50 Fun Facts About Thor

Thor is the Norse god of thunder and the son of Odin and which earth goddess?

Jörð simply means 'earth' in Old Norse.

What is the name of Thor's hammer?

He also owns a strength-doubling belt, Megingjörð, and iron gloves called Járngreipr.

Which dwarf brothers forged Mjölnir, according to the Prose Edda?

The whole episode starts with Loki cutting off Sif's hair and Thor threatening to break every bone in his body.

According to Saxo's Gesta Danorum and other sources, what was notably wrong with Mjölnir?

In the Prose Edda the flaw is Loki's fault: he pestered the dwarf at the bellows as a fly.

How was Mjölnir most commonly worn during the Viking Age?

Modern Heathens wear it the same way today.

Who is Thor's golden-haired wife?

Her hair was shorn by Loki and replaced by a headpiece of real gold made by dwarves.

What are the names of the two goats that pull Thor's chariot?

The names mean 'teeth-barer' and 'teeth-grinder'; the other pairs are Odin's ravens, Odin's wolves and horses.

Why does one of Thor's goats become permanently lame?

As compensation Thor took the boy Þjálfi and his sister Röskva as his servants.

In the poem Þrymskviða, how does Thor recover his stolen hammer?

Freyja's furious refusal makes the halls of the gods shake and her necklace Brísingamen fly off.

How deep did the giant Þrymr claim to have hidden Mjölnir?

Loki borrows Freyja's feather cloak to fly to Jötunheimr and find out.

On a fishing trip with the giant Hymir, what does Thor use as bait to hook the world serpent?

The scene is carved on at least three stones, including the Gosforth Cross in England.

What is the name of the giant serpent Thor is fated to fight at Ragnarök?

Fenrir is the wolf that kills Odin.

In the Völuspá, how many steps does Thor take after killing the serpent before its venom kills him?

After Ragnarök his sons Móði and Magni inherit Mjölnir.

Which day of the week is named after Thor?

It is a calque of the Latin 'day of Jove'; Tuesday and Wednesday belong to Týr and Odin.

When Tacitus described the Germanic gods, which Roman hero did he equate with Thor?

The link was probably the resemblance between Thor's hammer and Hercules' club.

Which 8th-century missionary felled an oak dedicated to Thor (as 'Jove') in Hesse?

Donar is the southern Germanic form of Thor's name.

What did Adam of Bremen say Thor rules, in his 11th-century description of the Uppsala temple?

He said the statue of Thor with his mace looked like Jupiter.

How many names does Thor bear in the stories recorded in medieval Iceland?

He is also stepfather to the god Ullr.

In which comic did Marvel's Thor first appear in 1962?

Stan Lee said he wanted a hero 'bigger than a human' and picked a god.

Marvel's Thor was originally the alter ego of which disabled surgeon?

The Blake identity was later revealed as an invention of Odin's.

Which alien warrior, introduced in 1983, was the first outsider deemed worthy to lift Mjolnir?

Walt Simonson created him, and Odin gave him his own hammer, Stormbreaker.

Which writer's 2014 run made Jane Foster the new Thor while she was gravely ill?

Foster had first appeared as a nurse in Journey into Mystery #84 in 1962.

Who directed the first Thor film in 2011?

Sam Raimi had toyed with a Thor film as far back as 1991.

Which actor originally auditioned to play Thor before Branagh cast him as Loki instead?

Hemsworth was initially dropped from consideration and then given a second chance to read.

In the first film, Thor is banished to Earth and lands in which US state?

Filming took place in California and New Mexico in early 2010.

Which accent did Chris Hemsworth adopt for Thor because he felt it suited the character?

He said he modelled the physicality on boxers like Mike Tyson.

Roughly how much did the first Thor film gross worldwide?

It was the 15th highest-grossing film of 2011.

Who plays the Dark Elf Malekith in Thor: The Dark World?

Malekith seeks the Aether during a rare alignment of the Nine Realms called the Convergence.

Which rare alignment of the Nine Realms drives the plot of The Dark World?

The film's climax plays out in Greenwich, London.

Who directed Thor: Ragnarok?

He also voices the rock creature Korg.

Who plays Hela, Thor's previously unknown older sister, in Ragnarok?

Hela was Odin's firstborn, written out of history after she became too bloodthirsty.

On which alien planet is Thor forced to fight as a gladiator in Ragnarok?

The setting let the film borrow from the 2006 'Planet Hulk' comics storyline.

Which body part does Thor lose fighting Hela in Ragnarok?

Hemsworth admitted he had grown 'a bit bored' of Thor and wanted the haircut, new outfit and lost eye to shake things up.

Where was Ragnarok principally filmed?

It grossed $855 million, the most of any Thor film.

How much did Thor: Ragnarok gross worldwide, the highest of the series?

Love and Thunder came second in the series with $761 million.

Which actor plays Gorr the God Butcher in Love and Thunder?

Russell Crowe plays Zeus.

In Love and Thunder, Jane Foster wields Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor while undergoing treatment for what?

The plot borrows directly from Jason Aaron's 2010s comics run.

What is the name of Gorr's daughter, whom Thor ends up raising?

Her death after prayers to the god Rapu go unanswered is what turns Gorr into the God Butcher.

On which Australian soap did Chris Hemsworth get his break, playing Kim Hyde?

He had originally auditioned for the part of Robbie Hunter.

Chris Hemsworth made his Hollywood film debut in which 2009 film?

He played George Kirk, the captain's father, in the opening minutes.

Which Formula One driver did Hemsworth play in Rush?

He was born in Melbourne and partly raised in the Northern Territory outback.

Which actor played Thor in the 1988 TV movie The Incredible Hulk Returns?

It was Thor's first live-action screen appearance.

Thor's son Magni was born to which jötunn lover, rather than to his wife Sif?

With Sif he fathered the goddess Þrúðr, and he is stepfather to the god Ullr.

What are the names of Thor's two human servants in the Norse myths?

The pair travel with him on his journeys, alongside his goat-drawn chariot.

On which Migration Period jewellery found in Bavaria does the god's name first appear in writing?

Its Elder Futhark runes spell Þonar, the southern Germanic form Donar.

In Hárbarðsljóð, Thor trades insults with a rude ferryman who is really whom in disguise?

The flyting reveals Thor's giant-killing in the east, and in the end he simply walks home.

In Alvíssmál, how does Thor doom the dwarf Alvíss who wants to marry his daughter?

The dwarf recites lore about all the worlds in a long question-and-answer session that lasts too long.

Who voices and performs Thor as the main antagonist of 2022's God of War Ragnarök?

His sons Magni and Modi had been secondary villains in the 2018 game.

With which issue in 1966 was Journey into Mystery renamed Thor, giving him his own title?

The shift moved the primary setting from Earth to Asgard; #83 was his debut and #179 Kirby's last as artist.

Which writer, then a teenager, took over Marvel's Thor comic after Stan Lee stepped back?

John and Sal Buscema drew his run; Englehart later pulled Thor from the Avengers for being too powerful.