I posted this a while ago but I'll repost it because my position has not changed, fair warning it's a little all over the place. I was really into mythology as a kid. When I first picked up my issue of Thor #500 I instantly switched from preferring Greek myths to Norse mythology. The fact that these gods were immortal and mortal all at once struck a chord with me, I always admired how they were destined to die and they knew this but they still faced their deaths without fear. I noticed that sentiment transferred well into the Thor comics, I don't know that I have ever seen Thor afraid or hesitate to jump into a fight even when the odds are stacked against him. The events in Avengers Versus X-men have been a little rough for die hard Thor fans, but I'm still impressed that he keeps fighting against the Phoenix even though he isn't powerful enough to solo the bird. I've had slightly mixed feelings about some of the recent big events. For example, in Fear Itself Thor attacked the Serpent head on and did not hesitate. To me that is the ideal hero, he gave it his all despite the fact that all throughout the series he was destined to die. This is an admirable and constant trait I have seen him display again and again.
Another great example of Thor's amazing awesomeness, Onslaught; I recall Thor was the first to jump in and try to contain Onslaught despite the fact he alone could not contain him. That kind of bravery may be commonplace in most comics, but to me Thor did these things so much more epically and fuller of awesomeness. Also since we are talking about that era of comics, does anyone remember that in the Heroes Return mini it was Thor who saved Franklin from becoming a victim of Doom and selflessly sacrificed himself to ensure his safety? Truly a stellar and heroic moment. Also, in my opinion, Thor can now be credited with saving the world during the last three big Marvel events. To get specific, he saved the Earth from the bomb planted in Wasp during Secret Invasion (granted at the cost of her life, which he truly regretted when he mourned her death with Hank), he had the kill blow on Sentry during Siege and was the only force that could go toe to toe with the Void (another moment where I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how that fight panned out), and he put the Odinsword, Ragnarok, through the head of a huge dragon to save the world from being razed by Asgard or taken over by Dark Asgard in Fear Itself.
Moving on from these reasons; can anyone really say Thor doesn't have an impressive power set? I mean strength, flight, invulnerability, weather control, earth manipulation, understanding of magic, and he can talk to frogs!!! To me magic based heroes are a funner read and have better adventures and I know that is a personal choice, but there ya go. I like the spread shots an artist does with Thor unleashing a storm on his opponent or using the God Blast or even just whirling Mjolnir. Overall, Thor has incredible powers that he uses liberally and to satisfying results, in my opinion.
Lastly, I really enjoy the opponents Thor faces either on his own or in groups. I love the Asgardian based villains and it's also a real treat for me to see him face off against immense powers associated with other heroes. Some prime examples of this would be him facing Thanos back in his second series, and also when he fought Apocalypse in the new Avengers series. Those were very satisfying battles to me, because they were battles; epic in scope and context.
So those are the reasons that I love Thor and why I think he's a great hero.
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