Thor

Thor's father Odin decides his son needs to be taught humility and consequently places Thor (without memories of godhood) into the body and memories of an existing, partially disabled human medical student, Donald Blake. After becoming a doctor and on holiday in Norway, Blake witnesses the arrival of an alien scouting party. Blake flees into a cave, and after discovering Thor's disguised hammer Mjolnir, and striking it against a rock, transforms into the Thunder God.

Defeating the aliens, Thor shares a double life with his alter ego: treating the ill in a private practice with nurse - and eventual love - Jane Foster and defending humanity from evil. Thor's presence on Earth almost immediately attracts the attention of his stepbrother and arch-foe Loki; who returns repeatedly to Earth in a bid to destroy Thor. Loki is also responsible for the emergence of three of Thor's principal foes: the Absorbing Man; the Wrecker, and the Destroyer. On one occasion, Loki's tactics are accidentally beneficial - although successful in using an illusion of the Hulk to draw Thor into battle, it results in the formation of the superhero team the Avengers, of which Thor is a founding and longstanding member.

Falling in love with Jane Foster, Thor disobeys his father and refuses to return to Asgard, an act for which he is punished on several occasions. Thor's natural affinity for Earth is also eventually revealed to be due to the fact that he is the son of the Elder Goddess Gaea. Although Thor initially regarded himself as a "superhero" like his teammates in the Avengers, Loki's machinations draw Thor into increasingly epic adventures, such as teaming with father Odin and Asgardian ally Balder against fire demon Surtur and Skagg the Storm Giant, and defeating an increasingly powerful Absorbing Man and proving his innocence in the "Trial of the Gods". This necessitates an extended leave of absence from the Avengers.