Saturday, May 26, 2012

Thor is The MAN!

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After watching "The Avengers" last Saturday (May 19th), and thinking about it this past week, I've come to the conclusion that Thor was somewhat emasculated so he wouldn't seem to be too powerful compared to the the others.

But first let's look at the other members of the The Avengers:

Okay, Black Widow and Hawkeye can be eliminated right off the bat since they have no super powers.

Captain America's only real "power" is in his shield, which I will come back to.

Ironman's power is in his suit and his ability to fly and destroy things with it.

The Hulk is really the only "super hero" whose powers can come close to Thor's. Hulk's strength, his virtual invulnerability, and his ability to "leap tall buildings in a single bound" are his only tools.

Thor's powers include almost total invulnerability, his strength, and of course, Mjolnir, his hammer. With the hammer, Thor can bring down lightning, then direct it wherever he wants.

(A single lightning bolt can travel up to 140,000 mph, with a temperature approaching 54,000° F., with an output of about a trillion watts! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning#Properties ).

He can spin it around until it has the momentum to let him fly. And it goes wherever he throws it, it never misses, and it will come back to him. (Norse mythology says it can cause mountains to crumble.)

In the movie, he did all of that - he directed lightning to strike Ironman (with less damage than there should have been). And he used it to knock Ironman back a few dozen yards, or more. He also grabbed Ironman's armored arm and began to crush it, proving his superior strength.

He also caught Hulk's fist and stopped the punch, so that proves he is stronger than Hulk. In fact, all he would have to do is lay the hammer down on Hulk's chest (as he did with Loki in the "Thor" movie) and Hulk would be helpless to get up: when Hulk tried to pick up Thor's hammer, his feet began to break through the steel decking of the aircraft carrier they were on.

Early in the movie, Thor slammed his hammer down on Capt. America's shield and the result was a tremendous shock wave that felled dozens of trees, if not more, all around them. But neither Thor nor Capt. America seemed fazed.

But even if somehow the shield was able to withstand the tremendous crash of Mjolnir , and not break apart or be crushed, the force of the blow should have driven Capt. America deep, deep into the ground, and should have killed him.

Is Thor really that much stronger than Hulk?
Is there magic involved in Thor being able to wield Mjolnir so easily?
Or is Thor's magic the result of Asgard's technological advances, and it only seems like magic to us?

But like I said at the beginning - Thor couldn't be seen as TOO super-powered, otherwise the movie would have to be called "Thor and the Avengers."
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Saturday, May 19, 2012

Joss Whedon's "The Avengers"

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Went to see the movie today, in 3D. and while it wasn't as good as 'Avatar' it was still pretty damned good. It lasted almost two and half hours, but it moved along and it didn't seem that long.

Thor is my fave, even more so than Iron Man or the Hulk. And there were a few times when he should have been stronger, and his hammer (named Mjolnir, but never called that in the movie; wasn't called anything) should have done more damage, but I guess he couldn't be completely overwhelming.

For example, in the beginning he, Iron Man and Capt America were testing each other (fighting). And a couple of times Thor used his hammer . Once he used it to call down lightning and hit Iron Man with a few million or billion volts, and it stunned him, but didn't put him out of action.

Then he slammed it down on Capt America's shield, and it just caused a huge shock wave that decimated some of the forest they were in. Even if the shield was able to withstand the impact, the force should have driven Capt America a half mile into the ground.

I say that because later on in the movie the Hulk, as strong as he is, couldn't pick up the hammer. When he tried, his feet started breaking through the steel deck of the aircraft carrier he was standing on. Hulk did throw Thor around some, but of course there was no serious damage.

Not sure if I'll go back to see it a second time as I did 'Avatar,' but I'll definitely get the DVD when it comes out.

Just as an added thought, since 'The Avengers' has made over a billion dollars so far, I wonder how much of that goes into Joss' pocket.
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