Thor came out in a time when audiences were starting to accept the fact that a certain group of Marvel heroes could exist in the same cinematic universe. Iron Man and Hulk were two characters that fit neatly in the science-fiction genre, albeit the former being somewhat more practical than the latter, so the idea of them teaming up wasn’t that big of a stretch to moviegoers. But there was another hero on the horizon, one that belonged in the fantasy genre in a way few other Marvel heroes did, so much so that his creators weren’t Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, or Jack Kirby, but the Norsemen of centuries past: Thor. It didn’t help that Marvel’s depiction of the god of thunder was extremely goofy, with all the insane worlds he visits via a rainbow bridge while donning his flying helmet.