• You are kidding right? They look nothing like the gods. The norse gods are vikings, not freaking space rangers.

• You wan't Norse Gods looking somewhat Viking-like read the comic Valhalla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valhalla_%28comic%29), but this is Marvel and they have always looked vague space age

• Helmets! http://marvelousnews.com/index.php?catid=23&itemid=13346

• Yeah, I'm digging the crazy Kirby and chariots of the gods vibe to these costumes. Sure it's more detailed being live action and a bit more modern, but I pretty quickly see the Kirby look to it. Almost looks even more like some of his later stuff like Eternals or even a bit DC New Gods.

• I love the look for Thor, Regard of what the haters may say, the Kirbyesque look is cool. I'm glad Brannaugh had the balls to go for it. As for the rumors about the movie using the "space aliens mistaken for gods" thing they're just that, rumors. Until we get any kind of confirmation I'm not going to get worried.

• Maybe it's because this is a fact so rarely mentioned the actual comics that even comic readers aren't automatically aware of it. Also as many others have pointed out, it's a tediously unnecessary attempt to explain something that people don't have a problem with accepting in the first place.

• Highlander 2 all over again...

• WTFizz? No helmets? NO HELMETS?! Feel... confidence... fading.. pfffft!

• If they could pull off spandex, they can pull this off too!

• i like your stance and i honestly think that science hasn't been around as long as it feels for stuff like this. magic and supernatural mojo has had plenty of screen time. plus if they're trying to create the avengers then they'll probably make it more sci-fi to fit with the rest of the movies.

• there's a thin line between ridiculous superhero suits and "wow these guys look like vaguely high-tech tools" suits. this picture falls in the latter category, as did the green goblin.

• THIS.

• Y'know, I have no idea why so many people are griping about Thor's gang not being actual gods. They have always been listed as "a race of otherdimensional beings with superhuman abilities KNOWN as the Norse Gods" in the Official Marvel Universe Handbooks.

• Agreed! It's a good up-date on Kirby-esque gods!

• I get the whole extra dimensional beings thing and have always thought it was way better then them actually being gods, and think that it is def the way to go for the movie buttttt I thought they all looked their best in straczynski's run when Asgard is reconstructed in Oklahoma, where they were all looked Norse-like

• and the last season of stargate as well. A third race is introduced that takes over less advanced races and set themselves up as "Gods" because they feed off the adoration and worship from the lesser races.

• The concept of the ancient gods beinf an advanced race of aliens is HARDLY new. Star Trek did that in an episode that featured the greek god Apollo back in the 60's. Marvel has been saying that about Thor since the 90's. It's not a hard idea to swallow.

• Yeah, he wasn't too happy when I explained the Mandarin & Fin Fang Foom to him either. I also pointed out that Iron Man's armor might as well be magic for all the improbable things it does. He's more accepting of magic in DC for some reason.

• Magic shouldn't exist in the Marvel Universe? Is he aware of The Sorcerer Supreme? Also, since Iron Man's main enemy is a man that uses Alien technology to simulate magic, I think your friend's gonna be disappointed either way.

• "My Gold Eyepatch Of Enchantment gives me a 50% chance to stun!"

• Actually, Green Goblin SOMETIMES has a cloak. :P But I'll definitely grant you that he doesn't usually. Hey, it was late and I was tired. Still, I'm glad you pointed out the minor inaccuracy in my post rather than just taking the post in the spirit in which it was meant! (I wouldn't expect it any other way on a website for nerds)

• It's become an baffling tendency with Hollywood to shy away from any kind of supernatural origin for things, which is why instead of demons from hell, all the monsters in Doom were created by alien bio-engineering, we constantly see vampirism, lycanthropy, and zombie-ism chocked up as literal viruses. People like magic and the supernatural, so this trend is tedious from that standpoint, and it doesn't do any favors for science either since it takes fantastical elements and tries to pretend, without any of the compelling craft and forethought of true sci-fi, that they're somehow scientific and quantifiable.

• Set reports indicate Loki will wear a horned helmet for battle scenes. One of my friends was complaining about the Mjonir scene in Iron Man 2 because he doesn't think magic should exist in the Marvel universe. I tried to explained to him that the Asgardians were just aliens who believed themselves to be Gods without actually being divined. He didn't like that either. So regardless of whether they're Gods or aliens, it doesn't seem like it'll sit well with the narrow-minded public.

