Biography of Thor, pre-1962

The following is a biography of Thor prior to 1962.

Biography

Adolescence

In his youth, Thor dreamed of becoming a powerful warrior like his father Odin, and especially of inheriting his father's mighty hammer Mjölnir. He was put through various quests to prove his mettle; one such venture saw him and Loki being sent to a Jotunheim castle inhabited by Storm Giants to retrieve Idunn's Golden Apples. The godlings used their intrinsic superior power and wits to overcome the giants, finding the enormous Apples on the back of the eagle king Agnar, held prisoner. Loki attempted to make off with Agnar and the Apples himself, but Thor fought through his brother's deception and returned the bounty to Odin.

One day some time after, the people of Asgard learned of a coming attack from various evil forces. Thor was eager to stand alongside Heimdall during the battle to prove himself, but the guardian insisted that he was too young. Loki brought his brother to a hole in Asgard's walls that the forces would be attacking, encouraging him to defend it for glory. In fact, Loki had made the hole and informed Asgard's enemies of it himself specifically to bring about Thor's defeat. Thor indeed faced off with many dangerous enemies: the Norn Hag riding the dragon Ulfrin; the wolf gods Skoll and Hati; the troll Geirrodur; and an array of powerful giants. The young god fought valiantly, but was soon overwhelmed. Odin and the rest of Asgard's warriors arrived to support him, finally fighting back the forces of evil. Thor was disappointed by his defeat, but the others assured him that his bravery had bought them the time they needed to win the battle.

With each act of valor, Thor was able to lift Odin's hammer a small amount higher, but he nonetheless grew restless. At the age of 18, Thor went to the Fates, who told him that he would indeed one day win the hammer, but he would have to "meet death first." Thor interpreted this to mean that he must literally die. Returning to Asgard, Thor was approached by a weakened Balder, who told him that his sister Sif had been kidnapped by Storm Giants. Fully prepared to die, Thor set out to the Storm Giant castle; without even realizing what he was doing, he hoisted the hammer above his head, having fully proven his courage and worth. Hammer in hand, Thor easily pounded his way through the Storm Giant castle, eventually confronting King Rugga. Rugga explained that he had taken Sif to deliver her to Hela, the goddess of death, who had promised to make him immortal in exchange. Rugga pointed Thor to the goddess, and Thor offered his own life to Hela in exchange for the innocent and helpless Sif's. Hela was taken aback, impressed by Thor's supreme selflessness, and decided to let them both go.

As legend has it, Odin next sent Thor to the land of Mirmir on a quest of great import. He first went to the kingdom of dwarves, where King Sindri granted him a magical object: a ship that could change its size at will, from resting in the palm of one's hand to acting as a mighty flying vessel. Thor sailed to Mirmir, where he met the challenges of Skord the dragon and Gullin the boar god, eventually reaching the throne of King Mirmir. Thor handed the king a branch from the great tree Yggdrasil, delivering a message from Odin that was clear to Mirmir. The king used the branch to swirl the waters of a nearby fountain, causing the water to pour onto Midgard and bring to life the first humans, Aske and Embla. The extent to which this is literally true or simply myth is unclear. Thor later infiltrated the home of the trolls and freed a legion of enslaved Asgardians.

Still in his teens, Thor was part of a plot by Odin to locate a suspected traitor in his kingdom. They staged a banishment for all to see, casting Thor out of Asgard. As expected, Thor was soon set upon by a legion of Mountain Giants, and led them into an isolated valley surrounded by Odin's forces. The Giants were joined by their queen, Knorda, and the traitor in question, Arkin the Weak, a cousin of Loki. Knorda graciously conceded defeat and separated herself from the failed Arkin, though what became of them afterward is unclear. Growing into adulthood, Thor joined his father in a deliberately losing battle against the prince Rivvak of a rival kingdom, and defeated the mysterious Sigurd by smashing him to an asteroid in space.

Thor vs. Hercules

As a young adult, Thor ventured into Jotunheim, land of the giants, "eager for adventure." He brought along the hesitant Loki, and the two soon stumbled upon a group of Storm Giants trying to access a fabled passage into Olympus, a parallel land of immortals described in ancient Asgardian tales. Loki fled at the first sign of combat, leaving Thor to try to keep the giants from invading Olympus. The giants used special spears to pickaxe their way into the rocky ground, beneath which supposedly lay the passage to Olympus. Thor's attack was so powerful that, in defeating the giants, he wound up opening the passage himself. He fell through a magical passage of "shimmering energy" and eventually emerged in the mystical land of Olympus—with no obvious way back. He roamed the realm, and soon came upon a bridge guarded by a powerful Olympian named Hercules. Hercules insistently barred passage across the bridge, and Thor resented this affront to his power. Tempers flared and the two fought. Each godling was astounded by the other's fierce strength and power. After a long and hard-fought battle, Zeus, the father of Hercules and leader of Olympus, arrived and commanded them to cease. He insisted that the two shake hands in friendship, and they readily complied. The powerful Zeus magically teleported Thor back to Jotunheim and formed a mountain over the portal to Olympus, hoping to permanently block passage between the two realms.

Further adventures

When Storm Giants led by the vicious Ghan assaulted Asgard, Thor led the army to defend it. During the battle, Loki jealously employed his magic in an attempt to bring about Thor's failure. When Thor's warriors seem poised to deal Ghan his final blow, Loki transformed him into an eagle, manifesting his apparent escape. Thor's army left confused while Loki stayed behind to return Ghan to his giant form and speak with him. The two forged an alliance, giving Loki a powerful ally in his long-term treachery against Asgard. Later, while on a diplomatic mission to a distant land, Loki got into the ear of a king with whom Odin hoped to forge an alliance. Loki told the king to set Thor impossible challenges under the pretense of diplomatic motivations in order to make him his slave. The king was excited by this idea, but Thor soon accomplished the seemingly unachievable tasks he set for him. Moreover, Thor figured out that the king's challenges were in bad faith and called the mission off. The king cast Loki aside, upset by his perceived failure.

See also

• Biography of Thor, 1962-1963