Thor film informatics Part 15: Lady Sif

Sif is an Asgardian warrior and friends with Thor. She is the Asgardian Goddess of War. Being the only female warrior in Asgard, Sif is very proud and always eager to prove herself. She's the closest of friends with Thor and the Warriors Three, and she is an honorable warrior on the battlefield. She often is independent and uneasy in following orders. Sif is the first person to suspect Loki of treason following Thor's banishment, showing that she is very observant. She is also a voice of reason, and she often tries to consul Thor - even when he doesn't want to hear it.


Powers and abilities
As an Asgardian, Sif possesses superhuman physical attributes such as strength, stamina, speed and reflexes, and she is an incredibly skilful fighter. She wields a double edged spear and shield, which she uses to perfection.

Thor film informatics Part 14: Heimdall

Heimdall is the all-seeing and all-knowing Asgardian warrior-god and the guardian of the rainbow bridge, Bifrost, watching for any attacks on Asgard.

Character traits
Heimdall is a strong and loyal warrior, with a high sense of honor. Although being extremely powerful, even for an Asgardian, he serves only Odin, having sworn to be faithful to his king.


Powers and abilities
As all Asgardians, Heimdall possesses superhuman physical attributes, such as strength, reflexes, stamina, speed, agility, durability. However, he is generally stronger and more durable than all but a few Asgardians, such as Odin and Thor, so much so that Loki was curious to know the reason why Odin did not fear the powerful gatekeeper. He's an extremely skillful swordman, wielding an enchanted uru sword in battle.
Heimdall possesses extraordinarily acute superhuman senses, most notably his vision and hearing, bordering on the extrasensory. His senses are said to be so acute that he could hear sap running through trees, and "the tiniest plant growing in the heart of the hidden hills", and see and hear anything occurring in Asgard or on Earth. Heimdall can also "look across time, as well as space". Heimdall has been said to be capable of detecting the fluttering of a butterfly's wings "a thousand worlds away". These sensory capabilities have been put to use placing Heimdall in the role of gatekeeper to Asgard at his observatory on the Bifrost Bridge. His sensorial powers can be deceived, as Loki proved.

Thor film informatics Part 13: Laufey

Laufey was the King of the Frost Giants in Jotunheim and an enemy of the Asgardians introduced in Thor. He was an arch enemy of Odin and the biological father of Loki, although he is unaware of his relationship with Loki. Loki gives him access to Asgard, but later on Laufey is betrayed and disintegrated by Loki before he can kill Odin in the Odinsleep.


Character traits
Laufey was a strong and proud ruler, as well as a brave warrior. His main aim was to grant his people dominion over the other realms. When his attempt to conquer Earth fails thanks to Odin's intervention, he develops a deep hatred towards the Asgardians.

Powers and abilities
As all the Frost Giants, Laufey has an impressive stature, strength and stamina, and he possesses the ability to manipulate and create ice. Like all Frost Giants, Laufey is immortal and possesses superhuman strength and resistance to physical injury and Earthly illness, as well as a weakness to heat. As a Frost Giant, Laufey is unharmed by cold temperatures, making him immune to hypothermia and frostbite. His touch is poisonous to anyone but a fellow Giant. With his weapon, the Casket of Ancient Winters, he's able to freeze any opponent. He usually fights with an ice mace, but is able to use even swords and daggers.

Thor film informatics Part 12: Loki the God of Mischief

Loki Laufeyson is an Asgardian prince, the God of Mischief and a major supervillain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A misshapen Frost Giant, he is the adopted brother and nemesis of Thor, the adopted son of Odin and Frigga, and the biological son of the Frost Giant Laufey and the enemy of The Avengers.


Powers and abilities
Loki is a member of the race of Frost Giants of Jotunheim, although not a giant in stature. He possesses physical attributes equal to a fit average member of the race of superbeings, the Asgardians, such as enhanced strength; stamina, speed, durability, (his Frost Giant metabolism grants him superhuman levels of physical stamina in practically all activities); durability enough to harmlessly withstand high-caliber bullets; and immunity to all known diseases and toxins, as well as some resistance to magic.


Loki is of genius level intelligence and has extensive training in magic, and possesses the ability to manipulate magical forces for a variety of purposes: energy projection, creation of force fields, temporarily increasing his own physical strength, granting superhuman abilities to living beings or inanimate objects, flight, hypnosis, illusion casting, and inter-dimensional teleportation.

