The point of ultimates was to re-imagine characters, I don’t get why people complain about them. If you don’t want a right wing Cap, an alcoholic Tony or huge douchebag Pym, read 616. Likewise Ultimates was meant to be all about the modern day left-wing pseudo-christ hippie Thor, not the shakespearian talkin’ one of old (Loeb I’m looking at you).

Next time, I recommend you establish the timeline of the changes first as the skeleton of the article and start writing from there. It’ll be easier for you to check if something’s wrong or missing.

“The omissions I made were because they either weren’t different enough to warrant a full paragraph (such as Masterson’s masked look)”

Already said my piece on this.

“ or because it wasn’t really meant to give an impression of Thor at all (the Destroyer armor with a cape is still really just the Destroyer armor”

Ah but it’s still Thor in there. It’s interesting, from a stylistic pov, to note that he actually took the time to recover his cape, wings and the rest from his own dead body and put the “T” on his belt. All that with his busy schedule! And, imho, he looked FABULOUS!  Not to mention it was a great moment in a fantastic story in a historical run by a wonderful writer/penciler.

“ and Beta Ray Bill’s look was meant to be his own, not to emulate our thunder god focus)”

I’m not entirely sure what you mean here. That the focus of the article is Thor and Bill is mentioned only as one of the few major alternate versions of Thor? If that’s it, I understand it but, hey, you showed two of Red Norvell’s looks and none of them is particularly interesting. Hell, Red isn’t much of an interesting character. Bill, on the other hand, is quite striking. Both visually and character-wise.  How about another article showing all the alternate Thors? :p

“or because I had my own criteria (if I include 2099 then why not include EVERY parallel universe/possible future version?)”

Being an OCD freak, I’d love that. :p But I have to say most alternate Thors really don’t look all that different if at all so the few who actually show remarkable and/or interesting differences like the 2099 nano-impostor deserve a mention, at the very least. Speaking on behalf of the true Thor 2099, he wasn’t VERY different but he did have a few details and 2099 wasn’t just a “parallel universe/possible future version”. It was, at that time, an entire line of comics showing the “official” future (even it was only a possible future, much like the Legion of Super-Heroes works for the DCU) of the MU. It was as big a deal as the Ultimate U is now, more or less.

Following that line of thought, the Earth X Thor is worth mentioning as well. Not many differences except… well, the guy had become a woman with the resultant stylistic changes in wardrobe. And Earth X was pretty important when it came out. And it remains one of the most important alternate universe stories.

“ or simply because the article was already running long and I wanted to conserve space”
Well, you could divide it in several pieces. I don’t mind if I can get all the information. Or as much s possible, anyway. 

“ (Norvell’s other costume was completely generic and lifeless to me and I’d already spent enough time on him).”

Generic and lifeless? Could be. IMHO, it wasn’t bad for a costume created in the mid-90’s for a relatively minor character whose whole shtick was that he was a “replacement Thor”. As a “super-hero look”, it was definitely better than the second one you showed here. And now I seem to remember there were one or two more costume changes during that JIM phase. IIRC, Red was killed and resurrected as a bad guy and that merited a wardrobe change. The guy could occupy an entire article by himself.

“Humor, like fashion, is a thing of taste so if you don’t like it, I’m guessing you won’t be impressed with future work.”

The thing is, you go from well-reasoned criticism spiced with some humor about one look (which I approve even if I don’t agree with your opinion) to half-humorous acid remarks based on humor itself, mocking the stylistic choices of the character or the creators on the next (which I don’t) disregarding anything else that might make that particular look even remotely excusable or endurable (see BookWyrm’s post, for example).
Instead of mocking for the sake of mocking, why not take the time to analyze the looks taking into account the times / context in which they were created, the creators who had a hand in it, the in-story reasons (or lack of them) for using a given costume.
For the record, I’m never impressed by humor.  That said, (and like I’ve said before) this isn’t bad but it needs work and a more solid backdrop, particularly if you use it throughout an entire article as the main tone. That’s where serious information comes in.

