14 Years After His MCU Debut, Marvel Still Can’t Decide What to Do With Thor

Thor was one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s very first characters, following Iron Man and Hulk, but it seems that the MCU has no idea what it is doing with the iconic hero. He has changed more than any other hero in the movie world, and it never seems to stick, with him bouncing back and forth between looks and personality traits. Now, Thor is coming back for Avengers: Doomsday, and it once again seems like the MCU is changing things again for the God of Thunder, as there seems to be no rhyme or reason to what the movies are doing with the Asgardian warrior.

It has been 14 years since the first Thor movie, and there still isn’t a definitive version of the warrior, although that is something that has played out in the comics over the decades as well.

Thor Went From a Shakespearian Tragedy to a Comedy Action Hero

It seems that Thor has been changing since the character’s second movie flopped. The first Thor movie was a solid take on the God of Thunder, as it was a Shakespearean-themed tragedy about a son whose father demanded more of him and a second son who felt neglected and pushed aside. Thor and Loki were perfect Shakespeare characters, and that first film did that aspect of the story so very well. However, with the popularity of Loki after The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World changed things and had the brothers fighting together.

That worked out well in the end for Loki, but it was a terrible turning point for Thor. The movie was a bomb, one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s worst early releases, and it ruined one of Thor’s greatest villains in Malekith. The only thing that worked was Loki’s face turn, and eventually deceit as he took over the throne of Asgard. Something needed to change, and that came in Thor: Ragnarok.

Marvel brought in Taika Waititi, a comedy writer who has a firm grasp of horror, and he turned Thor into a buddy comedy superhero franchise, and Ragnarok was nearly perfect. The humor was perfect, the action beats fit in nicely, and this ended up resurrecting Thor’s importance in the MCU, bringing in a great version of Hulk, and making Loki an even greater character. However, while Thor: Love and Thunder was a highly entertaining movie, it made Thor a little too comedic, too goofy, and oblivious, and stripped him of the majestic heroism he had developed.

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What is even worse is what happened between Ragnarok and Love and Thunder. Loki died, Thanos snapped away half of existence, and Thor got fat and depressed. He lost the will to fight and was now using Stormbreaker. When the final battle with Thanos began, he was there, but he still wasn’t the dangerous and dominating Thor fans were used to. Even in that battle, Captain America used Mjolnir to fight (retrieving it from another timeline). Thor was almost meaningless other than for light comedy, despite his constant depression.

When Thor: Love and Thunder began, he still didn’t have Mjolnir, but Waititi had him lose all the weight he gained as hefought with the Guardians of the Galaxy. His depression was completely gone, and his arrogance and comedic nature were back, to an almost annoying extent. Waititi seemed to ignore everything that had happened in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline.

Now, with the Avengers: Doomsday trailers, it seems that Thor: Love and Thunder has been ignored. Love is still there, which is essential, but Thor is back to his old costume, and he is praying to Odin in front of Stormbreaker. There is a good chance that Mjolnir is inside their home, and Stormbreaker is still Love’s weapon. Still, this trailer has Thor depressed and worried again (rightfully so as a father now), but this is yet another change, as it seems that the MCU has no idea what to do with the character.

Most MCU rumors have Thor dying, either in the Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars storylines, or in a solo movie coming soon thereafter. If this is true, there is something to be said about the character’s lack of consistency, which might make his death mean a little bit less. Chris Hemsworth is perfect as Thor. It is just too bad that the filmmakers can never seem to get on the same page when it comes to how they portray the character.

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