Thor
Origins and Qualities. Thor appears throughout Norse mythology as a huge, strongly built, red-bearded fellow with a huge appetite. He grew out of Donar or Thunor, an ancient god of sky and thunder. Some myths say that Thor was the son of Odin and Fjorgyn, the earth goddess. His wife was the beautiful goddess Sif, who seldom appears in myths and remains a somewhat mysterious figure.
Generally good-natured, Thor had a hot temper, and his anger was dreadful to behold. He was a fierce enemy of the frost giants, the foes of the Norse gods. When people heard thunder and saw lightning in the sky, they knew that Thor was fighting these evil giants.
The thunder god's chief weapon was his mighty hammer Mjollnir, or Crusher, which the dwarfs had forged for him. When he threw Mjollnir, it returned magically to his hand like a boomerang. Among Mjollnir's other powers was the gift of restoring life to the dead. The connection of Thor's hammer with life and fertility gave rise to the old Norse customs of placing a hammer in a bride's lap at her wedding and of raising it over a newborn child.
deity god or goddess
patron special guardian, protector, or supporter
Thor's treasures also included a magical belt that doubled his strength whenever he wore it and a pair of goats, Tanngniost and Tanngrisni (both "Toothgnashers"), that pulled his chariot across the sky. Whenever he was overcome with hunger, Thor would devour his goats, only to return them to life with Mjollnir.
Myths About Thor. According to one well-known myth about Thor, Thrym, king of the giants, came into possession of Mjollnir and declared that he would give it back to Thor only if the beautiful goddess Freyja agreed to marry him. She angrily refused, and the trickster god Loki came up with a clever plan to recover Mjollnir. Using women's clothing and a bridal veil to disguise Thor as Freyja, Loki escorted "Freyja" to Jotunheim, the home of the giants. Thrym greeted his bride, though he was surprised at her appetite at the wedding feast. "Freyja" consumed an entire ox, three barrels of wine, and much more. Loki explained that she had been unable to eat for a week because of her excitement at marrying Thrym. The giant accepted this explanation, and the wedding proceeded. When the time came for a hammer to be placed in the bride's lap according to custom, Thor grabbed Mjollnir and threw off his disguise. Then he used the hammer to smash the giants and their hall.
During another visit to Jotunheim, Thor and Loki met Skrymir, an especially large giant. He was so big that when they wandered into one of his gloves, they thought they were in a mansion and slept in one of the fingers. In the morning they found Skrymir sleeping, and Thor tried to crush the giant's head with Mjollnir. Skrymir simply brushed away the blow as though it were no more than a falling leaf.
The gods traveled on to Utgard, a city of giants, where the giants challenged Thor to drain their drinking cup and lift their cat from the floor. He could not do either--the cup was connected to the sea, and the cat was really Jormungand, the serpent that encircles the world. Although Thor failed the tests, he came close to draining the ocean and removing the world serpent.
trickster mischievous figure appearing in various forms in the folktales and mythology of many different peoples.
Captain America
Following an attack on Avengers Mansion by Helmut Zemo and his new Masters of Evil, and a conflict with Florida drug-lord the Slug, Cap became an ally of wrestler-turned-adventurer Demolition-Man (or D-Man). The Commission on Superhuman Activities (CSA), manipulated by the still hidden Red Skull, unfairly demanded Cap return to active government duty. Cap, in an echo of his earlier retirement following the Secret Empire debacle, surrendered his Captain America identity and shield rather than risk compromising his integrity via potential government misdeeds. The CSA appointed John Walker as a replacement Captain America, with his sidekick Battlestar (Lemar Hoskins). Rogers formed a mobile crimefighting team with Falcon, Nomad and D-Man and assumed a new costumed identity as the Captain. He adopted a new Adamantium shield provided by Iron Man, but Iron Man’s vigilante crusade to incapacitate armor wearers using his technology set him against the government’s Mandroids and Guardsmen, soldiers defending the nation Rogers still cherished. The Captain returned the shield during an attempt to apprehend Iron Man, the first serious break in their years of friendship.With a Vibranium shield from the Black Panther, Rogers continued his adventures with his fellow travelers. Alongside the Avengers; while battling the Egyptian death god Seth’s forces, he briefly wielded Thor’s hammer, proving his worthiness among only a few privileged to lift the enchanted weapon. When the eastern Avengers roster disbanded soon afterward, Cap led a team of one-time members in halting the High Evolutionary’s worldwide experimentation, then joined D-Man and Battlestar in an assault on ULTIMATUM. D-Man seemingly perished at the organization’s Arctic base, but Cap had little time to grieve as demons overran New York during what was called the “Inferno Crisis”. Cap was allied with various heroes during the fray as a new team of Avengers, while the mutant X-Men ended the unholy invasion. After the Inferno Crisis ended, he and a maddened John Walker were manipulated into battle by the Red Skull, his survival finally revealed. With the Skull’s involvement exposed, the CSA offered Steve the return of his former identity; though Rogers initially declined. He was encouraged to accept by Walker, who subsequently wore a version of the Captain uniform as the USAgent and joined the West Coast Avengers, wielding Cap’s Vibranium shield.
