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valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn · 1 year

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Hi, I know it's not about Stephen, Loki or Steve, but-

Thor's character has also been mishandled throughout his appearances, which doesn't make it easy to know what to keep and what not to keep when writing fanfiction. Like, what are we supposed to do with the Warrior Three and Sif? His grief about Frigga (and Odin, potentially)? His relationship with Loki? Does he use a bit of humor to cope or is it the Taika influence?

I was wondering what you thought about it and if there's a way to make his different character interpretations fit together semi-coherently ':)

Hi dear! 😊

I think Thor's best characterization is TDW, pretty much every scene in that movie is perfect for him, especially his argument with Odin after Frigga's death (he's so brave there, I love it!). I'd also include his unwillingness to listen to Loki or question his past, that's a rather big flaw that I think would be super interesting to handle in a fic - but from Thor's perspective, not Loki's.

I do believe Thor uses humour but more as a way to deflect than to make jokes or be sarcastic. Knowing his upbringing as a golden child, he would have spent all his life longing to please Odin, so he's very high on external validation and probably longs for approval, but vulnerability is not one of Odin's biggest traits so Thor kind of mimicked that - whenever things get a little too close, he shuts down.

Like that scene with Sif in TDW during the feast, or the deleted scene with Loki in the first movie ("when have you known me to be nervous?" - vulnerability? what is that? I'm strong all the time!).

Also he was super lonely for most of his life, that's probably why his relationship with Loki isn't all that healthy: it wasn't just the triangulation, it's the fact that I never quite saw the Asgardians being capable of looking at him as anything other than "prince of Asgard" and "Odin's son". And the Warriors 3 and Sif only make things worse: they're basically 'yes men' but other than party and battle buddies, I don't see them as true friends. All this comes with its own identity issues for him.

Thor is only ever a little open with Heimdall, which is why it didn't surprise me in IW when he called him a friend but said nothing of the others.

And I think from his perspective, his relationship with Loki is twisted mostly out of fear. I don't think his upbringing was easy at all (this is an unpopular opinion though) but he was afraid to lose his position so he did everything to protect the dynamic - and Loki's nature is to be the necessary change. Like a mirror, if you will, looking at Loki means Thor has to face the truth of his own situation in the family and so he finds it a lot easier to destroy that mirror than really look at himself in it.

So... oops this one is getting long, isn't it? 😂 Okay, I'll point out now a few scenes I think are important to Thor's characterization but I'll do so after the cut.

As I said, I think all of TDW is perfect.

From the first Thor movie, I think one of the best scenes is when Loki visits to tell him he's now on the throne. I love it because Thor doesn't question it, he never doubts Loki's legitimate ascend to King of Asgard, quite the opposite: he accepts it fully and asks for permission to return. He doesn't act like it's his right at all, he asks Loki if he will allow him to go back and when Loki says no he accepts it.

Another great scene is when Jane is thinking of quitting but Thor sees that and takes the time to encourage her. I point this one out because I always read fans who claim he has no emotional intelligence, that's not true at all!

In fact, in Ragnarok when he's all mad at Bruce because he's not being a good friend to him, once he realizes he has hurt his feelings he apologizes immediately. He has every right to be mad and grieving, but he takes the time to comfort Hulk who, quite frankly, doesn't deserve the compassion by the way he's acting towards Thor.

Oh and another scene in the first movie, when he tells Sif to live so that she can tell the stories of her battles herself. This one is great as it shows that while he values Asgard and its battle culture, he also feels the lives of those around him are valuable, more than the legends.

He does show off every now and then though. I love his entire scene with Stephen in Ragnarok, it always reminds me of his cocky moments in battle ("anyone else?" in TDW after he kills the Kronan, for instance) or the times he tries to show off for Jane, Darcy, etc. He's a bit of a dork too ("I thought you liked tricks!" to Loki in TDW or the entire escape from Asgard scene.)

And of course the blind rage in IW, probably the biggest scene for me is when he enjoys stabbing Thanos, that's something we had never seen before: he's prone to violence yeah, he's battle-happy, but he doesn't "enjoy" inflicting pain. That's one dark trait that we had never seen in him before.

He has his negative qualities though, aside from what I have already said, he's too blinded by Asgard's propaganda (the Valkyries weren't heroes, he needed Hela to tell him what should have been obvious to him), he's a little too trigger-happy and impulsive, he keeps everyone at arm's length...

So yeah, I don't know if this is what you were hoping for, but I hope it was helpful somewhat 🤷‍♀️😂

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