[Comic Books] Should Thor's old weaknesses be reinstated?

[Hammerfest]

Assuming Thor Odinson is restored to being the official Thor again in Marvel Comics, do you think his original weaknesses should be reinstated?

For those who may not know, Marvel's Thor originally (in terms of his publishing history) had a mortal identity, that of a crippled doctor named Donald Blake. Donald Blake's walking stick was actually Mjolnir and he would transform into his Thor form by stamping the cane upon something (like the ground). The cane would also change into Mjolnir during the transformation. On Earth, Thor had to maintain physical contact with the hammer in order to stay in Thor form. If he lost physical contact with the hammer for more than 60 seconds, he would spontaneously revert back to Donald Blake.



Thor officially lost this weakness way back at the beginning of Walt Simonson's run on the title in the early '80s. He's briefly had mortal identities since then depending on the creative team (like the Jake Olson identity during Dan Jurgens' run)... but for the most part, this weakness hasn't been the status quo since the Simonson run. Personally, I think it should be reinstated for dramatic purposes.

What about you all?

[Sykol]

Dear god, no. They'd turn him into a giant puss like they've tried to do in basically every Hulk film where it's 70% Bruce Banner dicking around and being mopey because he's the strongest thing in the universe. The last thing we need is the Avengers fighting Thanos or something and Thor's hammer gets knocked away so he spends the entire battle crawling through rubble trying to find a fucking cane.

I know this is about the comics and not the films, but it still applies. Give him a secret identity if he needs it (he probably doesn't), but turning him into Professor Bone Cancer Legs isn't really compelling.

[Hammerfest]

I know this is about the comics and not the films, but it still applies.

Trust me, there was plenty of Thor in the Thor comics back when he had this arrangement.

[Fencers]

Nah. Simonson got rid of the '60 second' rule and mortal contact persona because it was not interesting to who Odinson Thor is actually. He is more interesting for having had those limitations at one point. But Odinson's life as a mortal/human identity doesn't add much to who he is as Thor.

Unlike, Captain Marvel (Shazam); whose humanity is at the crux of his super-powered raison d'etre.

Simonson wrote Thor second to none. I met him once, he signed my Omibus and he was very nice man. It meant a lot to me.

[Hammerfest]

Nah. Simonson got rid of the '60 second' rule and mortal contact persona because it was not interesting to who Odinson Thor is actually. He is more interesting for having had those limitations at one point. But Odinson's life as a mortal/human identity doesn't add much to who he is as Thor.

I think it makes him more interesting and relatable to have a mortal identity and a significant vulnerability.

[Berengil]

Jeez, no. If anything, when marvel dumps his girlfriend as the current stand-in, he should be written as close as possible to the Cinematic Universe Thor.

Sort of a Superman type with a touch of cockiness added.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Nah he should not worry about the mortal identity honestly. I prefer the Marvel Movie Universe of it. That said, we shouldn't ignore Thor's past either.

[Aeriel]

After the events of Ragnorok, it no longer makes sense for him to have to a "weaker" body on Earth. Since most of the Asgardians are Earth now, his previous weakness no longer fits the necessary balances.

[Hammerfest]

After the events of Ragnorok, it no longer makes sense for him to have to a "weaker" body on Earth. Since most of the Asgardians are Earth now, his previous weakness no longer fits the necessary balances.

There's nothing, creatively speaking, to stop Odin from reinstating the weakness and mortal identity again. Thor needed a lesson in humility the first time around. It's not a huge leap to say he could use another one.

It's hard enough to put Thor in peril on Earth. Just having the possibility of reverting back to mortal during a fight heightens the excitement... it doesn't actually have to happen.

[Shadowferal]

I'd like to see Thor take on threats that need a God of Thunder...

Something like this where even he can actually lose..(and does. If not for the intervention of an Elder Goddess)

[Gallahadd]

Hell no. They're kinda going down that path with Jane Foster at the moment and while it can occasionally add a bit of drama the overall effect is slim to none.

They gave Thor that weakness originally because he was this insanely op character and needed to have SOME kind of balance. That isn't required anymore, so let the God of Thunder roar.

Tbh, I'd LOVE to have him return in his Rune King persona, leave Jane to be Thor and go up against the traditional Thor enemies, Loki, Creel, Trolls etc. Then have Odinson go off to fight bigger, stronger enemies, cosmic level threats that can really fuck him up.

