Thor has kicked alien butt as a member of the Avengers, fought as a gladiator, and hobnobbed
with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but given his many, many adventures across the nine
realms, it can be easy to forget all of his godly exploits.
Well, fear not: This is Thor's entire MCU story, finally explained.
Yes, Carol Danvers was the first person to sport the "Avenger" moniker, and Steve Rogers
had the name literally in the title of his first film, but when you stop to think about
it, the first Avenger in the MCU to ever draw breath was Thor.
In fact, the competition isn't even a close one.
As the Odinson reveals in Infinity War, he's 1,500 years old by the time the events of
the modern MCU roll around.
During that time, Thor has functioned as a prince of Asgard.
He's followed the lead and direction of his father, Odin, and spent copious amounts of
time roughhousing with his younger adopted brother, Loki.
Of the original six Avengers, Thor is also unique as the only member of royalty on the
team, as well as the only hero to live off-world.
By the time he enters the current, 21st-century MCU timeline, Thor has centuries of experience
under his belt.
On top of that, he's operating as the heir apparent and shoo-in for the next king of
Asgard.
But, of course, things don't always go according to plan, especially in the MCU.
By 2011, the aging Odin is ready to crown his eldest son as the king of Asgard, even
if Thor is still rather narcissistic and headstrong.
However, the coronation is cut short when Frost Giants suddenly appear on the scene,
attempting to raid the royal vault.
While the raid fails, it prompts Thor to disobey his father's orders and head to Jotunheim,
the Frost Giants' home, in order to exact a little retribution for the unwelcome disturbance.
Thor's disregard for his father's wishes ultimately leads to Odin stripping his son of his power
and banishing him to Midgard, a backwater area of the Nine Realms of Asgard known to
its inhabitants simply as "Earth."
"You are unworthy of these realms!
You are unworthy of your title!
You're UNWORTHY…"
However, as a sign of secret hope for his son, Odin also sends Thor's magic hammer,
Mjolnir, with him, declaring that only one who is worthy will be able to wield it.
On Earth, Thor meets scientists Erik Selvig and Jane Foster, and eventually strikes up
a romantic relationship with the latter.
Over time, he comes to grips with his exile and is slowly humbled, until he proves himself
worthy of the hammer, as well as his former position on Asgard.
At that point, he returns home and defeats his brother, Loki, who's usurped the throne
in his absence.
Loki ultimately falls to his apparent death, and a contemplative, more mature Thor then
resumes his position as his father's right-hand man, accepting that it isn't his time to rule
as king.
One short year after Thor returns to Asgard, he's sent back to Earth by his father, not
as an exile, though.
This time, he comes with the express purpose to fetch his brother Loki after it's discovered
the trickster didn't actually die and is planning an invasion of Midgard.
Upon his arrival, Thor quickly bumps into the un-unified team of Avengers, immediately
duking it out with Iron Man before Captain America convinces them that they shouldn't
be fighting each other.
From there, Thor joins the slowly assembling team on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, where
he participates in the discussion of what to do with his brother, providing insight
regarding Loki's past.
The thunder god even helps contain Hulk when the Green Machine is accidentally turned loose
on the airship.
After Loki wreaks havoc on the carrier and escapes, Thor heads to the Big Apple, where
he reunites with the Avengers and participates in the Battle of New York.
The Asgardian plays a thunderous role in the encounter, fighting hordes of Chitauri and
trading blows with his brother yet again.
When the dust settles, Thor takes both Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard…although
he nabs a quick bite of shawarma before he hits the road.
After the 2012 events with the Avengers, Thor returns home and spends a good deal of time
traveling the Nine Realms and tending to royal business.
As he takes care of his responsibilities, though, he never stops pining for Jane Foster.
But after he asks the all-seeing Heimdall to check in on her, Thor is surprised to discover
that his far-sighted friend can no longer see her.
This revelation spurs the prince to return to Earth in order to inquire about the whereabouts
and safety of his sweetheart.
