Thor is one of the MCU’s most prolific heroes, but rewatching his 8 franchise appearances highlights some harsh truths about the God of Thunder.

Though Thor has earned a place as one of the MCU’s foremost heroes, there are also some harsh realities that come to light when rewatching his eight franchise appearances. Introduced early in the MCU’s movie timeline, Thor has proven himself one of the franchise’s most significant and substantial heroes. Having played a role in almost every significant event within the franchise, Thor is practically MCU royalty and is often cited as one of the strongest and most popular Avengers.

However, when rewatching Thor’s eight appearances in the movies of the MCU, a few unpleasant truths about the character become clear. When it comes to Thor’s arc, there are multiple issues with Marvel’s God of Thunder and the MCU’s presentation of him, and these are often overlooked by many. Though Thor remains one of the MCU’s best and funniest heroes, here are 10 harsh realities of watching his eight appearances in the franchise.

10. Thor’s Sillier Aspects Overshadow His Narrative Importance

Thor’s Funniest Moments Distract From His Overall Franchise Role

Perhaps the most apparent of the harsh realities about Thor in the MCU stems from the way the franchise treats him. After the events of Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor became one of the MCU’s funniest characters, thanks in part to the contributions of Taika Waititi. Unfortunately, the franchise’s use of Thor for comic relief has made him far sillier than he once was, and this conceals his overall importance to the MCU.

As a founding Avenger and a literal god, Thor is one of the most powerful and important heroes in the franchise. However, since becoming the MCU’s main source of comic relief, Thor’s importance has taken a back seat, becoming secondary to his ability to make audiences laugh. This has ultimately distracted from his key role in the franchise’s timeline, and will likely continue to do so in the future.

9. Thor’s Character Shift Saved Him From Being The Dullest Hero In The MCU

Before Ragnarok, Thor Was Painfully Boring

Despite the unfortunate side effects of Thor’s comedic shift, it still proved to be his saving grace within the MCU. Rewatching his earlier appearances in Thor, The Avengers, and Thor: The Dark World highlights just how boring the God of Thunder initially was. Written as he was to have limited experience of Earth and something of an inflated ego, Thor was initially one of the MCU’s most boring figures.

Rewatching Thor’s first MCU outings highlights how dull the character can be. Even in a brilliantly-written movie like The Avengers, Thor seems entirely unremarkable, and his presence is only truly felt when he’s the butt of another character’s jokes. Though reworking his character to make him funnier may not have been the perfect choice, it certainly made Thor much more interesting than he initially was in the MCU’s earlier days.

8. Thor Has A Problem Defeating Villains Without Help

Thor Has Yet To Defeat A Major Villain Without Support

Across his appearances in the MCU, Thor has faced many powerful villains. Rewatching his appearances in the franchise actually highlights a pretty harsh reality about the hero, however, as he has distinct problems with defeating villains in one-on-one situations. In fact, Thor has proven unable to defeat villains without either direct support or singular strokes of luck.

In Thor, he is killed by the Destroyer before being able to vanquish it with the help of the Warriors Three, and then only defeats Loki when the villain chooses to drift into space rather than be saved. In The Dark World, Thor needs Loki’s help to beat Malekith, and in Ragnarok, he calls in Surtur to destroy Asgard due to his inability to defeat Hela. Love and Thunder sees Thor unable to defeat Gorr even with the help of Jane Foster, and the villain ultimately chooses to spare Thor’s life to save his own daughter.

7. There Are Multiple Problematic Elements Of Thor’s Story

Thor’s Story Is Far From Wholesome

There are many things that no MCU fan will admit about Thor, including the more problematic aspects of his MCU characterization. Throughout the first two Thor movies, the hero acts as an agent of Odin’s, before learning of his father’s bloody conquest of the Nine Realms. Having been a powerful enforcer for a galactic tyrant isn’t a good look for a hero, and is just one of the more unfortunate subtexts of Thor’s story.

Since then, Thor has been body-shamed after gaining weight and then subsequently objectified after getting back into shape. In a sense, the franchise’s mishandling of multiple Thor moments has actually made him one of the MCU’s most problematic heroes. This is not only due to his in-universe story, but also to the way the franchise has depicted him across his eight appearances.

6. Thor Wasn’t Initially Worthy Of His Power (& Possibly Isn’t Anymore)

Odin Bestowed Powers On Thor He Didn’t Deserve

The driving force behind Thor’s narrative in 2011 was that Odin didn’t feel his son was worthy of his power. The God of Thunder’s first outing surrounded him earning back his abilities by becoming a worthy hero, establishing him as an important figure within the MCU as a result. Not only was Thor not worthy when he was first introduced into the franchise, but he would likely be deemed no longer worthy if Odin were still alive.

