marvel - Thor: Which was named first, the power or the demigod?

(Forgive me, I'm not a comics expert.)

We have the enchantment by Odin on Mjolnir:

Whosoever holds this hammer, if (s)he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

So that means there is a power, separate from the original Thor, called The Power of Thor that Mjolnir confers.

This is bolstered by the fact that we have the new Thor, Jane Foster who also wields the Power of Thor and goes by the name Thor.

So:

Did the original Thor already exist at the time Mjolnir was forged?

Was the power named after the man or the man after the power?

Did first Thor ever have any other true name? (For real, not an alias on Earth.)

Answer

The very short answer is that both Thor (Odinnson) and Thor ("the power of") are both named after the elemental power of lightning rather than one being named after the other.

In the Thor Annual #11 we see the events leading up to the birth of Thor. We learn that Thor was born and named long before the creation of Mjolnir and that his name literally means "Thunder", or more specifically "the power of Thunder". At a later date, Odin added an inscription to Mjolnir offering ...

"THE POWER OF THOR"

... to whomever is worthy. Odin is hopeful that his son, Thor will someday wield the power of his namesake.

For the record, in the comics it was Thor who bade the dwarves to make treasures for Odin. One of these treasures was Mjolnir.

And this panel shows that the possession of the Mjolnir (through worthiness) grants the wielder the power to control the element of thunder.

Comments

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