#Thor, God Of Thunder — Lame-Ass Superhero?

#TalkNerdyToMeLover’s Awesome Applesauce: Charles Quevedo

With all the hype surrounding “The Avengers” movie (due out in 2012), comic fans are getting equally excited about the individual movies of the individual team members.  We’ve already seen the films based on two of the team characters, “The Incredible Hulk” and “Iron Man” (“Iron Man 2” coming out on May 7th).  The other team characters (“Captain America”, “Ant-Man”, & “Thor”) are on the fast track to having their own films developed.  From the buzz on the Internet and at the comic conventions, of all of those characters that comic fans are the least excited about, is “Thor”.  Why is that?  Many people think that a mythological Norse god as a superhero is a lame idea (okay for a comic book, but NOT for a big-bidget live-action movie).  The last thing they wanna see is some huge Fabio-type dude with long flowing blonde hair and big wings on his head, swinging a hammer like a crazy Viking who got drunk on too much “mead”.  Would this particular Marvel character be able to work on the big screen?  Some could really care less if he does or not.

Wait, for those who DON’T know who “Thor” is, let me give you a bit of a short history lesson on the character.  Created by Stan Lee, “Thor” first appeared in the comic, Journey Into Mystery #83, inspired by the Norse thunder god.  “Journey Into Mystery” primarily featured “Thor” stories.  Later, the series was retitled, “The Mighty Thor”. 

According to the comic history of “Thor”, Thor’s father Odin decides his son needs to be taught humility and places Thor (without memories of godhood) into the body and memories of an existing, particularly disabled human: a medical student Donald Blake.  Thor shares a double life with his alter ego, treating the sick in a private practice with his nurse (and eventual love interest), Jane Foster.  If you’re rolling your eyes at this storyline, you’re probably not the only one.  It sounded pretty ridiculous to me when I heard it as a kid (it pretty much sounds like “The Incredible Hulk”, but instead of a green rampaging giant, you get a Norse god).  From what I hear, Marvel Studios is pretty much keeping to the storyline in the big film version.

There was a lot of buzz before about this leaked concept art (on the right) possibly being the basis for Thor’s costume in the live-action movie adaption of “Thor”.  It was proven to be “false” and just a “rumor”.  The concept art is from Dan Panosian, the work coming from a project that he did for Marvel’s “Thor” animated film.  It STILL looks pretty cool though.

26 year-old Australian actor, Chris Hemsworth (on the left, first movie photo of him seen in actual costume used in the film), is the lucky person (or maybe “unlucky” person… we’ll know after the first weekend’s box office take) to tackle the “Thor” role.  After an exhaustive search, Hemsworth was picked over many other young actors fighting for the part.

The costume, slightly different from Jack Kirby‘s original 1962 design, has potential to put comic geek fans’ fears to rest.  The basic look is there (the long red flowing cape).  From what I’ve heard, the major elements that are different from the comic book are: Thor’s beard (which the character occassionally has in the comic), a suit with an armored chest piece and textured sleeves, and the absence of his enchanted hammer, “Mjolnir”.  The costume is designed by Oscar-winning costume & set designer, Alexandra Byrne (inspired by the latest version of the character from the comics, drawn by French artist, Oliver Coipel).

Growing up, I was an avid comic collector.  I NEVER bought a single issue of “Thor”, NEVER liking the character much.  But seeing the costume that they’re using, the movie looks to have potential.  I’m fairly optimistic about this one.

Follow Charles on Twitter: @FuglyCharlie