Thor: Love and Thunder releases in theaters this Friday, where audiences will get to see the God of Thunder go up against the God Butcher. However, given the complicated web of the MCU, which even more mimics the comic book medium nowadays, plenty of information will be essential to remind yourselves of before the latest MCU installment releases. With that being said, here are the ten most important things to remember before seeing Thor: Love and Thunder.
Thor and Jane Broke Up
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
Sometime between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor: Ragnarok, Thor and Jane broke up. The actual reasons as to why they broke up are unknown, but it may have been because of Jane being busy with work and Thor not always being around, being a superhero and all.
Another possible reason is that the celebrity status on their relationship took a toll. It’s clear that in Thor: Ragnarok, given that a Thor fan was able to walk up and mention Jane, that their relationship went public, which possibly led to the downfall of their bond together. Whatever the reason though, it’ll likely be explained when they are reunited in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Lady Sif Wasn’t in Thor: Ragnarok
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
Lady Sif had been off in other realms when Loki had taken charge of Asgard. Despite being a significant character in the first two Thor movies, the only thing we know about Lady Sif’s whereabouts is that she was apparently banished or sent away at some point by Loki, who was disguised as Odin, most likely out of fear of her discovering his true identity.
Sif has been seen in episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and in a flashback/vision in Loki, so the character has been seen elsewhere. Her absence in Thor: Ragnarok was largely because Sif actress, Jaime Alexander, was busy, but we’ll probably get a more in-depth explanation in Thor: Love and Thunder, which will finally giving us some in-universe answers and not just speculation.
Thor’s Hammer Broke
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
When Odin died, allowing Thor’s sister Hela to return, Thor and Loki were forced into a skirmish with her almost immediately. In an incredible showing of strength, Hela quickly stopped Mjolnir and crushed it with her hand, which of course, stunned Thor and Loki.
The loss of Mjolnir was undoubtedly felt, especially by Thor, as it seriously limited his powers. However, after a reminder from his father in a vision, Thor is the God of Thunder, not the God of Hammers, helping Thor realize he could do things without his hammer. Mjolnir’s pieces seem to currently be in Norway, where Hela crushed the hammer. It’s most likely still there because even though it is destroyed, that doesn’t mean that people are now able to pick up the pieces.
All of Thor’s Family is Dead
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor has certainly been through the wringer when it comes to family members. First, his mother Frigga is killed by the Dark Elves in Thor: The Dark World. Then, his father died at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok, which led to Thor’s half-sister Hela being freed. At the end of Thor: Ragnarok, Thor and Loki finally summon Surtur to defeat and kill Hela.
Last but certainly not least, Thor has had to mourn the death of his adoptive brother multiple times. At the end of both Thor and Thor: The Dark World, Loki managed to trick Thor into believing that he had died. It wasn’t until Loki had sacrificed himself in trying to kill Thanos that the trickster’s death seemed to have stuck. Loki may still be alive in his own series, but it is important to note that this isn’t the same Loki that Thor has been with and that Loki is currently off doing his own thing.
It is also worth mentioning that Thor got to say a final goodbye to his mother in Avengers: Endgame, thanks to time travel. Oh, and of course, it’s also important to remember that Thor’s best friend, Heimdall was also killed by Thanos.
Thor Currently Wields Stormbreaker
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
After the destruction of Mjolnir, Thor needed to find a new weapon. Luckily, the Guardians had saved him and were ready to help. Rocket and Groot traveled with Thor to the star Nidavellir in order to help forge a new weapon to stop Thanos. There they met Eitri, the last of the dwarves after Thanos had massacred them when trying to retrieve the Infinity Gauntlet.
Eitri agreed to help forge Stormbreaker in an effort to help Thor stop Thanos and get revenge for the fallen dwarves. It’s also important to remember that Stormbreaker is made out of parts of Groot as Eitri couldn’t find the handle for Stormbreaker, which results in the handle of Stormbreaker looking like parts of Groot.
Thor Almost Stopped “The Snap”
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
During the Battle of Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War, Thor, Rocket, and Groot showed up to help defeat Thanos’ forces. When the Mad Titan showed up himself to retrieve Vision’s Mind Stone, Thor used Stormbreaker to stab Thanos in the chest. However, this was all for naught as Thanos still had the power to use the gauntlet and snap his fingers, telling Thor the notable line, “You should have gone for the head.”
If Thor had gone for the head, as Thanos said, he could have avoided the deaths of half of the universe. This clearly took a toll on Thor, with Thor making sure to go for the head when he re-encountered Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, killing him by decapitation.
New Asgard Was Created in the Wake of Thanos
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
After spending Thor: Ragnarok trying to avoid Ragnarok, Thor realizes that the cataclysmic event must be enacted in order to finally defeat his half-sister. In the process though, Ragnarok destroyed Asgard forcing all of the people of Asgard to retreat onto the Statesman and flee into the cosmos.
After Thanos attacked the Asgardians on the Statesman, the survivors needed someplace to go. They decided that the perfect place to go was Norway. There, they have formed a new community, with residents including the allies that Thor met during Thor: Ragnarok, Valkyrie, Korg, and Miek. The settlement of New Asgard looks to be located near the site of Odin’s death, making the choice to settle here even more fitting.
Thor’s Depression Led to a Change in Physique
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
As should be clear, Thor has been through a lot, plain and simple. So it’s understandable that this would cause him to develop at least some form of depression. The real breaking point for Thor seems to be Loki’s death and his failure with Thanos. Thor’s depression took on the visual form of Thor losing his physique and instead developing a “dad bod.”
Thor spent almost all of Avengers: Endgame with this new body, being the butt of many jokes. This was unfortunate because there were some genuine issues that weren’t necessarily funny. But anyway, it looks like a part of Thor: Love and Thunder though, will have Thor getting his “god bod” back, as the movie clearly wants his character to get his muscular physique back.
Valkyrie is Now the King of New Asgard
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
Brunnhilde, or Valkyrie, is the last of the valkyries. This group of women were the most elite guards for Asgard. During Hela’s initial attack, centuries ago, they were sent by Odin to defend Asgard, where most of the valkyries ended up being massacred by the Goddess of Death.
After some convincing, Valkyrie decides to help Thor defeat Hela and even becomes a member of his make-shift team, the Revengers. She later settles in New Asgard, post-snap, where she ends up becoming a de facto ruler after Thor’s depression starts running its course. Then, when Thor decides to leave with the Guardians of the Galaxy, he chooses to make Valkyrie the king of New Asgard as she was the obvious choice to do so.
Thor Left Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy
10 Things to Remember Before Seeing Thor: Love and Thunder
When Thanos attacked the Asgardians in Avengers: Infinity War, looking for the Space Stone, Thor was launched into outer space. He was later retrieved by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who split up and had Rocket and Groot help him in his quest with Stormbreaker.
After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Thor decided that he wanted to go off with the Guardians of the Galaxy, minus Gamora, and form what he calls the “Asgardians of the Galaxy.” Where exactly they are off to though, and what they have been doing will be revealed when we watch Thor: Love and Thunder, likely in the opening minutes.
So, that’s all the important information to remember before checking out Thor: Love and Thunder. With the almost two-hour film releasing on July 8th, we will quickly be able to find out how all these things will continue with the next installment in both the Thor series of movies and the MCU.
