With the announcement of Anthony Hopkins as Odin in the forthcoming Thor movie, the interest in the character has reached an all-time high. Which, given that there isn't very much interest at all, is perhaps rather damning for Thor.

Still, it provides me an ample excuse to do one of my much-loved Top Threes, so without further ado, let's take a look at the Top Three Thor Moments!

3. Thor, Frog of Thunder (Thor Vol. 1 #363-#366)

Walt Simonson's run on Thor remains legendary to this day, and although it's for plenty of reasons, none of them are more prevalent than the issues where Loki turns Thor into a frog. This would probably slow down most superheroes, but Simonson simply has the Thor-frog hop onto Mjolnir, Thor's mystical hammer, and transform himself into the unforgettable Frog-Thor.

Quite what Marvel's editorial team was smoking at the time has never been explained, but this madcap plot twist could only happen in comics (although, thinking about it, there was that time when Hercules turned into a pig in his own TV series.) Perhaps the most amazing thing is that Thor's friendly guide when he was a frog, Puddlegulp, actually went on to make several appearances as an occasional member of Thor's cast. One of the few Thor arcs that constitutes must-read comics for anyone, not just Thor fans.

2: The truth behind Ultimate Thor is revealed (Ultimates, Vol. 2)

The Scandanavian hippie version of Thor from the Ultimate universe, as written by Mark Millar, was one of the greatest character re-inventions ever done, turning Stan Lee's mish-mash of Norse mythology, Medieval speech patterns and Superheroics into a genuinely cohesive character (admittedly, by jettisoning two-thirds of those elements.)

Although Thor spends most of the first two Ultimates volumes being treated like a mental patient (literally, in the second), there's no greater moment for the readers than the point where the Ultimate Thor finally proves that he can deliver the goods. I won't spoil what the reveal is, but whatever it says about the character's origins, it certainly delivers an unforgettable moment - and those are rare for a character as mixed up as Thor.

1. Thor enforces a minute's silence for Captain America. (Thor, Vol. 3 #11)

Personally, I like the moments where Thor, a genuine Asgardian god, lest we forget, takes it on himself to act like a god. And for me, one of the best times he did so was on the one-year anniversary of Captain America's death, when he used his godly powers to summon the spirit of Captain America, then shuts down all satellite communication on the planet for one minute in honour of his death.

Admittedly, one wonders whether this didn't cause a few problems for people in time-critical, life-or-death situations, but let's face it, gods have tantrums all the times without much worry about the consequences for lesser mortals. This, if nothing else, was very godly behaviour.

James writes Alternate Cover every Monday at Den Of Geek. His previous column can be found here.