Comics vs. Movie Characterization
Or: Thor Rambles A Lot. Again.
So... The movie's out. Unsurprisingly, I really, really liked it, both as a fan of the canon and characters, and as the guy who gets to play him in Camp. I'm pretty certain that shirtless!Chris Hemsworth did more in 30 seconds of screentime to promote Thor as a character than I've done in almost 5 years of pretending to be him on the internets.
It has left me with a slight problem, however, since the Thor depicted in the film is a different take on the character I play in Camp--and I don't want people to think I'm doing it wrong. Simultaneously, I do want people to be interested in comics!Thor, too, and the depth of character and story that has evolved over almost 50 years of his publication history.
So in case anybody's interested (and for my own reference), here's a quick discussion on the different places--in terms of characterization--that movie!Thor and comics!Thor are coming from, and how it influences what I do in Camp. And naturally, it all has to do with phallic symbols.
NOTE: Mild thematic spoilers for the film will follow, but don't worry--I won't ruin the part where Loki kills Dumbledore.
Mjolnir
Batman has his utility belt; Wonder Woman, her golden lasso; Captain America, his mighty shield. Thor has Mjolnir, the literal Hammer of the Gods, as his iconic item. It's something right out of the source material--only in the myths, the hammer that brought lightning and thunder and death to all the foes of gods and men was associated with Thor because he was the only person strong enough to pick it up.
Marvel took a different track about Mjolnir's connection to Thor, and it plays out in both the books and the movie. See, in the Marvelverse, Mjolnir is basically the Sword in the Stone, specially enchanted so that only the Chosen One can wield it. There are two key differences with Mjolnir. First, the Chosen One who can wield it isn't the true King of All Britain, but rather someone who fits into a vague and never explicitly defined category of "worthy." And second, unlike the Sword, which was up for grabs once Wart pulled it loose, Mjolnir's enchantment is always on.
Either way, Thor is the Chosen One--but how and when he qualifies as such differs between the film and the books, and that distinction underscores the difference in his characterization in the two depictions.
The Movie
In the film, Mjolnir doesn't initially have the worthiness restriction enchantment laid on it--Thor is using the hammer right from the get-go. As might be obvious and expected if you saw any of the trailers, movie!Thor is, to start, a war-mongering and pompous (if well-meaning) ass. When he inevitably fucks things up to provide the driving conflict of the story, Odin depowers him, casts him out of Asgard to Earth, and simultaneously enchants Mjolnir with the worthiness restriction before throwing it down to Earth after Thor. When Thor first finds it on Earth, the enchantment is in effect--and he can't pick it up. It's only through his experiences as a mortal, living among other mortals, that he learns the core concepts of heroism and becomes worthy of the power he was born with, the power that Mjolnir now can grant him, and so wins back his birthright and handy smiting device.
The Comics
Conversely, in the comic books, Odin placed the worthiness restriction on Mjolnir as soon as it was forged because he didn't want a weapon that powerful falling into evil hands. Comics!Odin used Mjolnir himself for many years before upgrading to his spear Gungnir, (Also appearing in the film --Ed.), leaving Mjolnir to be inherited by one of his sons. So while growing up in Asgard, comics!Thor was always trying to prove his worth so that he could inherit the hammer... thereby proving his worth.
And eventually, he manages to do this--which effectively ends that arc of character development. Because hey, only the really awesome and noble can achieve this feat, and now that Thor is awesome and noble enough to achieve this feat, what does he have left?
Well, enter the whole fucking-things-up-and-getting-cast-down-to-Earth-to-learn-an-important-life-lesson plot, just like in the movie--only in the comics, Thor isn't depowered in the process, but instead forced into a bodyswapping time-share with a mortal (because that better fit the superhero/alter ego dynamic of comics at the time). And, importantly, at no point does he become unworthy of wielding Mjolnir--the point of his exile in the comics is to specifically learn humility, which apparently isn't a prerequisite to carrying around one of the mightiest weapons in the known universe.
In Camp
So as you can see (if you bothered to read all that), comics!Thor goes through two distinct character development arcs--first, proving himself worthy to wield Mjolnir as a youth in Asgard, and then later learning humility while cast down to Earth as an adult--whereas movie!Thor goes through a single, much neater one as a young adult learning humility and heroism on Earth.
I play Thor from the comics, and the point in his storyline at which I'm playing him is in-between those two character arcs--Thor has already proven himself worthy to wield Mjolnir, but his future holds an immortal life of becoming pompous and belligerent enough that Odin will eventually feel something needs to be done--i.e., a time-out on Midgard. But Camp!Thor isn't there yet--he's still flush from his (relatively) recent big success of winning the right to use the hammer, and as such I've played him as borderline-twink paragon of virtue. If the movie is your only frame of reference, I play Thor from before the point he becomes the "vain, greedy, cruel boy" Odin admonishes, where he's still the valiant and heroic warrior-prince he's become by the end of the film.
