"Thor: Love and Thunder" has goats, a guy called Gorr, two Thors, and Easter eggs galore.
Did you spot "The Watcher"?
Why is that fallen god so familiar?
Keep watching for all the small details you may have missed.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
Taika Waititi likes to give cameos to trusted friends and actors whom he's worked with before
— which often means fellow New Zealanders.
This time, it's Jonathan Brugh's turn.
Brugh was Waititi's co-star in the 2014 film version of "What We Do in the Shadows," the
vampire mockumentary that's now a cult-hit TV series.
In "Thor: Love and Thunder," Brugh plays Rapu, the god that forsook Gorr and his people.
Maybe we'll see Jemaine Clement pop up in Thor 5…
While working out with some comically enormous battle chains, Thor wears a gray undershirt
and a trucker cap with a graphic that reads "THE AVENGERS" with the names "THOR," "ANT-MAN,"
"HULK," and "IRON MAN" in red star bubbles overhead.
Like a child, Thor has crossed out the three names that aren't his, plus the word "THE,"
and he's scribbled the word "STRONGEST" in Sharpie so the hat now says "THOR!
STRONGEST AVENGER."
This is a callback to a scene from "Thor: Ragnarok" when he tries to restart the Quinjet
that Hulk crashed on Sakaar in order to escape.
While trying to use voice recognition software to unlock the system, he says "Thor," then
"Thor, son of Odin," then "God of Thunder" to the computer screen, which buzzes as if
the password is incorrect each time.
Finally, he tries this: "Strongest Avenger."
"Access denied."
"Strongest Avenger."
"Access denied."
"Damn you Stark."
Of course, once Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner and engages with the computer, the
computer system greets him thusly: "Welcome, strongest Avenger."
"Uh, what?"
Apparently, Thor still hasn't gotten over it.
It's a treat that the Asgardian acting troupe — featuring Chris Hemsworth's brother Luke
as Thor, Matt Damon as Loki, and Sam Neill as Odin — is back for "Thor: Love and Thunder."
But they aren't the only famous actors treading the boards this time around.
Joining Hemsworth, Damon, and Neill is Melissa McCarthy — portraying Hela from "Thor Ragnarok,"
while Ben Falcone— McCarthy's real life husband and frequent creative collaborator
— is directing the whole thing, and takes a bow with the actors at the end.
When the much anticipated teaser trailer for "Thor: Love and Thunder" finally dropped,
one shot caught the attention of fans who were well-versed in Thor comics.
It was already known that the plot would follow Thor's efforts to stop Gorr the God Butcher
from exterminating the gods, himself included.
The storyline was largely borrowed from the comic "Thor: God of Thunder," which began
in 2012 and quickly became a fan-favorite.
In fact, the main changes are some omissions, a condensed timeline, and some tweaks to character
designs.
Gorr still becomes the God Butcher after his last child starves, he starts by killing a
golden god, and it takes multiple Thors to defeat him.
In both the comics and the film, Falligar the Behemoth is one of his victims.
In showing us what became of Falligar, Waititi composed a shot that's nearly identical to
a panel from "Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 3."
The mountainous body of the god of the Galactic Frontier lies on its side with mouth gaping
and blood trickling from its nostrils, its rocky, icy spikes pointing diagonally to the
sky.
Thor stands on the taller of two snow-covered monoliths, distraught at the death of his
friend at the hands of Gorr, who's still out there on his quest to kill every last god.
The only difference is the addition of Korg in the movie version, who isn't accompanying
Thor on this particular adventure in the comics.
The village of Tonsberg has been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe dating all the
way back to 2011's "Thor" when Odin and the Asgardians defend it against the Frost Giants
who want to take over the nine realms, starting with this seaside outpost in 965.
After Asgard — the place, not the people — falls in "Thor: Ragnarok," the Norse gods
relocate to Tonsberg and rename it after their own realm.
Fast forward to about 2025, and New Asgard is a Disney World-like tourist destination
with relics, rides, shows, souvenirs, and cruise ships lining the shore.
King Valkyrie and Miek — both wearing smart business suits — preside over this booming
economy.
What's really interesting is that the use of Tonsberg as the MCU's New Asgard is evidence
of some excellent research.
Tonsberg, which is a real place with about 32,000 residents, is the oldest city in Norway
with deep connections to Viking history.
If you visit, you'll see two Viking ships, dating back to the 9th century, on display
in the harbor.