• Why are people so down on 1 picture? I think this is a good tease for stuff down the road. It wont do as well as Iron-Man or Batman or even Spider-man because Thor isnt as well known as a comic char. People complaining about it not being Norse enough are proof of that. I just hope it can stand on its own as a movie.

• Hmmm, what's the over/under on this bombing worse than Jona Hex????? That picture is so full of BOMB I'm looking for the blue-wire...

• If you're not being sarcastic I have to assume you haven't read much in the way of Thor comics. The gods are often depicted as way flashier looking than the above pic, and almost never in the drab classic norse mythology look. So I have to ask what your point of reference is here?

• People, if you are going to show off your cast as characters in a press release pic, you might want to avoid obscuring their faces with giant .honking helmets, relax. And people really need to stop complaining about characters not looking like they should if they apparently have no idea how they've been depicted in the past.

• fuck this...where are the helmets?

• i have to say im generally a fan of these designs. id like to see helmets on them (and im sure they'll have them at SOME point in the movie, even as a throw away bit) but otherwise i think they look like a reasonable facsimile of alien technology and medieval armor (which is what they logically should be given the back story), and they definitely have kirby vibe to them. im also going to have to agree with the "anybody complaining about the aliens back story is ignorant of marvel universe thor" camp; being that beings like galactus are clearly more powerful, and being that their obviously extradimensional, i don't think they were ever meant to be 'gods' in the theological sense. i hope they dont play up the aliens angle, but as long as its made clear that they inspired the original legends, and arent just aliens that HAPPEN to look and act like the norse gods i think it'll capture the spirit of the comics just fine, and it certainly fits better with the current marvel movie verse than the alternative. also; even if they were meant to be literal gods whos to say their fashion sense hasnt changed in the last 1000 or so years since they inspired the original legends? its not as if the peoples of northern europe still dress in chainmail and furs, why should the gods have to?

• Er....Why is Brent Spiner not playing Loki, now?

• Why does everyone assume that Norse gods would look Nordic? They're gods. They can look like anything.

• ugh, this is retarded. They should be wearing sheep skin and scale mail, not stupid costumes that look like Batman Forever rejects.

• Well said. - Marvel's gods are only *based* on the myths, not exact representations. Essentially, in Marvel, the Norse gods were Asgardians who interacted with the Norse people, and who were subsequently deemed gods by those people. - In Marvel, Asgardians are Asgardians, and "Norse gods" is what humans have *called them* for lack of a better understanding.

• Looks better than Airbender.

• They wouldn't be in Valhalla, they'd be in Asgard. Valhalla is the Hall of the Dead. Asgard is where the gods live. The Christian concept of Heaven encompassing both fuctions in one place doesn't apply to Norse myth.

• You must not have been reading Marvel Comics lately. They aren't using the word "aliens" but they are referring to the Asgardians as an "advanced race" and their powers are- as described by Tony Stark-- "technology more advanced than even I can understand." (paraphrased). - When John Walker (USAgent) expressed anger over everyone referring to the Asgardians as gods (he's a devout Christian), it was explained to him that they're more like superhumans with advanced technology and magic. While by one definition, that makes them "gods", by another it makes them no different than the superheroes running around on Earth today in the 616 universe (except with far greater power than most of the run-of-the-mill superhumans). - Marvel does not address the idea that God or Satan truly exist. In the 616 cosmology, guys like Mephisto are just demons, and demons are just an extradimensional race. - So to, with the gods. Because EVERY god from every pantheon exists in the 616 universe, the best way to deal with them was to consider them different races of powerful extradimensional beings. - So they're not "gods", really. They might call themselves gods because we mere mortals called them gods. They might be as gods compared to average humans. They might wield magic and high technology. They're not gods in the "Jehovah" sense, though. They're supernatural only inasmuch as they are superhumans among a lot of non-superhumans. - Marvel's whole point is this: What separates a "god" from someone like Thanos, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Black Bolt, or Captain Mar-Vel? What, EXACTLY, makes Loki a "god" but Galactus just a powerful otherworldly being? Are The Watchers "gods"? Are the Eternals? Are the Celestials? If not, then what's the factor that makes the difference? - It's a blurry line. Marvel's current path seems to be leading toward "gods" being just another way to describe groups of powerful extradimensional or extraterrestrial beings.

• Wasn't the <i>Star Trek</i> episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" about that very concept, but with the Greek gods instead?

