Hey guys, I’m Kya and on this episode of ‘Yellow Spandex,’
We’re putting Marvel’s mightiest Avenger under the microscope.
Let’s take a trip across the bifrost bridge and explore
The Evolution of Thor’s Costume,
Starting with the
Comics
The Mighty Thor debuted in ‘Journey Into Mystery #83,’
where we got our first glimpse of Jack Kirby’s iconic design.
Thor’s classic costume centers around a black tunic dotted with six circles
paired with some blue pants, a yellow boots and belt combo and topped off by a winged silver helmet.
The ensemble is completed with a bright red billowing cape,
Which is actually not a common sight in the Marvel Universe.
I’ve gotta give Kirby credit for not drawing him like a stereotypical Viking.
He could have easily gone with the whole beard and horned helmet thing,
Hinga dinga durbin!
But the King didn’t do cliches.
His Thor costume is an absolute home run,
and it stood the test of time for decades.
The first real change didn’t come until Walt Simonson’s run in
The ‘80s
Next to Lee and Kirby, nobody’s more important to Marvel’s Asgardian mythology than Walt Simonson.
From introducing the unexpectedly worthy alien Beta Ray Bill to turning Thor into a frog,
Simonson’s epic run defined the character for a new era.
And in 1987, he gave Thor a brand new set of battle armor.
Thanks to a curse from Hela, Thor’s bones became as fragile as glass
He grew a badass beard to cover his facial scars,
and forged himself a set of protective armor at a steel mill he rented in Pittsburgh.
The bright blue chainmail on top of gold underarmour was an awesome look for the pissed-off Thunder God.
Especially with the new giant helmet that covered his face.
Thor would continue to bust it out for special occasions,
But he returned to his traditional costume until that wonderful decade of
The ‘90s.
That’s when we were blessed with the presence of Thunderstrike,
A Thor wannabe with a goatee, ponytail, and a little mace instead of a massive hammer.
I thought you meant mace like, spraying.
Whosoever is worthy to hold this can of pepper spray shall have the power of the Mighty Thor!
But even more embarrassing is the real Thor’s atrocious new costume.
Where do I start?
The giant, glam-metal hair?
The shoulderpads and huge codpiece?
How about the peekaboo midriff? Because I'm not feeling it at all.
And it wouldn’t be a terrible 90’s costume without useless pouches.
Seriously, what could Thor possibly keep in a pouch? Smoke bombs?
How about that big old chain attached to Mjolnir?
Is he worried about someone stealing it?
Thor’s literally the only person who can pick it up!
Even if he flings the hammer across the planet, it’ll magically fly back to him.
It's fine. It's not. Whatever.
The new look didn’t last long.
After the ‘Onslaught’ crossover, Thor was rebooted with a lovely new outfit courtesy of Rob Liefeld.
There’s literally nothing to like about this costume,
From the weird loincloth to the little dots on his pants,
This is quite possibly the worst Thor’s ever looked.
I mean, at least the belly shirt was competently drawn.
Thor returned to the classic uniform until
The 2000s.
2007, to be precise.
That’s when artist Olivier Coipel gave Thor his first lasting redesign since…
Well, ever.
He added armored sleeves and leggings for Thor to wear under a slick new tunic.
Most of the yellow coloring is gone,
Except for these lines connecting the circles.
A brief Marvel Now! update lost the sleeves again,
But that outfit was dropped when Thor became unworthy in 2014.
He lost the right to hold Mjolnir, so his girlfriend Jane Foster became Thor.
She got a pretty cool new costume of her own,
but Odinson wasn’t so lucky.
He’s stuck in his old pants and the tattered remnants of his cape,
But at least his new battle ax Jarnbjorn is pretty tight.
After Malekith sliced off his arm, Odinson replaced it with a prosthetic made of black uru metal.
So now he’s not just a god… He’s a cyborg god.
It looks like the O.G. Thor is about to get his hammer back,
Along with another new design that’s heavy on the gold.
But until we know the details,
let’s see how the Thunder God fared in the realm of
Cartoons
Across the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar,
you'll behold in breathless wonder, the God of Thunder, Mighty Thor!
Thor’s animated debut was in 1966, just four years after he first appeared in comics.
I must help, but not as Dr. Don Blake.
I must change my cane into the magic hammer of Thor, God of Thunder!
His costume is identical to the classic design, which makes sense,
Since most of the animation was ripped straight from Kirby’s panels.
He rocked the same look in basically every show he guest-starred on.
From ‘Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,’
Just as a Geiger Counter seeks out uranium, my enchanted hammer can seek out the diamond!
There must we seek the mystic gem!
To the ‘90s ‘Hulk’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ shows, where he’s voiced by John Rhys-Davies.
‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ and ‘Superhero Squad’ stuck to the traditional look too.
