Thor

• This contain spoilers for God of War: Ragnarok

Template:Infobox godsThor (Old Norse: Þórr) is the Norse Aesir God of thunder, lightning, storms, and strength. He is the son of Odin and Fjörgyn, husband of Sif, half-brother of Baldur and Týr, and the father of Magni, Modi, and Þrúðr, his daughter.

Norse Mythology

In Norse mythology, Thor is an Æsir God associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing and fertility. Thor is described as a barrel-chested ugly man, carrying a menagerie of magical weapons, from a pair of magical gauntlets to a girdle of strength. However, his most notable weapon is the hammer Mjölnir, which is powerful enough to level mountains.

In the God of War Series

Before God of War (2018)

Thor was born as the son of the Aesir God Odin and the Jötunn giantess Fjörgyn. He is the half-brother to Týr and Baldur. At some point in his life, he became the husband of Sif and had a daughter with her. Thor also had two sons, Magni and Modi, both of which were conceived with an unknown Jötunn, and had different mothers (Sindri commented this was a "sordid story").

Odin commissioned Brok and Sindri to build a powerful weapon, Mjölnir, for Thor to use to protect Asgard. Both dwarven brothers would come to bitterly regret making the hammer many years later.

At some point, Odin tricked the stone giant Hrungnir to drink an amount full of mead and make him goad in front of the Aesir in the hall of Asgard, all to entertain and laugh at him. When Thor arrived and saw the drunken giant, he threw Mjölnir so hard it smashed his head into pieces, with a piece ended up lodged in Thor‘s head. Hrungnir’s body would end up falling on top of Thor. None of the Aesir in the hall, not even Thor, would able to budge the corpse off him. Thor’s sons, Magni and Modi, who at the time were no bigger than shrubs, would come to their father’s aid, and managed to lift Hrungnir’s body off him while no one was looking, except for Mimir who was there during the event. Magni would get all the praise from Thor for being blonder, while Modi became bitter and resentful towards his brother for not getting any credit for his involvement.

After Odin was forced to flee Jötunheim after the Giants discovered him trying to steal their secret knowledge of the future, he furiously ordered Thor to use Mjölnir to slaughter every giant in Midgard that he could find. By the time of Laufey's death, Thor had already slaughtered most of the Giants in Midgard (with the exception of Jörmungandr) and earned a fearful reputation as the strongest Norse God in all the nine realms.

When the giant Thamur went to Midgard in order to search for his son, Hrimthur, Thor appeared and killed the stonemason by causing him to fall on his own chisel and Thamur's gigantic body crushed the fishing village which worshipped the Vanir God Njörd. Thor would always act like he planned to make the Giant fall onto the village and destroy it, although Mimir states that it was simply just a case of luck.

Following the murder, Odin entered a bet with Hrimthur, a Jötunn disguised as a mortal and the son of Thamur, to improve the walls of Asgard within a near-impossible span of time. Odin lost the bet and sent Thor to kill Hrimthur when he discovered stonemasons true nature as a Jötunn. Unbeknownst to Odin, Hrimthur had sabotaged the walls and entrusted the secret of his deception only to Freya for the preparation for Ragnarök when Surtr arrive to burn as Asgard to ash.

After losing his hammer to Thrym while he was sleeping, Thor snuck into Jötunheim with Freya into the wedding feast between her and Thrym. When Giant King revealed Mjölnir during the ceremony, Thor revealed himself, took back his hammer and began slaughtering every Giant present for the festivities, including Thrym by smashing his skull. That is until Freya cast a spell to return Thor and herself back to Asgard, which caused him to hold some form of disdain against her as he was also ordered by Odin to establish a foothold in the realm.

Thor also still trusted his brother Baldur completely, despite the fact that the God of Light had lost his sanity long ago in the eyes of the other Aesir and was regarded as dangerously unhinged.

God of War (2018)

Although absent in the main campaign, he is mentioned consistently throughout as a monster who slew every Giant he could find in Midgard to satisfy his blood-lust.

Thor is also mentioned to have fought The World Serpent years ago during his massacre of the Giants. But, instead of emerging victorious, the World Serpent proved to be just as strong as the Thunder God, leading to a stalemate. Thus Thor was forced to return to his father Odin empty-handed. As a result, Thor and The World Serpent have hated each other ever since. It is also said that their rivalry will not end until the coming of Ragnarök.

Kratos and Atreus also meet the spirit of a former disciple of Thor, who desires vengeance on the God for wronging his family. After his father died, the spirit's mother built a statue of Thor to watch over his grave and were surprised when the God himself came to offer condolences. While they were initially thrilled, Thor took advantage of the family's hospitality. The mother had to beg him to leave, but in a drunken rage Thor murdered her. The man lived in grief until it eventually turned to rage and hatred.

Before he can leave Midgard to begin his quest for vengeance, he requests that the statue be destroyed, and any valuables in his father's grave may be looted with his blessing. In their boat, Kratos uses the man's story to remind his son of an important lesson: the lives of men mean nothing to the Gods, recounting Kratos' own experience of being betrayed time and again by the Olympian Gods.

