Marvel Reinvented Two Avengers in a Beloved MCU Movie 9 Years Ago, But Time Has Proven It Was a Fluke

The Avengers have been through a lot throughout the course of the MCU, with the various members of the team experiencing tons of different arcs and stories since the franchise began in 2008. This is in large part a product of the MCU consisting of dozens of different projects that contain wildly different tones and worlds, all while maintaining an overarching, interconnected universe.

Iron Man has gone from a snarky playboy to a celebrity coping with PTSD to an influential dead icon. Captain America has gone from a shrimpy soldier to a man on the run to an elderly retired superhero. However, of all the original Avengers, one has had the most inconsistent characterization, and this issue began nine years ago.

Thor: Ragnarok Hit Theaters 9 Years Ago Today, & It Completely Reinvented Thor & Hulk

Throughout the first two phases of the MCU, the Thor films were widely regarded as the franchise’s weakest projects. While Kenneth Branagh’s direction in the first entry was admirable, their self-serious nature and attempts to ground a fantastical world led to them not feeling nearly as strong as their contemporaries. So, when a third film began development, Marvel Studios decided to take the series in a different direction. New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi was brought on to direct the movie, beginning the life of Thor: Ragnarok.

Thor: Ragnarok hit theaters on November 3, 2017, and it was an immediate juxtaposition with the first two Thor films. Ragnarok was far more colorful, with it featuring bright neons and laser lighting in the film and throughout its marketing. On top of that, the movie featured heavy usage of preexisting music, most notably the 1970 Led Zeppelin rock hit “Immigrant Song.” The film was also far more comedic than Thor or Thor: The Dark World. Nearly every moment in the movie was a joke, and almost nothing was taken seriously. Comedic actors were brought in, like Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Waititi himself, while previous Thor supporting characters like Lady Sif were left out of the picture.

Most notably, however, was how Thor: Ragnarok completely reinvented Thor. Chris Hemsworth’s Norse hero is almost unrecognizable here compared to the previous films. Thor went from a stoic, Shakespearean figure to a dumb, lovable jock. Ragnarok made Thor quippy and far more tongue-in-cheek than ever before. He is no longer worried about things like honor and being worthy, and is instead portrayed as the MCU’s version of Big Trouble in Little China protagonist Jack Burton.

A similar effect can be seen in Ragnarok‘s handling of another original Avenger: the Incredible Hulk. After disappearing at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hulk finally returned in Ragnarok, with the film revealing that he has become a gladiatorial champion on the alien planet Sakaar. This iteration of Hulk is also more comedic, but he is also a bit more human than the character’s more monstrous appearances in previous MCU films. The switch here isn’t as drastic as the reinvention that he would get in Avengers: Endgame, but there is a stark difference between Ragnarok‘s Hulk and the character’s appearances in earlier projects.

Ragnarok Was Good For Thor In The Short-Term, But Bad In The Long-Term

Thor: Ragnarok quickly became the most positively received Thor film, and was even considered to be one of the best MCU movies. It got fans excited for another Thor movie, something previous entries had failed to do, and helped revitalize the character’s brand ahead of Avengers: Infinity War. However, it was the beginning of a series of missteps that would forever taint the MCU’s Thor.

By the time Thor reappeared in Avengers: Infinity War, he had reverted to his serious attitude from the previous films, justified by the slaughter of the Asgardians early in the film. Then, after Endgame‘s time jump, Thor became overly comedic again, reverting to the style of writing seen in Ragnarok. Fans were critical of “Fat Thor,” as it seemed to learn the wrong lessons from Ragnarok due to the fact that this type of characterization didn’t fit into the tone of Endgame.

Taika Waititi came back to direct 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, and it was a disaster. The film attempts to recreate the tone of Ragnarok, but it is far less delicately put together. The movie seems like a parody of the MCU, with it heavily relying on improvizations and meta jokes. The movie’s pairing of this Thor with Gorr the God Butcher creates even more tonal whiplash than what was featured in Endgame, only exacerbating the preexisting Thor issues.

Unlike Ragnarok, Love and Thunder is now considered to be one of the worst MCU projects. The film’s colossal critical failure has left the future of Thor in the MCU uncertain. Now that serious Thor is returning in Avengers: Doomsday, nobody is sure what the MCU has in store for the character next, whether that be another reversion to a more comedic tone or another reinvention of the Thor movie series.