THOR movie script review *SPOILERS*

[SaturnKnight]

Hmmm... interesting. Very interesting. Because it's more LORD OF THE RINGS than a typical Marvel superhero movie. Not what I was expecting.


THOR begins, simply enough, with a black screen and mystical narration, describing THE CREATION OF THE NINE WORLDS. The NINE WORLDS and its inhabitants are then introduced, each paragraph becoming so much more overwhelmingly verbose, that one can nearly hear the film's producers scratching their collective heads from here.

From the inky void, the seers URD, VERDAND and SKULD describe the populating of the worlds, including A HUMONGOUS COW that feeds YMIR, the first FROST GIANT and his family. GNOMES and FAERIES come into the picture, followed by THE GODS OF ASGARD. There's some godly begetting that goes on - ODIN KING OF THE GODS follows and finally he begets our hero THOR. (Oh yeah, ODIN creates Man and Woman to worship him, too - lucky sod.)

The narration ends, and we are introduced to the adult THOR and LOKI , THOR'S BROTHER, THE WARRIORS THREE (FANDRAL, HOGUN and VOLSTAGG) ASGARD's MOST POPULAR BOY BAND - just kidding here, and BALDER, his advisor as they ride their great horses through SVARTALFHEIM in search of IVALDI, KING OF THE GNOMES.

At some point in the middle of THOR's thrilling battle with a HELL STAG (page 15, I think) I dropped my Norse Mythology for Dummies book in disgust and chucked my battered Engelsk-Norsk dictionary into the wastebasket.

They were slowing me down. I had a script to read and a review to write. Meanwhile, during the hell staggy conflict, THOR saves many gnomes, but his great wooden hammer is destroyed. IVALDI promises to make him a new hammer.

THIS ENDETH THE SPOILERS

THOR is a meaty script. Without doing any serious research, it certainly appears writer Protosevich has worked to recreate the legend as "accurately" as possible.

Nevertheless, I wished I had called Judy at Time-Life books and ordered their seventeen volume set of Norse Myths and Legends. I was already lost in the great confusion of so many throwaway names for so many things. Two pages after reading it, I couldn't even remember if LIDSKJALF was ODIN'S THRONE, or the Ligonberry jelly I bought at IKEA.

But this is not your father's THOR. It's not even Vincent D'Onofrio's THOR from Chris Columbus' ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING. This is not THOR the superhero as portrayed in the Marvel comics - a god on Earth who performs super-heroic feats, rescues damsels in distresses, fights supervillains and does all of the usual stuff straight out of the “How To Be A Superhero Handbook.” This is the tale of THOR, son of Odin and Prince of Asgard and his journey from arrogant boob (not the good kind-sorry folks) to the true
heroic ideal.

This disappointed me. Despite the well-drawn characters and thrilling adventures , as I was reading the script, I kept wanting to see THOR in present day New York.

Another key element that was missing from the script for me was its portrayal of ASGARD somehow. I was hoping this ASGARD would be some how influenced by the work of THOR co-creator, the late great comic god Jack Kirby. But no, this version will give its Production Designer(s) the chance to create stunning richly detailed Nine Worlds more "realistically", and again, as a comic book geek I was disappointed. I really wanted to get my Kirby on here.

THOU ART MORE SPOILAGE BELOW

THOR gets his new hammer Mjolnir, goes a little bit nuts with it and is banished from Asgard, allowing LOKI to get all GRIMA WORMTONGUE and make plans to take over as ruler of ASGARD.THOR is humiliated and plot plot plot THOR is joined by THE WARRIORS THREE, plot plot plot and regains
his hammer. Theres are a lot of special effects as ASGARD goes to war and THOR faces the treacherous LOKI and there is the obligatory "A New Hero Is Born" ending.

THIS ENDETH THE PLOT SPOILAGE

The hard PG-13 / light R rated telling of THOR's story may be spectacular, but I can't see the movie becoming the next Spider-Man or even the next Ghost Rider for Marvel Films. I simply can't imagine a line of THOR action figures, fast food tie-in toys or any merchandising outside of a soundtrack. Not to mention there's no product placement possible with this script. Well maybe Scandinavian Airlines System or SAS could get some ancillary action and offer THOR flights to famous fjords (like the one with Slartibartfast's signature on the glacier)!

