The Mighty Bored

"I don't like him.  He has hair like a girl."  That's my daughter's take on Thor.  I don't like him, either, but for totally different reasons.  The chief reason being, The Mighty Thor always bored me.  The character works fine as part of an assembly of heroes, but solo?  I'd much rather dig into my Alf back issues.

Marvel tried.  Much like it tried with the Silver Surfer, another character who annoys me.  Marvel tried to make Thor seem god-like and otherworldly through the use to stilted dialogue (verily).  The powers that be gave him a striking costume and good origin.  His supporting characters were interesting.  His lot in life led to stories that could almost write themselves.  At the end of the day, however, he was still Thor, and he still bored me. 

Superman.  A character who, if taken at face value, is pretty damn tough to beat.  Because of that, writers were constantly having to come up with ways to beat him that didn't seem contrived.  They didn't often succeed.  Thor faces the same problem.  While not nearly as undefeatable as Superman, he's still a freakin' god.  Sometimes his rogues gallery represents that (Loki, for instance).  Other times ... not so much (Cobra and Mister Hyde come to mind -- Daredevil villains).  That actually wouldn't be the downfall it is if Thor were just more interesting.  Even the Ultimate Avengers version leaves much to be desired.

The upcoming movie, which looks about as exciting as the comics, will not be causing me to give the character another shot.  I actually have no plans of seeing the film, though I'm sure if Loki somehow tricked me into it I would not be disappointed because I would have such low expectations going in.  This, it should be said, is not the fault of the character, but with the writers who have tried to breathe life into him.

I haven't read every writers' run on Goldilocks, but I have kept my eye on the reviews.  There have been writers who have been giving good critiques (J. Michael whatshisface is one), but not even the reviews of the series they did have sparked my interest.  The stories sound stale and almost as if they try to hard.  Honestly, this really is a character who should be able to stand on his own.  I don't understand what the problem is with him where writers seem cursed to make him as pedestrian as possible.

I know fans of the Thunder God will be upset at me, but it's not my fault.  I'm actually saying he has the potential to be a good character.  No writer has made him that appealing yet, though.  Maybe some day, but I'm not holding my breath.  Instead, I'll be thankful my daughter has no desire to see the film.



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