Disney + ‘s Loki featured many Easter eggs and one of the best was Throg, a frog version of Thor, who appeared in episode five of the series. Many Thor variants exist in Marvel Comics, including powerful versions from across the multiverse. Many Thor variants diverge only slightly from the Earth-616 version, while others are radically different like Throg.
Some Thor variants exist in the main Marvel continuity and others in alternate timelines and realities. Others proved their worth in wielding Mjölnir in Earth-616, like Beta Ray Bill. Those heroic characters became Thor by virtue of the hammer, inscribed with the edict that “Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of… Thor.”
Updated on June 13th, 2022 by Darby Harn: Thor: Love And Thunder brings a major Thor variant from Marvel Comics to the MCU in Jane Foster. Jane Foster took the mantle in a key 2014 run from writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman, aspects of which inspired the new movie. While Jane appears to be the only Thor variant in the movie, others may appear. With the trailer hinting at a return to Sakaar, Beta Ray Bill, the powerful alien warrior from the comics who proved worthy of Mjölnir, may make his first live-action appearance as well.
Thordis
Jane Foster first becomes a powerful Thor variant, specifically Thordis, in What If ..? # 10. In this alternate take on Thor’s origin, she discovers Mjölnir rather than Dr. Donald Blake. She gains Thor’s power in doing so, including god-like strength and stamina.
Wielding the hammer grants her the power to manipulate the weather as well as generate tremendous blasts of energy. She used her powers to fight many of Thor’s Earth-616 villains, including Loki and Zarko the Tomorrow Man.
War Thor
Volstagg typically fights alongside Thor as one of the Warriors Three, but for a brief time, he became War Thor. War Thor achieved mystical powers by wielding Thor’s hammer, including the Anti-Force, a power strong enough to destroy planets.
Unfortunately, Volstagg’s experience left him filled with rage he could not control. He lashed out at others, including friends and allies, undermining the power and potential he possessed as War Thor.
Beta Ray Bill
Beta Ray Bill’s powerset matches Thor’s in almost every way. He possesses god-like strength and effective immortality, with superhuman abilities borne from a combination of his alien Korbonite physiology and the mystical enchantment via Mjölnir.
Beta Ray Bill also commands enormous skill in weapons and tactics. He briefly wielded the Twilight Sword and used it to kill Surtur, the Fire Demon who ranks among Thor’s most powerful villains in Marvel Comics.
Throg
Throg appeared briefly in Loki episode five, trapped in a jar labeled T365. This referenced Thor # 365, part of Walt Simonson’s epic run and among the best Thor comics from the 1980s. Throg possessed all of Thor’s Asgardian power and abilities, including the ability to fly.
Other versions of Throg appeared in the comics over the years. Another version, Simon Walterson, debuted in Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers # 1 in 2009, which featured animal versions of the Avengers roster.
Thunderstrike
Eric Masterson took over the role of Thor for a brief time in the early 1990s. This provided him with Thor’s powers, including heightened Asgardian physiology. He later adopted his own identity, Thunderstrike with his own weapon of the same name.
The Thunderstrike mace granted Masterson many abilities, including flight, increased agility, and reflexes. Using the mace also allowed him to switch back and forth between his human and enchanted forms. Thunderstrike appears to have inspired a comic book reference in Thor: Love and Thunderwith Thor wearing a sleeveless vest similar to Masterson’s.
Ragnarok
Iron Man cloned Thor for the express purpose of fighting the other Avengers in the Civil War crossover event. Ragnarok shared most of Thor’s powers but lacked the Asgardian strength of the true Thor. As a result, the Avenger Hercules defeated him rather easily in combat.
Though Ragnarok wielded a hammer in battle, the hammer is not mystical in nature like Mjölnir. Still, the hammer remains a serious weapon, made of both vibranium and adamantium.