“But again, good call on the road warrior mistake.”

Thank you.

“Like yourself, I was growing senile and rapidly declining at 3 am after doing this, editing the latest episodes of CSG and Midtown Comics TV, and putting up a few more articles on ComicMix and MTV,”

You’ll die young if you keep that rhythm. My deepest sympathies. 

“ so I hope that, like you, I’m excused. ”

Hey, I’m the only one who gets to use that excuse. Otherwise, it would lose power. :p

“And if you feel the article is that below par then I’d be happy to read your own on the subject matter. Debates and differing opinions are what make art great.”

My own article? No way, no how. :p I’ve been offered the chance before but I can barely take the time to make these replies and the way my mind works (OCD freak like I said before ) I’d spend waaaaaaaaaay more time than merited elaborating such an article. Very frustrating. Exactly the way I feel about cooking, only I can’t go out or eat take-out every single day. Unhealthy and/or too expensive. What little time I have is better spent criticizing other people’s efforts, trying to help them improve themselves. And of course I’d need somewhat thicker skin than I currently have to endure the endless criticisms to my many, many, many mistakes, omissions, etc. :p 

Man, my electricity is out and I can’t find my flashlight. Oh, wait, not to worry. Ultimate Thor’s costume will light our way.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, their version of Thor doesn’t have metal discs so much as strange discs that light up. I realize this is to indicate electricity and lightning, but this motif is a bit too similar to Iron Man’s repulsor discs and uni-beams. It gives me the impression that Thor is a technological hero rather than a magical one.”

“Megagear X – I’m aware, but the problem I have is that A, it still looks too much like Iron Man’s repulsor discs or an expensive CD changer to me, and B, he was going around telling people he really was the thunder god and he’s the one who’s dressing himself, so I’d think he’d want to reflect what he considered to be his true nature. But this is opinion, so if that doesn’t fly with you, no worries.”

Yes, he was going around telling people he was the Thunder God but the point was that most Ultimate U people (including the Ultimates) reacted like real people: they thought he was a super-powered nutcase. And the fact that he’s an actual Norse god doesn’t mean he has to dress just like one. It’s possible he’s actually reflecting his true nature: a modern day Norse God doesn’t need to dress like an old-fashioned Norse. He’s entitled to have his own fashion sense even if it’s a bad one (it’s not, imho). MU’s Thor already dresses closer to Norse-like fashion. Why do that again? One, if not the main point of the Ultimate U is that they get to try new/different/original takes.

“And aside from the discs, there is no creativity to this suit. Black pants, black shirt and a ridiculously large belt that looks like it’s meant for a weight room.”

I may be wrong about this but I believe Norse gods and warriors are often represented wearing belts of that style outside of comics so it’s simply part of the modern take on Thor’s traditional look.

Correct.

90′s always being the joke…

Can the Bat costumes be the next?

It would be great to revisit bad and good costumes!

EatMonkeyGood – HA! Fair point, fair point.

Shawn Kane – We’re actually both right. Thor was injured and not healing due to the curse, so to prevent further injury he got himself that armor. As for me doing future articles like this, check back every week on Newsarama.com.

Ronin – Okay!

Adam – Personally, I like Thor bead-less. Some scruff, sure, I can see that, but full on beard has never worked for me. I have no stylistic reason for this, just personal bias.

Megagear X – I’m aware, but the problem I have is that A, it still looks too much like Iron Man’s repulsor discs or an expensive CD changer to me, and B, he was going around telling people he really was the thunder god and he’s the one who’s dressing himself, so I’d think he’d want to reflect what he considered to be his true nature. But this is opinion, so if that doesn’t fly with you, no worries.

Claudio Pozas – I am aware of Thor’s glove and his other magical trinkets. But Thunderstrike is not Thor and his mace is not Mjolnir and, like the title suggests, this is about fashion. Fashion-wise, the single glove just ain’t cool in my opinion.

