In Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel Finally Remembered That Thor Can Be Serious

The 2nd teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday is presently playing successful beforehand of Avatar: Fire and Ash successful theaters. This time, it’s Chris Hemsworth’s Thor who enjoys the spotlight, arsenic helium prays to his precocious begetter and seeks to reunite with his girl Love (India Rose Hemsworth). Clearly, each is not good successful New Asgard.

In fact, the biggest takeaway from this little caller footage is that Thor himself is mired successful a newfound darkness. As acold arsenic we’re concerned, that tin lone mean bully things for Doomsday. Thor is simply a quality who needs a small acheronian to equilibrium retired the levity, and it’s astir clip that Marvel remembered that.

Thor’s Inconsistent MCU History

Hemsworth’s Thor is surely 1 of the astir salient characters successful the MCU. He’s headlined nary less than 4 solo films and played a cardinal relation successful each 4 Avengers movies. Yet arsenic often arsenic Thor pops up successful the MCU, Marvel seems to person a existent occupation with nailing down his characterization and striking a accordant code with his adventures.

Look astatine however wildly antithetic those Thor movies are successful presumption of benignant and voice. The archetypal 2 are acold much dramatic, adjacent Shakespearean. That attack worked retired beauteous good for 2011’s Thor and overmuch little truthful for 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. It helps that the erstwhile had a manager of Kenneth Branagh’s stature astatine the helm.

But the franchise took a decidedly much comedic crook erstwhile Taika Waititi took implicit with 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi truly leaned into Thor’s sillier broadside there. A batch of MCU fans seemed to link with that approach, certainly, judging from the captious and commercialized reaction. But adjacent if Ragnarok proved to beryllium the astir purely entertaining Thor movie to date, it does rise the question of however silly is excessively silly. At times, the movie undercuts its much dramatically weighty moments. Case successful point, nary sooner does Asgard detonate into fiery ruin than Waititi’s Korg pops successful with a goofy one-liner.

Ragnarok’s successor, 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, doubled down connected that approach, overmuch to its detriment. Despite adapting immoderate of Marvel’s implicit champion Thor comics (Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder and The Mighty Thor), Love and Thunder squandered that worldly connected a publication that is acold excessively inane and joke-y for its ain good. Can a superhero movie go truthful silly that it’s nary longer adjacent funny? Yes, apparently.

Of Thor’s galore MCU appearances, lone 1 movie has truly managed to nail his characterization and onslaught that captious equilibrium betwixt wit and pathos. That would beryllium 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. If Ragnarok undercut the play successful Asgard’s destruction, Infinity War astatine slightest explores the affectional fallout well. Hemsworth delivers his champion Thor show here, coating a representation of a weary king trying to enactment a bully look connected things contempt falling truthful accelerated and truthful far.

Even the sequel, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, struggled a spot successful carrying that torch. For each country that truly dials successful connected Thor coming to presumption with his implicit failure, determination are 3 oregon 4 abdominous jokes. Still, it’s wide that directors Joe and Anthony Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely recognize the quality amended than anyone successful the MCU astatine this point.

Thor successful Avengers: Doomsday

That’s 1 large vantage of the information that Avengers: Doomsday is getting the bulk of the set backmost together. The Russos are backmost successful the directors’ chairs, and McFeely is co-writing alongside Loki’s Michael Waldron. The imaginable is determination to yet close the Viking vessel and reconstruct Thor to the cinematic greatness helium enjoyed successful Infinity War.

If this caller teaser is immoderate indication, they’re good connected their mode to achieving that goal. The 2nd teaser is akin successful benignant to the archetypal Steve Rogers teaser, striking a somber temper and dialing successful connected 1 character. We spot Thor praying to his precocious father, Anthony Hopkins’ Odin, arsenic helium seeks to beryllium reunited with his adopted daughter, Love.

“Of each the crowns, the kingdoms, the pride, I inquire for none,” Thor says successful his monologue. “Father, perceive your son. I americium not worthy of life, but still, I beg you to fto the thread lengthen. Not for thunder, not for war… fto maine stay agelong capable to spot my Love erstwhile more.”

Now this is simply a due thunder god. The quips and the wit are yet gone, replaced by a begetter profoundly committed to the singular ngo of reuniting with his daughter. This is simply a Thor who has a regal quality, yet is humbled by his past failures and losses. The pained, grieving leader of Infinity War is yet back.

Obviously, we tin lone justice Hemsworth’s Thor truthful overmuch by a single, minute-long teaser. We inactive don’t cognize precisely however Thor fits into the crippled oregon what his nonstop beef with Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom is (we tin hopefully speculate much connected that beforehand erstwhile the rumored Doom-centric teaser hits adjacent week). And, to beryllium sure, Hemsworth is going to beryllium jockeying for surface clip with a monolithic formed of heroes. Will determination adjacent beryllium country to springiness Thor the attraction helium deserves?

But this teaser is thing if not an encouraging motion for Thor fans. After a large misstep with the astir caller Thor film, things look to beryllium getting backmost connected way arsenic the Odinson reunites with his Avengers buddies. And, with immoderate luck, a fewer tears volition beryllium shed erstwhile Thor inevitably reunites with his wayward brother, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.

Now bring connected the adjacent Doomsday teaser.

For more, spot wherefore we’re feeling discouraged by Chris Evans’ instrumentality successful the archetypal Avengers: Doomsday teaser.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.