Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been part of the MCU since its first phase of films. Although he is introduced as a brash and arrogant demigod, Thor eventually learns to become humbler and protect the Nine Realms that make up the Tree of the Worlds--also known as Yggdrasil. Ironically, it's the complex rivalry between Thor and his trickster brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) that helped the latter grow as a person. Over the years, Thor has been on several adventures alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes and characters who are not from Midgard. We're here to take a look at what Thor has been up to in his last few MCU appearances and speculate what could happen in Thor: Love and Thunder, which is all set to hit theaters this week.
Destruction of Asgard
Let's start with the destruction of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok since that's one of the more recent MCU events involving the God of Thunder. After Thor and Loki escape the gladiatorial planet Saakar alongside Bruce Banner / the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), they travel to Asgard where they help Heimdall (Idris Elba) and the other Asgardians flee from the Goddess of Death known as Hela (Cate Blanchett).
Since Hela is too powerful to defeat, however, Thor realizes that "Asgard is not a place, it's a people" and resurrects the Fire Demon Surtur (Clancy Brown) to destroy Hela and Asgard. Even though Thor and his people are away from the planet before it explodes, their ship is intercepted by the Sanctuary II, which belongs to none other than the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin).
Thanos Wipes Out Half of Asgard's Population
The next movie with Thor is Avengers: Infinity War, and that's when things get dark. Although Thanos lets Valkyrie escort half the Asgardian population to escape pods, the Mad Titan and his Black Order team kill everyone else on board. After Thanos defeats Hulk in one-on-one combat, Heimdall uses the Bifrost Bridge to send Hulk to Earth, so Thanos kills him.
Loki also tries to kill Thanos, but the latter predicts this move and chokes him to death. Thor cries beside his brother's corpse while Thanos uses the Power Stone to destroy the rest of the Asgardian ship before using the newly acquired Space Stone to teleport him and the Black Order away from the wreckage.
Thor Meets the Guardians of the Galaxy
After hearing a distress call, the Guardians of the Galaxy travel to the wreckage of the Asgardian ship when Thor's barely living body lands on the front window of their ship. After bringing him inside and waking up, Thor tells the Guardians what happened to which Gamora (Zoe Saldana) explains Thanos' plan to wipe out half of all living things in the universe. At one point, Peter Quill / Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) tries to imitate Thor because he's jealous of him and his extremely fit physique. In Quill's defense, his girlfriend was fawning over Thor's muscles.
Thor then exclaims that he needs to go to a neutron star called Nidavellir to forge a new weapon powerful enough to kill Thanos since Hela destroyed Mjolnir in Thor: Ragnarok. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) decide to tag along because the former is interested in all the weapons made on Nidavellir, and takes the ship's space pod to the planet while the rest of the Guardians travel to the decapitated Celestial head known as Knowhere to stop Thanos from finding the Reality Stone.
On their way to Nidavellir, Rocket comforts Thor over the loss of his loved ones, and the latter speaks about how he's using his current emotions (rage, vengeance, anger, loss, and regret) as motivators for killing Thanos. "What more can I lose?" says Thor. Rocket then gives Thor a new eye to replace the one that Hela cut out during their one-on-one fight in Thor: Ragnarok. What a "sweet rabbit!"
Making Stormbreaker
The trio arrives at a Nidavellir where the core isn't sealed and the giant rings surrounding it aren't moving. The giant Dwarf king Eitri (Peter Dinklage), who also built the weapons that Nidavellir is known for, attacks the group before recognizing Thor and asking why Asgard never protected them. He then explains that he built the Infinity Gauntlet for Thanos since he thought the Mad Titan would spare the 299 other Dwarves inhabiting the structure if he did what was asked of him. Unfortunately, Thanos killed them anyway and spared Eitri but made his hands inoperable so that he could not make any more weapons.
