The MCU’s Insulting Portayals of Thor

Marvel’s Thor is a lot like Superman, except he is a literal God from Norse mythology. Marvel Comics adopted him in the most literal form and the MCU followed suit …kind of. I’ve seen plenty of videos that criticize his cinematic portrayal when compared with the comics and I thought I’d simply give my two cents after I’ve seen Gunn’s Superman.

I’m rather open minded with movie adoptions of comic book or literature because that’s all I’ve ever been exposed to. I’ve been even more forgiving since discovering the Bourne trilogy was nothing like the books but both myself and mom, who told me this fact, like it anyway. But despite having not grown up around Marvel’s or DC’s comics until recently, I’ve been rather on the fence with how I felt with the MCU’s treatment of Thor.

The showrunners really did seem to suffer the same problem DC has had with Superman in pretty much every cinematic adoption (sans the messianic allegories) and the character suffered greatly as a result. Like by the time we get to Love & Thunder, not only is this character we’ve been invested in for nearly a decade now the least favourite among audiences but he is hated within his own shared world after Endgame.

And it’s pretty obvious where they were getting at when evolving his character in the long term. He suffered the loss of his parents, adopted brother and home so he is naturally falling into a gradual depression. Marvel and their cinematic counterpart did a very good job deconstructing the character to be more lovable and relatable compared to his rather questionable Norse origins. But instead of treating his loss with the seriousness it deserves and properly reconstructing him to be better than where he was, the MCU goes out of their way to make him the butt of every joke.

So how is Marvel’s Thor like Superman? They both originate from an alien world, their home is (eventually) destroyed and they have to adapt to life on Earth. Thor’s family weren’t exactly the kindest people in Norse mythology while it usually depends on the adoption for Superman’s.

And yet Gunn’s Superman owns up to his weakness, his limitations, and fears while rejecting his genocidal Kryptonian parents. The MCU does none of that with Thor. You’d think they would at least give him the bare minimum and have him evolve after being paired with Rocket (especially once you know his backstory) but noope. It is such an insult to anyone actually dealing with depression and anxiety.