Does Thor Have the Most to Prove Going Into Comic-Con?

If you choose to be optimistic about Thor -- the once highly-anticipated Marvel comic adaptation set to smash into theaters next summer -- maybe it's just getting all of its backlash out of the way now. Otherwise, is there a movie that more desperately needs a fast-acting image rehabilitation heading into Comic-Con '10? Probably not.

Yet another image from the Kenneth Branagh-directed 2011 summer tentpole appeared online this weekend, and it received the same uninspired reactions as the previous stills. As one commenter on /Film pointed out, "The more of this that gets revealed the more it looks like a mediocre TV mini-series on the WB circa 1998."

But with the full might of Marvel behind it -- not to mention Branagh, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth -- is it possible for Thor to be this uninspiring? Well, maybe -- but until actual footage screens, it does seem a bit premature to write the film off, no matter how utterly ridiculous the images appear. It might look like Xena: Warrior Princess in photos, but until Marvel shows Thor swinging his hammer around, there is still time to redirect the growing perception problem that Thor is facing.

Even more crucial? Now that Edward Norton is no longer playing The Hulk, Marvel needs to lean even more heavily on Hemsworth's Thor to help hold the continuity in The Avengers. The comic book company is expected to bring out its entire Avengers lineup at the panel, and at that point, Thor will be only non-Iron Man property we've seen footage of. Though his own movie may be the priority right now, Thor's swinging that hammer for two.

· New Photo from 'Thor' Debuts [Coming Soon]