Besides his magical capabilities, Loki possesses some extrasensory abilities and is capable of astral projection and casting his thoughts across great distances—even across dimensional barriers, like that between Asgard and Earth—even if he is unable to move. He cannot read the minds of other beings, although he can influence their actions, and once briefly hypnotized Thor, as well as controlling a flock of birds. However he could not coerce Thor to give him Mjolnir. If someone has evil thoughts, Loki can influence their actions even if he is in Asgard and the subject is on Earth,and he can influence other events to a degree, such as driving a missile from its path, or redirecting a radio signal.


Loki is an adept shapeshifter and can change into animals (examples include transmogrification to a salmon, horse, etc.) or impersonate other people, such as Thor or Captain America. However, he does not necessarily gain the abilities of whatever he turns into, although minor natural abilities such as flight in bird form tend to work. Loki may even mimic the abilities of some supernatural beings if he turn into such creatures, such as gaining a hypnotic gaze while he turns into a dragon. He has also turned clouds into dragons, and animated trees to attack Thor.

Aside from his mystical abilities, Loki possesses a brilliant intellect, making him an expert manipulator and schemer. However, his arrogance, his passionate hatred of Thor, and all-consuming lust for power greatly impeded his ability to bring his well-laid plans to fruition.


Weapons
In battle, Loki uses throwing knives to injure his enemies, though he is also proficient with a spear. While he was the king of Asgard, Loki used magic artifacts like Odin's spear, Gungnir, which can project mystical blasts of energy, and control the Destroyer or the Casket of Ancient Winters. In The Avengers, Loki used a special staff that was exceedingly powerful. He was able to use it as a means of energy projection of a powerful blue laser blast which was powerful enough to kill several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Loki also used the staff to put people under his mind control, and even used it as a blade to stab Agent Coulson with.

Thor film informatics Part 11: Frigga

Frigga was the wife of Odin, the mother of Thor, and the adoptive mother of Loki. She is based on the Norse goddess of the same name.


Character Traits 
Frigga was a strong woman, a majestic queen, and perfectly able to stand at Odin's side. Despite her attention to protocol, she was a loving and tender mother to both her sons. When Odin brought the infant Loki to Asgard after the war with the Jotuns, Frigga accepted him as her own without any hesitation, although she believed that Odin should have told him the truth about his origins all along. While she clearly attempts to believe in only the good in her sons, she was also intuitive and perceptive about other intentions. She was also generally accepted as a good judge of character.


Abilities
As an Asgardian, Frigga possesses superhuman physical attributes such as increased strength, fast reflexes, longevity, and exceptional beauty. Despite the notion that not many Asgardian women are warriors, Frigga was ready, willing, and certainly able to hold her own even against Jotuns. During the attack in Odin's bedchamber she manages to kill a Frost Giant with a single strike.
Superior Reflexes: Frigga's mobility and co-ordination are honed to the levels of an athlete.
Arcane Lore: Frigga has knowledge of Asgardian techniques for creating realistic illusions. She has demonstrated the ability to create a flawless decoy of a person in her vicinity, and has also sent an animated image of herself to another location within the Asgardian palace. In both cases the optical illusions had accompanying projected sound.
Swordsmanship: Frigga has advanced martial training with long blades, and uses a longsword in a reverse-grip with a highly mobile low stance.

Thor film informatics Part 10B: Gungnir and Odinforce

Gungnir (Old Norse "swaying one") is Odin's Spear. It is based on the weapon of the same name from Norse mythology which played a prominent part in many of the Norse myths and, in turn, the Marvel Comics continuity. It exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is Asgardian in origin.
In battles against opponents of similar power, Odin carries the magical spear Gungnir ("The Spear of Heaven"), an artifact made of the metal uru, that can be used to channel the Odin Force. Even without the Odin Force it can still match Thor's hammer in battle. Once a year, during the Asgardian winter, Odin must undertake the Odinsleep for 24 hours to regenerate (and is closely guarded as he is vulnerable during this period)

Odinforce
Odin is capable of manipulating vast amounts of magical energy, referred to as the Odin Power, or the Odin Force, for a number of purposes. With this power, Odin is capable of feats such as reading minds from across even dimensions (as he was about to crown Thor king before he notices that Frost Giants were in his trophy room), projecting force blasts (mainly through either Gungnir or Mjolnir; it is unknown if he is physically capable of doing so without any of these items and even so, with his spear, he was able to destroy hordes of Frost Giants), and more. Odin is highly skilled in the use of his powers during combat situations, and was able to casually take down and kill Frost Giants with ease during the war. Odin's full power is thus considered at the least equal to that most every other "deity of Earth" (if they exist, which could be more than likely). Odin is also capable of placing multiple permanent enchantments on items, as he did for Mjolnir when he exiled Thor to Earth. He had to tapped into some form of dark energy to send Thor to Earth to stop Loki, although, it seems to frowned upon to used.

