Thor has always had a special place among the pantheon of Marvel heroes. Of all of Marvel's founding Silver Age heroes, Thor was an outlier, a being from a completely different world than all of the others. He was immediately catapulted to stardom and since then has become an icon in the Marvel Universe, one of its greatest heroes, and among the fiercest defenders of the innocent.

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Thor has many things that make him a special character. His comics are usually so successful because of these differences, as Thor thrives in environments where other heroes would stagnate. Thor's proven to be one of the most unique Marvel characters of them all.

10 He's A God

Odin standing in front of Loki and Thor during the Surtur Saga

Thor being a god sets him apart from every other Marvel hero. One would think that this isn't exactly special because the existence of Asgard in the Marvel Universe means that there are other gods, but none of them are superheroes. In comics in general, gods are rarely superheroes at all. This is one of Thor's most unique traits, as he is a literal come down from the heavens to protect mortals god. There are plenty of children of gods out there or made up gods, but Thor is a superhero and a god, which makes him an anachronism.

9 He's A Warrior Born

A cover for Thor #19 features Thor carrying a sword unlike his usual hammer.

All superheroes fight, but there are very few actual warriors and even less are born to it. Thor was raised to fight. The Asgardians are among the most martial gods of any pantheon. They don't lounge around and do soap opera stuff like the Greek Gods, but get down in the dirt and shed blood. Thor was molded from birth to be a warrior. As one of the strongest Avengers, Thor is always on the forefront of the team's battles, much like he was always on the forefront of the wars against the foes of Asgard. He is a warrior born and helped him save the day many times.

8 He Was The Only Original Marvel Silver Age Hero Not Connected To Science

Thor's first appearance in Marvel Comics, with art by Jack Kirby

Stan Lee liked to write stories that had a contemporary feel to them and in the '60s, science was the big thing. This was the height of the Cold War's Space Race; technology was growing by leaps and bounds. Lee, Kirby, Ditko, and others tapped into this. Marvel's raft of Silver Age heroes had a science bent of some kind, whether the characters were actually created by science or were scientists themselves.

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Thor was an outlier, as he was the only one that had nothing to do with science. Kirby's Asgard was a mind blowing sci-fi landscape, but Thor himself was a mythological figure brought into the present. This allowed different types of stories to be told with him, making him special.

7 He's The Least Successful Monarch/Son Of A Monarch In The Marvel Universe

Thor Becomes King of Asgard

Marvel has a decent amount of characters who are royalty of some type, but Thor is quite different from the others. Black Panther is shown to not only be a competent ruler, but one of the best leaders on the planet. Even hotheaded Namor is portrayed as a great leader, albeit one who enjoys attacking the surface world whenever the whim hits him.

Thor is quite different in that he's really, really bad at being a prince and a king. Thor has changed a lot over the years, but it's never been good any time he's taken power in Asgard. Thor is a warrior born, but he's not a born leader.

6 The Origins Of His Heroism Are Very Different Than Any Other Hero

thor-origin

Most Marvel superheroes start out in similar ways. Some of them are good people who want to use their powers to help others and others get a call to action that makes them want to become superheroes. Thor is completely different from all of these other heroes. Thor didn't come to Earth to help out willingly; he was sent here by Odin to learn humility.

Thor was always one of the bravest gods around, but his arrogance motivated Odin to take him down a peg. Thor's time on Earth taught him to help others and be a better person. Without his "punishment," Thor would have never cared enough to come to Earth and help others.

5 He Killed Galactus

Thor Galactus Black Winter

Thor has accomplished some amazing things over the years, but few of them stand up to one of his more recent feats. Thor became the Herald of Galactus, gaining the Power Cosmic on top of his already amazing abilities and ended up slaying the World Devourer. Galactus has died before and he'll almost certainly come back, but never has one Marvel hero ever killed him.

Galactus has always been one of Marvel's most dangerous threats. He's the type of being who takes entire teams to defeat, yet Thor was able to take him down all by himself. This is unprecedented and one of the most impressive things Thor ever did.

4 He Has The Most Diverse Assortment Of Villains Around

Destroyer, Celestials, Thanos

Marvel has some great villains – powerful foes who challenge the heroes in entertaining ways. Most of the time, the heroes have a niche in the villain world, the foes they fight making sense for their particular gimmick. Thor has always been different. While he has the mythological villains that one would expect from a Norse god turned superhero, he also has a lot of other types of villains as well.

Thor has battled some of the most dangerous villains in Marvel and they run the gamut from evil gods and monsters to science fiction titans, superpowered crooks, and alien warlords. This diverse assortment of foes means readers don't know what to expect when it comes to Thor comics and that's a great thing.

3 He's Marvel's Only Mythological Character With His Own Comic

black winter thor 6 header

One can tell when Jack Kirby was involved in the creation of something because he loves to use mythologies in his stories. Thor was Kirby working with Lee to adapt Norse myth for the modern day, creating a blend of mythology and sci-fi that would propel Thor forward for years to come.

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Kirby's love of myth has been picked up by other Marvel creators. While Marvel is full of mythological heroes, only Thor has continually had his own comic. Hercules and Loki are close in popularity, but only Thor has been able to successfully be a solo star long term.

2 He Never Learns His Lesson And That's Part Of His Charm

Thor Reading Iron Man The Riot Act

Thor came to Earth to learn humility and while he's not as terribly arrogant as he used to be, saying he learned his lesson is completely false. Thor is still an arrogant, hubristic warrior, but now he helps people.  Thor's comics have taken him many places. One of the best things about him is that he's still basically the same adolescent god who likes to fight a lot and thinks that he's the best at everything. He's a marginally better person, but still entertaining.

Mighty Thor Jane Foster Flies with Mjolnir

Marvel has made a habit of replacing their iconic characters. It hasn't always been successful, but when Jane Foster replaced the Odinson as Thor, fans came out in droves. While it helped that the book had an A-list creative team, fans just really loved seeing Jane as Thor. She proved to be more popular at being Thor than the Odinson was at the time.

Although Thor eventually took up his mantle again, as is the way of comics, the fact that his replacement was more popular than him says a lot about how great Jane Foster was as Thor.

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