20 times Thor was the best Marvel superhero

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8. When he delves into magic

By now, it should be pretty clear that Norse mythology generally has only a tenuous connection to Thor you see in Marvel comics. However, that relationship can change from writer to writer. Some, like Walt Simonson, are more than happy to take the world of Thor and Asgard to strange, new heights. Writers such as Matt Fraction, on the other hand, are interested in diving more deeply into Thor’s mythological origins.

Fraction’s time writing for Thor has been somewhat divisive. He often likes to pare down scripts to its bare essentials, which can work beautifully but is devilishly tricky for such a grand, verbose kind of world like Asgard.

As much as fans love Simonson’s run, though, it’s important to shake things up. Sometimes, that means that we get awkward experiments like those of the 1990s – though, if we’re being honest, weird reboots and clunky writing isn’t unique to that decade.

At any rate, it’s exciting to see Thor do new and different things. Sometimes, that means he takes part in some truly strange magical escapades, as when he fought ancient zombies in Thor: Vikings. Or, the weird mythical strangeness might take shape in stories that arose after Ragnarok, in which Thor must reassemble the Asgardians on a floating piece of land just above Broxton, Oklahoma. It’s as strange and mythically delightful as it sounds.