It's Thor vs. Gorr with a side of screaming goats in the 29th MCU movie "Thor:
Love and Thunder" – but how does Jane Foster play into it? How is
Mjolnir back in the picture? And what's up with the man in the mid-credits scene?
This is everything you need to know about the hard-rockin' end of "Thor: Love and Thunder."
To make sense of the ending, we have to go back to the beginning and revisit the inciting incident
that sets both Thor and Gorr the God Butcher on their oppositional paths to self-discovery. In the
emotionally crushing opening scene of "Thor: Love and Thunder," Gorr's daughter dies of starvation
in his arms as he prays to his god, Rapu. After he buries her, Rapu appears to him in an oasis,
but rather than reward him for his piety, he mocks him for believing in an eternal
reward. This devastating, humiliating encounter drives Gorr to renounce his religion just as
the Necrosword calls to him. With his family and faith gone, he has nothing left to lose.
Doubting Gorr is a threat, Rapu tells him that the Necrosword is a cursed
weapon with the power to kill gods. In the comics, it's also called All-Black,
and it was forged by God of the Void, Knull, to slay Celestials. Knull is also the comics
character who created the alien symbiotes, which spawned goopy creeps like Venom and Carnage.
In "Thor: Love and Thunder," the Necrosword seems to be a symbiote itself, one that draws
power from the vengefulness of its user until it eventually corrupts and kills them. That's
why Gorr's appearance changes when he claims the weapon. A black, blood-like substance seeps from
his eyes and mouth, and his skin becomes paler and more marked. He initially feels
as though he's been given power, which he has — it just comes at a high price. Gorr wields the
Necrosword to butcher his own god, then vows to take down all the rest to avenge his dead family.
"This is my vow: All gods will die."
The weapon doesn't make it through the movie, but, since the concept of alien symbiotes
has recently been introduced into the MCU, its backstory and presence here are still noteworthy.
As Thor comes out of his funk to defend planets and peoples who suddenly find themselves without
gods to protect them, he starts to realize that all the intergalactic unrest is related.
He learns that gods are being murdered across the universe, and a gravely injured Sif warns
him that he could be next. Sure enough, Gorr and his Black Berserkers — shadow beasts he conjures
with the Necrosword — ambush New Asgard in the middle of the night. Thor, Korg, King Valkyrie,
and Jane Foster as Mighty Thor all show up and fight back, but the fight itself is a
distraction. Gorr and his minions have rounded up all of New Asgard's children and taken them
to the Shadow Realm. The Asgardians think they've won when the Berserkers retreat — only when the
locals alert the superheroes that the kids are gone do they grasp what really happened.
Among the kidnapped kids is Heimdall's son, who's changed his name from Astrid to Axl,
in tribute to Guns 'N Roses frontman Axl Rose. Thor tries to help Axl hone his ability to see
throughout space and time, as his father could, in an effort to locate them. He
uses his own shared vision to speak to the kids and reassure them that the adults are
coming to rescue them. What Thor can't see at this point is that Gorr is using them
as bait. His plan isn't necessarily to harm the children; it's to lure Thor to him. And the God
of Thunder — whose strength is rarely matched but who is sometimes outsmarted — is falling for it.
Once Thor thinks he knows where Gorr's hiding the children,
he and his team plot to sneak into Omnipotence City and ask
Zeus for an army in order to defeat the villain who's sworn to kill them all.
"Gods of the universe. I come here to raise an army."
As the city's festivities begin, our heroes sense that the gods might not be
so receptive. Thor attempts to persuade Zeus, but the debaucherous and disinterested Greek god isn't
having it. Publicly he mocks Thor, but privately he whispers that he doesn't want to cause a panic,
and besides, they'll be fine as long as they stay in Omnipotence City. It's no
skin off Zeus's back if Gorr manages to pick off a few lesser deities. He basically tells
Thor to give up his fight because this God Butcher will never reach Eternity.
This exchange reveals that while Zeus might have underestimated Gorr, he's exactly right
about the villain's plan. Gorr doesn't have to slaughter gods one by one. If he can make it to
Eternity — the cosmic being guarded by godly magic who is essentially the sentient creation force of
the universe — the powerful entity will grant him one wish. He could use that wish to wipe out the
gods in one breath. Zeus isn't concerned because Gorr would need a key to open the Eternity's gate.
But just to be safe, he intends to keep Thor and his team as captives, since they know the location
of the gods' refuge. Thor appears to kill Zeus with his own bolt after Korg takes a near-fatal,
body-destroying hit, and they barely escape with the powerful weapon in tow.
While the Asgardians hope Zeus's lightning bolt, in lieu of his army, will help them stop Gorr,
the God Butcher is actually after a different weapon. Gorr is baiting Thor so badly because
his battle axe, Stormbreaker, is of infinitely more value to him than the God of Thunder is
himself. If he can, he'll kill him in combat, though if everything goes according to plan that
won't matter. What he really needs is to get to Eternity, and to do that, he needs Stormbreaker.
Confused? Here's why Stormbreaker is the key to Gorr's plan.