After Modi fled to Asgard upon Kratos killing Magni, Thor was furious to learn of his favored son's death. Believing Modi abandoned Magni, Thor angrily and brutally beats him for his cowardice.

Thor only physically appears in the game's true ending. During a dream about the future, years after the events of the game, Kratos and Atreus were sleeping. Thor arrived and summoned a huge storm outside their house, causing Kratos and Atreus to investigate. When Kratos demands he reveal his identity, Thor silently lifts his cloak revealing Mjölnir as it emits electricity. The dream ends and is relayed by Atreus to his father after he wakens, theorizing Thor will come to avenge the death of his sons and half-brother.

Appearance

Thor's full appearance is not fully shown, though he is seen possessing blue eyes, red hair, and a thick beard which seems to be braided (as mentioned in The Lost Pages of Norse Myth: Episode 4). He is exceptionally tall and muscular, roughly equal to Kratos in terms of body stature and height. He wears a black hooded cloak fastened together with a yellow leather chord and armor, the latter of which consists of a decoratively embossed dark-colored chestguard and matching vambraces worn over a long-sleeved shirt. He seems to have a cold-blooded and serious expression very similar to Kratos himself in the past. According to Mimir, Thor also has several pieces of the stone giant Hrungnir imbedded in his skull.

Personality

Thor is widely feared throughout the Nine Realms for his cruelty, violent temper, brutality, and sadism. He was utterly ruthless, showing no mercy to his enemies, and his bloodlust was noted by Mimir to be the only thing greater than Odin's own paranoia, and many consider him the worst of the Aesir gods. Despite being half-giant himself, Thor took sadistic pleasure in torturing and killing any giant he could find. His reputation was somewhat similar to Ares, who was considered the worst among the Olympian Gods.

What makes him different from Ares, however, is that he seems to possess a sense of honor, as he dislikes cowardice. When Modi fled after Magni, his favorite son, died; Thor was angered greatly and subsequently beat his surviving son for fleeing from Kratos and deemed Modi a coward. He also somewhat cares for his worshipers, as when one of his faithful followers died he made time to visit the family, although even then he still could be enraged easily, especially while drunk, and ended up taking advantage of his higher status.

Thor's overall intelligence could be called into question, as many a time has Thor been made a fool of himself or made stupid, reckless mistakes (quite comparable to his sons, in fact). Brok considered him the big idiot, and Atreus also called him an idiot when hearing about how he got crushed by Hrungnir's body. Most of all, Thor had his legendary hammer stolen by the giant Thrym, when he was carelessly sleeping. However, Thor is clever enough to know his limit and not try to challenge Starkaðr alone, knowing very well that he would die.

In addition, Thor is extremely arrogant, typical for an Aesir, as he would go to great lengths to cement his reputation amongst the Nine Realms and be respected, as well as feared. An example being the destruction of the village when Thor battled Thamur, Thor claimed credit for the giant's death and the village's destruction, despite the fact that Thor was merely lucky in both actions.

Despite his dark side, Thor has proven to deeply care and trust his family. He is known for being very loyal to Odin and was close with Baldur, comforting him in his depression over being unable to feel and trusting him with his life, even despite the latter's insanity a despiting him over his bloodlust. Magni points out that he and Modi have to trust Baldur because their father believes in him, despite Modi proclaiming that their uncle had not been sane for a while. Thor was also known for being furious at Magni's death and after Modi and Baldur died as well, Thor would apparently attack Kratos and Atreus to seek vengeance for their demises.

Powers and Abilities

Being both half-giant and Odin's firstborn son, Thor is the second most powerful of the Aesir (and maybe physically the strongest Aesir), surpassed only by his father. His power is great enough for having slaughtered almost all the Giants living outside of Jötunheim, whilst being recognized and feared by most alongside his brutality. In addition, even with Kratos and Atreus having killed Baldur, Magni, and Modi, Thor appears confident enough in his abilities to personally confront them at their home by himself, and Mimir stated that he does not know whether Kratos can kill Thor.

• Superhuman Strength: As the God of Strength, Thor is the strongest of the Aesir Gods, surpassing that of Baldur, Magni, Modi, and Týr. His strength is so great that he was able to singlehandedly slaughter the Giants to near extinction, with only Jörmungandr being strong enough to match his strength; their battle being said to be capable of breaking space-time with Thor striking the World Serpent so hard as to send him back in time. Only Starkaðr, the strongest of the Giants, proved to be too much for Thor to defeat or even fight alone, requiring the aid from the combined armies of Asgard, Vanaheim, and Midgard to subdue him, although Thor was still strong enough to rip his arms off after Starkaor had sustained severe injuries, and Surtr, the first Fire Giant, who he would need the help of Odin to defeat at Ragnarok. With Mjölnir, Thor was able to shatter the head of Hrungnir the Brawler with a single blow. Thor can possibly hold strength capable rival Kratos as he came alone to challenge him and his son in their house. Mimir said it's unknown who would win if Kratos and Thor clashed.
• Superhuman Durability: As the strongest of the Aesir Gods, Thor must have tremendous superhuman durability. He is able endure attacks from the Giants without much damage, which was most likely crucial in his ability to massacre them. However, he still can be incapacitated, such as when the colossal body of Hrungnir fell on him he was unable to remove the corpse himself until his sons removed it for him. He's also destined to die after his battle with Jormungandr, falling victim to the latter's venom.
• Weather Control: As the God of Storms, Thor has the ability to summon harsh lightning storms at whim. He displayed this power when he caused a giant storm to occur to wake Kratos and Atreus up.
  • Lightning Manipulation: As the God of Thunder, Thor has absolute control over electricity and lightning, with it being an innate power inherited by his sons, although Thor's electrokinetic powers must clearly far surpass theirs. During his attack on Kratos and Atreus, Thor was capable of causing bolts of lightning to constantly rain down on their house by simply willing it.
• Immortality: As with all Gods, Thor is immortal and cannot be killed by anything not powerful enough.

