‘Avengers: Infinity War’: Why Did Thor Take Stormbreaker to Wakanda?
When audiences ask a question about a plot hole or some other leap of logic, the all-encompassing answer to that question is “The movie would be a lot shorter.” In the case of Avengers: Infinity War, when fans ask “Why did Thor take Stormbreaker to Wakanda?” the answer might be “The movie would be a lot less fun if he didn’t.”
In a saga that was already more than 5 hours long (or even longer if you count all 23 of the MCU movies), there was undoubtedly some streamlining of the story. But in the end, if the movie had panned out differently, we might not have gotten that dramatic entrance Thor made with Stormbreaker, Groot, and Rocket.
Fans debate Stormbreaker
A fan on Reddit spotted a potential leap of logic, writing, “Thanos is on Titan with 4 stones fighting for the 5th, while Wakanda only had one stone. After what Stormbreaker did to the entire gauntlet firing at it he almost certainly would have helped bring victory on Titan vs 4 with having another stone on his side. Also how does Thor know to go to Wakanda at all?”
One fan answered, “This is what I think probably happened:
Thor still thinks the Avengers are together
Thor knows two stones are on Earth
Thor knows the Avengers would probably be fighting to defend them
Thor knows Steve is the leader, so Thor teleports himself to Steve. And at that moment Steve is in Wakanda.”
Other fans referred to the Bifrost, the bridge that connects Asgard to Earth. One said, Maybe the Bifrost can only take you to the Nine Worlds. Earth is one of them, Titan is not.
That explanation seems to fall under the precept of Occam’s Razor. That sounds like another device that’s on Asgard, but it’s a philosophy that states that all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the correct one.
Thor’s entrance into Wakanda is a fan favorite
The simplest explanation may not have to abide by comic book/superhero logic at all, which is arguably for the better. It might be that after a long time being separated from the other Avengers, Thor needed to get back to them and make his re-entrance in the most dramatic fashion possible. Landing on Wakanda with Stormbreaker, a talking tree and a raccoon wielding a gun certainly accomplish that.
Fans discussed this on a different Reddit thread, talking about how it must have seemed to the other Avengers. It had been only a few months since movie audiences saw Thor, but it had been several years since the other Avengers saw him, and he showed up just when they needed him most. So another answer to the question of “Why go to Wakanda? Is, “It makes for a more dramatic entrance.”
As a fan put it, “Besides Banner, no one knew where he was. Then you hear from Banner he was last seen getting his ass kicked by Thanos. The Wakanda battle is not going in your favor and all seems lost. Then Thor, hair cut off and carrying a big axe shows up in a lightning storm. If you’re Steve or Natasha, you are not only relieved but in absolute awe.”
Thor tends to hesitate to a fault
Another point to consider is that Thor’s visit to Wakanda ultimately didn’t do him or anybody else good in the end. Thor tried his best, but as Thanos put it, he should have gone for the head. His failure to kill Thanos probably would have happened on Titan too, but on Wakanda, the sight of his comrades vanishing into thin air makes the moment more dramatic.
This will play out again to some extent in Thor: Love and Thunder. While the plot of that movie is not entirely known, we do know Natalie Portman will become Thor and be able to wield Mjolnir. This will mean that Thor is no longer deemed worthy to hold the hammer. Whether this is because of his prior failures or because of some new dilemma, remains to be seen when the movie comes out in February of 2022.
