Did You Catch That Reference to Frog Thor in ‘Thor: Ragnarok?’

The Thor movies have always owed quite a bit to writer/artist Walter Simonson’s groundbreaking work with the character, and have acknowledged this in the past — most notably with a cameo by Simonson and his wife, longtime Superman writer Louise Simonson, in the first film. In Thor: Ragnarok, though, there was a reference to one of Simonson’s best-loved and oddest moments with the character.

A running joke in the film was frequent references in dialogue to various pranks Loki had played on Thor throughout their lives, mostly in childhood. Many of those stories were rooted in Norse mythology, where Loki would do similar things, either to Thor or to other characters.

One such reference was to the time Loki “turned [Thor] into a frog,” an event which took place during Simonson’s long run on the series. From Thor #364 to #366, the story played out, with Thor trapped in the body of a frog in what was even then billed as one of the most unusual Thor stories ever told.

While brief, the storyline made a significant impact: Fans loved the absurdity of it, the visual of Frog Thor became a permanent part of the character’s legacy, and it is often (half-jokingly) pointed to when fans talk about costume changes.

There is also Throg, a separate character but with an identical design. Throg is actually a human who was turned into a frog by a curse. Named Simon Walterson (ha), the character was eventually given a sliver of Mjolnir, designed to look like the real thing and imbued with a fraction of Thor’s power, so that he could be a thunder frog. The character would eventually become one of the Pet Avengers.

Recently, Sideshow Collectibles even released a statue for the character, with the following elegant description:

Not to be confused with the time Loki turned Thor into a frog, Throg is Simon Walterson (a nod to creator, Walter Simonson), a former college athlete transformed into a frog named Puddlegulp by a wicked gypsy curse. Embodied with the powers of Thor, the unassuming amphibian would become the mighty Frog of Thunder, and a courageous member of the Pet Avengers! Six inches of pure awesome, the fully sculpted Thor Frog comes to life with vibrant colors and incredible detail, wielding his tiny version of the Thunder Gods hammer, Frogjolnir.

Thor: Ragnarok is in theaters now. One of the best-reviewed Marvel movies of the decade, you can rate it yourself, assuming you have seen it, in our movie database below.