Thor: 8 Things The MCU Movies Did Better Than The Comics, According To Reddit

Thor has had a long and rich history in the pages of Marvel comics, but the character has reached an entirely new level of popularity with his role in the MCU. With Chris Hemsworth bringing the God of Thunder to life, Thor has undergone a lot of changes throughout the movies and often feels quite different than the hero from the comics.

While comic fans are often very particular when it comes to adapting beloved characters, there are some changes within the MCU that they have enjoyed. This new take on Thor as a hero has helped him become one of the biggest names in the movies.

8 The Donald Blake Origins

As with many comic book characters, Thor’s origins are quite complicated and there are several different versions to look at. However, the first iteration of the character in Marvel comics is tied to the character of Donald Blake.

As Redditor Rexiel44 points out, Blake “was originally a normal guy” living on Earth who happened to find the hammer Mjolnir which gave him the powers of Thor. However, even Marvel seemed to recognize the flawed nature of those origins and quickly retconned them with a new story that revealed Blake was actually Thor all along and the hammer simply reawakened his powers.

7 The Way He Talks

Thor was always a larger-than-life character even compared to the other superheroes in the Marvel universe. Part of what made him seem even more over the top was his unique way of speaking in the comics. Redditor Unchained71 described Thor talking “like he’s out of a Shakespeare play” which wouldn’t really translate to a live-action movie.

While the first movie’s fish out of water story managed to pull off this kind of speech surprisingly well, the later movies gradually loosened up on it until it was completely done away with by the time Thor: Ragnarok came along.

6 His Avengers: Endgame Look

Like many of the MCU heroes, Thor’s look has gone through a lot of changes throughout the movies, but his transformation in Avengers: Endgame was certainly the most drastic. After falling into a depression after suffering many tragic events, Thor is reintroduced as a heavier and shaggier God of Thunder.

While the transformation marked a darker mindset for the hero, fans also liked the new look for other reasons. Redditor cad_e_an_sceal enjoyed that this new style was “more in line with Norse myths” than had ever been seen in the comics.

5 Playing With His Role As A God

There has always been an interesting connection between Marvel’s version of Thor and the version that exists in Norse mythology as a god. While there are obviously vast differences between the two, the comics have always portrayed Thor as if he were an ancient god while the movies offer a more complicated answer.

The movies establish that the Asgardians are seen by some as those same figures from Norse mythology. However, Redditor ChequeMateX believes the movies made the wise decision of suggesting that Thor is actually “an alien from a distant planet” and the Asgardians are just a powerful and ancient race.

4 No Secret Identity

While Marvel retconned the original Donald Blake origin of Thor, they kept the character around as Thor’s secret identity while on Earth. He was a doctor who walked with a cane which was actually a magically disguised Mjolnir. By tapping his cane, he would transfer into the Mighty Thor.

However, the MCU has seemingly had little interest in secret identities, except for Spider-Man. Thor, like many of his Avengers colleagues, has become a well-known public figure in the world of these movies. Redditor Sere1 praised this choice as the lack of secret identities allowed for “having the characters just be themselves.”

3 No Dependency On His Hammer

Another strange addition to the Donald Blake storyline was having Thor’s powers tied directly to his hammer. While he was a powerful god when wielding Mjolnir, those powers would fade the longer he was away from it. Redditor Unchained71 described the gimmick as “his Kryptonite.”

Certainly, Mjolnir played a big role in Thor’s story in the movies, including showing him that he was worthy of his powers in the first Thor movie. However, Thor: Ragnarok made a point of showing that Thor was not the “God of Hammers” and that he was powerful even after Mjolnir was destroyed.

2 A Sense Of Humor

As the first hero of the MCU, it is interesting how much Tony Stark set the tone for the cinematic universe. With Robert Downey Jr’s quippy and hilarious performance, all Marvel movies that followed were infused with a good bit of comedy.

Thor from the comics was never a very amusing hero with his arrogance and sternness as a god. The earlier Thor movies were criticized for similarly making the character too dull. However, the new direction of Thor: Ragnarok allowed Chris Hemsworth to embrace his comedic side and Thor became one of the MCU’s funniest characters. While it was an unexpected path for the character, fans like Redditor vinnybawbaw admitted “funny Thor was done right.”

1 No Clone

Though Captain America: Civil War featured a number of other Marvel heroes besides Captain America himself, its scope was much smaller than the comic storyline it was based on. Notably, Thor was not included in the movie while his involvement in the comics was complicated.

Unable to find Thor to join his team, Tony Stark created a clone of Thor who possessed his powers as well. While it was an interesting development in the comics, many fans were glad it didn’t make the cross over to the movies. As Redditor smileimhigh claimed, the storyline would be “too gimmicky for the big screen.”

About The Author

Colin McCormick
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Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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