Should Thor be a mantle?

[William300]

There have been a couple of Thors in the marvel universe. Once in a while one will replace the original for one reason or another. Now I think it makes sense for the title of "God of Thunder" to be a mantle, but I always found it strange when they treated "Thor" like it was also. Thor is a name, it just never made any sense to me.

Thoughts?

[Rajikaru]

I'm not to much of a Thor fan; my knowledge on his continuity is rather loose, but wasn't there a time where Thor was a mane before they brought the actual God Thor into the book

Either way, I like the 'mantle' option better.

[XPac]

Yeah, I do sort of find it funny that a person's actual name became a mantle.

Sam goes around calling himself Captain America, not Steve Rogers.

[jackolover]

When the first Thor issues came out in Journey Into Mystery, Thor had to prove himself worthy. Supposedly being a Doctor in New York City had made the brash brawling Thor into a better person, so that when the cane turned into a hammer, Thor could pick it up.

I can't understand why the alternate Thors came into being in the human form they took, like Masterson and Thorgirl now. Did Masterson pick up the Uru hammer or did he have some other hammer? If this is the first instance of someone else picking up Thors Hammer, (Thorgirl) then this is a milestone, but Steve Rogers and Superman picked up the hammer and they didn't turn into versions of Thor with a costume. Whats going on there?

[JLS Comics]

When the first Thor issues came out in Journey Into Mystery, Thor had to prove himself worthy. Supposedly being a Doctor in New York City had made the brash brawling Thor into a better person, so that when the cane turned into a hammer, Thor could pick it up.

I can't understand why the alternate Thors came into being in the human form they took, like Masterson and Thorgirl now. Did Masterson pick up the Uru hammer or did he have some other hammer? If this is the first instance of someone else picking up Thors Hammer, (Thorgirl) then this is a milestone, but Steve Rogers and Superman picked up the hammer and they didn't turn into versions of Thor with a costume. Whats going on there?

Thor gave Masterson Mjolnir and then went to live in Asgard.

[Cloudman]

Not really, it's a name after all. Then again calling the female Thor 'Thor' doesn't make much less sense than calling Thor Girl 'Thor Girl'.

[SuperiorIronman]

No. Thor is the characters name and while people are out in the world with the name Thor, if I would pick up a guy named Bill's hammer I would not suddenly gain the title of Bill. They would gain the powers of Thor but only a copy of his powered up form. They do not become him (unless you are Donald Blake but he was special case).
They do not even gain the title of God of Thunder because that is also Thor's birth right and title. If I would suddenly be granted access to the bosses office and got the ability to sit in his chair that does not make me the boss but granted the ability to do that. Same sort of thing applies to the hammer which has no say in Asgardian politics or title granting's but only in the choosing of whomever is worthy (that was a damn enchantment) in who gets the powers Thor had prior to his being unworthy the first time.

Now if Thor granted a name and title then yes it would be official. But Thor is a name and God of Thunder is not something granted by the hammer. I cannot lift Gungnir and be ruler of Asgard, nor do I become Odin.
Thor is only deemed a superhero name because it is in representation of the Thunder God himself. It is NOT a title though. It is a codename or super hero name but it is not a title, it is a name. God of Thunder is a title but it to is not able to be just given away as like I've stated the hammer only gives a copy of the powers. It doesn't transform someone into Thor (excluding Donald Blake of course).

[MajorHoy]

Why would somebody want to make Odinson related to Reggie Mantle?

[Bl00dwerK]

No. Unless Marvel's intent is to piss off the fanbase, then go right ahead...

[t hedge coke]

I seem to remember a) Thor not having his name or godhood in the past, b) Odin finding Thor unworthy to have his role and taking it from him, and c) other people using the name Thor because they were superheroing using his hammer.

Now if Thor granted a name and title then yes it would be official.

Which he did, in the most recent case.

It doesn't transform someone into Thor (excluding Donald Blake of course).

It did early on, at least, as Blake wasn't "really" Thor. But there's other precedents, too.

[Immortal Weapon]

No. Thor is the man's birth name. It should not be a title.

[JKtheMac]

It is important to remember Thor is a god. On an intangible and mythological level the personality is not what counts. What counts is that when people anthropomorphise the sound of thunder in the sky they think of Thor.

For writers, if they want to switch-out Thor they need to have a mythological foundation to the story for it to work. Certainly in the past there has been an over reliance on the mechanism of the hammer and not always enough consideration for mythological resonance.

Currently, with the modern encroachment of female equality at the top of the Norse pantheon, there is just as much mythic underpinning as there is hammer, which for me is the storytelling sweet spot.

So to answer the question. It should be a mantle when it suits the story and helps explore mythological ideas.

[JLS Comics]

Instead of Thor Odinson we can just have Thor Odindaughter. Both named Thor and problem solved!

[JLS Comics]

Thor is a given name, not a codename or a nom de guerre.



She is already called Angela Odinsdottir (Odin's daughter). Notice it next to the word "Alter Ego" in the box "In-story information"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_(comics)

In Iceland they use their father's first name + son/daughter as their surname. According to Icelandic naming tradition,
A man named Jón Einarsson has a son named Ólafur. Ólafur’s last name will not be Einarsson like his father’s; it will become Jónsson, literally indicating that Ólafur is the son of Jón (Jóns + son). The same practice is used for daughters. Jón Einarsson's daughter Sigríður’s last name would not be Einarsson but Jónsdóttir.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_name

I haven't read Angela or female Thor or, really, any Thor recently save for some of the Avengers stuff but I knew I was on to something with that

[jackolover]

Thor gave Masterson Mjolnir and then went to live in Asgard.

How come Mastersons hammer looks to have a shorter hammer head?