[Thoughtful Trolli]

If they're going to do it, then he needs to become Stan Lee.

[Hammerfest]

They gave Thor that weakness originally because he was this insanely op character and needed to have SOME kind of balance. That isn't required anymore, so let the God of Thunder roar.

Why isn't it needed anymore? Seems to me he's just as difficult to find a challenge for (particularly when he is on Earth) as ever before... once he comes back as the official Thor character.

[Fencers]

I think it makes him more interesting and relatable to have a mortal identity and a significant vulnerability.

Odinson's rashness, hubris, pride and the desire to live up to Odin are Thor's weaknesses and humanity. All the great stories of Thor mine those aspects of Odinson.

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Hell no. They're kinda going down that path with Jane Foster at the moment and while it can occasionally add a bit of drama the overall effect is slim to none.

They gave Thor that weakness originally because he was this insanely op character and needed to have SOME kind of balance. That isn't required anymore, so let the God of Thunder roar.

Tbh, I'd LOVE to have him return in his Rune King persona, leave Jane to be Thor and go up against the traditional Thor enemies, Loki, Creel, Trolls etc. Then have Odinson go off to fight bigger, stronger enemies, cosmic level threats that can really fuck him up.

Thor's mortal identity and weakness had nothing to do with being "OP". That concept didn't really exist. Odinson was give those things because they were genre tropes; they also thought the concept of a space Norse God was too obscure for the mainstream. So Lee & Lieber rooted the mythos in familiar, 60s Era garb- white collar, professional protestant Caucasian male.

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Why isn't it needed anymore? Seems to me he's just as difficult to find a challenge for (particularly when he is on Earth) as ever before... once he comes back as the official Thor character.

Just like Superman, Odinson's actual challenges are not monsters. It's himself and the burden of his being.

[DemonHunter18]

hell no. he is already vulnerable without his arm and his iconic weapon. he is mentally broken.


@Fencers nailed it.

[pateuvasiliu]

He is Asgardian, they are more powerful than normal humans. Why would he be crippled without Mjolnir?

Thor is supposed to be strong even without the magic hammer.

One thing that made no sense in the Thor film is that the Warriors 3 are clearly superhuman and yet Thor without the hammer is just a normal human.

Like huh.

Even Loki was clearly overpowering Captain America in their hand to hand fight, so why would Thor absent Mjolnir be weaker than Loki physically?

[Hammerfest]

He is Asgardian, they are more powerful than normal humans. Why would he be crippled without Mjolnir?

The mortal form of Don Blake had a gimp leg.

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Just like Superman, Odinson's actual challenges are not monsters. It's himself and the burden of his being.

Which sucks, I think. Thor can brood and deal with internal struggles while also having physical ones. There's no reason he can't have both. That's they way it used to be and it was far more exciting than the stuff we're given now... particularly for kids.

[Feredir]

The mortal form of Don Blake had a gimp leg.

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Which sucks, I think. Thor can brood and deal with internal struggles while also having physical ones. There's no reason he can't have both. That's they way it used to be and it was far more exciting than the stuff we're given now... particularly for kids.

Maybe I have no faith in today's kids, but they couldn't appreciate something like that, they'd just say Thor was a pussy and stop reading.

[Berndorf]

There's nothing, creatively speaking, to stop Odin from reinstating the weakness and mortal identity again. Thor needed a lesson in humility the first time around. It's not a huge leap to say he could use another one.

It's hard enough to put Thor in peril on Earth. Just having the possibility of reverting back to mortal during a fight heightens the excitement... it doesn't actually have to happen.

There sort of is though since if you recall the reason Thor went insane during Blood & Thunder was due to the number of times Odin had tinkered with his soul and left his mind kind of splintered by doing things like that. Then again during Jurgens' run the reason the whole Reigning story took place was due to Thor separating Jake Olsen from him who was actually the human side of Thor and Thor refusing to make them one again. So at this point both Odin and Thor should be wary of such an arrangement. It was done to teach Thor a lesson in humility and I would think him having been made unworthy for a while would have taught that lesson to him once again without a need for another human alter ego for him to worry about. I'm not totally against the idea but I don't feel like him having a human side ever really added much to his stories.

[Hammerfest]

There sort of is though since if you recall the reason Thor went insane during Blood & Thunder was due to the number of times Odin had tinkered with his soul and left his mind kind of splintered by doing things like that.

That can be retconned or revealed to be something else.