Back in UniformWhile Cap led a reorganization of the Avengers, he became romantically involved with ex-Serpent Society member Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), although their relationship was strained by her continued loyalties to some of her former criminal cohorts.
Hostilities flared between the interstellar Kree and Shi’ar Empires, and their conflict destabilized Earth’s sun. Cap led the Avengers in protecting Earth’s interests and following a series of space adventures that set them against both the Shi’ar Imperial Guard and the Kree Starforce, the Avengers learned all parties had been manipulated by the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence in an effort to advance the Kree race’s evolution via the near-annihilation of the Kree empire. After allegedly 98% of the Kree Empire’s population were killed, Iron Man and other Avengers attempted to kill the Supreme Intelligence despite the protests of Cap, who felt the Earth team had no right to execute an extraterrestrial ruler; although the Intelligence secretly survived, Cap was disturbed by his teammates’ willingness to kill and he took another leave of absence from the team just as D-Man turned up alive.
Back on Earth, Cap’s adventures continued as he was turned into a werewolf for a time, and was attacked by an evil “doppelganger” version of himself, a harbinger of the cosmic “Infinity War” waged against Earth’s superhumans by the tyrannical Magus, an aspect of the artificially constructed man, Adam Warlock.
Wolverine:
Real Name: James Howlett, now goes by Logan
Identity: Secret
Occupation: (current) Adventurer, member of the X-Men, (possible former) Samurai, (former) CIA operative, member of Canada's Weapon X program, leader of Alpha Flight, bartender on Madripoor
Other Aliases: Weapon X, Patch
Place of Birth: Unknown, presumably in Canada.
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: John Howlett (father, deceased), Elizabeth Howlett (mother, presumed deceased) "The Old Man" (unnamed grandfather, presumed deceased) Windsong (wife, deceased)
Base of Operations: (current) Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, (former) the Clan Yashida compound in Japan, Department H in Canada.
Group Affiliation: (current) X-Men, (former) Clan Yashida, the Weapon X Program, Alpha Flight
First Appearance: THE INCREDIBLE HULK #181
History: In the late 1880's a child by the name of James Howlett was born. As a child James was a frail and sick boy. His allergies didn't allow him to go out and play much. His father had requested that a twelve year old girl be brought to their estate. That girl was named Rose and she was to be a friend and play mate to James. She read to him and looked after him. Along with the grounds keeper's son, Dog, James and Rose were the only children on the hill where the estate was. They had become close friends and played together as much as possible but Dog slowly grew away from them. Dog's father, the grounds keeper was named Thomas Logan, he was an alcoholic and abuse his son.
Over the next few years Dog started to follow in his father footsteps, becoming cruel and heartless. James was given more responsibilities by his father and grandfather. After a big fight, Dog killed James's K-9 companion which resulted in the Logans getting kicked off the Howlett estate.
In a fit of rage and anger Thomas Logan and his son entered the estate armed. They then took Rose hostage and demanded that she take them to the masters' bedroom. There the elder Logan tried to persuade James's mother, Elizabeth, to leave with them. Before they could leave John entered the room and discovered them together. In a rage of hate and dislike Thomas shot John as James walked into the room. Seeing his father shot and killed shocked him so much that it triggered his latent mutant abilities. His claws extended and continued through Thomas.