Now, I know all of my marketing musings really have nothing to do with the script, but films based on comics have become events, with huge amounts of additional income generated through cross-promotional items, like my still-unopened X-MEN 2 ROGUE can of Dr. Pepper, and despite the film's many strengths I can't see THOR hitting the kind of financial figures the bigwigs have come to expect.

Despite my geek misgivings and musings of the lack of happy meal toys, what did I think? THOR is a very good script to be sure, but it's humorless. It has some very good action sequences and Kirbyesque imagery or not, THOR does have the promise of blowing movie goers' eye sockets out with amazing never-before-seen worlds of Norse mythology, especially now that STARDUST director Matthew Vaughn is reportedly at the helm. I can't wait to see it on the big screen.

THOR rates a CONAN THE BARBARIAN out of a possible X-MEN 2, or 7 stars out of 10. Mr. E wonders whatever happened to Maia Brewton of ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING and "Parker Lewis Can't Lose.” Serious replies can be sent care of IESB.net.

[NeoSamurai]

that sounds good if it was just supposed to be viking myth instead of Marvel Comics Thor. For a Marvel Comics Thor it sounds like crap.

[TheScantronman]

that sounds good if it was just supposed to be viking myth instead of Marvel Comics Thor. For a Marvel Comics Thor it sounds like crap.


Eh I'd rather it be straight mythological than a bunch of superheroics.

[NeoSamurai]

Eh I'd rather it be straight mythological than a bunch of superheroics.

it could be both--but nothing about this review says "Marvel Comics Superhero" imo. like I said, it's a good idea if it's just supposed to be about the mythos.

[TheScantronman]

it could be both--but nothing about this review says "Marvel Comics Superhero" imo.


And that could make it successful. The first Blade movie was never really promoted as being based in Marvel comics lore and it was only after its success that Marvel plastered its logo all over the second one.

[rdrsfn82]

it could be both--but nothing about this review says "Marvel Comics Superhero" imo. like I said, it's a good idea if it's just supposed to be about the mythos.

See I like this approach. Then if you have a sequel or an Avengers movie you want to put Thor in you have him show up in New York and you have the other characters he's interacting with doubt who he is. It's kind of the opposite of the way the comic was handled in that his first appearances were on Earth with Donald Blake and all that but later on they told all the flashbacks to his time in Asgard and had him return to battle frost giants and such. This way fans know that he really is a god amongst men when he shows up on Earth, while the people in the movie won't know whether he's just another super hero or if he is who he says he is.

[VocalMan81]

Eh I'd rather it be straight mythological than a bunch of superheroics.
I completely agree. If I see NYC one more time in a Marvel movie, I'm gonna puke. And Thor is much more than a superhero, he's a god of myth!

[rdrsfn82]

And that could make it successful. The first Blade movie was never really promoted as being based in Marvel comics lore and it was only after its success that Marvel plastered its logo all over the second one.

In fairness Blade was popular enough on it's own to get a sequel, not because it was a comic character but because Wesley Snipes played a really really badass version of the character and there were some great fight scenes in the movie. The opening of that movie in the dance club is still one of the best action movie openings of all time.

[TheScantronman]

In fairness Blade was popular enough on it's own to get a sequel, not because it was a comic character but because Wesley Snipes played a really really badass version of the character and there were some great fight scenes in the movie. The opening of that movie in the dance club is still one of the best action movie openings of all time.


Exactly my point. The character was done so well that it didn't matter that it was a comic book movie, even if the general public didn't really know that to begin with.

Get Thor a really epic, myth-laden movie to start with and then Marvel-ize him later. Greg Rucka did some great things with Wonder Woman and mythology and I think similar things could be done with Thor.

[House Of Me]

Lord Of The Ring-ish? You've just turned me off....

[rdrsfn82]

Exactly my point. The character was done so well that it didn't matter that it was a comic book movie, even if the general public didn't really know that to begin with.

Get Thor a really epic, myth-laden movie to start with and then Marvel-ize him later. Greg Rucka did some great things with Wonder Woman and mythology and I think similar things could be done with Thor.

Yep I agree. People went to watch Lord of the Rings and the Narnia movies and such because they are giant spectacles. They will see Thor for the same reason if it's done well enough.

[SaturnKnight]

Lord Of The Ring-ish? You've just turned me off....Hmmm... I think you may be wrong on your take about this, though.

If Matthew Vaughn does it as if it were the Walt Simonson run of Thor? It'll be brilliant.

And I agree with how this script would let Thor seamlessly flow into an AVENGERS movie for his first meeting with Iron Man and Captain America.