Upon his arrival, he finds that she's been possessed by the Aether, that is, the Reality
Stone in its "angry sludge" form.
Concerned, Thor brings Foster back to Asgard to receive treatment.
In the ensuing chaos, the Dark Elves, led by Malekith, attack Asgard and kill Thor's
mother, Frigga.
This new threat posed by the Dark Elves, the danger of the Aether inside Jane Foster, and
the death of his mother push Thor to disobey his father again.
He hatches a plan which includes sneaking out of Asgard with Loki in order to hunt down
Malekith before the Dark Elf can literally destroy the universe.
With the future drama surrounding Thanos, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that universe-saving
shows up on Thor's resume multiple times.
The pursuit eventually leads back to Greenwich, England, where Thor defeats Malekith and does,
indeed, save the universe.
The next significant event that Thor participates in is the war with Ultron in 2015.
He aids in retrieving Loki's scepter in Sokovia, and he's present when Ultron is created in
Stark Tower, after which he lends his strength to the fight against the runaway robot.
In addition to the superhero antics, Thor also heads off on a side quest in order to
learn more about a disturbing vision that he'd received involving the Infinity Stones.
He finds Erik Selvig, who takes him to the Water of Sights, where he learns, among other
things, that a new being will help destroy Ultron.
This prompts him to bring Vision to life upon his return to the Avengers.
As the story winds its way to the climactic events in Sokovia, Thor continues to provide
muscle and firepower for the Avengers' plans, and ultimately plays a critical role in foiling
Ultron's attempt to exterminate mankind through a global catastrophe.
With the super-android defeated, Thor heads off to continue his investigation of the Infinity
Stones.
Thor's search for the Infinity Stones proves to be fruitless, he and Jane Foster "mutually
dump" each other, and by 2017, he's being haunted by a new series of dreams, this time
revolving around Ragnarok and the destruction of his homeworld.
After exposing Odin as his brother Loki in disguise, the pair travel to Earth in search
of their father.
Doctor Strange directs them to Norway, where they arrive in time to have some parting words
with their dad before he passes away.
While initially tragic, the events soon turn into a catastrophe, as Odin's death releases
their evil sister, Hela, from thousands of years of imprisonment.
"That's not possible."
"Darling, you have no idea what's possible."
Hela quickly shows her superior powers, as she destroys Mjolnir without skipping a beat.
She then prepares to force her brothers to bow to her so she can take her place as the
rightful ruler of Asgard.
At this point, Loki mistakenly summons the Bifrost, allowing Hela to follow them directly
to Asgard.
While en route, she sends the two brothers hurtling out of the beam and into space, where
they're eventually both deposited on the garbage planet of Sakaar.
On Sakaar, Thor is captured and forced to fight as a gladiator in the Grandmaster's
arena, and against his "friend from work," Hulk, no less.
After their battle, he helps Bruce Banner regain control over Hulk and then joins with
Banner, Valkyrie, and Loki in a daring escape.
He leads the ragtag band, called the Revengers, back to Asgard where they plan to overthrow
Hela.
Back on Asgard, the Revengers defeat the goddess of death, but only by unleashing Ragnarok.
As Thor's home planet implodes under Surtur's fiery heel, the god of thunder escapes with
the Revengers and the survivors of Asgard on a ship that's headed for Earth.
During the short period of time that leads up to Ragnarok, Thor loses his father, his
home, most of his people, his hammer, and even his eye while in combat with his sister.
Nevertheless, he comes out of the ordeal ready to lead the remnants of his people as their
king.
Unfortunately, the new king doesn't even finish the trip to Earth before things take an even
darker turn.
"I feel like everything's gonna work out fine."
Before Thor and the survivors of Asgard get to Earth, they're intercepted by Thanos and
his forces.
The ensuing encounter leaves half of the Asgardians, including Heimdall and Loki, dead, the ship
in tattered ruins, and Thor floating through space with little to no chance of rescue.
However, when all hope seems lost, the Guardians of the Galaxy, responding to a distress signal,
arrive on the scene and save the king of Asgard from a chilly death in space.
