Is there a Thor in DC ?
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If you love superheroes and you’re very fond of superheroes, then you must know who Thor is. If in case you don’t know who is Thor, then let me tell you that in the superheroes universe, especially in the Marvel comics, Thor is one of the most powerful superheros who is the king of Asgard and also one of the founding members of the Avengers team.
We all know about the immense popularity of Thor from the MCU movies, which is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth. But when we take a look at the history of different comics and movies, then unlike any other superhero, you will find Thor appearing in different comics and movies which are not created by Marvel and also, Chris Hemsworth is not portraying the role of Thor there. You will definitely be surprised if I tell you that there is also a Thor in the DC comics, who exists long before the Thor of the Marvel comics. Let’s check how, when and why?
Thor in DC
The simple answer to this dilemma of Thor being in both Marvel and DC is ‘Mythology’. You see, today we may know Thor as a superhero, but in the pages of history of the humanity, Thor is not a superhero but a God of the Norse mythology. Now, if you don’t know much about the Norse mythology, then let me tell you the fact that Norse mythology is an ancient mythology of Earth, just like Greek mythology, Hindu mythology and Chinese mythology. But unlike these three current mythologies, Norse mythology is the one which no longer exists today.
In ancient times, the people of the Viking civilization followed the Norse mythology and they used to worship Thor and Odin as their gods. Over time we have seen Thor’s name being mentioned in many movies and video games like ‘How to train your Dragon’ and ‘Son of the Mask’ movies, as well as we’ve also seen Thor’s hammer Mjolnir in the ‘Supernatural’ TV series.
Now let’s talk about the dilemma of Thor being both in DC and Marvel. So as I mentioned earlier that Thor is a mythological character and not a copyrighted character, hence Marvel and DC used it for their benefit. DC introduced Thor in ‘The Brave and The Bold #3’ comics in the year 1956.
Six year after Thor’s introduction in DC, Marvel also introduced this character in their comics ‘Journey into Mystery #83’ in the year 1962. Luckily, the Marvel’s version of Thor started becoming more famous than that of the DC. As his popularity started increasing rapidly, Marvel thought of launching a standalone comics for Thor and also include Thor in a new team of superheroes. This team was none other than ‘The Avengers’.
Recently, in a Marvel-DC crossover comics, Marvel’s Thor also killed some of the superheroes and supervillains of the DC universe.
Since Marvel’s version of Thor was becoming more popular than DC’s Thor, there came a moment where despite being launched first, DC’s Thor was called a copy. Due to this increasing negativity for this character, DC decided not to use this character anymore in their comics, and hence this character completely disappeared from the DC comics and movies.
As you have found out the reason behind Thor being in Marvel as well DC, then there must be a question lying in your mind that if Marvel and DC can use Thor and all its related character without any copyright issue, then is it the same case for any person or publication other than Marvel and DC? Well, this question is completely valid and the answer for this question is ‘Yes’.
Since Thor, Odin, Loki, etc are not reserved by any person and institution, therefore any person or publication can use these characters for their personal purpose without worrying about any copyright issue. Not only Thor and Odin, but the publication can also use other mythological characters from Greek mythology, Hindu mythology, Chinese mythology, Egyptian mythology, etc without having any copyright issues later. You can also find the evidence for this from a scene of Son of the Mask movie of 2005, where you can spot Odin and Loki.
As a conclusion of this post, we can say that Thor, Odin and other mythological characters are not copyrighted by any brand or publication, hence we have seen Marvel and DC using Thor and its related characters in their respective comics. Also, due to no issue of being copyrighted, anyone or any publication can use this character for their own benefit. But if you use this character now for your personal purpose, then the chances are very low that your version of Thor will surpass Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in terms of popularity and Fame.
If you liked this piece of information then do share it with other Thor fans, because knowledge increases by sharing. Also, let us know in the comments below if we’ve missed any important piece of information in this article.
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