I feel like the studio wasn't really sure how to handle the entire mythos when they got started. Is it magic? Is it science? Aliens? Gods? The MCU never seemed terribly comfortable with Asgard and all the trappings that go with it.
And I get that; ten years ago, not sure if the shared universe would hold up or if they could successfully bridge the gap between Iron Man's sci-fi and Thor's fantasy...I don't blame them for not having a clear cut idea of what they wanted to do or what direction they'd take. And then the first couple Thor films didn't blow people away and that opened the doors for some course correcting that has led us into some really weird territory.
I feel like MCU Thor is what happens when you don't have a clear vision but there's obvious room for improvement.
At this point I kinda feel the same way about Thor's MCU mythos as Loki does about sentiment; easier to just let it burn.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
I mean, I think the first Thor film had a decent balance between "magical" and "science" without taking a hardline stance one way or another and introducing the basics on Asgard. The Dark World just dropped the ball by not really expanding much on it in an interesting way.
And they just blew it all up in the third movie.
First film straddled the line well enough, but I wouldn't say they did a "great" job of it either. I mean, they did a good job establishing Asgard's visual aesthetic and all that, but I feel like they were worried about the "magic/myth" component and how to really integrate it, especially in regards to how Thor fit in the (still infant) shared universe, and in the end there's stuff that feels largely like a half-measure where they refused to truly commit one way or the other.
And in Dark World you can see them clearly shifting away from fantasy and towards sci-fi, with space ships and laser guns. That film did drop the ball, as you say, but Iron Man 2 dropped the ball too and you didn't see Marvel completely change gears after that. They knew who and what Tony was, but I think their vision of Thor was fuzzy around the edges.
I just feel like Thor is a franchise the studio has never really had a solid grip on, compared to the rest. You look at Iron Man or Cap or any other franchise and you can see a clear vision that persists across the movies even as the character arcs move them into different places, while Thor felt a bit less clearly defined even before Ragnarok. And of course, the Thor films weren't among the more successful IP's either so there was likely effort to rectify that and change what wasn't working with audiences. And in the end they just decided to fold Thor into the GotG framework of space-based science fiction and bad jokes.
And to a degree that works. Ragnarok was successful (and despite its flaws I love it), Thor and the Guardians were a highlight of Infinity War, and at this point I feel like Thor fits among that group better than he does the Avengers. I'm cool with the outer space pirate angel and I hope to see Hemsworth in Guardians 3. But I don't think the studio really knew how to handle the IP and that's why there's been such a shift in tone and theme and genre. Hell, Endgame's talk about "everyone fails at who they're supposed to be, what matters is being who you're meant to be" could be seen as a metacommentary on this.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
If thor's strongest move is the GodBlast, I think his second strongest move should be the one where he charges up his hammer by swinging it in circles, gathering lightning and then striking with the momentum
https://comicnewbies.com/2015/09/28/thor-vs-nul/
Capable of stunning Nul
https://comicnewbies.com/2015/01/30/...s-the-phoenix/
Stunning phoenix.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/aa...c47073ac59.jpg
KOing wonder-man
Which I think makes sense for an initial movie at the time, but there was still an openness to go more into the mystical aspect at a later point.
I think it's definitely accurate that Marvel Studios didn't quite know what to do with Thor. Frankly, I'm still not convinced they know what to do with Thor. Even between Infinity War and Endgame he feels like a completely different character.And in Dark World you can see them clearly shifting away from fantasy and towards sci-fi, with space ships and laser guns. That film did drop the ball, as you say, but Iron Man 2 dropped the ball too and you didn't see Marvel completely change gears after that. They knew who and what Tony was, but I think their vision of Thor was fuzzy around the edges.
I just feel like Thor is a franchise the studio has never really had a solid grip on, compared to the rest. You look at Iron Man or Cap or any other franchise and you can see a clear vision that persists across the movies even as the character arcs move them into different places, while Thor felt a bit less clearly defined even before Ragnarok. And of course, the Thor films weren't among the more successful IP's either so there was likely effort to rectify that and change what wasn't working with audiences. And in the end they just decided to fold Thor into the GotG framework of space-based science fiction and bad jokes.
And to a degree that works. Ragnarok was successful (and despite its flaws I love it), Thor and the Guardians were a highlight of Infinity War, and at this point I feel like Thor fits among that group better than he does the Avengers. I'm cool with the outer space pirate angel and I hope to see Hemsworth in Guardians 3. But I don't think the studio really knew how to handle the IP and that's why there's been such a shift in tone and theme and genre. Hell, Endgame's talk about "everyone fails at who they're supposed to be, what matters is being who you're meant to be" could be seen as a metacommentary on this.
I mean, if you're fine with the more comedic bent, Thor with the Guardians works but that just doesn't do it for me personally. I got enough of that with their revamp of the Guardians to begin with. I hope he's not in Vol. 3.
I miss his using the antiforce, really would have worked a treat on his fight with the sentry given Roberts weakness to negative zone energy
Just a good power
And the time he channeled the magnetic power of a planet into a blast, or his mentioning the lorn bolt
So many things have been forgotten in the last few years
I remember the time he spun his hammer so fast the air ignited around it, utterly brilliant
I do love the lighting thing you detailed, very cool
Last edited by kilderkin; 07-04-2020 at 09:30 AM.
I really felt the big problem with her solo film, once she got her powers, was that they didn't challenge her, the villains and thereat were subpar imo, she wasn't really challenged in endgame either , given how she has been described I'm not sure how they are gonna fix that, coz as far as her being interesting, plot wise power wise, that's gonna hit hard too often for me
I don't think antiforce is related to the negative zone or antimatter
It just appears to be some sort of force. He used it i think first in thor 142? (correct me if im wrong) to bfr super skrull and then I think the biggest application was mangogg and thanos
But it should be somewhat more unique than just another big blast. Part of the problem is redundancy. What's one big blast compared to another? Why use antiforce to bfr instead of powerful winds? Why use antiforce or the magnetic energy of a planet thing instead of Godblast? This is why those things have fallen out of common use in part.