Myths, Religions & Legends Power Ranking TOP100
I wrote a book ranking the most powerful gods, monsters, and heroes from world mythology, religion, and legend in order of strength! Of course, the rankings reflect a great deal of my own subjective judgment, but the reasoning behind each placement is grounded in the lore and episodes of each mythology, so I think it’s a book that will feel reasonably convincing.
This time I’d like to introduce some of the characters featured in the book’s ranking. Of course, many more characters appear in the ranking beyond those introduced here, so I think anyone interested in mythology, religion, and legend will enjoy it!
Rank 28: Thor (Norse Mythology)
Overview
Thor is the supreme war god of Norse mythology. The reason he is regarded as the god of thunder is that the roaring sound produced when he swings his beloved weapon Mjolnir resembles thunder — interestingly, there are actually no depictions in the myths of him wielding lightning itself.
Thor has slain many giants, most notably Hrungnir, who was considered the strongest among them, and he stands head and shoulders above all the gods of Norse mythology, including the chief god Odin.
One account states that “Thor’s power is greater than that of all the other gods in Asgard combined,” which shows just how extraordinary he is. His iconic weapon is a massive hammer called “Mjolnir” (also known as Thor’s Hammer).
This weapon has the destructive power to shatter anything, never breaks, always hits its target when thrown, automatically returns to Thor’s hand, and can even change size freely — making it one of the most powerful weapons in all of Norse mythology.
However, there is also a detail that he cannot wield it properly without wearing special gloves called “Járngreipr” (Iron Grippers) made specifically for Mjolnir.
Beyond that, Thor is said to double his divine power by wearing a belt of strength called “Megingjörð.” In the final battle of Norse mythology (Ragnarök), he fought Jormungandr — an enormous serpent large enough to encircle the entire world — in single combat.
After a fierce battle, Thor managed to defeat Jormungandr, but the poison he received during the fight caused him to die shortly after, resulting in a mutual kill despite Thor having the upper hand.
Reason for This Ranking
Thor is the greatest war god of Norse mythology, and the fact that he fought and defeated Jormungandr — a creature with the power to destroy the world — (followed by his own death, making it a mutual kill) clearly demonstrates that Thor’s strength is unquestionably the greatest among Norse gods.
To begin with, no enemy other than Jormungandr has ever withstood a single blow from Mjolnir, which further illustrates just how extraordinary Thor is, as well as how overwhelmingly resilient Jormungandr is.
Taking all of this into consideration, I judged this position in the ranking to be appropriate.