Weaknesses
While possessing the Odinforce that is inherently opposed to the need for outward sustenance, Odin must, once a year, during the Asgardian winter, undertake the Odinsleep for 24 hours to regenerate. During this time Odin is guarded closely as he is vulnerable to attacks from hostile forces such as the Frost Giants. Despite his limitations and weaknesses, such as the need for the Odinsleep annually, Odin is nonetheless the most powerful being in the Nine Realms.

Thor film informatics Part 10A: Odin Borson

Odin Borson is the father of Thor, Loki and Tyr and is the warrior-king of Asgard in the film Thor. He is based on the chief God in Norse mythology of the same name. He is a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who first appeared in Kenneth Branagh's Thor. A powerful but peaceful leader, Odin is the Allfather of all Asgard who is dedicated to preserving peace between the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil.


Character Traits
As the all-powerful ruler of Asgard, Odin is wise, honorable, and dedicated to keeping the peace between the Nine Realms. He believes in responsibility (in terms of being careful and responsible for your actions), duty (in terms of the protection and keeping of peace between the Nine Realms) and honor (always being a man of your word). However, when angered and/or upset, he can be very stern and/or borderline ruthless, such as when he stripped Thor of his powers and exiled him to Earth. However, Odin had only done this because it was necessary for Thor to learn how to be a good ruler. As Frigga stated, "everything he does, he does with an purpose." After Thor recalimed his powers and returned to Asgard, Odin expressed pride in his son and his belief that he will be a wise king. As is the case with all Asgardians, he possesses superhuman physical attributes, such as strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, and extreme skill with a weapon. His weapon of choice is the equally powerful Gungnir, which allows its wielder to emit powerful energy blasts and blinding light. It also enables the wielder to have full control over the Destroyer.


Powers
As King of Asgard, Odin is extremely powerful, having the ability to take away Thor's power and to put a spell on Mjolnir to enable the one who is worthy of it to wield it. Odin is by far the most powerful being yet revealed in the Marvel Cinematic universe, seemingly far more powerful than either Thor, Loki, or any other superhero or supervillain. Odin possesses all the conventional attributes of an Asgardian. However, as the King of the Asgardians, many of these attributes are significantly superior to those possessed by the majority of his race (with the exceptions of Thor, Heimdall and Loki).
Superhuman Strength: In spite of his advanced age, Odin possesses superhuman strength surpassing that of most Asgardians. Odin is capable of lifting over 100 tons. He was able to lift a Frost Giant over his head with his spear and throw him a good distance. He was able to catch Thor by his leg while Thor was using the spear to hold on to Loki, essentially hold them both.
Superhuman Agility: Odin's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are far superior to the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.
Superhuman Reflexes: Odin's reflexes are superior to the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete, to a much greater extent than one would think.
Superhuman Stamina: Odin's musculature produces considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a human, and most other Asgardians. As a result, he possesses superhuman stamina in all physical activities. He can exert himself at peak capacity for years before fatigue would beginto impair him.
Superhuman Durability: Odin's body is considerably more resistant to physical injury than the body of a human being or even most other Asgardians for that matter (with the exceptions of Thor, Loki and Heimdall). Odin's body is capable of withstanding great impact forces, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, falls from great heights, and powerful energy blasts from cosmic level beings without sustaining injury; however, to what extent is unknown.
Extended Longevity: Odin, like all Asgardians, is extremely long-lived, maybe even immortal as some other god pantheons. Nonetheless, Odin still ages at a pace much slower than human beings. He is also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections. From his looks from the beginning of the movie, he may very be anywhere from 1,500 to almost 3,000 years old, quite possibly older.

Abilities 
Master Combatant: Odin is a master hand-to-hand combatant and close quarters fighter. In battles against opponents of similar power, Odin carries the magical spear Gungnir ("The Spear of Heaven"), an artifact made of the metal uru, that can be used to channel the Odin Force. Even without the Odinforce it can still match Thor's hammer in battle.
Master Tactician: His thousands of years of experience resulted in him becoming a master tactician. He has led the Armies of Asgard into battle for countless years in wars over all the Nine Realms.