• Oh, look! Power Rangers Asgard Force! here's the Red Ranger on the left, the Green Ranger on the right and the the Kitch Eyepatch Ranger in the middle....I'm starting to worry about this.

• That's a bit like saying that, as a Christian, I think the portrayals of Marvels Mephisto on film aren't quite what I imagined. Marvels Norse gods are decidedly removed from historical norse myths. They are their own characters. Its why wikipedia has a listing for Odin (Norse mythology) and another one for Odin (marvel comics). If you want a movie about Norse gods, this was never meant to be that movie.

• Thank you! That pic comes up in the first page of google image results. I dunno where these people got the idea that marvels Norse gods ever looked like historical mythological representations of norse gods. Maybe in the most recent years, but the marvel Norse gods I grew up with were shiny, jack kirbylicious, futuristic, blue gold and red metallic nightmares. If anything the film seems to have toned down the fabulousness.

• Everyone who is bitching needs to change their tampon and take a deep breath! Its way too soon to judge this movie by the first promo pic. As far as helmets go maybe there is a no helmet rule in the bathroom cuz anthony hopkins is totally taking a piss

• if they dont have helmets im not watching the movie period. im tired of all this ultimate universe lets not make super heroes look like super heroes shit. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO WEAR RIDICULOUS SUITS. they also shoot pink beams from their eyes and have claws im sayin its already a larger than life idea they should go all out.

• HAH! you sir win. Actually I like the eye patch. The costumes do make sense with the, alien/god idea... But seriously why?! Look If I'm going to a super hero movie, I'm willing to accept a magic hammer turning someone into a Norse god. I'm gonna accept men in tights flying because of our sun, or an irradidated spider bite is going to let someone climb walls, spin webs, and nerd gain instant muscles/coordination. Don't try to make sense of things that don't need explaining. Especially if your other plot assumptions smell like they've been pulled out the arse of a fanfic author who insists the Pokemon and Harry Potter are not only from the same planet, but enjoy playing with each others poke balls. Remember Brotherhood of the wolf? I watched it wanting to see Kung Fu Masters fighting werewolves in colonial France. Did I get Werewolves? No. Did I get Kung Fu Masters? No. What did I get? A lion in pit fighting armor(Really bad CG made it looke like a gigantic mutant hedgehog), and the last of the last of the f@#$#@ Mohicans(with a black belt in kenpo). The Mohican is supposed to be the buddy of the protaginist who learned science and medicine from the American Natives. Seriously they should have just had the protagonist travel to China, where he could still learn medicine and science, and pick up a buddy who would actually have a black belt in kung fu.

• Um, just because they're not wearing helmets in this picture doesn't mean there won't be helmets in the movie...

• The exact first thing I thought of when I saw this. I thought Denis Dyack took over on production design duty, determined to make his techno-norse idea work in SOME medium. 'Cuz it sure wasn't in games.

• Well played.

• i like that, they could use that perspective of them being extra-dimensional beings and sort of leave it to interpretation whether that means they are gods, aliens or whatever. I think going for "zing! they're aliens!" is the worst thing they could do. best to leave it vague and unknown.

• And in Kirby's mind, the Norse Gods are the "Old Gods" that came before the New Gods.

• I liked this movie more when it was called "Batman & Robin."

• This looks like a ScyFy original.

• Not sure if want or not. I do want some damn helmets though. Make them aliens, whatever, but give Thor and Loki their badass helmets is all I ask, damnit! Come on Branagh, you made Henry V, you know the importance of a good helmet.

• I may be totally off my rocker, or at least remembering it wrong since I'm remembering things from way back in the ancient 80's here . . . but from everything I recall, Asgard was <i>always</i> supposed to have resided in another dimension, making the Asgardians extra-dimensional beings. Not of Earth. Y'know. Kinda like <i>aliens</i>. I'm busy looking stuff up regarding Marvel's Asgard as I'm writing this, in fact, and it all seems to back this up. <p> Soooooo . . . what's the big deal about them being otherworldly beings that humans take as gods?

• Ugh.. they look so well-groomed. It's as though they're getting ready to head out to a wedding or something.

• Where are there helmets?? Your telling me none of them have helmets??

• http://nerdiest-kids.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/odin.jpg Look at that pic, Look at Hopkins, and tell me they arent similar. Also: Odin totally needs to wear that helmet in the movie.