Assuming that the scuttlebutt is correct, and Marvel is doing IM, Thor & Cap as an introductory trilogy to set up the Avengers film franchise... I mean, Jesu Cristos, that would be friggin' perfect! :eek:

[BanMan]

I'm not watching it until I get confirmation that he yells "I SAY THEE NAAAAY!!!!!" :D

[royce73]

Exactly my point. The character was done so well that it didn't matter that it was a comic book movie, even if the general public didn't really know that to begin with.

Get Thor a really epic, myth-laden movie to start with and then Marvel-ize him later. Greg Rucka did some great things with Wonder Woman and mythology and I think similar things could be done with Thor.

I agree with this. Establish Asgard, the Norse Gods, and the rivalry with Loki. We have enough Super-Hero-in-the-City movies already. You could bring in some more cosmic Marvel elements like Beta Ray Bill but the Norse myth should be the basis for the movie.

[TheScantronman]

I agree with this. Establish Asgard, the Norse Gods, and the rivalry with Loki. We have enough Super-Hero-in-the-City movies already. You could bring in some more cosmic Marvel elements like Beta Ray Bill but the Norse myth should be the basis for the movie.


And you'd think at some point with all these super powered beings appearing in NYC all the time that eventually the wonder of it all would just become commonplace to the general public.


"Did you see that guy shoot lightning from his hammer!?"

"Jeez, what are you, a tourist? That sh*t happens all the time!"

[chap22]

I'm not watching it until I get confirmation that he yells "I SAY THEE NAAAAY!!!!!" :D
seconded.:cool: :D

[Thunderstorm]

I don't like the idea. Lord of the Rings was awesome because it had MUCH higher production values, budget, and casting than a Thor movie would ever get. If they want to do an accurate history of Thor, I'd be all for that. If it's Marvel Thor, it should be at least partially a story of a God coming to Earth and learning to respect and love the inhabitants.

Plus, it's Hollywood and I KNOW they would ____ up Asgard 100 different ways and I would absolutely snap.

[SaturnKnight]

And you'd think at some point with all these super powered beings appearing in NYC all the time that eventually the wonder of it all would just become commonplace to the general public.


"Did you see that guy shoot lightning from his hammer!?"

"Jeez, what are you, a tourist? That sh*t happens all the time!"Yeah. That is my one biggest complaint about Marvel Comics: everyone is in friggin' New York. Sheesh, what about Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Houston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, hello? :eek: :rolleyes:

[NeoSamurai]

I don't like the idea. Lord of the Rings was awesome because it had MUCH higher production values, budget, and casting than a Thor movie would ever get. If they want to do an accurate history of Thor, I'd be all for that. If it's Marvel Thor, it should be at least partially a story of a God coming to Earth and learning to respect and love the inhabitants.

Let's also not forget that Narina and LotR have had legions of fans in literature in comparison to the fans of Thor.

[Thunderstorm]

Let's also not forget that Narina and LotR have had legions of fans in literature in comparison to the fans of Thor.

Yeah that gives them free reign to butcher it either way. I'd rather never see a Thor movie than have it done wrong. I see this more as Dungeons and Dragons than LotR... with a stupid Wrestler as Thor. :rolleyes:

[SaturnKnight]

Let's also not forget that Narina and LotR have had legions of fans in literature in comparison to the fans of Thor.Thor's been huge with an entire generation of Baby Boomers and GenXers. Most current fans don't know or remember this, but Marvel Comics was the lead cover story on Rolling Stone magazine back in the early 70s (featured the Hulk). Marvel Comics has been a very big part of pop culture with many consumers for decades--not just direct market fanboys.

Also, that is part of the rationale behind the story concept: to hook fantasy fans of mystical filmfare (such as LOTR, Narnia and Harry Potter). It's a damn shrewd and very smart move.

Again, I refer you to Walt Simonson's run of Thor as proof of how the movie can very much reflect the comics.

[TheScantronman]

Yeah that gives them free reign to butcher it either way. I'd rather never see a Thor movie than have it done wrong. I see this more as Dungeons and Dragons than LotR... with a stupid Wrestler as Thor. :rolleyes:


Yeah Matthew Vaughn would totally go for that.:rolleyes:

He's already he said he wants some dude from Rome to play Thor.

My biggest worry is which comes out first, Captain Marvel or Thor. If they go the Donald Blake route with Thor, it's going to be seen as a knockoff of Captain Marvel if it comes out after DC's film. And the opposite is also true.

