast)[/li][li]Evil,cowardly schemer for an enemy (Sivanna/Loki)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/53 "2010-12-19T00:32:49Z")
Five of those seven similarities (strength, godly powers, a bearded mentor, base of operations, scheming foil) are straight from Norse mythology, and Thor’s secret identity isn’t actually Blake, and even if it were, that’s a staple of Golden and Silver Age comics. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/54 "2010-12-19T01:39:15Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Now, if they would do a totally hardcore (no, not that hardcore) take on Norse mythology, up to and including Ragnarok, I’d be totally there. Me watching the first, really long leaked Thor trailer: Earth, meh. Not Alexander Skarsgaard, meh. OMG ASGARD _SQUEE_ _SQUEE_ OMG ANTHONY HOPKINS _SQUEE_ Earth, meh. SHIELD, okay. OMG NATALIE PORTMAN So, um, I think I’m in this for the Norse mythology, Odin Hopkins, and Natalie Portman. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/55 "2010-12-19T03:06:48Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Depends on your definition of what an alien is. In Marvel continuity they are not considered to be aliens but gods. Asgard is a big place in Marvel (outside of the golden city itself) so it’s very possible that there are dark-skinned inhabitants. I mean why not, there are already elves, trolls, giants (of many stripes), fire demons, genies etc. etc. Seriously, word has it that the Nordic element has been jettisoned to the point that is almost just a coincidence that they have the names of Norse gods. At this point they are probably about as Scandinavian as the Asgard in StarGate SG-1. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/56 "2010-12-19T09:07:55Z")
> [@Hades](#): > > Five of those seven similarities (strength, godly powers, a bearded mentor, base of operations, scheming foil) are straight from Norse mythology, and Thor’s secret identity isn’t actually Blake, and even if it were, that’s a staple of Golden and Silver Age comics. You’ve actually hit on the most obvious similarity (which **Bosda** inexplicably omitted): neither Blake nor Batson become their super-heroic alter egos by simply changing costume – they actually change into an entirely different person, accompanied by a bolt of mystic lightning. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/57 "2010-12-19T10:18:21Z")
Was Captain Marvel really a different person from Billy Batson? I thought he still had Billy’s mind, and that his body was simply what Billy would be when he grew up. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/58 "2010-12-19T10:55:13Z")
Originally - when he was being published by Fawcett, and when he was being published by DC right up until Crisis, in fact, IIRC - Cap was a completely different individual from Billy. It was when he got integrated into the DCU at large that ‘Billy, but grown up’ (the superior, and rather less disturbing version, IMO) was introduced. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/59 "2010-12-19T12:42:50Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Only thing that I dont get, why the fuck is there a black guy (apparently a god, is it an Asgardian?) in Asgard ? That one’s easy. It’s because Idris Elba is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/60 "2010-12-19T15:04:22Z")
Argue about the comics all you want, but the trailer conclusively demonstrates that the movie’s going to be an absolute piece of shit. That movie is just ninety-seven different kinds of suck. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Amazing_Hanna)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457/61 "2010-12-21T00:39:21Z")
“I am Thor!!” “_You´re_ thore? I´m tho thore I can hardly thit!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thor-the-comic-book-movie-no-one-asked-for/564457.md?page=4)