• Being a person of Norse persuasion I was hoping for a more good old fashioned viking look. But I dunno, Hopkins kinda looks like my uncle here, only with longer hair so what the heck. I'll wait until the movie comes out before I buy it or not.

• Joe Johnston is directing Cap, and Kenneth Branagh is directing Thor.

• "the gods here will be portrayed as advanced beings/aliens who were identified as gods by early man -- which I'm told is what Marvel's doing to Thor and his kin in the comics" Seriously, man. How many times do you have to speak of secondhand comic book information before you realize that it's ALWAYS WRONG? Marvel isn't portraying the Norse gods as anything besides what they are: Norse gods.

• Add me to the group that thinks this photo looks more than acceptable. I can't wait to see the movie, and the only thing from a comics-based realm I would find more interesting would be a serious treatment of Silver Surfer. (I will never, EVER forgive the people responsible for the Fantastic Four movie with SS. Never.) Also, I just have to believe that the eventual DVD/BD release of Thor will have at least one outtake of Hopkins doing Hannibal Lecter in Odin garb. Tell me no one here (besides me) would love to see that.

• Woah. I agree that Marvel are going to have a tougher time finding a Thor movie the average moviegoer is actually going to be interested in, but this looks incredibly goofy. Especially Anthony Hopkins, with those stupid fake muscles.

• I think someone has been playing too much "Too Human"on the Xbox 360.

• By "hell to pay" do you mean Hel, the half-woman half-zombie ruler of the underworld? Or do you mean "I will type very angrily on the Internet"?

• I forget who said it, but the last post where we got a glimpse of Odin and his eye patch, a commenter said this about his eyepatch, and I fully agree. "Odin has a metal eye patch because he is the most Metal of all gods: when you sacrifice yourself to yourself, fuck yeah you have a metal eye patch!"

• It's funny you say that because: 1.) Jack Kirby illustrated both Thor and New Gods and 2.) All 4 hardcover volumes of New Gods get consistently high marks.

• What would you rather have... a movie that sucks, but they nailed the suit 100%, or a movie that is awesome, but with little liberties on the suit? I thought so too.

• I really like the idea of making 'Odin and company' aliens. Makes much more sense for Odin's eye patch giving the audience the sense that he is in fact somewhat mortal. If they want to keep it all somewhat grounded, I'd believe more that there are superior beings with alien technology than there exists Norse Gods. If you have that possibility in the movies that there are Norse Gods then you open up the possibility of other Gods of other races and beliefs such as, oh i don't know, say Jesus Christ?!?!? Marvel is doing the right thing and I commend them for going that route. But of course the fans are going to go all apesht over this. They do anyways on anything so what else is new. Point in question, when Ken Wantanabe was cast as Ra's, some fanboy was bitching about how Ra's is suppose to be Chinese not Japanese. Just wait till the movie comes out, marvel seems to have more of their shit together so I expect they know what they are doing.

• "Meet Thor. He's the ancient thunder god of Norse myth... but he's also an alien! Zing!" Silly, but consider that the road has been paved many times over. See: SG-1 (Hall-a!)

• Not sure what all the panty-waisting and blubbering is about. These look pretty good. It's obvious they're a nod to Kirby's shiny metal art style and they look great!

• Zeist!

• Hobgoblin's outfit would still have been an major improvement over the "Power Ranger" Green Goblin movie costume, which aside from the color difference, is basically a hooded cloak instead of the Goblin's pointy hat. I could'a lived with that.

• Do any of you (including rob) even read Thor comics? Never have they really tried to make Odin look Norse. The comic costumes actually look more space age than that picture. If you wanted an accurate norse telling of the Thor myth, that's never what this was going to be. Its marvel comics Thor which has always been flashy space age metallic duds. Go google some pics of marvels Odin before you bitch about lack of comic accuracy. And fucks sake STOP SAYING ASSUMABLY.

• My exact thoughts.

• That may make you feel a little better, but I'm gonna have a problem with Norse alien gods, if they explicitly say, "Hey, check us out. We're Norse alien gods".

• Hrm. I think they could have gone MORE Kirby with the costume design. Just saying.

