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Stan Lee needed to renew reader interest in a long-running fantasy title, Journey Into Mystery, that was headed towards cancellation. He had been inspired by the comments of a New York City radio talk show host who stated that Marvel's heroes were a modern mythology. Lee took the idea to artist Jack Kirby and tapped into his creative genius which had a soft spot for Norse mythology. There are actually several stories of how Thor was conceived. Some claimed that Kirby created Thor, others that Lee had. However, the common element underlying them was definitely their collaboration.

In the fall of 1962, the same time Amazing Fantasy #15 hit the newsstands featuring Spider-Man's debut, Journey Into Mystery #83 showcased its own super-hero, the Mighty Thor. 

Lee plotted the title's course for the year while other writers like Robert Burnstein and Lee's brother, Larry Lieber wrote the scripts. Kirby drew the first few issues, but then returned to the core Marvel titles, like The Incredible Hulk and The Fantastic Four leaving second rate artists like Don Heck, Al Hartley, and Joe Sinnott to fill in. 

The fact that Thor was a god didn't fit Lee's style. Thor needed a weakness and a reason to spend time on Earth rather than in his home, Asgard. Odin, the head of the pantheon and father to Thor, found his son proud and boastful and in need of a lesson in humility.

Blake could transform into Thor by tapping his walking stick which would also change into Thor's hammer Mjolnir.

Interestingly, Lee chose to use aryan characteristics rather than the redheaded and red-bearded Thor.

Thor was god who lived by a warrior code and had been worshipped by the Viking people. Thor, however, was a proud god and needed to be taught a lesson in humility. His father, the all-seeing and all-powerful Odin bound Thor to Earth by creating a human alter-ego. Thor existed for years within the persona of Dr. Donald Blake, a Marvel archetypal character who was angst-driven and flawed, until a fateful run in with the Stone Men from Saturn. Blake sought refuge in cave where he came upon a simple wooden walking stick. In frustration he struck the cave wall with it and was transformed into the mighty Thor.

The concept of Thor worked so well that Lee and Kirby tapped into the rest of the Norse myths and fleshed out the key gods from the Norse pantheon, such as Heimdall the guardian of the Golden Bridge, Balder the god of light, and of course, Thor's evil half-brother Loki.

Lee and Kirby spent the first two years to feel out the character and explore his super powers. Stan Lee was so busy with the rest of Marvel's titles he temporarily passed on the scripting chores to his brother Larry Lieber. The early Thor spoke in normal English and eventually his language would evolve into the familiar Shakespearean old English.

These early issues had typical Marvel anti-Communist and alien plot formulas. A regular backup feature in this series, called the Tales of Asgard, brought a variety of other Norse characters to the Marvel Universe as well as adding depth and history to Thor's homeland.