How does Marvel's Thor compare to Norse mythological Thor?

The Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 4 battle pass is centered around a bunch of different marvel heroes, like Iron Man and She-Hulk. The pass starts with the Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder. I'm sure most players in Fortnite know a lot about his character, especially after all the movies. But it may surprise some to know how many differences there are between Marvel Thor and Norse Thor.

In terms of characters involved, Marvel's Thor includes a lot of the big names in Norse mythology. Over decades, writers have incorporated all kinds of Norse myth into their comics. The biggest differences come in with the roles that all those characters play in the universe.

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Different Roles

Like Fortnite, Marvel's Asgard can get a little chaotic. Marvel's Thor and Norse Thor begin their character role parallels with Odin and his son, and that's where they end. Even just naming a few characters can really paint that picture.

Loki, Thor's adoptive brother, is a frost giant in both versions of Thor. However, he is not Thor's brother in mythology. Instead Loki is simply a blood brother of Odin, or a really good friend. Their powers also remain similar, but Norse Loki is more complicated than Marvel's.

Thor's mother, Frigg, is Odin's wife in both versions, but she isn't Thor's mother in mythology. Rather, Jord gave birth to Thor in the myths, and she is an Earth giantess. Many of the gods in Norse myths are other giants or half giants. In that way, Thor could be still be considered half related to Loki.

Hela is another character with a major role swap. She is the Goddess of the underworld in both versions. But again, her family relations change. In the Norse myths she is the daughter of Loki and another giantess, not the daughter of Odin. Instead of Thor, her siblings are Fenrir and Jormungandr; the wolf and the serpent.

(Image Credit: Screen Rant)

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Thor's Features

In both Marvel and Fortnite, Thor has long blonde hair and a clean shaven face. He summons Mjolnir at will and even uses it to fly. While there are plenty of parallels between Norse and Marvel Thor, there are a few small differences.

The most obvious is the hair color and the beard. In Norse myth, Thor has red hair and a proud beard. He wouldn't ever entertain the idea of shaving it off. Even during that time he decided to where a wedding dress to get his hammer back.

Mjolnir also won't just come back to Thor like it does in Fortnite or the comics. He has that ability in the myths, but he requires a special set of gauntlets to call the hammer back. Along with the gauntlets, he typically wears a belt to enhance his strength, which is briefly named dropped in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Players may also be dropping into Fortnite games by gliding in with Thor's hammer. Thor can fly in the myths too, but not with Mjolnir. Instead, he uses a chariot pulled by two goats that can fly. When he needs to, he'll even eat them and bring them back to life the following morning. It goes to show why Marvel made many changes to the source material of Norse mythology.