Trevacious – Adding a small eye-mask and making the tops of the boots slightly different just wasn’t enough of a change, in my opinion, to warrant a paragraph on an article I already felt was running long. It was close enough to the original Kirby look that I felt the same praise applied.

Woofus – In Dan Jurgens and John Romita’s run on Thor, you have a prime example of him going to a bar and quietly contemplating his life over a mug of beer.

Scott – Oh, trust me. Armored Cap will be mentioned.

Definitely correct about the road warrior look being out of order. It was three AM and i mis-remembered that one’s placement. Ah, well.

The omissions I made were because they either weren’t different enough to warrant a full paragraph (such as Masterson’s masked look) or because it wasn’t really meant to give an impression of Thor at all (the Destroyer armor with a cape is still really just the Destroyer armor and Beta Ray Bill’s look was meant to be his own, not to emulate our thunder god focus) or because I had my own criteria (if I include 2099 then why not include EVERY parallel universe/possible future version?) or simply because the article was already running long and I wanted to conserve space (Norvell’s other costume was completely generic and lifeless to me and I’d already spent enough time on him).

Humor, like fashion, is a thing of taste so if you don’t like it, I’m guessing you won’t be impressed with future work. But again, good call on the road warrior mistake. Like yourself, I was growing senile and rapidly declining at 3 am after doing this, editing the latest episodes of CSG and Midtown Comics TV, and putting up a few more articles on ComicMix and MTV, so I hope that, like you, I’m excused. And if you feel the article is that below par then I’d be happy to read your own on the subject matter. Debates and differing opinions are what make art great.

The less said about those 90′s Thor designs the better.

And coincidentally, this was also around the same time Captain America had that hideous body armor when the Super Soldier formula was starting to turn against his body, killing him. Thankfully, he was cured by, of all people, The Red Skull, allowing Cap to go back to the chain mail.

Great article, by the way.

[img]http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/9290/17494433.jpg[/img]

Speaking of Van Halen, let us not forget the Thor analogue from “Justice Friends,” Val Hallen.

I seem to recall Thor hanging out at ice cream parlors. Going to the bar for a beer was more Hercules’ style.

We could add Thunderstrike II aka Kevin Masterson (Eric’s son), created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz for A-Next in the late 90′s.

The “90s DUMB COSTUME 2.0″ and “SHIRTLESS THUNDER GOD” looks came before the “’90s ROAD WARRIOR” which started right before the “Heroes Reborn” reboot.

Eric Masterson as Thor used a mask and I’m not sure if something else was diifferent but I think it’s worth mentioning if only to make fun of it. :p Eric as Thunderstrike combined his power with that of the Bloodaxe and got a new “edgier” look right at the end of his ongoing.

Beta Ray Bill got a new look in Cosmic Powers Unlimited when Odin and the Silver Surfer combined their powers to heal Bill, iirc. And, iirc, it changed again in “Stormbreaker”.

Red Norvell had the best costume / look right before “Thor” became “Journey Into Mystery” once again with Thor’s departure for “Heroes Reborn”.

Thor used the Destroyer’s armor combined with his cape, helmet wings and a couple more things during Simonson’s era. And on a different occasion (Thor Vol.2 #25, iirc), he used several accesories like belt, gloves, etc. :p

No mention for the very different Thor 2099 nano-impostor? For shame! :p What about “2099: Manifest Destiny” where the real Thor finally appeared with a different look, iirc?.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something but, hey, I’m senile and declining rapidly so I’m excused. :p

That said, not a bad article even though the humor needs more than a bit of work. :p

That was too funny.

Also, good article, looking forward to more of these.

Who says you can’t learn anything from comics!

Man, I love Thunderstrike.

And Ultimate Thor is supposed to make you wonder whether he was really a god or not, that’s why his clothes look technological and not outright medieval.