Mythological Thor FTW. Far more interesting.

[House Of Me]

I've just seen pics of Kevin Durand (Vaughn's choice)....not impressed.

[SaturnKnight]

Yeah Matthew Vaughn would totally go for that.:rolleyes:

He's already he said he wants some dude from Rome to play Thor.

My biggest worry is which comes out first, Captain Marvel or Thor. If they go the Donald Blake route with Thor, it's going to be seen as a knockoff of Captain Marvel if it comes out after DC's film. And the opposite is also true.

Mythological Thor FTW. Far more interesting.Oooo... good point! :eek:

I totally agree with you on that. Better to skip on Donald Blake (at least for now) and maybe introduce him in the sequel(s).

I'm still surprised no one else has mentioned how much this script echoes Simonson's Thor. It's the bestselling run of Thor that I know of and it was also one of the best damn comic books ever. This movie sounds very much like Simonson's run--and that's a damn good thing (IMHO).

[webhead10]

i'd like to see a marvel comics approach, instead of an LOTR approach. maybe it's just b/c i recently watched crappy pathfinder that i don't want to see a movie like that lol

[TheScantronman]

I've just seen pics of Kevin Durand (Vaughn's choice)....not impressed.


Playing the role of Pikachu 007 today is House of Me.

:rolleyes:

[Uchiha_Prodigy]

You cant have a Thor origin story without it relying heavily on Norse mythology. If you want to do the Donald Blake aspect, then you can bring in the superhero angle.

[House Of Me]

Playing the role of Pikachu 007 today is House of Me.

:rolleyes:

What? He just doesn't look impressive. Now, if the movie gets made, he gets cast, and the trailer knocks my socks off, then I'll see it.

Otherwise, Thor is a character that I don't really care too much for, Mythology or not. But simply based on LOOKS, Trips has it.

[Woody]

The Norse aspect is what makes Thor cool,

the David Blake part of it is corny and wouldn't translate well to film at all.

[Vintage]

I like the idea of grounding it in Norse myth. Thor isn't just another superhero in tights, which we see plenty of. Why not add one the distinctive elements of his mythos? I'm all for starting the story in Asgard and working from there.

[lorbaat2]

If you stray too far from the established Marvel Thor, aren't you really just making a weird mythological movie?

[Vintage]

If you stray too far from the established Marvel Thor, aren't you really just making a weird mythological movie?
A large chunk of Marvel Thor's history and some of his best tales from writers like Simonson, Jurgens, and Oeming have focused heavily on the mythological elements of the character and have dug deep into the well of mythical Thor's history.

[Strict31]

There's a very big problem that many of you are missing. And I completely understand why; we're comic fans who not only know about Thor, but we also give a s<aaa>hit about Thor.

You ain't gonna be able to say that about the average mainstream movie-goer.

We all have a reason to care about Thor and empathize with him; because we been reading his friggin' book for years.

From this review, the script doesn't give the mainstream audience any such reason. We just see the buff-assed son of a god (the ultimate rich kid) born to privelege, whupping the asses of monsters threatening a world that is not Earth. Who cares about worlds and realms not-named-Earth? These cats aren't even human. The main character has nothing in common with his audience; and just being a bucked-ass divine mo'fo' ain't gonna cut it.

I see some comparisons to LotR here. And you guys are comparing it on the basis of "well that was a fantasy epic too..." But you're not thinking about what that fantasy epic did within the first twenty minutes: it took these hairy-toed short-ass hobbit mutha-f<aaa>uckas and established their humanity. It made the audience see that regardless of their shortness, they love throwing parties and love watching fireworks, and they have cute little kids who love listening to scary stories on a fine warm starry night. It showed us a world that wasn't too far from Earth, and let us know why we should care about it. And when the bad-asses with the swords show up, we have a reason to not only root for them, but to give that all-important s<aaa>hit about them.

You better believe you're gonna want to do something very damned similar with a frigging movie called Thor. You keep that movie rooted in the Nine f<aaa>ucking Worlds and you're gonna lose your box office faster than you can say Dungeons&Dragons "But D&D has millions of fans of all ages all across the world!" Sure they do, l'il fanboy. And those millions still comprise a mere fraction of the mainstream audience. Hey, how 'bout that Kull the Conqueror?

Even Conan was humanized by being portrayed as an orphaned child who loved his mummy.

