Is Thor Smart?

[gurkle]

Obviously that's a bit of a provocative title. (I should have called it "How Smart is Thor?") Of course Thor's not dumb. But I feel like in a lot of stories - both his own and when he's with the Avengers - he's portrayed as someone who is brave and noble, but not always someone who thinks things through as much as some other heroes do. He's more like mythological heroes, who are clever when they need to be but prefer action to conniving.

This is, as I said, played up when he's with the Avengers (in the comics and movies), often for laughs. Steve Englehart had a good line about him being more concerned with action than reflection.



But I was wondering how Thor fans see him, and whether there are stories that play up his intelligence or cleverness instead of his strength.

I'll conclude with my favorite "Thor isn't too quick on the uptake" moment.

[Raye]

I don't think he's dumb, but he's often teamed up with or pitted against characters that are very smart, so in comparison he comes off looking a bit slow, but he's not like, stupid. He is also a bit stuck in his ways, and is slow to adopt new things. Which doesn't make him dumb, but well, he's not good with computers and the like.

[Michael Watkins]

didn't he build a time machine?

[mace11]

Here is powergrid info.The powergrid and bio info links are below as well.
616 thor


Ultimate thor




Note-not all thors powers are listed in the powergrid just like for other superpowered types.For more details you have read the comics or look up bio info or both.

616 thor
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Thor_Od...28Earth-616%29

Ultimate thor
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Thor_Od...8Earth-1610%29

By the way thor jane foster intelligence is 3.

Thor jane foster
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Jane_Fo...28Earth-616%29

[brettc1]

As with power levels, intelligence often varies. I have seen Thor written as a blundering barbarian and a gifted planner.

In the Simonson run, widely considered one of the best ever, he outwitted both Hela and Loki on different occasions.

[Daska]

Well he did go through med school as Donald Blake and still has all the memories of it, so technically Thor has a doctorate degree. While he isn't a super genius like Reid Richards or Bruce Banner, I would say Thor is smarter then the average human.

[Turlast]

There are times when Thor is portrayed as an intelligent guy, but there have been many times where he's written as an absolute moron.

[Frontier]

didn't he build a time machine?

I recall that Mjolnir used to be able to time-travel before Immortus took that ability away for his own plans (later elaborated on in Avengers Forever).

[MichaelC]

Thor is smart, he just seems dumb because he is routinely standing side-by-side with Captain America, a tactical genius, and Anthony E. Stark, a scientific super-genius.

[CaptCleghorn]

How much of Don Blake's knowledge does Odinson currently have?

[XPac]

Well he did go through med school as Donald Blake and still has all the memories of it, so technically Thor has a doctorate degree. While he isn't a super genius like Reid Richards or Bruce Banner, I would say Thor is smarter then the average human.

Yeah, I was gonna say... the guy went through med school. That ain't easy.

When you're sandwiched between one of the greatest engineers and perhaps the most brilliant military tactician in the world, it's easy to be overshadowed. But he's got more than just a hat rack on that neck of his.

[Alpha to Omega]

Thor should be rather intelligent but sadly recent writers such as Fraction, Yost, Ewing and Aaron have depicted him as an idiotic, drunken buffoon more in-line with Hercules than classic Thor. Heck, back in the Lee and Kirby days Thor was smart enough to build things indestructible androids and x-ray machines capable of scanning the entirety of New York.

[HaveAtThee]

Depends on the situation, location and the people around him. He's a battle-savvy centuries old warrior who has traversed across the universe so his experience in dealing with different beings and settings is vast, but he's not exactly a technical genius, per se. Living a life as Donald Blake allowed him to become a skilled physician with expert knowledge of the human body, so there's that. Basically away from Earth in the Nine Realms or other galaxies across space, he can appear to be very knowledgeable and savvy in specific settings, but on Earth next to Reed Richards or Tony Stark, he's basically the hired muscle.

I think generally the idea with elite powerhouses is that they are "reliant" on their overwhelming power in every situation so there's no need for someone like Thor or Superman or whoever to be a super-tactical genius, because there are few things or people than can hurt them.

[JudicatorPrime]

Well he did go through med school as Donald Blake and still has all the memories of it, so technically Thor has a doctorate degree. While he isn't a super genius like Reid Richards or Bruce Banner, I would say Thor is smarter then the average human.

I would agree with this. Most medical doctors are intelligent, although I don't think Thor has been shown to be a particularly gifted MD. But intelligence can be limited by specialization and is often viewed as subjective. I don't think Thor gets nearly enough credit for his military acumen, in part because he's always deferring to others, like Captain America. But he is smart, and instinctive, and cunning and all of the other superlatives. It's unavoidable, when you consider that Asgard technically is more advanced than the Earth, although it doesn't often seem that way.

[Coin Biter]

Well, in an early Thor story, Donald Blake created some kind of invincible android that instantly ran amok Of course, that was the Silver Age. Blake was portrayed as a sort of super-Doctor in those early stories, though.