A Lost Vision: The Canceled ‘Mythological’ Thor Cartoon of the 1990s and Its Legacy in Hellboy

The 1990s were a golden era for Marvel superhero cartoons, but Thor largely missed out on the spotlight. During this time, a project sprouted that radically diverged from Marvel’s familiar take on Thor, delving deep into the roots of Norse mythology. Sparked by an intriguing encounter between writer Henry Gilroy and model Fabio Lanzoni, this idea evolved into a unique artistic direction with the involvement of animator Seth Kearsley and, most notably, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.

The Thor: Thunder God project, brought to life through Mignola’s designs, drew inspiration from authentic Norse sagas rather than Marvel comics. With contributions from Glen Murakami (Teen Titans), the team reimagined characters like Thor, Odin, and Hela through Mignola’s then-perhaps “too cold and harsh” yet soon-to-be-iconic art style. A two-minute pilot episode, viewable on Kearsley’s YouTube channel, promised a medieval fantasy atmosphere starkly different from Marvel’s conventional Thor—a world far removed from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s arrogant god exiled as Donald Blake to learn humility, instead capturing the raw, childlike spirit of mythology.

For Mignola, the project was a playground to indulge his passion for drawing giants and monsters. Though it was shelved, Mignola’s deep fascination with Norse mythology and his unique interpretation found echoes in his later work on Hellboy. Stories like the “Ragna Rok Project” can be read as reflections of these mythological themes in Mignola’s universe.

The most tangible and striking example of this influence is Hellboy: The Bones of Giants, a comic created by Mignola with Christopher Golden. Here, the spirit of the canceled Thor project is vividly reborn—Thor’s ghost haunts Hellboy, and the discovery of Mjolnir introduces dramatic mythological elements. This narrative adds a mythic layer to the Hellboy character while serving as a continuation of Mignola’s aesthetic and thematic explorations.

Ultimately, the unrealized Thor cartoon of the late 1990s held the potential to offer a sophisticated take on Norse mythology, transcending the Marvel universe through Mike Mignola’s distinctive vision. While it never became an animated series, its philosophical depth and iconographic richness live on in Mignola’s art, particularly in Hellboy.