So... The movie's out. Unsurprisingly, I really, really liked it, both as a fan of the canon and characters, and as the guy who gets to play him in Camp. I'm pretty certain that shirtless!Chris Hemsworth did more in 30 seconds of screentime to promote Thor as a character than I've done in almost 5 years of pretending to be him on the internets.
It has left me with a slight problem, however, since the Thor depicted in the film is a different take on the character I play in Camp--and I don't want people to think I'm doing it wrong. Simultaneously, I do want people to be interested in comics!Thor, too, and the depth of character and story that has evolved over almost 50 years of his publication history.
So in case anybody's interested (and for my own reference), here's a quick discussion on the different places--in terms of characterization--that movie!Thor and comics!Thor are coming from, and how it influences what I do in Camp. And naturally, it all has to do with phallic symbols.
NOTE: Mild thematic spoilers for the film will follow, but don't worry--I won't ruin the part where Loki kills Dumbledore.
Mjolnir
Batman has his utility belt; Wonder Woman, her golden lasso; Captain America, his mighty shield. Thor has Mjolnir, the literal Hammer of the Gods, as his iconic item. It's something right out of the source material--only in the myths, the hammer that brought lightning and thunder and death to all the foes of gods and men was associated with Thor because he was the only person strong enough to pick it up.
Marvel took a different track about Mjolnir's connection to Thor, and it plays out in both the books and the movie. See, in the Marvelverse, Mjolnir is basically the Sword in the Stone, specially enchanted so that only the Chosen One can wield it. There are two key differences with Mjolnir. First, the Chosen One who can wield it isn't the true King of All Britain, but rather someone who fits into a vague and never explicitly defined category of "worthy." And second, unlike the Sword, which was up for grabs once Wart pulled it loose, Mjolnir's enchantment is always on.
Either way, Thor is the Chosen One--but how and when he qualifies as such differs between the film and the books, and that distinction underscores the difference in his characterization in the two depictions.
The Movie
In the film, Mjolnir doesn't initially have the worthiness restriction enchantment laid on it--Thor is using the hammer right from the get-go. As might be obvious and expected if you saw any of the trailers, movie!Thor is, to start, a war-mongering and pompous (if well-meaning) ass. When he inevitably fucks things up to provide the driving conflict of the story, Odin depowers him, casts him out of Asgard to Earth, and simultaneously enchants Mjolnir with the worthiness restriction before throwing it down to Earth after Thor. When Thor first finds it on Earth, the enchantment is in effect--and he can't pick it up. It's only through his experiences as a mortal, living among other mortals, that he learns the core concepts of heroism and becomes worthy of the power he was born with, the power that Mjolnir now can grant him, and so wins back his birthright and handy smiting device.
The Comics
Conversely, in the comic books, Odin placed the worthiness restriction on Mjolnir as soon as it was forged because he didn't want a weapon that powerful falling into evil hands. Comics!Odin used Mjolnir himself for many years before upgrading to his spear Gungnir, (Also appearing in the film --Ed.), leaving Mjolnir to be inherited by one of his sons. So while growing up in Asgard, comics!Thor was always trying to prove his worth so that he could inherit the hammer... thereby proving his worth.
And eventually, he manages to do this--which effectively ends that arc of character development. Because hey, only the really awesome and noble can achieve this feat, and now that Thor is awesome and noble enough to achieve this feat, what does he have left?
Well, enter the whole fucking-things-up-and-getting-cast-down-to-Earth-to-learn-an-important-life-lesson plot, just like in the movie--only in the comics, Thor isn't depowered in the process, but instead forced into a bodyswapping time-share with a mortal (because that better fit the superhero/alter ego dynamic of comics at the time). And, importantly, at no point does he become unworthy of wielding Mjolnir--the point of his exile in the comics is to specifically learn humility, which apparently isn't a prerequisite to carrying around one of the mightiest weapons in the known universe.
In Camp
So as you can see (if you bothered to read all that), comics!Thor goes through two distinct character development arcs--first, proving himself worthy to wield Mjolnir as a youth in Asgard, and then later learning humility while cast down to Earth as an adult--whereas movie!Thor goes through a single, much neater one as a young adult learning humility and heroism on Earth.
I play Thor from the comics, and the point in his storyline at which I'm playing him is in-between those two character arcs--Thor has already proven himself worthy to wield Mjolnir, but his future holds an immortal life of becoming pompous and belligerent enough that Odin will eventually feel something needs to be done--i.e., a time-out on Midgard. But Camp!Thor isn't there yet--he's still flush from his (relatively) recent big success of winning the right to use the hammer, and as such I've played him as borderline-twink paragon of virtue. If the movie is your only frame of reference, I play Thor from before the point he becomes the "vain, greedy, cruel boy" Odin admonishes, where he's still the valiant and heroic warrior-prince he's become by the end of the film.