Thor film informatics Part 09B: Mjolnir, main weapon of Thor

Mjolnir was forged from the heart of a dying star. Thor's mystical hammer Mjolnir, which resembles a mallet rather than a war hammer, has a number of elemental powers. It has been stated by Odin himself that Mjolnir's power has no equal. Mjolnir itself is extremely durable like the Earth metal Adamantium, and combined with the various enchantments placed upon it by Odin, it is, for all intents and purposes, indestructible. It has deflected three blasts from the Destroyer (which was able to disintegrate anything that it hit) and return the blast back into the Destroyer. Thor often uses the hammer as a physical weapon, with almost nothing being capable of withstanding a hammer blow or throw. A few examples of the abilities Thor has shown with Mjolnir:

Weather Control: Wielding Mjonir grants Thor the ability to control the base elements of a storm. It can control the elements and can create giant raging electrical storms complete with thunder, lightning, hurricane-force winds, tornadoes, tidal waves, earthquakes and torrential rains at a moment's notice. He summoned a class 5 tornado to battle the Detroyer, a lightning bolt strong enough to destroy a large piece of landscape in Johtunheim, a lightning bolt to knock down Loki on the Bifrost bridge, and control the elements. He is remembered in myth and legends by the mortals of Midgard as the Norse Thunder God who used Mjolnir to summon rain, wind, thunder, lightning and more.

Worthiness Enchantment: After Thor disobeyed Odin and nearly caused a war between Asgard and Johtumheim, Odin banishes Thor to Earth without his powers and places an enchantment on the hammer Mjolnir. "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." This enchantment surrounding Mjolnir prevents it from being wielded by anyone save those who have been found worthy. When Thor sacrificed himself to protect the New Mexico town and it's inhabitants from The Destroyer he proved himself worthy to wield Mjolnir and gained full use of his powers. He also used it to trap Loki on the Bifrost, as those who aren't worthy cannot lift it. Thor used this power to distract the Hulk in their battle, who became so focused on trying to lift the hammer that Thor was able to climb onto his back and attempt to choke him into submission.

Mystical Link: Mjolnir obeys Thor’s commands as though it were alive. Mjolnir went to Thor when it was in a crater from miles away, it came to him in seconds. Mjolnir will return to Thor when he throws it at an opponent.
Flight: Thor is capable of hurling Mjolnir with great force and, by holding onto the leather thong, is capable of flying through the air at tremendous speeds. How fast is not specified, but he was able to fly in Johtumheim to kill a Frost Monster, fly in the middle of a Class 5 tornado, fly from the small New Mexico town to the closest Bifrost site, fly from Heimdall's Observatory to the main hall of Asgard in seconds, and later vice-versa.


Energy Projection: With Mjolnir, Thor can project powerful mystical blasts of energy. He can even channel energies for stronger energy attacks. With Mjolnir, Odin projects a powerful mystical blast of energy using it to channel an energy blast through it, taking away all of Thor's superhuman powers and destroys what was left of Thor's armor after stripping much of it off of him and throwing him into the Bifrost.

Thor film informatics Part 09A: The Mighty Thor

Thor Odinson is an Asgardian warrior-prince, the God of Thunder and a self-proclaimed protector of Earth. Thor subsequently became well known for his actions on Earth, which included acting as a founding member of the Avengers. First appearing in Thor, Thor is a major character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the only Avenger that is non-human and one of the few superheroes in the MCU with genuine super powers (the others being the Hulk and Captain America). Thor wields the mystical war hammer Mjolnir, which controls the weather, but he himself also has godlike strength, durability and agility. He is based on the mythological thunder-god of the same name from Norse mythology.

Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday ("Thor's day"; Old English Thunresdaeg, Thunor's day) bears his name, and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today.

Powers and Abilities
Like all Asgardians, Thor is incredibly long-lived and relies upon periodic consumption of the Golden Apples of Idunn to sustain his extended lifespan, which to date has lasted many millennia. Being the son of Odin and Frigga, Thor is physically the strongest of the Asgardians. If pressed in battle, Thor is capable of entering into a state known as the "Warrior's Madness" ("berserkergang" in Norwegian), which will temporarily increase his strength and stamina tenfold, although in this state he attacks friend and foe alike.