Origins and Qualities. Thor appears throughout Norse mythology as a huge, strongly built, red-bearded fellow with a huge appetite. He grew out of Donar or Thunor, an ancient god of sky and thunder. Some myths say that Thor was the son of Odin and Fjorgyn, the earth goddess. His wife was the beautiful goddess Sif, who seldom appears in myths and remains a somewhat mysterious figure.
Generally good-natured, Thor had a hot temper, and his anger was dreadful to behold. He was a fierce enemy of the frost giants, the foes of the Norse gods. When people heard thunder and saw lightning in the sky, they knew that Thor was fighting these evil giants.
The thunder god's chief weapon was his mighty hammer Mjollnir, or Crusher, which the dwarfs had forged for him. When he threw Mjollnir, it returned magically to his hand like a boomerang. Among Mjollnir's other powers was the gift of restoring life to the dead. The connection of Thor's hammer with life and fertility gave rise to the old Norse customs of placing a hammer in a bride's lap at her wedding and of raising it over a newborn child.
deity god or goddess
patron special guardian, protector, or supporter
Thor's treasures also included a magical belt that doubled his strength whenever he wore it and a pair of goats, Tanngniost and Tanngrisni (both "Toothgnashers"), that pulled his chariot across the sky. Whenever he was overcome with hunger, Thor would devour his goats, only to return them to life with Mjollnir.
Myths About Thor. According to one well-known myth about Thor, Thrym, king of the giants, came into possession of Mjollnir and declared that he would give it back to Thor only if the beautiful goddess Freyja agreed to marry him. She angrily refused, and the trickster god Loki came up with a clever plan to recover Mjollnir. Using women's clothing and a bridal veil to disguise Thor as Freyja, Loki escorted "Freyja" to Jotunheim, the home of the giants. Thrym greeted his bride, though he was surprised at her appetite at the wedding feast. "Freyja" consumed an entire ox, three barrels of wine, and much more. Loki explained that she had been unable to eat for a week because of her excitement at marrying Thrym. The giant accepted this explanation, and the wedding proceeded. When the time came for a hammer to be placed in the bride's lap according to custom, Thor grabbed Mjollnir and threw off his disguise. Then he used the hammer to smash the giants and their hall.
During another visit to Jotunheim, Thor and Loki met Skrymir, an especially large giant. He was so big that when they wandered into one of his gloves, they thought they were in a mansion and slept in one of the fingers. In the morning they found Skrymir sleeping, and Thor tried to crush the giant's head with Mjollnir. Skrymir simply brushed away the blow as though it were no more than a falling leaf.
The gods traveled on to Utgard, a city of giants, where the giants challenged Thor to drain their drinking cup and lift their cat from the floor. He could not do either--the cup was connected to the sea, and the cat was really Jormungand, the serpent that encircles the world. Although Thor failed the tests, he came close to draining the ocean and removing the world serpent.
trickster mischievous figure appearing in various forms in the folktales and mythology of many different peoples.
Captain America
Following an attack on Avengers Mansion by Helmut Zemo and his new Masters of Evil, and a conflict with Florida drug-lord the Slug, Cap became an ally of wrestler-turned-adventurer Demolition-Man (or D-Man). The Commission on Superhuman Activities (CSA), manipulated by the still hidden Red Skull, unfairly demanded Cap return to active government duty. Cap, in an echo of his earlier retirement following the Secret Empire debacle, surrendered his Captain America identity and shield rather than risk compromising his integrity via potential government misdeeds. The CSA appointed John Walker as a replacement Captain America, with his sidekick Battlestar (Lemar Hoskins). Rogers formed a mobile crimefighting team with Falcon, Nomad and D-Man and assumed a new costumed identity as the Captain. He adopted a new Adamantium shield provided by Iron Man, but Iron Man’s vigilante crusade to incapacitate armor wearers using his technology set him against the government’s Mandroids and Guardsmen, soldiers defending the nation Rogers still cherished. The Captain returned the shield during an attempt to apprehend Iron Man, the first serious break in their years of friendship.With a Vibranium shield from the Black Panther, Rogers continued his adventures with his fellow travelers. Alongside the Avengers; while battling the Egyptian death god Seth’s forces, he briefly wielded Thor’s hammer, proving his worthiness among only a few privileged to lift the enchanted weapon. When the eastern Avengers roster disbanded soon afterward, Cap led a team of one-time members in halting the High Evolutionary’s worldwide experimentation, then joined D-Man and Battlestar in an assault on ULTIMATUM. D-Man seemingly perished at the organization’s Arctic base, but Cap had little time to grieve as demons overran New York during what was called the “Inferno Crisis”. Cap was allied with various heroes during the fray as a new team of Avengers, while the mutant X-Men ended the unholy invasion. After the Inferno Crisis ended, he and a maddened John Walker were manipulated into battle by the Red Skull, his survival finally revealed. With the Skull’s involvement exposed, the CSA offered Steve the return of his former identity; though Rogers initially declined. He was encouraged to accept by Walker, who subsequently wore a version of the Captain uniform as the USAgent and joined the West Coast Avengers, wielding Cap’s Vibranium shield.
