In general. no comparing with other characters.

Popular enough to get his own blockbuster film and to have his own series for quite a long time. It's better than a lot of other characters do. After Spidey and Wolverine I would say he's close to as popular as any other top Marvel hero.

Yes, and it seems to be on the rise.

Yes I would say so.

He was sort of like scraping the bottom of the barrel for Marvel, who dont own the rights to either of their most popular franchises (Spider-man and X-Men).

Why are people so concerned with their favourite character being popular?

He's very famous now thanks to the Marvel films and animated shows. Yes, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk and now Iron Man are Marvel's most recognizable people, but behind them Thor and Captain America are on par. Didn't CBR have a poll about this on their Marvel forum and Thor came in second behind Cap as to "Which Marvel character do you like most?" In any event, he's one of Marvel's elite in terms of recognition.

Yes.

Is Thor (Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Iron Man, Hulk) Popular. I would say no. Is he Wolverine, Captain America, Fantastic Four, or Xmen popular. I would say Yes.

He has his own well selling comic, a movie that made more money that both Hulk movies combined, several animated appearances, several video game appearances, toys, etc. But even with all that, what probably made him well know is Avengers. People who'd never even heard about him before can now say "oh yeah, I know Thor."

sweet sauce.