Ahhhhhh Thor, the lovable dummy of the MCU. The Marvel movies had had some chuckles, with RDJ cracking wise, and Hulk… um, Bruce made that one joke, didn’t he? But then came Thor, with its physical comedy, and fish-out-of-water humour, with Chris Hemsworth’s surprisingly perfect comic timing, and Kat Denning’s pronunciation of his hammer, Mjölnir. Thor changed the game. Yes, there are serious moments, and there are stakes to be had, but on the whole, this movie is funny. Thor showed the world how downright fun superhero movies can be.



For the most part, this remained Thor’s role in the larger story. Yes, he is mighty, and a strong ally for our earthly team, but overall his biggest contribution to the MCU is being an endearing doofus. He infuses a lot of humour into the high-stakes world of superheroing, and he pushes the fun levels to eleven.



The movie began with an introduction to Jane Foster, a beautiful astrophysicist with spunk, Dr. Selvig, a… science doctor I guess, and Darcy, the intern. They’re doing a whole whack of smart things when a storm comes and they drive into it for science, accidentally clipping a hunk with their car.



And wouldn’t you know it – that hunk is Thor! But before we can commence with the Earth antics, we have to learn the backstory.



Way back in the day the Frost Giants decided to take over the nine realms, starting with Earth, but Odin was all, “back off, dudes,” and then peaced out back to Asgard (where the Gods live). For good measure he also took their magic ice gun thing, The Casket of Ancient Winters. It was this he was showing his young sons when he told them the tale. He also mentioned that they’re both great, but only one of them can be King.



Thor got to be King, what with him being the first-born and a warrior, and no other reason why do you ask?



It was clear after about 15 seconds of meeting him that Thor was a bit of a d-bag. Anyway, his coronation was interrupted by some pesky Front Giant spies trying to steal back their ice machine.



Odin was all, “meh, no harm no foul,” but Thor wanted to take the fight to Iceville and teach the Frost Giants a lesson. However, he’s not the king yet, so he doesn’t get to make decisions like that.



Loki 100% manipulated Thor into going to Jotunheim, and Thor in turn convinced his pals – Lady Sif and the Warriors Three – to join him. When they got there, the Frost King revealed that there’s a traitor in Asgard (BUT WHO COULD IT BE???). He benevelantly let them go, but then one of the Jolly Blue Giants insulted Thor, and a fight ensued.



It was not, in fact, going great. They for sure would have died if Odin hadn’t shown up to bring them home.



The Frost King wasn’t about to forgive and forget, so Odin and the gang rainbowed on outta there. Then Odin gave his son hell for starting an intergalactic war. Typical parent stuff.



He cast him out of Asgard, telling his Hammer not to work until Thor had smartened up.



After Jane and Co. hit him with their car they took him to a hospital, believing him to be either drunk, brain damaged, or insane (fair enough). He wasn’t too pleased about it, so the doctors gave him a sedative in the bum!



So not only is he stuck on Earth, but he’s also just a mortal dude with no God-of-Thunder powers, susceptible to the same sleepy-time drugs we are.



Meanwhile, the science squad were nerding when Darcey pointed out a handsome shape floating through a picture of the wormhole. So they went back to the hospital to fetch him because he is now their link to answers about all the science.



But oh no! He escaped from the hospital!



This was very, very funny. He was just wandering outside the hospital after having escaped, and she hit him with her car again.



[Yes, I went back and watched Thor get run over a bunch of times in the same way I went back to watch Iron Man fly into a wall. I’m not proud.]



What was this scene about? I could not tell you. I do know that they part ways and Thor kisses Jane’s hand and she giggles like a schoolgirl, which was very endearing.



Back in Asgard, Loki, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were lamenting Thor’s banishment when Loki told them that he’s the one who told the guard of their little adventure (GASP?). This got them to suspectin’, while Loki went to go fiddle with the Ice Dispenser.



Odin told Loki that he was a souvenir from the war, and it did not go well. Loki got upset, then Odin got upset, and they were yelling, and it was all too much for Odin, so he just laid down and took a nap.



The Odin-sleep is apparently something he does every now and then, but this time it was unplanned, so it’s more dramatic. And since Thor is grounded, Loki made himself King, which went over suuuuuuuper well with everyone.



Lady Sif ain’t taking no guff!



Back on Earth, a bunch of dude-bros were at the crater site trying to lift Thor’s hammer, but then the love of my life Agent Coulson showed up and commandeered everything to do with the situation.



Okay, I’ll admit, if you were coming into this movie blind and this was the first you’d seen of SHIELD, they did not seem like cool dudes, did they? But we know better. *dreamy sigh* We know better.



Thor and Jane went on their first date to the crater site where Thor fought his way to the hammer. Oh, and we met Hawkeye. Hi Clint! Anyway, Thor tired to lift it, but he wasn’t quiiiiiiiiiite worthy yet.



What a day this poor guy had! Not even an interrogation from Coulson could cheer him up! Then to add to Thor’s doldrums, Loki showed up and told him a bunch of bull about Odin being dead and their mother forbidding his return.



Oh Thor, you beautiful dumb-dumb.