Brother! How good to see you!
Yes, would I could say the same, brother.
Modern Marvel cartoons like ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ and ‘Avengers Assemble’ use an armored sleeve look based on the Coipel design,
Stand back! The matters of Asgard are no place for oddly-dressed younglings!
Did he just call us younglings?
And oddly dressed! I'm in classic red and blue! All the greats dress this way.
With some influence from the movie versions, of course.
Speaking of which, it’s time to talk Thor in
Live Action.
So is this how you normally look?
More or less.
It's a good look.
As much as I’d love to count ‘Adventures in Babysitting,’
That’s more a case of mistaken identity than anything else.
O, Thor, mighty God of Thunder!
Thor’s first official appearance was alongside his current best buddy Bruce Banner,
This will send you back to Hel, you ugly troll!
Don’t get too excited though.
He’s basically just a beefy guy in a Halloween-store viking costume.
There’s almost nothing that makes Thor Thor.
No circles, no bright colors, no red cape. Just a bunch of fur and leather pants.
The helmet’s on point, though,
And at least this guy’s willing to wear it more than Chris Hemsworth.
Who otherwise, is pretty much a perfect Thor.
Chris Hemsworth is being such a baby about this Thor thing.
You know why he has short hair in the new movie? He doesn't wanna wear the wig. He's over the wig and I'm like--
Well it's part of your job, sir! Thor had short hair in the comics at some point, I get it,
but you're not even wearing the helmet!
[offscreen] Wait, that's a wig?!
Yeah, that's a wig bro. That's a wig. Honey. Oh, honey.
Let’s run down his look in the
MCU
For his first movie, Thor takes a lot of cues from the 2007 redesign,
Including the armored sleeves and general lack of yellow.
It’s more muted than his classic costume, but they weren’t afraid to embrace some of the cooler comic elements.
I’m so glad they didn’t ditch the cape, for one.
The trademark circles are there too,
just with some additional Kirby-esque embellishments.
Even the helmet looks awesome,
For like, the one scene we see it in.
I get it, though.
That Hemsworth hair can’t be contained.
In ‘The Avengers,’ Thor likes to chill in a sleeveless, capeless version of the same costume,
Which looks a lot like his outfit from the ‘Ultimates’ universe.
He’s fully armored up for the final battle, though.
In ‘The Dark World’ and ‘Age of Ultron,’
the tunic gets a little longer, the design around the circles changes slightly, and the sleeves become optional.
This look is the closest we’ve ever gotten to his comic book version,
But again, would it kill him to wear a helmet? Like, c’mon.
Ultron is dropping a city from the sky, this shit is dangerous!
You’re gonna be King of Asgard someday, dude, you don’t wanna get a concussion.
I love the helmet, and I love the tiny wings,
which is why I love Thor’s ‘Ragnarok’ costume so much.
True, the whole ‘cobbled together space gladiator’ look is a pretty far cry from his classic uniform,
and I’m still coming to terms with the idea of a short-haired God of Thunder.
But he’s got a dope new helmet, complete with wings!
That’s obviously going to save him from a rampaging Hulk!
Thor’s in a bad spot at the beginning of Ragnarok,
What with Mjolnir being destroyed and being banished to Jeff Goldblum’s gladiator hell world and all.
Look at that, he's threatening me. Hey, Sparkles, here's the deal:
You go back to As... Asburg...
Asgard!
Any contender who defeats my champion, their freedom they shall win.
Fine! Then point me in the direction of whoever's ass I have to kick!
That's what I call tender!
So I can forgive him for not putting fashion first.
Let’s just hope he gets his shit together and brings his A-game for ‘Infinity War.’
[a]1stcover [b]Simonson/BRB 1 - 8 [c]Simonson/FrogThor 1 - 7 [d]Battle Armor/helacurse 1 - 3 [e]Battle Armor/brokenarm 1 - 2 [f]Battle Armor/steelmillforgingarmor, Battle Armor/forgingarmor [g]General Armor Shots: Battle Armor/armorcover, Battle Armor/armorfight 1-2, Battle Armor/armorflying, Battle Armor/armorreveal, Battle Armor/coolarmorshot 1 - 4, Battle Armor/emptyarmor [h]Battle Armor/armorhelmet, Battle Armor/helmetBIG, Battle Armor/puttingonhelmet [i]/90s/thunderstrike 1-7 [j]90s/90s 1-8 [k]90s/Liefeld Thor/liefeld 1 - 8 (8,7,6,2 are probably best) [l]Modern/modern 1-13 [m]Marvel Now/now 1 - 8 [n]Unworthy/unworthy 1-2 [o]Unworthy/femmethor 1-9 [p]Unworthy/unworthy3 - 7 [q]Unworthy/losingarm 1-3 [r]/ThorGrabs/NewGoldThor