Musings on Thor

Some images of Thor, from the upcoming movie "Thor," have been released this morning, one day after images of the Captain America costume were released.

Here are some thoughts from your local Write Clubbers: Tim & Jon.

Tim- Terrible! Just a terrible design in every sense. The cape is just about the only thing I like. It looks like some kind of retro-future version of Thor. Skirting the line between the newest costume design, and the Ultimates Thor design. Oh, plus some lame ren-faire leather pants with some kind of steel garter!? And they're not even cool, worn, warrior leather pants! They're like...hot-topic leather. Goth leather.

Is he wearing shin guards? Isn't he a god? Will he be doing extreme sports in this film? I kind of hope so now.

I must admit, full disclosure, I'm not a Thor fan. I don't really enjoy his comic, and as a character I can take or leave him, so maybe that's coloring my opinion of this new costume. But while I'm not a Thor fan, I have to ask, where's the helmet!? The helmet, and the hammer are the two things I think most people think about when they think of Marvel's Thor. I'd much rather have had them drop the cape in lieu of the helmet, instead they dropped the ball.


Jon - By Odin's beard that's bad! Maybe it's because the guy in the suit looks like James Hetfield after a day at the salon, or maybe it's because I actually liked the Captain America costume pictures that were released yesterday; whatever the case, I'm not impressed.

Everything about this looks cheap and lazily designed. His hammer, the almighty Mjolnir, looks like a toy prototype (and let's be honest: it is a toy prototype). His torso piece looks like it's made of a buffed car hood. At least with Cap, the costume looks like it's the result of some clever riffing on familiar and new styles. This is basically just Ultimate Thor, plus a little bit of his classic look. I guess we should just be thankful they didn't go for the winged helmet?

Truth is, I love Thor, but my hopes have never been high for the movie. More so than any other Marvel property, Thor's success (at least critically) will largely depend on the look of the film, which is what makes these photos so troubling. The filmmakers really have the look of Thor working against them, as the Asgardian costumes are already kinda cheesy. Will the movie make a lot of money regardless? Yeah, it will, and some of that money will come from my pocket. Way of the world when you're a nerd.

I just hope they keep the Rainbow Bridge.