Thor – Then and Now on TV

In August 1962, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber created Thor, a new superhero based off of the Norse God, and from that issue of Journey into Mystery, the God of Thunder has gone onto become one of the iconic heroes associated with the Avengers. Even though his big screen debut was in this summer’s Thor (reviews here and here), and will be seen next year in Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor has had numerous incarnations on TV, both in live-action and in animation, so with Lionsgate’s release of Thor: Tales of Asgard May 17th on Blu-ray/DVD, Killer Film takes a look back at the other appearances of the God of Thunder.

God of Thunder and rock and roll. The spell you’re under, will slowly rob you of your virgin soul – KISS

Four years after his first comic book appearance, Thor appeared on the animated show The Marvel Super Heroes and was voiced by Chris Wiggins. The show lasted 65 episodes from September 1966 to December 1966, and Thor was featured on Thursdays, since each character had their own day. The Canadian production had the rights as it aired in syndication on various networks here in the States. The stories were quick and simple, usually running 7-minutes or so, and the Thor segments featured all of his soon-to-be classic villains like Loki and The Destroyer.

Thor missed out on the 1970s, probably because of the social revolution didn’t have time for some thees and thous, but he reappeared numerous times in the 1980s, the first being on the animated Spider-Man series episodes called “The Wrath of the Sub-Mariner”, voiced by Jack Angel. Fans later saw Thor in 1982′s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, a popular long-running series, where Spidey teams with Ice Man from the X-Men and Firestar as they tag-team villainy. Look for Thor in the episode “Vengeance of Loki”.

Thor first live-action debut came in the made-for-TV movie, The Incredible Hulk Returns, which finds David Banner being tracked down by a former student in Donald Blake, asking for his help in releasing Thor back into Asgard, with the aid of getting the hammer Mjolnir. Here, they deviate from the comics. Donald Blake, who is usually the alter ego of Thor on Earth, is actually a separate person and Thor is more of a spirit. Blake is played by actor Steve Levitt and Thor by actor Eric Allan Kramer (Robin Hood: Men in Tights). Fans do see the Hulk battle Thor, but there’s no winner. Thor is typically cliched: he loves drinking beer, fighting, and loving women. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s a far cry from what director Kenneth Branagh brought to the screen on May 6th.

The 1990s brought Thor back to the animated world, with a guest appearance on the short-lived Fantastic Four and Incredible Hulk animated series. Both times, Thor was voiced by John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings). Fans of the critically acclaimed Fox animated series X-Men: The Animated Series, might have caught the God of Thunder ever so briefly during the story arc “The Dark Phoenix Saga”, specifically Part 3.

For the first decade of the 2000s, Thor’s been animated still, but to much greater and better results. From the popular Cartoon Network show The Super Hero Squad Show to The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (out now on DVD), Thor is perhaps best served in the Lionsgate/Marvel DTV film Hulk Vs., a stunning two-part film that features what fans simply just want: action. Thor appeared again in a series of LGF/Marvel DTV films like in the underrated Next Avengers, and even the Beta Ray Bill version of the character in Planet Hulk.

Now, fans can enjoy Thor in something he hasn’t had yet – a solo film. Thor: Tales of Asgard is the latest in the DTV line from LGF/Marvel coming May 17th to Blu-ray/DVD, where the God of Thunder is younger, which acts as a prelude to the hit movie out now in theaters.