Once he regains consciousness, Thor and the Guardians discuss Thanos and his plans with
the Infinity Stones.
This leads the Asgardian to commandeer the ship's space pod and head off towards Nidavellir
in search of a weapon to replace his beloved Mjolnir.
Rocket and Groot tag along, and once the trio gets there, they attempt to convince the dwarf
king and master smith Eitri to help them forge the powerful new weapon.
Eitri is able to do so, but only after Thor reignites the dormant star forge and takes
the full force of its heat in order to keep it operating, a feat that almost kills him.
Armed with the freshly forged Stormbreaker, Thor summons the Bifrost and hurtles back
towards Earth, in order to help his allies and find Thanos.
Thor's epic arrival in Wakanda proves timely, and he successfully helps to subdue the hordes
of Outriders that threaten to overwhelm the Wakandan defenses.
Thanos arrives in Wakanda in search of the last Infinity Stone not long after Thor.
And in a last-ditch effort, the king of Asgard proves stronger than any of the other heroes
and lands a solid strike on the Mad Titan with Stormbreaker.
However, he aims for the villain's chest, inadvertently allowing the wounded but not-at-all-defeated
Thanos to snap his fingers and then disappear.
"You should've gone for the head."
"NOOOO!"
Thor is devastated by his failure.
However, a month later, the Avengers discover Thanos living in retirement on another planet,
and the group jumps at the opportunity for revenge.
They take Thanos into custody, only to quickly find that the Infinity Stones are destroyed,
and it's too late to undo the snap.
In a rage, Thor takes Thanos' past advice and decapitates the villain with a single
swing.
"Perhaps I treated you too harshly."
"What did you do?"
"I went for the head."
Over the following five years, Thor helps found New Asgard on Earth, but he eventually
leaves the bulk of the administration to Valkyrie.
In the meantime, he withdraws with his friends, Korg and Miek, and spends his time drinking
beer, playing Fortnite, and slowly slipping into an overweight, despondent state of depression.
"The only thing that IS permanent in life is impermanence."
"Awesome.
Eggs?
Breakfast?"
"No.
I'd like a bloody Mary."
When Hulk and Rocket arrive at New Asgard five full years after the snap, they attempt
to recruit Thor into the Avengers' effort to travel back in time and undo the damage
that Thanos has caused.
While Thor is initially reluctant, he finally agrees to join the venture when he's promised
a whole lot of beer.
From there, the Odinson finds that his task is to time travel with Rocket back to Asgard
in 2013, to that very day when his mother dies, in order to retrieve the Aether.
Once in Asgard, though, Thor panics and attempts to flee from his responsibilities, leaving
Rocket to take care of the unpleasant business all on his own.
In the meantime, Thor has a heart to heart with his mother and finds new hope.
Summoning Mjolnir, he joins Rocket, and the two head back to the present, arriving at
the Avengers facility in upstate New York.
Once the Infinity Stones are all gathered, Thor offers to be the one to snap his fingers
while wearing Stark's Infinity Gauntlet since he's clearly the strongest Avenger.
However, he eventually defers to Hulk, who takes on the responsibility due to his affinity
with gamma radiation.
After this, Thor, supercharged once again, plays a heroic part in the final battle to
overthrow Thanos, wielding both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker until he lends the former to
the very worthy Captain America.
Eventually, Tony Stark gives his life to snap Thanos to ashes, and, once again, the Avengers
save the day.
So what's next for Thor?
The Asgardian finally finds himself free to forge his own path for the first time in ages.
He surrenders his kingship to the extremely capable Valkyrie and then hitches a ride with
the Guardians of the Galaxy, a move that immediately causes friction between himself and the crew's
captain, Star-Lord.
We'll just have to wait until the November 2021 release of Thor: Love and Thunder to
find out what the future has in store for the mighty Odinson, aside from the timely
return of his ex…Jane Foster.
"Sorry to hear that Jane dumped you."
"She didn't dump me, you know.
I dumped her.
It was a mutual dumping!"
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