The port city was a vital trading hub then and is a modernized commercial center — especially
for cheese — and a tourist stop now.
No word on whether there's a Mjolnir display, though.
In "Thor: Love and Thunder," our hero acquires his new pets as a traditional gift of thanks
after he drives off alien invaders.
"They're giant goats!"
"Look at those, they are wonderful."
"Yes they are.
They also scream quite a lot."
Supersized screaming goats are exactly the kind of nonsensical yet hysterical flourish
that you might expect from a Taika Waititi movie, but these creatures actually first
appeared in Marvel comics in the 1960s, and their mythological legacy dates back even
further — to the 1200s.
According to 2011's "Journey into Mystery #623," Loki tricked his brother into thinking
that everyone would be impressed if he could tame goats instead of horses, which earned
the God of Thunder ridicule instead of respect.
But Thor and his horned trusty steeds would have the last laugh.
The goats, named Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, were imbued with magic.
Not only can they easily pull their master's chariot whether on land, in the air, through
space, or to alternate dimensions, they're also intensely loyal and can communicate with
Thor, and they can be resurrected by Mjolnir.
The Thor of Norse mythology has two mystical goats, too.
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr make their debut in the Poetic Edda, in a tale called "Thor's
Journey to Utgard."
A poor farmer bestows them upon him, as they can be eaten then resurrected so long as their
bones aren't broken.
Delicious.
For most of his nine appearances in the MCU, Chris Hemsworth's Thor has dressed in darker
colors or more casually than his comics counterpart.
From "Thor" to "Avengers: Age of Ultron," his costumes are like muted versions of 2007's
"Thor" comic book reboot and 2002's "The Ultimates."
But the MCU's Thor spends a lot of time in tank tops, hoodies, and leather vests.
Marvel Studios has been particularly hesitant to cover Hemsworth's flowing blonde locks
and close-up worthy face.
He's rarely been outfitted with a headpiece on film, even though he regularly wears one
in print.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" puts Hemsworth through a whole fashion show's worth of costume changes.
Among them are some vintage looks that fans have been waiting to see brought to life on
the big screen.
In the montage that plays as Korg narrates, a teenage Thor wearing Jack Kirby's original
1962 design can be seen running through a sunlight forest, complete with silver winged
helm.
Later, when Thor sees Jane in her Mighty Thor-accurate get up, he switches to more colorful red,
gold, and blue armor, featuring a geometric, heavy-duty helmet that obscures everything
except his eyes and mouth.
Hemsworth doesn't keep it on for long, but this costume looks like a throwback to 1998's
"Thor Vol. 2 #44" in which the character adopts a new helmet that's a combination of his own
and Odin's, when it's his turn to rule.
As Odin is gone and Thor is called to serve again, it's an appropriate choice.
Finding ways to get superheroes in their comic book costumes seems to be a running theme
in Phase 4.
Early in the film, Valkyrie wears an oversized "Phantom of the Opera" sweatshirt.
The popular Andrew Lloyd Webber show, which is the longest-running musical in history,
doesn't have any obvious connections to Marvel or Norse mythology.
This reference, which is both hard to miss and hard to interpret, is all about Tessa
Thompson.
As actors often do, Thompson imagined a rich backstory for her character.
She reasoned that while living amongst humans, Valkyrie would've taken an interest in some
of their hobbies, and Thompson decided that Valkyrie became a fan of musical theater — which
she explained at the "Thor: Love and Thunder" premiere.
"She loves musical theater, which is why she's wearing the phantom of the opera sweatshirt.”
"Thor: Ragnarok" brought a multitude of new characters into the MCU, including Korg and
Miek, who provided some of the film's best comic relief, and quickly became fan favorites.
The former has a much larger role in "Thor: Love and Thunder," where he's become Thor's
"best friend" as they adventure with the Guardians of the Galaxy, while the latter has been serving
in King Valkyrie's administration.
Korg's personality and physiology are fairly easy to grasp (he's an affable rock guy),
while Miek's require closer inspection.
The character first appeared in "The Incredible Hulk Vol. 3 #92."
In the comics, Miek is a Sakaaran insectoid who can metamorphose, and who's enslaved after
his family is murdered.
The Miek that we meet in "Thor: Ragnarok" is being held captive by the Grandmaster and
forced to fight in his gladiator pits.
His body's been retrofitted with a metal exoskeleton that's given him blades for hands.
But, in "Thor: Love and Thunder," Miek's undergone quite the transformation.
The purple insectoid is female now.