Back in UniformWhile Cap led a reorganization of the Avengers, he became romantically involved with ex-Serpent Society member Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), although their relationship was strained by her continued loyalties to some of her former criminal cohorts.
Hostilities flared between the interstellar Kree and Shi’ar Empires, and their conflict destabilized Earth’s sun. Cap led the Avengers in protecting Earth’s interests and following a series of space adventures that set them against both the Shi’ar Imperial Guard and the Kree Starforce, the Avengers learned all parties had been manipulated by the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence in an effort to advance the Kree race’s evolution via the near-annihilation of the Kree empire. After allegedly 98% of the Kree Empire’s population were killed, Iron Man and other Avengers attempted to kill the Supreme Intelligence despite the protests of Cap, who felt the Earth team had no right to execute an extraterrestrial ruler; although the Intelligence secretly survived, Cap was disturbed by his teammates’ willingness to kill and he took another leave of absence from the team just as D-Man turned up alive.
Back on Earth, Cap’s adventures continued as he was turned into a werewolf for a time, and was attacked by an evil “doppelganger” version of himself, a harbinger of the cosmic “Infinity War” waged against Earth’s superhumans by the tyrannical Magus, an aspect of the artificially constructed man, Adam Warlock.
Wolverine:
Real Name: James Howlett, now goes by Logan
Identity: Secret
Occupation: (current) Adventurer, member of the X-Men, (possible former) Samurai, (former) CIA operative, member of Canada's Weapon X program, leader of Alpha Flight, bartender on Madripoor
Other Aliases: Weapon X, Patch
Place of Birth: Unknown, presumably in Canada.
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: John Howlett (father, deceased), Elizabeth Howlett (mother, presumed deceased) "The Old Man" (unnamed grandfather, presumed deceased) Windsong (wife, deceased)
Base of Operations: (current) Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, (former) the Clan Yashida compound in Japan, Department H in Canada.
Group Affiliation: (current) X-Men, (former) Clan Yashida, the Weapon X Program, Alpha Flight
First Appearance: THE INCREDIBLE HULK #181
History: In the late 1880's a child by the name of James Howlett was born. As a child James was a frail and sick boy. His allergies didn't allow him to go out and play much. His father had requested that a twelve year old girl be brought to their estate. That girl was named Rose and she was to be a friend and play mate to James. She read to him and looked after him. Along with the grounds keeper's son, Dog, James and Rose were the only children on the hill where the estate was. They had become close friends and played together as much as possible but Dog slowly grew away from them. Dog's father, the grounds keeper was named Thomas Logan, he was an alcoholic and abuse his son.
Over the next few years Dog started to follow in his father footsteps, becoming cruel and heartless. James was given more responsibilities by his father and grandfather. After a big fight, Dog killed James's K-9 companion which resulted in the Logans getting kicked off the Howlett estate.
In a fit of rage and anger Thomas Logan and his son entered the estate armed. They then took Rose hostage and demanded that she take them to the masters' bedroom. There the elder Logan tried to persuade James's mother, Elizabeth, to leave with them. Before they could leave John entered the room and discovered them together. In a rage of hate and dislike Thomas shot John as James walked into the room. Seeing his father shot and killed shocked him so much that it triggered his latent mutant abilities. His claws extended and continued through Thomas.