Thor, the mighty Norse god, will lead this summer’s superhero movie fest with the film hitting theaters like a hammer on May 6th.

The god is sentenced to Earth by his father Odin, who casts him out of the realm of Asgard, the home of the Norse gods. Only when he can learn to be humble may he return to his proper place. But Odin doesn’t count on Thor wanting to stay on Earth and defend the humans against his own kind.

The character of Thor, which was worked on by Marvel’s own Stan Lee, is unique among superheroes because of his origins. He was not a human that gained superpowers by some odd means like being bitten by a spider or who came to this planet as a baby and raised as a human. Both of these have their difficulties coming to grips with their powers while trying to keep their humanity. Thor, on the other hand, does not want to be human, but the god that he always has been. He makes no excuses for his actions and feels that whatever he has to do to protect them should not be questioned. This makes for an interesting diversity among the Marvel hero collection.

The movie stars Chris Hemsworth, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman, the latter two being Oscar winners. It has done very well in its first day of the opening weekend and they expect it to continue to do well for the remainder. It may even make the most money of a superhero film since Spider-Man. Marvel has certainly put a lot of marketing and synergy into this film, which should help in its success.

Don’t forget Free Comic Book Day tomorrow, May 7th at your local participating dealer which will feature a Thor/Captain America issue to coincide with the films.

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