The Science Squad liberated him by pretending he’s a scientist, but WHOOPSIE, Coulson ain’t no fool. He knew they were lying but let him go anyway so that he could have him followed.



This was fun! Dr. Selvig told Thor that he’s alright by him, but nonetheless should hit the road before Jane gets too attached. Thor agreed, but this gentleman’s agreement went absolutely nowhere, because by the evening’s end he was cuddled next to Jane on a roof, talkin’ science.



Meanwhile, Loki went to Frost Giant Land and admitted that it was he who let them in during the coronation. I remember the first time I watched this I was just SO MAD, but now I’m like, “well, he had a point!” He let the giants in to delay the coronation because Thor was a doofus who couldn’t lead, and… well, he’s not wrong!



He struck a deal for them to murder Odin so he can be king, and in return he’ll give them back their glowy blue box. Okay NOW I’m mad at him again. Dammit, Loki!



Heimdall is such a card! He “accidentally” left the bifrost open so that Sif and the Warriors Three could go to Earth and help Thor. And it’s a good thing, too, because Loki sent a Sentinel to “destroy everything”.



[Yes, I know, wrong Marvel property, but tell me that robot thing wasn’t a sentinel from X-Men. You can’t!]



Heimdall, being the gallant handsome hero he is, tried to stop Loki from sending it through the bifrost, but he got frozen for his efforts.



On Earth, Thor met up with his pals who spilled the tea on all the happenings up in Asgard, chiefly that his father is alive and Loki is the worst.



Then the Sentinel showed up and they all fought, and Lady Sif was G-D awesome, but in the end it was too much for them, so Thor decided to have a heart to heart with Loki.



And then Thor died and it was sad. THE END. Whew. Marvel got dark, eh, guys?



Nawwwww I’m joshing! He’s Good Guy Thor now, which means he’s worthy of Mjölnir! The hammer came to him and he was all lightening-ed up (even though he’s the god of THUNDER, technically). He tornadoed the sentinel to death, and it was awesome.



But that wasn’t even the climax! The Frost Giants came through the bifrost to kill Odin, but look who double-crossed them.



Loki pretended to save Odin, then used the assassination attempt to justify the complete destruction of his own motherland (a therapist could really have a day with THAT ONE, ammiright). Luckily Heimdall busted out of his ice prison and opened the portal for Thor and Co.



They popped back to Asgard, but not before Thor and Jane smooched.



Then we got a Thor/Loki fight, where Loki used all of his tricks, even pretending to almost fall off the bridge, making Thor lean down to help him (that lovable doofus).



Thor won (obviously) and hilariously put his hammer on Loki to keep him pinned down while he DESTROYED THE BIFROST BRIDGE *sad face*.



Destroying the bifrost saved Frozen-ville, but it also caused an explosion that threw Thor and Loki over the side, leaving them dangling precariously while a newly awoken Odin tried to haul them up.



Loki was NOT having it! Everything he did was to impress his adoptive dad, but Odin was all, “not cool, kid,” so Loki let go of Thor’s hand and floated away into the abyss, never to be seen again *wink*.



It was very sad. And now Thor is stuck in stupid Asgard and can’t even pop to Earth for a smooch whenever he wants. On the upside, he’s cool with his dad now, so that’s nice. Oh, and Heimdall gave him a pep talk that boiled down to, “don’t worry, there’s a sequel.”



All in all, a very fun, entertaining movie that set up The Avengers quite nicely! Speaking of…



Loki is NOT dead, and he is somehow controlling Dr. Selvig, and he’s after the Tesseract. That is a wallop of an after-credits scene!



Thor wasn’t just a fun romp, it also took the MCU to an intergalactic scale, adding elements of power heretofore unheard of. It rose the stakes exponentially, setting up the big bad for the team-up movie, and also introduced us to a literal whole new world.



SOME STUFF



QUESTION – This picture was already tacked to their science board. One of them had to do it. How’d they miss the very obvious man? Did they do it with their eyes closed?

“And who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?” – Sif: “I did.” You guys, do I have a crush on Lady Sif? I believe I do.

“Meu meu? What’s meu meu?” will never not be funny to me.

“I knew this scientist, a pioneer in gamma radiation. SHIELD showed up, and he wasn’t heard from again.” Talkin’ about Bruce Banner, ya’ll!

If Loki is a Frost Giant, and not the real son of Odin, then how is he still a god? Are his God-like powers nature or nurture?

I see you, Sitwell! *frown* I see you.

“This mortal form has grown weak. I need sustenance!” is my new catchphrase.

I absolutely love that Thor is kind of a dummy. Part of me wonders if this was intentional to balance the scales. Thor is a literal God. He’s too powerful to fit into the team. I think they had to make him a bit of a doof so audiences wouldn’t take him too seriously; so we wouldn’t start to wonder why every problem wasn’t solved with a swing of his mighty hammer.

What happened with the war with the Frost Giants? Is that still on, or…?

Kenneth Branagh was the absolute perfect choice as director of this movie.

Would you agree to an intergalactic long-distance relationship with someone you just met? Sounds like drama, but you do you, I guess.



