It was a mission to create a stronger character than the strongest person. That’s the challenge that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby sought after the creation of The Incredible Hulk. In the early 1960s, Lee would arrive at the answer: You don’t make the character another regular person. You make them a god. This solution, coupled with a shared interest in Norse Mythology between Lee and Kirby, would lead to the conceptualization of one of Marvel’s most core heroes: Thor. Originally appearing in issues of Journey Into Mystery, Thor was popular enough to be included in The Avengers #1 in 1963 as a founding member, and Journey Into Mystery would eventually be renamed as Thor, and sometimes The Mighty Thor, as the character’s primary spotlight

Thor has seen a lot of action throughout Marvel’s media. Besides playing a prominent role in video games such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance and its sequel, the character has enjoyed success on the silver screen as well, played by Chris Hemsworth in the Avengers and Thor movies. However, perhaps one of the most interesting arcs of the character is came in 2014, when Thor loses his right to wield the hammer Mjolnir, and longtime supporting character Jane Foster proved her worth to hold the weapon and take up the mantle as the “Goddess of Thunder.”

Indeed, the mantle of Thor has been taken up in many forms in the cosplay world as well, and we’ve gathered some of the best of them here. The classic version of Thor is certainly a go-to, as is Beta Ray Bill, an alien warrior who once gained the power of Mjolnir, and even before Jane Foster picked up the hammer, Thor was a popular character for female cosplayers. No matter the take, the epic magnificence of these cosplayers can’t be denied. These are the best Thor cosplays.

 

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