5) Thor
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby hit on another of their genius ideas when Thor made his debut in the Marvel universe in Journey into Mystery #83 in 1962. Reimagining the gods of Norse mythology as a powerful alien race allowed the pair to carve out a new corner of the MU that was as grand and mythical as it was bustling with brilliant sci-fi ideas.
Originally, Thor was stripped of his powers and became the mortal Donald Blake. As the character developed, however, the God of Thunder was used more and more to explore the wider reaches to the MU. And Thor’s adventures have gotten truly trippy over the years. He’s faced alien nasties like Mangog, fire demons like Surtur and even living planets like, er, Ego the Living Planet.
After the first two Thor movies held back on the cosmic aspect in favour of Thor’s Midgard-bound romance with Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, the third film in the trilogy, Thor: Ragnarok looks set to deliver the colourful, entertaining sci-fi adventure movie we have been waiting for.
Published: May 5, 2017 08:50 pm