I have a question about Thor

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SOG7dc

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I'm genuinely curious about this. I don't aim to start any arguments or anything I just want some clarity. Is thor really a god or is he an alien? I mean what distinguishes him from somebody like superman or j'onn j'onnz other than the title? I understand he comes from Norse mythology but in comics is he still a god? For example Zeus and hades are gods because they are immortals (right?) idk maybe I'm just confusing myself but if any has an answer I'd appreciate it

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The_jackolantern

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I dont know a great deal about thor but im 95% sure he is a god

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Wolverine008

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#3  Edited By Wolverine008

He's half god/half Asgardian. His mother is the Elder goddess Gaea, and his father Odin is an Asgardian.

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Cr4pSnip3r

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No Caption Provided

Alienz

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SOG7dc

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@wolverine08: Ok that helps because I was under the impression that the Asgardians were a race of gods like the Olympians

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biggkeem89

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Technically, all of the "gods" in Marvel are just really powerful extradimensional beings, so technically they are aliens, but not like ones from outer space

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SOG7dc

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I think the term "gods" is used far too liberally in comics in general. It devalues it to a certain degree

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TheManInTheShoe

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He is a god from another realm, but he's not a god like THE god but he's considered immortal.

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PrinceAragorn1

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He's an asgardian.

Unless you're talking about myth thor, who is a God.

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Fallschirmjager

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#10  Edited By Fallschirmjager
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Clearly an alien :D

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Yokergeist

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He ist das god auf THUNDER!!!

(I fail at German)

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deactivated-60600b79ed2c5

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We can say he is both, because Asagardians are gods. But he is an alien too because he is not from Earth.

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Havenless

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#13  Edited By Havenless

It depends on how you define god. He's not all-powerful, he can die, and the only people who worship him beyond monarch status were confused Norse men.

By definition of alien (belonging to a foreign nation, which you could extend to planet, dimension, or plane of existence), and I would say he fits the 'alien' description quite a bit more than the 'god' one.

I think Marvel just uses the 'god' word to give you the feeling that he exists in a celestial society and he is more powerful than normal men could understand.

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Airmansmith21

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there are many gods in the marvel universe asgardians and olympians being the prominent two. read thor god of thunder youll see lots of gods..... erm... sort of

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2chimcha3

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#15  Edited By 2chimcha3

He is a god. Although the term god in Marvel is different from our definition. If you read the current Thor series you'll learn that pretty much every god that people or intergalactic beings believe in come to exist. That being said, there are a lot of gods aside from Asgardians and they are by no means invincible.

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Fallschirmjager

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Correct answer: Thor is a god-like Alien.

Also, technically Thor's race (should) be Aesir called not Asgardian. Asgardian is anyone who lives on Asgard, but not all who live on Asgard are Aesir =3

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SOG7dc

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SC

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#18 SC  Moderator

Whether Thor is a god or not depends on the application of the term. Many real life people could qualify for godhood for example, in a fictional setting it can be even more ambiguous. Words relay the meanings of concepts and ideas, and there are a lot of different concepts and ideas playing around and interacting with each other with gods, godhood, deity's and the like. One of the most important original factors in defining a god was worship or pray. To worship or pray to an entity was to worship and pray to a god. Also hence why many past kings and queens have bragged about divine origins and divine bloodlines to further justify why and how people should worship them. Then you also can factor in enhanced abilities. Longer lifespans, immortality, stronger and bigger. Many of the things that a child might project and revere on to their parents, parents who also gave them life, cared for them and protected them and interacted with them in odd and mysterious ways, at least in the eyes of a young child. However not all parents are equal and neither are all god concepts. So power does factor in, but its relative of course. Then another common factor with can overlap with the former is the explanation of what could have been considered supernatural events, actions and activities. Humans can't use their basic senses to know reality on a microscopic level or larger than the macroscopic, so explanations for things tend to be very human centric, which usually meant people believed that if something happened, its because something decided that it should and made it so. There is (was) no good reason for lightning hence a god did it.

Characters like Batman, Superman, Hulk, Sentry, Thor, Odin, Spider-man, Aunt May, Tony Stark in the traditional real word sense of the words, would all have varying success as far as accomplishing above, and the biggest advantage would be existing in the past, the long distant past where science as it is today was non existent and all written things were written by hand, and so just speaking really loudly in a town square was probably the fastest way to spread information. In those conditions it would be pretty easy for Batman and Tony Stark (no armor, just his personality, charisma and intellect) to become very influential and powerful humans, and possibly even transcend that and become demi gods. Give them their modern day knowledge and history and transplant them to their bodies in the past and its not that unfeasible they could have become mythological gods. Knowledge of chemistry and physical reactions. Knowledge of solar cycles and when to predict eclipses. For characters like Superman and Sentry such a thing would be very easy. The reason it would be harder in modern times would be because of modern day skepticism, superior knowledge and scientific ability to explain, define and reject things. You won't find as many religions popping up about Spider-man (may have happened in a story line though, I know it has for a few other characters) but otherwise many of those characters struggle in being worshipped or prayed to. So that they fail to adequately meet an idea isn't really a big slap in the face, its just a right time, right place thing. Also most modern heroes have competition in themselves, something because of how news was carried and people interacted in historic times, wasn't an issue, so it would be hard for Sentry to carve out a religion now days with Hyperion, Blue Marvel, Wonder Man flying around, and guys like Gladiator and Silver Surfer visiting now and then.