After the destruction of Mjolnir, Thor's old hammer, in "Thor: Ragnarok," the Asgardian
needed to forge a new, even more powerful weapon to take on Thanos. In "Avengers:
Infinity War," Thor's second weapon was forged by the dwarf Eitri, and it's enchanted with the
power to summon the Bifrost, the magical rainbow bridge Asgardians use to travel quickly throughout
the cosmos. That's a power no other Asgardian weapon had on its own — and Gorr figured out
that the axe and its Bifrost-calling power is the key he needs to open Eternity's gate.
And unlike Mjolnir, which can only be lifted by those who are worthy,
anybody can pick up and use Stormbreaker, including Gorr. When the Bifrost's beam
fills the rune-like carvings on the circular door that leads to Eternity,
Gorr is able to enter and ask for whatever he wants from the all-powerful entity.
It's convenient that Jane seems to manifest in New Asgard just as Thor realized she
might've been the one who got away. He's as elated to see her as he is confused,
however, as she's become a Thor in her own right, with Mjolnir, his old hammer,
which he'd presumed to be useless after Hela crushed it into fragments. The romantic tension
between Jane and Thor is obvious, and their hero work becomes an opportunity to resume flirtation.
It's much less convenient that Jane has cancer. The audience knows long before Thor,
as does Valkyrie. It seems Jane wants to enjoy her time as Mighty Thor and her time with Thor
Odinson as much as possible, without bringing the sad news of her diagnosis into the mix. But
as the former couple gets cozy again in the goat boat watching space dolphins on their way to the
Shadow Realm, Jane finally blurts out the truth. Valkyrie interrupts their first kiss in, well,
"Eight years, seven months, and six days."
But there isn't time to worry about what the future holds;
those kids need to be rescued and Gorr needs to be stopped.
Jane and Thor hold onto hope that she might be able to live cancer-free as
Mighty Thor. However, during the three-against-one melee,
Gorr sees that she's dying. Even with her restorative Viking strength, she looks rough
as she takes damage during the battle in which Gorr ends up with possession of Stormbreaker,
and both she and Thor begin to face the reality of a more tragic outcome.
We learn more about how Jane became Mighty Thor and how Mjolnir is affecting her health — or
lack thereof — as the film progresses. Darcy suggests, since modern medicine is failing her,
that it might be time to turn to Asgardian magic for a cure. Dr. Erik Selvig confirms
Darcy's fears through video chat that, indeed, her cancer isn't responding to treatment. That's
when Jane feels compelled to journey to New Asgard and to attempt to call the shattered
hammer into her grip. It works, and the next time we see Jane, she's been transformed into
Mighty Thor. The film doesn't make you wonder for very long about how this could happen.
In a montage that retraces the arc of Thor and Jane's relationship,
we see that Thor once charged Mjolnir with protecting Jane,
the love of his life. The hammer took this as an oath. But this magical binding pact isn't perfect,
and it isn't a real solution to keeping her alive. After the fight in the Shadow Realm,
in her human form again, she lands in a hospital bed. It doesn't look like she has much time left.
Thor reasons that the effort the mortal must use to wield Mjolnir exacts a heavy
price — much the same way the Necrosword both gives and takes power from Gorr. The story of
Jane's cancer first appeared in Marvel comics, and those issues go into more detail about how
Mjolnir interacts with Jane's disease, though the film doesn't get into the nitty-gritty of how the
hammer isn't saving her life. In the comics, the weapon expels any toxic substances from her
body every time she transforms into Thor — but that also includes her chemotherapy treatments.
That's obviously not the case in the film, as the chemo isn't working for Jane. Rather,
this plot point ties into one of the main themes of the movie: power can have a heavy price.
Thor leaves an ailing Jane to retrieve the kidnapped Asgardian children and to try and keep
Gorr from getting on the other side of Eternity's gate. In an earlier scene with the Guardians of
the Galaxy, Thor all but single-handedly saved the day, much to the annoyance of his supposed
teammates. But Thor gets a little wiser with every challenge. To stave off the Black Berserkers and
get to Stormbreaker before the Bifrost opens the passageway to Eternity, he'll need actual help.
Thor saves the kids, as promised, proving to them that Gorr was wrong. Some gods are
looking out for the little guy. But he goes one step further and — temporarily — grants
them all his abilities. What follows is 100 percent Taika Waititi and makes for
one of the most off-the-wall battles in any Marvel movie.
While we've never seen Thor share his powers before, we've seen throughout the movie that
the power of Thor seems to be sharable among many. That's likely how Jane transformed into
the Mighty Thor — so why not let the kidnapped kids throw some thunderbolts for a while, too?
Let's jump back to Jane's hospital room for a second. Thor has no choice but to
go after Stormbreaker since Gorr will use it to reach Eternity. Jane wants to come along,
but he'd rather she remain in the hospital and recuperate so they could have a chance
to be together again when the fight is over. But Jane asserts that an even slightly prolonged life
confined to a sick bed is no life at all. With his voice trembling, Thor tells her that he loves her,
but he does not insist or even ask her to stay behind. As he departs, she weighs her options.
