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How ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Changes Thor Forever

Marvel Cinematic Universe solo franchise threequels like Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Civil War […]

Marvel Cinematic Universe solo franchise threequels like Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Civil War have left their respective heroes in drastically different places than where they first began, and Thor: Ragnarok is no different.

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With a title like “Ragnarok” (aka the Asgardian End of Days), it should be no surprise that some drastic changes were in store for the characters of the Thor franchise. Read on below to get a breakdown of the how Thor: Ragnarok changes Chris Hemsworth’s Thor for the foreseeable future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The King of Asgard

Thor Ragnarok Thor New King of Asgard

Early on inย Thor: Ragnarok, Thor and Loki shareย a bittersweet finalย moment with their father, Odin, before Odin’s lifeforceย finally expires.ย Before his end, Odinย passes on a big responsibility to Thor: the God of Thunder is now the new king of Asgard.

Of course, Thor’s new royal appointmentย comes at a really bad time; Odin’s death releases Thor’s sister Hela from her prison, and she immediately comes to claim her rightful throne. By the end of the film, Thor has to allow Surtur to destroy Asgardย in order to stop Hela.ย 

Thor’s first term as king comes at the most pivotal point in Asgard’s history. With a small band of Asgardianย survivors now wandering the cosmos, King Thor must lead his people to a new home.ย 

The Odin Eye

During the first part of Thor’s final battle with Helaย (in Odin’s throne room), he finds that he is hopelessly overpoweredย by his deadly sister.

As the battle goes on, Helaย makes the truly sadistic move of bringing Thor to his knees with a hard blow, before slashing out his right eye with a swift blow from her sword.ย 

At the end of the film, Thor finds himself echoing the life and lessons of his father. Just like Odin, Thor finds that he sees clearer as a warrior and king with one eye than he ever did with two.ย 

God of Thunder

After Thor has his ass handed to him by Helaย in one-on-one combat, he must tap into the power that Odin tried to awaken in him before his death.ย 

In a vision, Thor travels back to where Odin died in Norway, and learns one last crucial secret from his father: Mjolnir was never the source of his powers as the God of Thunder. As Odin explains, Mjolnirย was simply a conduit to help Thor control his power over forces like lightning and thunder,ย and that Thor is ready to give up that crutch.

Once Thor makes that realization, he’s able to tap into his true power, increasing his strength, flying, and calling down lightning bolts that he can either shoot or surround himself with for an energy shield or “thunder fists” attacks.ย 

Going forward, Thor won’t need a mystical weapon to define him. Heย isย the weapon.ย 

Thor: Ragnarokย is now in theaters. Other upcoming MCU movies include Black Panther on February 16, 2018, 2017, Avengers: Infinity War on May 4, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.

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