Now, you can still get your medieval on by taking a page from Highlander's book. Interspersing the ancient and the fantastic with the present and the mundane. You can slap some human on our boy Thor by either going the Don Blake route, or by changing it up a little bit, and having Thor forced to take up a mortal identity. He remembers his days in Asgard, but must spend the movie learning the lessons we mortals start learning the first time we s<aaa>hit ourselves as babies.

Or...later for some of us.

Tie his character to events and world the mainstream audience will care about, and let some of thise strands fray into the fantasy of Asgard in the form of flashback.

You do it the way the reviewer claims the script is written, and you'll have a movie that only draws the most diehard of Thor fans. And there's a word for such a movie: a "bomb."

But you know, whatever...that's just my take on it. And all I am is just another fanboy. Maybe all you cats are right and people will suddenly start caring about pagan gods on distant worlds swinging magic mallets and such.

[KSChris]

that sounds good if it was just supposed to be viking myth instead of Marvel Comics Thor. For a Marvel Comics Thor it sounds like crap.
Read Dan Jurgens' run. It was about 90% mythology, 10% superheroics.

Thor works best in my mind when it strays from the superhero stuff.

[rdrsfn82]

The majority of people in the mainstream have heard of Thor even if they don't know all the details they know he is the god of thunder. Just like the majority of people knew the basics of Lord of the Rings or the Narnia books or the Greek gods in Clash of the Titans or God of War. People don't need to have everything spoon fed to them to be entertained by a well done fantasy movie based in classic mythology. Hell Loki is even indirectly involved in stuff like The Mask all the time so people probably know Loki is the trickster god. People will watch it with or without the superheroics if it looks cool. If it looks cheap or stupid they won't watch it.

[rdrsfn82]

Read Dan Jurgens' run. It was about 90% mythology, 10% superheroics.

Thor works best in my mind when it strays from the superhero stuff.

I agree. The only time I think he works as a super hero is when he is directly interacting with other heroes like the Avengers or the Hulk. When he is by himself it works better in Asgard or dealing with other gods on Earth. He's not a traditional Superman or Iron Man type of hero or at least isn't as fun to read when written that way.

[lorbaat2]

A large chunk of Marvel Thor's history and some of his best tales from writers like Simonson, Jurgens, and Oeming have focused heavily on the mythological elements of the character and have dug deep into the well of mythical Thor's history.

I'm not saying Thor in the Marvel U doesn't have some basis in the real mythology. What I'm saying is, if you scrub too much of teh Marvel U off of it, it's jut another interpretation of the Thor mythos.

We know they won't have other characters floating around- too many contractual issues to have Iron Man or Thor or Cap in the film. So you're left with the costume and the other regular elements to make it "Marvel" Thor.

[Strict31]

The majority of people in the mainstream have heard of Thor even if they don't know all the details they know he is the god of thunder. Just like the majority of people knew the basics of Lord of the Rings or the Narnia books or the Greek gods in Clash of the Titans or God of War. People don't need to have everything spoon fed to them to be entertained by a well done fantasy movie based in classic mythology. Hell Loki is even indirectly involved in stuff like The Mask all the time so people probably know Loki is the trickster god. People will watch it with or without the superheroics if it looks cool. If it looks cheap or stupid they won't watch it.

The majority of people in the mainstream can't even point to Arkansas on a map, and would probably forget five minutes after you showed them.

I remember several years back, a girl I worked with made mention that she worshipped Thor. The rest of my co-workers, with the exception of myself and a buddy (who was also a comic book geek) just looked at her with glazed-over eyes, waiting for her to explain who and what Thor was. And afterwards, even though some remembered back to being taught about the etymology of the days of the week, or maybe reading Bullfinch's as a kid, they still thought of her as a strange bird.

I mean, who the hell worships Thor? From their point of view at least.

I'm sure a lot of people know what a ninja is but that doesn't mean they care about ninjas.

If the movie fails to humanize Thor and make the audience empathize with his condition, it will fail.

[SaturnKnight]

The majority of people in the mainstream can't even point to Arkansas on a map, and would probably forget five minutes after you showed them.

I remember several years back, a girl I worked with made mention that she worshipped Thor. The rest of my co-workers, with the exception of myself and a buddy (who was also a comic book geek) just looked at her with glazed-over eyes, waiting for her to explain who and what Thor was. And afterwards, even though some remembered back to being taught about the etymology of the days of the week, or maybe reading Bullfinch's as a kid, they still thought of her as a strange bird.

