MCU: It’s Time for Thor to Assume the Role of ‘Cosmic Dad’
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an extremely popular film and TV franchise, it ultimately is still based on the comic books. As a result, the movies and shows adapt many of the plot lines from the comics, and one thing that Marvel is just starting to do is adapting the stories about passing the torch.
In the comics, superheroes can get old, die, retire, etc, and that’s exactly what happened in Avengers: Endgame.
After that happens, another character will typically take up the mantle and become a new superhero with the same name. Marvel fans think that’s exactly what Chris Hemsworth’s Thor should do in the next Marvel movies.
The end of the Avengers
Like its name implied, Avengers: Endgame was the end of the line for many of the original Avengers. The first Avengers movie had Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, the Hulk, Thor, and Hawkeye. After Endgame though, three of those original Avengers are either dead or retired, and the other three seem to be retiring as well.
The Hulk could be retiring for a lot of reasons, but that’s not set in stone right now. Similarly, Hawkeye, who’s always been a family man, seems like he will retire to live on his farm. Thor, on the other hand, ended the movie on a more upbeat note as he joined the crew of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Avengers pass the torch
When a superhero’s story is over in the comics, typically, someone close to them will take up their mantle. For example, in Endgame, after Steve Rogers retired from being Captain America, he gave his shield to his friend, Falcon. In the comics, Falcon became the new Captain America, and that seems to be the same story in the MCU.
Similarly, like Marvel fans on Reddit wrote, the other original Avengers have their own characters to pass their mantle to. For instance, Hawkeye’s daughter, in the comics, becomes the new Hawkeye, and that seems to be Marvel’s plan for Hawkeye’s Disney+ show, too.
Thor, likewise, has a similar storyline in the comics where he passes his mantle to someone else. However, because Thor can live for thousands of years, he doesn’t run into the same age issues as the rest of the Avengers do. That said, in the comics, he does pass the torch to someone else, and that seems to be what Marvel will do in his next movie.
Thor and Jane in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
Currently, the next Thor movie seems to be adapting the storyline in the comics where Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, becomes Thor. In the comics, the original Thor doesn’t die, and in all likelihood, that won’t happen either in the movie.
In order to make things less confusing, Jane’s Thor will be known as the Mighty Thor, while Chris Hemsworth’s Thor will probably be referred to as Thor or by his last name, Odinson.
Marvel fans on Reddit generally love this idea, as Portman is not only a great actress, but this also takes Thor’s story in a new direction.
On top of that, like Marvel fans said, this gives Thor a chance to take up a new mantle for himself. Since Thor’s father, Odin, who was played by Anthony Hopkins, is dead, Thor could become the new Odin of sorts.
Odin was kind of a “cosmic dad”, according to Marvel fans. He watched over the nine realms and he only intervened when something terrible was happening. This could be a good fit for Thor, as Odin’s job required a lot of wisdom and patience, things that Thor typically aren’t known for.
That said, other fans think that Portman’s Thor won’t last forever, so Hemsworth may be playing regular Thor soon enough.