Thats without adding in all the funny stiff with Marvel and Gaea and Demiurge and Atum and Elder gods to Demons and expelled energy which would become godstuff that made what Marvel considers gods, which is to say like the term mutant, Marvel has effectively created a species/race that are gods by definition rather than filling out a criteria to be defined as gods. So Hercules, Thor, Leir are gods by genetic heritage. Like the term mutant in Marvel, the word god still means something, even though some non gods can defeat some gods, because the term has nothing to do with who beats who, and many non mutants can beat mutants, but not all gods are like Thor and not all mutants are like Storm Mad Jim Jaspers or Legion. So in Marvel and DC I think since they use to have the godwave no? Anyway in Marvel and DC, there seems to be "godstuff" - as in a substance that is real, quantifiable and actual that some beings have that others don't. Thor is a candidate for having some of this stuff by virtue of his genes - Gaea and Odin. Except godstuff is a bit more sci fi for some than others. It also creates problems for those whose application of terms like god carry certain inherent values, that are more metaphysical than some substance that can be passed on like a genetic trait.

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TDK_1997

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Thor is a god but not in the meaning of the word as we know it.Some gods in Marvel are way different then the gods we know and there aren't people who worship them or pray to them but they just believe in their amazing abilities.And Thor is one of those gods that people just believe in and look up to them as majestic beings.

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Slang_Strong

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I don't know why people find it necessary to downplay Thor's status as a "god" in Marvel comics. One thing I've consistently seen is people confuse a god with THE God. People hear "god" and immediately they start comparing Thor to the Judeo-Christian concept of "God", which Thor was never meant to be. This is evident in The Avengers when Cap has the line, "There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." I feel like that's how many fans feel when they immediately discard Thor as "just an alien" because somehow that threatens their belief system.

As I believe others have pointed out, in Thor God of Thunder series the concept of Thor as a god is explained better and more clearly than I've ever seen. There may be other series/stories that go into it more but that's one place where Marvel makes it definitively clear that Thor is a god. I think it's strange that people feel the need to argue Thor's status as a god in the fictional world of Marvel comics but from what I've seen, people can be very passionate about labeling him "just an alien".

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cameron83

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#21  Edited By cameron83

He's half god/half Asgardian. His mother is the Elder goddess Gaea, and his father Odin is an Asgardian.

this

I don't know why people find it necessary to downplay Thor's status as a "god" in Marvel comics. One thing I've consistently seen is people confuse a god with THE God. People hear "god" and immediately they start comparing Thor to the Judeo-Christian concept of "God", which Thor was never meant to be. This is evident in The Avengers when Cap has the line, "There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." I feel like that's how many fans feel when they immediately discard Thor as "just an alien" because somehow that threatens their belief system.

As I believe others have pointed out, in Thor God of Thunder series the concept of Thor as a god is explained better and more clearly than I've ever seen. There may be other series/stories that go into it more but that's one place where Marvel makes it definitively clear that Thor is a god. I think it's strange that people feel the need to argue Thor's status as a god in the fictional world of Marvel comics but from what I've seen, people can be very passionate about labeling him "just an alien".

Erm,most people don't call him an alien,at least for belief purposes..usually they call him that because they don't know anything about him,or they DO do what you describe.

But..I am pretty sure most people,religious or not,call him a God. Religious beliefs aren't really a factor in it.

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cameron83

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kriminal

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he is the Viking god of thunder. he is like zues or ares or anyone like that. i'd say similar to new 52 wonder woman.

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SOG7dc

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@cameron83: Ich spreche ein bitte deutch ja.....yea I know a bit lol

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#27  Edited By PeppeyHare

Asgardians are considered gods because they met the all the qualifications of one. That's the way i've always looked at it

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lykopis

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#28  Edited By lykopis

Is this really a thing? He's a god -- unless you consider all "celestial" beings are alien. In the context of comics, he's a god -- no idea why him being an alien even became a consideration. Just because he travels the universe, it doesn't make him an alien unless that mean Iron Man is an alien, in which case, he is -- at least as it stands while he's handing out the the Guardians.