Thor possesses a very high resistance to physical injury that approaches invulnerability. He possesses keen senses that allow him to track objects traveling faster than light and hear cries from the other side of the planet. Thor has the ability to travel through time. His stamina allowed him to battle the entire Frost Giant army for nine months without any sustenance or rest; Thor has shown the ability to regenerate wounded portions of his body, including entire limbs or organs, with the aid of magical forces such as Mjolnir. Thor has superhuman speed, agility, and reflexes, enabling him to deflect bullets with his hammer. Like all Asgardians, he has immunity to all Earthly diseases and some resistance to magic. Exceptionally powerful magic can overwhelm Odin's enchantment that transforms him between Asgardian and mortal forms. As the Norse god of thunder, Thor can summon the elements of the storm (lightning; rain; wind; snow) and uses Mjolnir as a tool to focus this ability, although the hammer cannot command artificial weather, only natural. He can cause these weather effects over the world and destroy entire buildings; by whirling his hammer he can lift entire buildings with the wind.


Thor is a superb hand-to-hand combatant, and is skilled in armed combat, excelling in the use of the war hammer, sword, axe and mace. Thor possesses two items which assist him in combat: the enchanted Belt of Strength, and his signature weapon, the mystical hammer Mjolnir. The first item doubles Thor's strength and endurance while the second is used to control his weather abilities; flight; energy projection and absorption; dimensional travel; matter manipulation and the most powerful of his offensives, the God Blast (which taps into Thor's life force), the Thermo-blast, and the Anti-Force (which counteracts another force). Using Mjolnir by throwing in the desired direction and then holding on to the handle's leather loop, Thor can fly at supersonic speeds in Earth's atmosphere and travel faster than light in space. He can throw an object out of Earth's atmosphere using his strength, and throw his hammer to Asgard from which it will return.

Thor film informatics Part 08: The days of the week

The days of the week have been named after the seven planets of classical astronomy, since the Roman period. They are also numbered, beginning at Sunday, Monday or Saturday depending on the society and tradition.

The Germanic peoples adapted the system introduced by the Romans but glossed their indigenous gods over the Roman deities (with the exception of Saturday) in a process known as Interpretatio germanica. The date of the introduction of this system is not known exactly, but it must have happened later than AD 200 but before the introduction of Christianity during the 6th to 7th centuries, i.e., during the final phase or soon after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. This period is later than the Common Germanic stage, but still during the phase of undifferentiated West Germanic. The names of the days of the week in North Germanic languages were not calqued from Latin directly, but taken from the West Germanic names.

Sunday: Old English Sunnandæg, meaning "sun's day." This is a translation of the Latin phrase dies Solis. English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the original pagan/sun associations of the day. Many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed its name to the equivalent of "the Lord's day" (based on Ecclesiastical Latin dies Dominica). In both West Germanic and North Germanic mythology the Sun is personified as a goddess, Sunna/Sól.

Monday: Old English Mōnandæg, meaning "Moon's day." This is based on a translation of the Latin name dies lunae. In North Germanic mythology, the Moon is personified as a god, Máni.

Tuesday: Old English Tīwesdæg, meaning "Tiw's day." Tiw (Norse Týr) was a one-handed god associated with single combat and pledges in Norse mythology and also attested prominently in wider Germanic paganism. The name of the day is based on Latin dies Martis, "Day of Mars".

Wednesday: Old English Wōdnesdæg meaning the day of the Germanic god Wodan (known as Óðinn among the North Germanic peoples), and a prominent god of the Anglo-Saxons (and other Germanic peoples) in England until about the seventh century. It is based on Latin dies Mercurii, "Day of Mercury." The connection between Mercury and Odin is more strained than the other syncretic connections[citation needed]. The usual explanation is that both Wodan and Mercury were considered psychopomps, or guides of souls after death, in their respective mythologies; both are also associated with poetic and musical inspiration.

Thursday: Old English Þūnresdæg, meaning 'Þunor's day'. Þunor means thunder or its personification, the Norse god known in Modern English as Thor. Similarly Dutch donderdag, German Donnerstag ('thunder's day') and Scandinavian Torsdag ('Thor's day'). Thor's day corresponds to Latin dies Iovis, "day of Jupiter".

Friday: Old English Frīgedæg, meaning the day of the Norse goddess Frígg. The Norse name for the planet Venus was Friggjarstjarna, 'Frigg's star'. It is based on the Latin dies Veneris, "Day of Venus."

Saturday: the only day of the week to retain its Roman origin in English, named after the Roman god Saturn associated with the Titan Cronus, father of Zeus and many Olympians. Its original Anglo-Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg. In Latin it was dies Saturni, "Day of Saturn." The Scandinavian Lørdag/Lördag deviates significantly as it has no reference to either the Norse or the Roman pantheon; it derives from old Norse laugardagr, literally "washing-day." The German Sonnabend and the Low German words Sünnavend mean the "evening before Sunday", the German word Samstag derives from the name for Shabbat.