The second teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday is currently playing in front of Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters. This time, it’s Chris Hemsworth’s Thor who enjoys the spotlight, as he prays to his late father and seeks to reunite with his daughter Love (India Rose Hemsworth). Clearly, all is not well in New Asgard.
In fact, the biggest takeaway from this brief new footage is that Thor himself is mired in a newfound darkness. As far as we’re concerned, that can only mean good things for Doomsday. Thor is a character who needs a little darkness to balance out the levity, and it’s about time that Marvel remembered that.
Thor’s Inconsistent MCU History
Hemsworth’s Thor is certainly one of the most prominent characters in the MCU. He’s headlined no fewer than four solo films and played a key role in all four Avengers movies. Yet as often as Thor pops up in the MCU, Marvel seems to have a real problem with nailing down his characterization and striking a consistent tone with his adventures.
Look at how wildly different those Thor movies are in terms of style and voice. The original two are far more dramatic, even Shakespearean. That approach worked out pretty well for 2011’s Thor and much less so for 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. It helps that the former had a director of Kenneth Branagh’s stature at the helm.
But the franchise took a decidedly more comedic turn when Taika Waititi took over with 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi really leaned into Thor’s sillier side there. A lot of MCU fans seemed to connect with that approach, certainly, judging from the critical and commercial reaction. But even if Ragnarok proved to be the most purely entertaining Thor movie to date, it does raise the question of how silly is too silly. At times, the film undercuts its more dramatically weighty moments. Case in point, no sooner does Asgard explode into fiery ruin than Waititi’s Korg pops in with a goofy one-liner.
Despite adapting some of Marvel’s absolute best Thor comics, Love and Thunder squandered that material on a script that is far too inane and joke-y for its own good.
Ragnarok’s successor, 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, doubled down on that approach, much to its detriment. Despite adapting some of Marvel’s absolute best Thor comics (Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder and The Mighty Thor), Love and Thunder squandered that material on a script that is far too inane and joke-y for its own good. Can a superhero movie become so silly that it’s no longer even funny? Yes, apparently.
Of Thor’s numerous MCU appearances, only one movie has really managed to nail his characterization and strike that critical balance between humor and pathos. That would be 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. If Ragnarok undercut the drama in Asgard’s destruction, Infinity War at least explores the emotional fallout well. Hemsworth delivers his best Thor performance here, painting a portrait of a weary king trying to put a good face on things despite falling so fast and so far.
Even the sequel, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, struggled a bit in carrying that torch. For every scene that really dials in on Thor coming to terms with his absolute failure, there are three or four fat jokes. Still, it’s clear that directors Joe and Anthony Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely understand the character better than anyone in the MCU at this point.
Thor in Avengers: Doomsday
That’s one major advantage of the fact that Avengers: Doomsday is getting the majority of the band back together. The Russos are back in the directors’ chairs, and McFeely is co-writing alongside Loki’s Michael Waldron. The potential is there to finally right the Viking ship and restore Thor to the cinematic greatness he enjoyed in Infinity War.
If this new teaser is any indication, they’re well on their way to achieving that goal. The second teaser is similar in style to the first Steve Rogers teaser, striking a somber mood and dialing in on one character. We see Thor praying to his late father, Anthony Hopkins’ Odin, as he seeks to be reunited with his adopted daughter, Love.
“Of all the crowns, the kingdoms, the pride, I ask for none,” Thor says in his monologue. “Father, hear your son. I am not worthy of life, but still, I beg you to let the thread lengthen. Not for thunder, not for war… let me remain long enough to see my Love once more.”
Now this is a proper thunder god. The quips and the humor are finally gone, replaced by a father deeply committed to the singular mission of reuniting with his daughter. This is a Thor who has a regal quality, yet is humbled by his past failures and losses. The pained, grieving hero of Infinity War is finally back.
Obviously, we can only judge Hemsworth’s Thor so much by a single, minute-long teaser. We still don’t know exactly how Thor fits into the plot or what his exact beef with Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom is (we can hopefully speculate more on that front when the rumored Doom-centric teaser hits next week). And, to be sure, Hemsworth is going to be jockeying for screen time with a massive cast of heroes. Will there even be room to give Thor the attention he deserves?
But this teaser is nothing if not an encouraging sign for Thor fans. After a big misstep with the most recent Thor film, things look to be getting back on track as the Odinson reunites with his Avengers buddies. And, with any luck, a few tears will be shed when Thor inevitably reunites with his wayward brother, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.
Now bring on the next Doomsday teaser.
For more, see why we’re feeling discouraged by Chris Evans’ return in the first Avengers: Doomsday teaser.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
