The God of Thunder, before the jokes
Thor is the son of Odin and heir to the throne of Asgard. When we meet him in Thor, he is strong, proud and spoiling for a war. His father strips him of his powers and his hammer, Mjolnir, and drops him on Earth to learn some humility. That fish-out-of-water setup gives the MCU one of its earliest odd-couple comedies and starts a long arc about what it means to be worthy.
Few MCU heroes change as much as Thor does. He starts out as a stiff Shakespearean prince and ends up as a battle-worn survivor with a dry sense of humor, a lot of grief and a fresh look roughly every other film.
Thor's movies in order
- Thor (recommended)
- The Avengers (essential)
- Thor: The Dark World (recommended)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (essential)
- Doctor Strange (essential, a mid-credits cameo)
- Thor: Ragnarok (essential)
- Avengers: Infinity War (essential)
- Avengers: Endgame (essential)
- What If...? (optional, an alternate-universe animated appearance)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (optional)
- Avengers: Doomsday (essential, upcoming)
- Avengers: Secret Wars (essential, announced)
Release order and story order line up here, so you can simply go down the list.
Where Thor's story turns
The first two solo films are about family and duty: Thor clashing with his father and trying, again and again, to trust his adopted brother. Age of Ultron gives him a vision that sends him chasing the Infinity Stones, which is why he sits out Civil War.
Ragnarok is the reinvention. Director Taika Waititi strips away most of the old Asgard, cuts Thor's hair and throws him onto a junk planet where he is forced into a gladiator fight. The film is loose and very funny, and it finally lets Hemsworth's comic timing lead.
Infinity War hands Thor his most personal fight, and Endgame shows the cost of it in a way that surprised many fans. Love and Thunder then explores what a god does once the big war is over. Avengers: Doomsday is next; its plot has not been announced.
Thor's closest allies and rivals
Loki is the brother he cannot give up on, the core relationship of the first Thor films. Hulk (Bruce Banner) becomes an unlikely friend, sparring partner and fellow outcast in Ragnarok. With Captain America (Steve Rogers), he shares a long, respectful running joke about who can lift Mjolnir. Nick Fury is the one who first brings him into the Avengers fold.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Hemsworth is an Australian actor who got his early break on the soap opera Home and Away. Thor made him a star, and he has stayed with the role through every tonal shift Marvel has thrown at it. He plays the dramatic beats straight and the comedy without vanity, which is why the character survives so many changes of tone. Away from Marvel, he played racing driver James Hunt in Rush, the mercenary Tyler Rake in Extraction and the warlord Dementus in Furiosa.
The best order to watch Thor
For the core story, watch The Avengers, Age of Ultron, Ragnarok, Infinity War and Endgame. Add Thor first if you want his origin and the roots of his bond with Loki; most people find it worth it. The Dark World is the weakest link for many viewers, but it introduces one of the Infinity Stones and some important Asgardian history. Love and Thunder is optional: watch it if you want to see where Thor stands after Endgame before Doomsday arrives.