Thor 2099
Thor 2099 emerged in one of Marvel Comics’ darkest timelines. Cecil McAdams gains the power of Thor not by being worthy of Mjolnir, but by being deceived by the CEO of the Alchemax Corporation that he is a Norse god.
Alchemax grants McAdams his powers, which mirror the original Thor’s in large measure including the ability to fly. McAdams gladly accepted, having been a priest in a religion devoted to the original Thor from a century before.
Destroyer Thor
In Thor # 381, also part of Simonson’s epic run on the title in the 1980s, Thor dons armor fashioned from The Destroyer. This enchanted Asgardian armor amplified Thor’s already considerable strength and stamina considerably, though the armor had a negative influence on Thor.
This armor also allowed Thor to fire energy beams strong enough to destroy entire planets. Even greater than this, Destroyer Thor possessed the power to manipulate matter, reorganizing it in any way he saw fit.
Thor-El
Thor-El fuses Thor and Superman, emerging n the Unlimited Access crossover between Marvel and DC back in the late 1990s. He combines all the incredible powers Superman possesses, as well as Thor’s, creating a truly god-like being.
At the time, Superman existed in his blue energy form, lending Thor-El his distinct blue look. The crossover formed part of a series of such events between Marvel and DC in the ’90s, beginning with Amalgam Comics.
Iron Hammer
Iron Hammer combines Thor and Iron Man in a powerful new character. Sigurd Stark was aided by an AI assistant HEIMDALL and fought against the Dark Elves who captured and tried to kill him. Like his mystical hammer, his armor was enchanted, making him truly powerful.
He appeared in the Infinity Warps storyline from 2018, in which Gamora uses the Infinity Stones to fold space and time. This leads to countless characters being jammed together like Iron Hammer.
Ultimate Thor
The Ultimates from Earth-1610 initially distrust Thor and even write him off as insane, but he eventually proves himself as the God Of Thunder. His powers echo the Thor of the main Marvel continuity in Earth-616 but derive in some measure from a mystical belt he wears.
Early on, he wields an ax that foreshadows Stormbreaker in Earth-616 and in the MCU. He later uses the regular Mjölnir and generally becomes more like his original comic book counterpart as time goes on.
Storm
Storm ranks among the most powerful X-Men and she became even more powerful when she proved she was worthy of lifting Mjölnir. She first gained these powers in X-Men Annual # 9 in 1985, when Loki presented Storm the Stormcaster hammer, a version of Mjolnir.
She relinquished the hammer but would later lift it again many years later. Versions of Storm in other realities have also had the power of Thor, most notably in Earth-904, which was introduced in What If ..? # 12 from 1990. In this issue, Storm fights another version of Throg.
King Thor
An older version of Loki appeared in the MCU series, played by Richard E. Grant. An older King Thor fought him in the comics in a dark alternate future. King Thor retained all his powers as well as wielded the Odinsword, a powerful mystical weapon.
He assumed the throne of Asgard after the death of his father and the murder of many Marvel gods, all slain by Gorr The God Butcher. Other versions of King Thor exist in the comics, including a tyrannical one who is ultimately deposed by his son and the comic version of Lady Sif in a storyline from the early 2000s.
Jane Foster
Comic book fans know Jane Foster became one of the most powerful Thor variants when Thor was deemed unworthy of Mjölnirr. She instantly gained all of Thor’s powers and abilities, including energy-sensing, which allows her to perceive all forms of energy.
Jane escaped the pain of her cancer while using the hammer, but continued use of such power actually advanced her cancer by purging all toxins from her body including her chemotherapy. She sacrificed her life fighting as Thor but was resurrected by Odin.
Cosmic King Thor
Cosmic King Thor arguably the most powerful Thor variant in Marvel Comics. Galactus made him his herald and granted him the Power Cosmic, the same unimaginable energy that the Silver Surfer and others use to cross space.
Thor ultimately uses his power to kill Galactus. An epic battle between the two ends with Thor destroying the cosmic entity with a single blow, even after Galactus achieved full power by eating several planets and moons.
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