As if she senses that he needs her now to help him win the day,
Jane reclaims Mjolnir and joins the battle just in time to prevent Gorr from killing Thor. He's
grateful yet somewhat deflated to see her materialize. He knows it means they have
a chance to defeat their enemy, but it'll also likely mean she won't survive the day.
Once again, we see that power comes at a cost.
Mighty Thor uses her last ounce of strength to obliterate the Necrosword,
stripping Gorr of his powers and hastening his death. But they haven't prevented the
God Butcher from reaching Eternity, as he walks through the portal. Jane and Thor,
knowing they may have won the battle but lost the war, share a sad but contented
goodbye in which Jane assures him she's confident she made the right choice. She
feels as though she's lived a whole second life as Thor, which isn't bad for a human.
So how did Thor learn so much about the importance of love and opening his heart? It's actually
Star-Lord, of all people, who has the emotional maturity to tell Thor what he needs to hear.
"Just look into the eyes of the ones you love….Not me."
Peter Quill still mourns the loss of Gamora, but he assures Thor that it's better to feel — even
if those feelings are painful — than not. His advice opens Thor to the possibility
that he and Jane could find love together again. That's why he confesses his love
before he loses her to cancer. Even more significant, it's also an act of love that
Thor respects Jane's choice to have joined him in battle, even though it cost her her life.
The purity of their souls in their dying moments moves Gorr. He'd been dead set on
vengefully exterminating the gods with his victory, but he has his own change of heart.
Thor reminds him that, with his request of Eternity, he could bring back his beloved
daughter instead of killing the gods. In other words, he could choose love over hate.
But, as obvious a choice as this might seem to most of us, it comes with a catch. The
Necrosword has been feeding off of Gorr's anger. He knows he's about to die, too,
and regardless of his choice, he won't be around for the repercussions. Sensing good in him,
Jane offers that the girl won't be alone. Gorr's last act is one of redemption,
and he gives his daughter another chance at life.
It's Thor's newly opened heart that allows Thor to take on the
responsibility of parenting his former adversary's child. Thor promises to
watch out for Gorr's daughter in his absence. Soon we're in Thor's kitchen,
where he's making a little girl "panflaps," we can see that Thor has adopted her as his own daughter,
and we learn from Korg's narration that she's called Love — remember, Gorr referred to her as
"my love" throughout the film. This obviously gives the subtitle of the film a whole new
meaning, and one that nobody could've predicted or interpreted without this piece of plot resolution.
All things considered, he's doing well as a dad,
and he looks more confident instructing her in the ways of Asgardian warriors. Stormbreaker,
which played a significant part in her resurrection, is her weapon now.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" ends with a title card that reads "Thor will return," though
it doesn't say when or where. We don't know if Love will join him, but if she does, the fact that
she's played by Hemsworth's own daughter, India Rose, will help with scheduling and contracts.
It's genuinely surprising to see Zeus alive in the mid-credits stinger, since Thor and his team
talk about him as if he's dead for the rest of the film proper. But there he is, the God of
Lightning complaining to someone just off screen about his new nemesis, the God of Thunder. That
someone turns out to be Hercules, played by Brett Goldstein, famous for his role as Roy
Kent on "Ted Lasso." He's outfitted in, well, not much really... some chest straps, a gold crown,
and a sword. And he looks pretty jazzed about the chance to go after Thor for his daddy.
There've been no official announcements about any upcoming MCU projects in which Goldstein
will star, but as the MCU has been heading in a decidedly mythological direction as of late
between "Eternals" and "Moon Knight," the character's introduction at this juncture
makes sense. A Hercules based on the one from Greek and Roman mythology has been appearing
in Marvel comics since 1965's Journey into Mystery Annual #1 in which Herc fights Thor.
In an interesting twist, over the last several years, the MCU's Thor
has evolved into the boastful, jovial kind of character that Hercules has so often been
depicted as in the comics, which presents the question: How will the MCU's Hercules
carve out his own godly niche? Hopefully we'll find out sooner rather than later.
If the mid-credits stinger set up new conflicts, the end-credits scene put
some to rest. Heimdall, the Asgardian warrior and protector of the Bifrost,
was slain by Thanos early on in "Avengers: Infinity War." Since he fought bravely as a
Viking and perished in battle, we could safely assume he ascended to the paradise of Valhalla.
Audiences recently got a peek at another version of the afterlife in "Moon Knight,"
when Oscar Isaac's Marc Spector and Stephen Grant died for awhile. Their brief visit came
with the explanation that there are many versions of what we might call heavens
in the universe and multiverse; the Field of Reeds is one, Asgardians' Valhalla is another.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" shows us the MCU's Valhalla for the first time when Jane,
who had passed away in Thor's embrace only moments before, arrives at its entrance.
Waiting for her is Heimdall to tell her that the Asgardian version of the afterlife is now her
eternal reward. The film ends as Jane smiles at the breathtakingly beautiful landscape that
stands before her. This scene could well be a last goodbye to the two "Thor" characters,
but since there are stories that take place in Valhalla in Marvel comics,
we shouldn't consider Jane or Heimdall to be permanently gone from the MCU just yet.
"Let's bring the rainbow!"
"'Bring the rainbow,' is that her catchphrase or something?"
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