Thor has become a cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to an incredible performance of the character by Chris Hemsworth and the talented direction of Taika Waititi in “Thor: Ragnarok” (and to a lesser extent the first one and “Thor: The Dark World”).

The mix of comedy, action and pathos propelled a character the mainstream audience barely knew in 2011 to superstardom, and now the latest chapter in his story arrives as one of the major summer box office tentpoles with “Thor: Love and Thunder,” set for release Friday, July 8.

That said, Marvel’s take isn’t the only one when it comes to modern spins on the famous Norse god of thunder. Here are some fun alternate versions of the character that exist in film and television(and one podcast).

‘Ragnarok’ (2020)

If there is a true parallel to Marvel’s Thor, it’s the criminally underrated Norwegian series “Ragnarok.” Magne Seier (David Stakston) is a teenager in the town of Edda who is dealing with the mysterious death of his father. Slowly, Magne realizes he is an incarnation of Thor and that Edda is infested with frost giants in disguise.

Magne slowly grows into his powers, becoming a righteous force for good, while the evil Jutul family and its factory empire speed up the climate crisis. The show was just renewed for a third season.

Watch it:Available to stream onNetflix.

“龚愤怒”(2015)

“Kung Fury” is one of of the craziest films of the past decade. A parody of ’80s cop flicks, made by Swedish director and writer David Sandberg (who also stars) after a successful Kickstarter campaign, it follows a Miami cop and martial artist named Kung Fury as he fights everything from ninjas to sentient arcade cabinets to a time-traveling Adolf Hitler (called Kung Führer and played by Jorma Taccone).

Eventually, the fight spills backward in time to the age of the Vikings, where a giant version of Thor (played by bodybuilder Andreas Cahling) gets involved. Also, a tyrannosaur, because why not? If you are looking for a live-action Saturday morning cartoon that gets further out of control with every frame, look no further.

Watch it:Available to purchase onAmazon Prime的视频.

‘Stargate SG-1’ (1997)

If you need a reason to finally watch “Stargate SG-1,” let Thor’s hammer guide you there. A direct sequel to the 1997 film starring James Spader, “SG-1” continues to explore the premise of humans using teleportation devices to explore other planets, full of godlike technology that inspired Earth’s myths. One of those is Asgard, home to Thor. The original warrior (played by Mark Gibbon) visited Earth 500 years ago and has since had his consciousness downloaded into a collection of clone bodies. By the time the cast meets him in the flesh in season three, he resembles a traditional gray alien, portrayed by a puppet and voiced by Michael Shanks.

This version of Thor no longer resembles the traditional Viking warrior and is instead a calculating and just being that speaks slowly and thinks deeply. Thor proves a valued friend to SG-1, saving the team multiple times throughout the series.

Watch it:Available to stream onNetflix.

‘Jarnsaxa Rising’ (2015)

虽然我们通常坚持电影和电视,this podcast’s version of Thor deserved to be a part of the list. “Jarnsaxa Rising” is a two-season audio drama about the frost giant Thor loved, fathered children with and then betrayed. Jarnsaxa (MaryLynn Mennicke) was the thunder god’s big love, but he broke her heart when he killed all her people in revenge for stealing his hammer. Aided by her cousin Loki (Ethan Bjelland), she has inhabited a series of human bodies for centuries in a quest for revenge.

This version of Thor, as played by Derek Meyer, is much closer to the depictions of him in traditional mythology. He is thoughtless, crude, kind of stupid and never questions the orders of his murderous father, Odin. The podcast tackles a lot of big issues, including the ruthlessness of energy companies operating in Scandinavia.

Listen:Available to stream on Apple, Spotify and Libsyn.

‘Mortal’ (2020)

If there is a true anti-Thor movie, it’s “Mortal,” directed by André Øvredal. Nat Wolff stars as Eric, an American-Norwegian man who starts strange fires with his mind and is being pursued for a possible arson. He comes under the care of a psychologist named Christine (Iben Akerlie), who helps him realize his lineage and helps him take control of his powers. The pair end up fleeing from authorities together as Eric’s powers grow and become stranger. Eventually, he discovers artifacts of the Norse god that allow him to fully master lightning, but he is ultimately labeled as a terrorist by the government.

This incarnation of Thor is a lost, troubled man haunted and damaged by his abilities, who desperately tries to keep them from harming people. It has more than a passing resemblance to the first “Rambo” film and serves as a kind of modern take on PTSD in a world now dominated by superhero stories.

Watch it:Available to stream onAmazon Prime的视频.

‘Adventures in Babysitting’ (1987)

Here is a film where Thor is both a Marvel superhero and also not, and its weirdness should get a mention. The movie follows Chris (Elisabeth Shue), a babysitter who winds up in a bunch of adventures with her charges. One of those is a young girl, played by Maia Brewton, who is obsessed with Marvel’s Thor. Near the end of the film, as the group tries to get their car fixed, they find a hulking mechanic holding a hammer who is the spitting image of her comic book hero. He initially declines to help them, until his young fan pleads with him that he is supposed to help people.

What makes this so special is that Thor is played by Vincent D’Onofrio, who would later make a name for himself as the Marvel villain Kingpin.

Watch it:Available to stream onDisney+.