I mean, who the hell worships Thor?Ummm... many white supremacist groups worship Thor and the gods of Norse mythology. And no, unfortunately I'm not joking. I even met one of them. Dude was f**kin' creepy and scared the sh!t outta me.

[Strict31]

Ummm... many white supremacist groups worship Thor and the gods of Norse mythology. And no, unfortunately I'm not joking. I even met one of them. Dude was f**kin' creepy and scared the sh!t outta me.

And many of those cats also idolize the Spartans. Luckily they do not comprise the mainstream movie-going audience.

[EDITED TO ADD]I mean, who the hell worships Thor? From their point of view at least. Why'd you snip that part off?

[SaturnKnight]

And many of those cats also idolize the Spartans. Luckily they do not comprise the mainstream movie-going audience.Wasn't trying to refute you. Was just answering your question of who worships Thor.

A bit off-topic, but I used to live at a transitional housing facility back when I was homeless. I shared an apartment with a couple guys, one of whom I roomed with. He always used to complain about immigrants and non-whites taking jobs from all the white people.

I came home one day and found a print-out about Norse mythology and Thor. Which of course I noticed because I'm a Thor fan. But given what I knew about white supremacists and their affiliation with/fondness for Norse gods, well, it freaked me out a little.

[rdrsfn82]

The majority of people in the mainstream can't even point to Arkansas on a map, and would probably forget five minutes after you showed them.

I remember several years back, a girl I worked with made mention that she worshipped Thor. The rest of my co-workers, with the exception of myself and a buddy (who was also a comic book geek) just looked at her with glazed-over eyes, waiting for her to explain who and what Thor was. And afterwards, even though some remembered back to being taught about the etymology of the days of the week, or maybe reading Bullfinch's as a kid, they still thought of her as a strange bird.

I mean, who the hell worships Thor? From their point of view at least.

I'm sure a lot of people know what a ninja is but that doesn't mean they care about ninjas.

If the movie fails to humanize Thor and make the audience empathize with his condition, it will fail.

I agree with the last part that they need to make sure that people empathize with him as a character but that's all dependent on the acting and story not the location or how close it is to the comic version of the character. People empathized with Frodo even though their lives are nothing like his. The mythological take can work, it's all dependent on what they do with it.

[rdrsfn82]

I'm not saying Thor in the Marvel U doesn't have some basis in the real mythology. What I'm saying is, if you scrub too much of teh Marvel U off of it, it's jut another interpretation of the Thor mythos.

We know they won't have other characters floating around- too many contractual issues to have Iron Man or Thor or Cap in the film. So you're left with the costume and the other regular elements to make it "Marvel" Thor.

Well I can't think of a single movie about the god Thor and it's not like they are following the story of a specific myth. All the characters it sounds like are in the movie are in the comics as well. All they're doing is focusing on one side of him in this movie rather than the other. The comics do this all the time. Especially during the great run in the 80's by Simonson as someone else pointed out and I alluded to in my first post.

[Strict31]

I agree with the last part that they need to make sure that people empathize with him as a character but that's all dependent on the acting and story not the location or how close it is to the comic version of the character. People empathized with Frodo even though their lives are nothing like his. The mythological take can work, it's all dependent on what they do with it.

Allow me to repeat myself: I see some comparisons to LotR here. And you guys are comparing it on the basis of "well that was a fantasy epic too..." But you're not thinking about what that fantasy epic did within the first twenty minutes: it took these hairy-toed short-ass hobbit mutha-____as and established their humanity. It made the audience see that regardless of their shortness, they love throwing parties and love watching fireworks, and they have cute little kids who love listening to scary stories on a fine warm starry night. It showed us a world that wasn't too far from Earth, and let us know why we should care about it. And when the bad-asses with the swords show up, we have a reason to not only root for them, but to give that all-important ____ about them.

The reason why people empathized with frodo is because his initial portrayal establishes him as a very human and down to earth being. The home he loves is very rural and cozy and in its coziness, there is familiarity. We fully understand why he wants to defend this place. Frodo is the everyman character.

Thor is...Thor is not. But by chaining him to Don Blake, the early comics established a strong link to humanity. This divine thoroghbred, who dines with immortals and strides across dimensions, is hobbled in the mortal form of Donald Blake.

And that worked in the comic. And further, over his comic history, Thor has always maintained a strong tie to Midgard and its inhabitants. Divorcing him from that is a mistake.

Especially when you can do the best of both worlds with the Highlander take.