After Thor convinces Eitri that they can kill Thanos together, the Dwarf King shows the group a mold of Stormbreaker, an Asgardian axe so powerful that it can theoretically summon the Bifrost, which they could make by reawakening the dying star. Thor and Rocket use the space pod to reignite the star and realign the rings so that Eitri can forge the mold into the pieces needed for Stormbreaker. Unfortunately, the mechanism that opens the star breaks, so Thor decides to pull a Thanos and 'do it himself,' even though Eitri claims that what he's about to do suicide. Nevertheless, Thor manually reopens the iris and takes the full brunt of the star but is able to keep the star open long enough to successfully smelt the parts required to rebuild the weapon. Eitri says that he needs the Axe will keep him alive but can't find the handle, so Groot, who's mostly seen throughout the movie glued to his handheld videogame, selflessly puts the pieces together with one of his arms and then cuts it off.
A revived Thor uses the newly assembled Stormbreaker to transport him, Rocket, and Groot to the Battle of Wakanda where he kills plenty of Thanos' Outriders and yells "Bring me Thanos!" as he kills even more. During the fight, Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans) notices Thor's new haircut while the latter notices that he copied the former's beard. Thor then introduces Rogers to Groot, who he calls "Tree." "I am Groot!" says Groot. "I am Steve Rogers," responds Rogers. Later on, when the Outriders tried to retreat in dropships, Thor takes them out by flying right through them.
Failing to Stop Thanos
After Thanos arrives to claim the sixth and final Infinity Stone from Vision's head, Thor flew in and struck Thanos in the chest so that he could taunt him one last time before delivering the killing blow. Unfortunately, before he could do that, Thanos snapped his fingers and ultimately succeeded in his plan to wipe out half of all living things.
If you don't count the pre-credits scene with Clint Barton / Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and his family, Avengers: Endgame begins right where Endgame left off. Still reeling from his failure, Thor teams up with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Rocket Raccoon, and the original Avengers roster (minus Hawkeye) to hunt down Thanos only to discover that he "used the stones to destroy the stones," so Thor violently beheads him in a fit of rage.
Time Heist
Five years later, Rocket and a Hulkified Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) travel to a small town in Norway called, which has become home to all the remaining Asgardians and has since been renamed "New Asgard." Unfortunately, their new king has let himself go over the years as he now spends his days drinking and playing video games with his two extraterrestrial buddies, the rock-patterned Kronan, Korg (Taika Waititi) and the bug-like alien of few words, Miek. Not to mention Thor has lost the amazing physique that he has long been associated with. Luckily, Rocket uses the promise of free drinks to convince Thor to return to the Avengers Compound.
As part of the team's plan to retrieve the Infinity Stones from specific points in time so that they can bring back everyone who was lost, Thor and Rocket travel to Asgard circa-2013, right before the Dark Elves attacked the city and killed Thor's mother Frigga (Rene Russo). While the God of Thunder is too nervous to help Rocket extract the Reality Stone from his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), he does run into Frigga and has a nice little heart-to-heart with her before returning to 2023 with Rocket, the Reality Stone, and even his old hammer.
After the universe is saved and the Thanos from 2014 is defeated, Thor decides to step down as the king of New Asgard and appoints Valkyrie to be his replacement. That way, he can travel with the Guardians of the Galaxy and hopefully discover his true purpose.
All's Fair in Love and Thunder
Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder marks the God of Thunder's first entry in the MCU since Endgame, but it also may be his last. The film's teaser trailer hints that Thor will go on a journey of self-discovery and that he's officially retiring from being a superhero. Of course, those plans may not last very long as Christian Bale is set to bring the pain as the movie's main antagonist, Gorr the God Butcher. And even though Captain America returned the 2013 Mjolnir to its respective point in time, Natalie Portman is set to wield the original Asgardian hammer, which has been seemingly rebuilt, as Jane Foster, which adds to the speculation that Thor: Love and Thunder may be a Logan-esque conclusion for Hemsworth in the role. Either way, we'll find out where the Odinson's story goes once Love and Thunder arrives in theaters on Friday, July 8.