Odin’s initial reasons for taking Thor’s powers were that he was arrogant and cruel. Considering his actions after the events of Infinity War and through Love and Thunder, it’s possible that Odin would still see him arrogant, and likely as selfish for declining to rule his people. Thor’s character arc has been substantial, but it has effectively come full circle in some ways, and that reflects poorly on Marvel’s God of Thunder.

5. Jane Foster’s Potential Was Completely Wasted Alongside Thor

The Mighty Thor Deserved Better In The MCU

Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster was first introduced in 2011’s Thor as a love interest for the titular hero. Her role as a prominent astrophysicist on Earth made her an important supporting character in the MCU, although she was ultimately underutilized. Even so, the MCU opted to bestow the powers of Thor upon her for Thor: Love and Thunder, finally giving her the opportunity to assume the mantle of The Mighty Thor.

Unfortunately, Foster’s tenure as a hero was short-lived, and she died in Thor: Love and Thunder’s ending. Not only was she never given the opportunity to emerge from Thor’s shadow as a hero in her own right, but she was only given an incredibly short arc within the MCU. Upon rewatching, it’s all too clear that the MCU thoroughly wasted the character of Jane Foster.

4. Thor’s Best Supporting Characters Have All Been Killed Off

The Most Interesting Asgardians Have All Died

Since Thor’s initial introduction, he has had many supporting characters across his eight franchise appearances. Rewatching his MCU movies outline the franchise’s treatment of these characters, which appears to be a systemic waste of their potential. As well as multiple underused supporting characters, a surprising amount of Thor’s allies were killed off far too soon, cutting his ties with Asgard early in the MCU’s own timeline.

In Thor: The Dark World, Thor’s mother Frigga was killed by Malekith’s forces. Thor: Ragnarok then saw Odin die, followed by Heimdall and Thor’s best friends, the Warriors Three. Loki was killed off at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, only to be brought back in a separate timeline to his adoptive brother. Love and Thunder then saw Jane Foster die, too, establishing a clear pattern of unnecessary loss and the wastage of many of Thor’s most interesting supporting characters.

3. Thor Is The Least Intelligent Avenger

Thor Is One Of The MCU’s Dumbest Heroes

Despite being one of the most prominent and strongest Avengers, Thor is far from the most important figure in the team of heroes. Thor served as one of the MCU’s founding Avengers, helping Earth’s mightiest heroes to thwart Loki’s plans to invade and conquer the Earth with an army of Chitauri. Though he played a role in the formation of the team, he’s actually the franchise’s dumbest Avenger.

Written as he is for maximum comedic effect, Thor’s intelligence has been repeatedly downplayed within the MCU. Even before that, he was no tactician, simply wading into hordes of enemies and using his substantial powers to fight them off. From his earliest appearance in the MCU, Thor has been repeatedly outsmarted by Loki, other villains, and even his fellow heroes, and rewatching his franchise appearances highlights that he’s the MCU’s dumbest Avenger.

2. Thor Abandoned His People When They Needed Him Most

Leaving The Asgardians And Abandoning His Rule Was A Bad Moment For Thor

Introduced as the favored son of Odin and the preferred heir to Asgard’s throne, Thor once coveted his future position as King of Asgard. However, as his tragic MCU story played out, Thor’s priorities shifted, and his allegiance to Earth as well as Asgard played an increasingly large role in his choices. By the time Odin died in Thor: Ragnarok, Thor was an entirely different type of hero. Once Thanos appeared in Avengers: Infinity War, Thor had all but decided to relinquish his claim on Asgard’s Throne.

It’s an understandable choice but an incredibly selfish one. Asgard’s survivors looked to Thor for guidance, and he instead turned his back on his people and left them behind. Thor’s decision to abandon Asgard in its time of need paints him as a far less heroic figure than he’s often considered, as he fails to provide for his people in the way he was once expected to do.

1. Thor Is Clearly Not A Team Player

Thor Doesn’t Work Well With Others

Thor has many heroic traits, but co-operation is not among them. In fact, every time Thor works as part of team, he creates tension among his fellow heroes through various means. His arrogance and his inflated sense of self-importance combined with his stubborn nature and overconfidence to make Thor something of a liability, even when surrounded by other powerful heroes.

Thor is painted as a spoiled prince of Asgard who has always been accustomed to his power. Thor’s air of privilege and entitlement often causes friction between the God of Thunder and his teammates, and even in Avengers movies, Thor generally fights alone. Though Thor is a lovable figure within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, rewatching his appearances alongside various teams of heroes highlights the harsh reality that he simply isn’t a team player and doesn’t work well with others.