Simply put, Thor is a god. He is not mortal. He comes prepackaged with some awesome powers. What we’re going to do today is look into just a fraction of those powers. Here come the top 10 superpowers wielded by Marvel’s Thor Odinson.
10. Strongman
The strongest non-enhanced human can lift, at most, 700 pounds or so in the Marvelverse. Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, can bench press somewhere closer to 1,200 pounds. Carol Danvers, or Captain Marvel, has a limit around 70 tons (with a ton equaling 2,000 pounds).
Thor, on the other hand, is not human. It’s sometimes difficult to remember when staring at his near-perfect form and enviously long blonde hair that he is much more than any of us could hope to be.
How much more? Well, Thor’s muscles can shoulder a potentially incalculable amount of weight, but at *least* 100 tons. That means no one actually knows exactly how strong he is; it’s doubtful even he knows. He is definitely stronger than the Hulk, with creator Stan Lee even saying once “Who could we make that’s even bigger and stronger than the Hulk? Then it occurred to me: Don’t make him a human… Make him a god.”
He showcases his pure strength in the Journey into Mystery comic, #112, when he meets the mighty Hulk for the first time. It is also important to note his stamina because as an Asgardian, his metabolism is vastly superior to ours as well. What that means is that he is not only stronger than any of us, but he can outlast even the best of us while using all of that godly strength.
9. How Long?
Asgardians are not fully immortal, meaning they can actually die. No one knows exactly how long they live, but if we listen to Thor’s brother Loki (which is a flawed idea at best, as he is the god of tricksters), they live somewhere around 5000 years. Odin is thought to age at a speed of roughly ten human years in 1,000 years, heightening that number to closer to 10,000 years.
That is the Asgardian’s nature, anyway. There are ways to live even longer for one of the Norse gods: The Golden Apples watched over by Idunn or Freya, are said to slow the process of aging even more. Thor is also able to ward off most disease, making him definitely harder to kill.
8. Speeding Through the Air
Mjolnir, Thor’s battle hammer, is arguably the coolest artifact in the Marvelverse. Simply put, it is where many of Thor’s awesomeness comes from. Such as his ability to fly.
See the hammer in action here!
In most instances, he spins his mighty hammer around faster than we can probably imagine, and lets the momentum take him from the ground to the air. In the first Thor movie, he uses this trick to mow over quite a few frost giants.
Linked to his ability to fly is Thor’s superb speed. He can fly at speeds up to Mach 32 with his trusty hammer and can run at least as fast. In the Journey into Mystery comic, #110, he runs fast enough that no one can actually see him. In issue #112 of the same comic, he crosses New York in “a heartbeat.”
7. Fighting Deity
While no one is quite sure how old Thor is, he is definitely known as the best warrior in Asgard. Asgardians, by the way, are a race of warrior-gods. Even if he were the worst warrior from his land, he would still likely be better than most humans. Add in his centuries of experience and training, and it’s likely no one from Earth can touch him. At least not without some help or other superpowers to match him.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to kind of downplay his fighting ability- he is still an Avenger, but he can’t be better than any of the other Avengers. In fact, in the comic Thor, Volume 1 issue #397, Thor loses his powers, his super strength, and his immortality, and still manages to defeat Grog the God Crusher in hand to hand combat.
6. Doctor Donald Blake
Once upon a time, Thor had a human alter-ego named Doctor Donald Blake. This human was a doctor and had no idea the god was within him. Odin had banished his son to Earth without his Asgardian memories to regain his position as future king of the Asgardians.
While in his human form, he is a highly skilled surgeon, and generally a genius. He uses his mental prowess to construct an Android that can take a hit from the mighty Mjolnir in Journey into Mystery, #95.
Dr. Blake carries a nondescript walking stick. If he is ever parted from his walking stick for more than a minute, he is instantly transformed back into the beautiful god we all know and love, and the cane is transformed back into Mjolnir. Although Odin took away Thor’s alter ego later on, Thor still remembers his medical knowledge and skills.
5. Augments
Other than Mjolnir, Thor also wears a few other magical artifacts. We know that Thor is already so strong that we can’t actually tell exactly how strong he is. He also has a “belt of strength,” named Megingjord, that doubles his physical prowess.
He also routinely wears his gauntlets, named Jarngreipr. Although the comics don’t delve too much into their powers, the comics are fairly true to the original Norse Mythology. As such, we can figure out that the gauntlets help him to control the powerful hammer, which is shorter than it was meant to be.
In the comic Thor, Volume 1 issue #361, he uses his three items (the hammer, gauntlets, and belt) to strengthen his Asgardian powers and defeat Thanos.
4. Mjolnir
Technically one of his augments as mentioned above, Mjolnir is powerful enough to warrant its own entry. Made of a dwarven metal called uru, and crafted with enchantments by those same dwarves. Because of this, it is practically indestructible. The metal itself, without the magic, is stronger than the adamantium alloy that makes up Wolverine’s skeleton.
In tune with Thor’s mind, the god can throw the hammer with all of his immeasurable strength and have it come right back into his hand. It’s almost like a boomerang mixed with a loyal puppy; only it hurts more.
Mjolnir also has the ability to absorb energy thrown at it and return it in an explosive blast. I’ve already mentioned that Mjolnir helps Thor fly, but that is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
Not only can almost no one other than Thor wield it, because of a spell cast by Odin that lets the hammer choose only those who are “worthy,” but with it, Thor can summon the Odinforce and control the weather.
3. Elemental Control
As the God of Thunder, Thor is able to use Mjolnir to control lightning and anything a storm would hold. In Journey into Mystery, #86, he shows off his ability to create hurricane-like winds with his own lungs. After Ragnarok, he is imbued with control over earth, coming into his true Elder-God powers.
Without Mjolnir to channel his powers, he can still use a lightning-bolt blast from his hands or create canyons and earthquakes. With Mjolnir, on the other hand, he is at least as strong as the Olympian god of thunder, Zeus.
2. All speak
If you’ve read any of my other articles about the Avengers, you’ll know I have a habit of believing knowledge is incredibly powerful. This is why Doctor Donald Blake is so important to me, despite having no powers himself.
Today will be no different. While most people tend to think of Thor as a bit of a pretty-boy, or all brawn and no brains, most people are wrong. He is, after all, in line to be king of Asgard, and Odin is no dummy – he wouldn’t choose an idiot to rule.
Not only is he a great tactician and strategist, brought on by centuries of studying fighting and war, but he is also imbued with something called Allspeak. To be a diplomat (even warrior races have to keep the peace with other people), it helps if you can speak someone else’s language. All speak does more than that. As the title suggests, it lets Thor speak the language of any creature from the nine realms.
He doesn’t actually speak a different language, however. He speaks his native Norse language, and anyone who hears him magically hears their first language. I don’t know about you, but of all of Thor’s many powers, I think this is the one that I am most envious of.
1. God Force
When Thor’s mighty hammer breaks, the god asks Doctor Stephen Strange to help him. The good doctor binds Thor’s lifeforce with the hammer, which grew his power exponentially. As such, when he and the hammer are united, he can unleash one hell of a blast, called the God Force or God Blast.
With this forceful blast, Thor can destroy basically anything. Immortals have even fallen to this blast: in Thor #161, he used the god force to destroy Galactus.