• Like others pointed out....probably as Kirby as they could go in live action

• Hmmmp. As far as comic accuracy, this is pretty alright. At NO point in the history of Thor comics has any single character looked even remotely Norse. Seriously, go back to the Kirby issues: purple suits and flat helmet-horns bigger than people's heads and weird cyber-Celtic-knotwork armor everywhere. Not to mention the alien thing has been brought up before JMS. Warren Ellis brought up the idea originally in his run (the Asgardians either inspired the old Norse myths or believe them themselves), and Jim Kruger fudged it a little more in the X series (the Asgardians are shapeshifters bound to one guy who made himself Odin. Point being, it's easier to reconcile aliens with the near-future sci-fi of the Marvel movie-verse than straight-up magic and gods. And they went to the trouble of being comic-accurate as possible in the process, so we should all worry a little less.

• The Norse Gods as aliens? Was done much better in Stargate SG-1 where they actually looked like aliens!

• Yeah, I'm not entirely sure that that's accurate about the Norse alien thing. They did that in the Earth X stuff, but that was 10 years ago, and in a story that not even close to continuity.

• Okay so where is this aliens thing coming from? I just read the latest issue of Thor and it was dealing with Hel.

• Yeah Afterglow is right, that might be Hobgoblin you're thinking of

• Now I´m sick and I´m sad. Aliens? come on? they were skrulls right? and maybe within a couple of years Jean Grey comes back with godess powers and a heavy PMS and she erases all reality from the past 10 years. No Civil War, no V -I mean- Secret Invasion, House of M, etc. Yeah sure... sure... why not?

• It is a gimmick, one that needs to go away quickly. I checked out a 3-D Samsung TV this weekend; I wear glasses and the 3-D glasses do not fit over other. All I saw was a blurry image popping out at me. Lame.

• this article: http://www.cinematical.com/2010/07/14/new-image-plus-thor-and-captain-america-to-go-3d/ talks about how both thor and captain america will be shot in 3D and joe johnston (johnson?) who is directing thor is pissed because shooting in 3D is something he doesn't like. i hate 3D. i think it's a gimmick and should be saved for theme park attractions. so i hope there will be a regular 2D alternative.

• It sucks that Loki and Thor have to watch their Pop take a piss but it looks like Odin really had to go.

• This is the first I have heard of Marvel using the "Earth/Universe/Paradise X" origin for Thor and Company...and I can dig it, if they pull it off. I was kind of hoping for a more traditional approach, what with KB at the helm...but the actors are good, the director is experienced, and Natalie Portman is in it....so...

• Thorrible, just thorrible. Not the costume so much as the fact that this pun was actually created by my own brain stuffs.

• "...portrayed as advanced beings/aliens who were identified as gods by early man -- which I'm told is what Marvel's doing to Thor and his kin in the comics" ---------------------- Really? DC tried that with the New Gods, and that didn't go over too well.

• I think it's a little earlier to judge the entire movie to be a dud after only one promo pic. Besides, Kirby's norse gods hardly looked like actual norsemen either - they wore bizarre techno-armor and were surrounded by strange weapons and machines.

• The Norse Gods as aliens gives me the same sick feeling as when it ws 'revealed' that the Highlander and his immortal ilk were aliens as well.

• I had no idea that Odin was being played by Anthony Hopkins

• I was thinking the same thing; Loki better have a horned helmet and Thor better have a winged one, or there will be hell to pay.

• I'm not a Marvel reader, so someone please correct me, but doesn't Loki have horns?

• Like Danicus said I have to agree that it does have a Jack Kirby feel to the costume. Which is also alright with me. I dig it.

• Green Goblin doesn't have a cloak.

• Why do they have to make every comic character look superspaceage and "cool" (i.e. verging on the ridiculous)? The best example of this is the COMPLETELY RETARDED Green Goblin costume from Spider-Man 1. They picked the perfect person to play him - all Dafoe needed was a bit of face paint and a few prosthetics and he would have been spot on. Instead you couldn't see his face! And no cloak?! WTF?!! Gah, NERD RAGE!!

• The eyepatch definitely needs to change. everything else looks kinda Kirby-esque. and that is ALL RIGHT WITH ME.

• Aw, its not so bad. I kinda like it. It's not really Norse, but it still looks pretty cool.

• ugh... the costumes I might be able to get used to (in a Batnipples sort of way), but they're actually turning Thor into an Eternal? ...looks like we've got another Daredevil on our hands.

• I hate to be the guy who complains about things before I see them before hand but I do think the Marvel has their work cut out for them with Thor. I don't know if he will have the mass appeal that Spider-man or Iron Man do.

• I actually like everything except for Odin's eyepatch (and to a lesser extent Loki's collar)

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