She wears a skirt suit with a blouse with a bow at the neck.
There's precedence for this in the comics, too.
At one point, due to exposure to chaos energy, Miek switches genders and can lay eggs.
Taika Waititi has also given her some new appendages.
Presumably for her duties as King Valkyrie's assistant, her exoskeleton has been updated
with dry erase markers which she uses to take notes during Thor's speech.
"Oh god.
We're gonna die."
When fans first caught a glimpse of Zeus in the trailer for "Thor: Love and Thunder,"
most assumed he was ruling over Olympus.
But that floating, golden paradise is actually Omnipotence City, a billions-of-years-old
retreat for the gods that, like everything else in the movie, has its roots in Marvel
comics.
Omnipotence City is a better choice of setting for a story about a villain who wants to kill
all gods, and not just the Greek gods.
"This is my vow.
All gods will die."
So it makes sense that Thor and Zeus aren't the only immortals that Marvel has brought
into the MCU for a little screen time.
Many of these gods can be spotted in the background as Thor and his team make their way to the
city.
They vary wildly in size and appearance, and since most don't have speaking roles, we can't
say for sure who, exactly, they're meant to be.
But all of them do wear the distinct costumes of their heritage.
And since "Moon Knight" recently brought world culture-based gods into the MCU, it's possible
we'll see more of them in the future.
One of the gods who does get a line of dialogue is Dionysus, played by Simon Russell Beale.
Omnipotence City is a den of revelry, pageantry, debauchery, and little concern for the rest
of the universe.
Zeus is mainly concerned with bragging about how many followers he has and planning the
next orgy.
When the camera pans down to the Greek delegation, who faithfully support him over Thor, we see
a man in a toga drinking out of a chalice.
This is Dionysus, the god of theater, sex, and wine, and Zeus's son.
Dionysus is basically the patron saint of letting loose and having a good time.
He's associated with festivals that celebrate the harvest and fertility, at which people
were known to get frisky and very intoxicated.
He was so popular in his own day and beyond that he is the Greek god most often depicted
in art.
In both Marvel comics and the MCU, Jane Foster loses her own mother to cancer at a young
age, then becomes a victim of the disease herself.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" relies upon context clues to tell this tragic story, but the print
inspiration provides more explanation.
In the comics, Jane is diagnosed with breast cancer.
When Mjolnir calls her to become Mighty Thor, she feels healthy and strong.
But its magic zaps her body of toxins, including the chemotherapy that was targeting the cancer
cells.
Thus, Jane's cancer actually progresses faster each time she picks up Thor's hammer until
she ultimately dies.
In the film, her inner circle -- Erik Selvig, Darcy, Thor -- merely say that treatment isn't
working, and they eventually figure out that Mjolnir isn't helping.
We know how the hammer affected her condition, and that she waited too long to see doctors,
but the movie tells us less about the cancer itself.
While it's certainly possible it's the result of genetic predisposition, it's also possible
that it's related to her exposure to the aether in "Thor: the Dark World."
"Something is within her, father, something I have not seen before."
"Her world has its healers.
They're called doctors.
Let them deal with it."
Jane became infected with the Reality Stone in its liquid state, and its immense energy
nearly killed her before Thor outsmarted Malekith into drawing it out of her.
In the comics as in the film, Jane is welcomed into Valhalla.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe started audiences off easy with 2008's "Iron Man," starring
Robert Downey Jr., which is about human characters from our world.
14 years later, MCU movies and TV shows have gotten decidedly weirder.
From Alligator Loki to Zombie Strange, our generally accepted rules about time, space,
and the nature of life itself no longer apply.
Characters who can be kind of difficult to wrap your head around either are or are soon
to be a part of the overarching narrative, and they all sort of have cameos in "Thor:
Love and Thunder."
Celestials technically made their debut in "Guardians of the Galaxy," but we got to know
them better and see them in their true form in "Eternals."
Two Celestials guard the gate to Omnipotence City, and one's head crashes down after a
fight.
As far as the other all powerful but hard-to-describe entities go, some interesting statuary busts
line the cavernous room that leads to Eternity's gate.
One looks suspiciously like The Living Tribunal, the cosmic embodiment of impartial judgment.
Another resembles The Watcher — who appeared in the animated series "What If?"
voiced by Jeffrey Wright — a being who observes everything that happens in the multiverse
but never interferes.
It's probably more than just a coincidence that production designers adorned the set
with these enormous bronze heads.
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