• Master Combatant: As the mightiest warrior of Asgard, Thor is an extremely skilled combatant with hundreds of years worth of training and experience, as he single-handedly killed almost every giant on Midgard and many other powerful beings. Thor, alongside Odin, is capable of defeating Surtr, the strongest Fire Giant and immensely exceptional combatant, during Ragnarok. Mimir stated that due to Thor's own incredible fighting prowess, even Kratos, who Mimir describes as being the most proficient killer he's ever known, is uncertain to defeat him in battle.
  • Hammer Mastery: Thor is incredibly skilled in using his hammer Mjölnir which he uses to wipe out nearly all Giants.

Weapons

• Mjölnir: Forged by Brok and Sindri, this special one-handed hammer is Thor's weapon of choice when killing giants and other foes. In Norse mythology, it is said that when thrown, Mjölnir always hits its target and returns to the wielder's hand and that it is capable of crushing mountains in a single blow. It is also described as a "superweapon" by Mimir and as such is one of the most powerful weapons in all of the Nine Realms. The only weapons capable of opposing its immense power are the Leviathan Axe, Surtr's Sword, and possibly the Blades of Chaos.

Trivia

• His Greek equivalent (in terms of abilities) is Zeus. However, in terms of ruling Zeus' equivalent was Odin. Thor's bloodthirsty nature also makes him like Ares, even though they are not counterparts.
• In Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars, Thor is referred to as Vulcan (whose Greek counterpart is the God Hephaestus). Vulcan and Hephaestus, like Thor, were Gods associated with thunder: Hephaestus (or Vulcan) was said to use his hammer to craft Zeus's (or Jupiter's) thunderbolts. As with Hephaestus, Thor is described in Norse mythology as a benefactor to mankind, bringing gifts to men, a protector of artisans and freemen. Finally, As with Thor, Vulcan and Hephaestus were Gods associated with snakes, fertility and healing.
• Thor is much like Zeus as they both beat their own sons to a bloody pulp, Zeus beat down Hephaestus for lying to him about Pandora's Box being safe on the back of Cronos, while Thor beat his son Modi under the assumption he left his better-received brother Magni behind to die to Kratos.
  • Thor and Zeus in the series were both seen as monsters, Zeus imprisoned the Titans because of Cronos, while Thor killed and murdered giants simply due to his father's orders.
  • Another similarity was that they both had more than one lover in their lives, whom they fathered Demigod children with, though Thor only ever had two outside of his marriage with Sif, whereas Zeus had several lovers.
• While his face is covered in darkness, pausing the image for a moment when lightning strikes reveal his appearance as having blue eyes and a red beard, as he is commonly described in Norse mythology.
• Faye, Atreus's mother, considered Thor to be the worst of the Aesir. It is understandable for her to think that way, as Thor was considered the most dangerous enemy toward the giants and Faye herself was a giantess.
  • According to Mimir, Thor wished to fight Faye as she was rumored to be a great Jotunn warrior who foiled many of the Aesir's plans. However, Faye effectively eluded him for her whole life, which angered him greatly.
• Mimir says that during his fight with the World Serpent at Ragnarok, their battle will be so brutal, that the Yggdrasil will splinter, sending the World Serpent back in time before his birth.
• Both he and Atreus have Jötnar mothers and are part Gods.
  • Atreus has a wooden figure of Thor.
• Thor apparently has a daughter, whom Sindri was about to mention the name before Kratos cuts him off.
  • If the game is faithful to Norse mythology, his daughter's name would be Thrúd.
• According to The Lost Pages of Norse Myth: Episode 6; Thor's rampage across Midgard against the Jötnar went on for thirty years.
  • This is contradicted by Mimir according to him Thor's rampage against the Jotnar in Midgard lasted for 60 years. This is later explained in Lore & Legends as Thor having committed two genocides, before and after the meeting with the Giant-Kings.
• When telling Kratos of what he knows of Magni and Modi, Sindri mentions both brothers are of different mothers and it was a "sordid story".
• In mythology, Thor was shown to have an association with goats, as shown by his goat-drawn chariot. In the game, this is seemingly reflected with Mjölnir as its hilt is designed with goat heads. In "The Lost Pages of Norse Myth" cinematic, the Mjölnir symbol is designed with goats. Finally, the "Grip of Tanngiost" (which was made in honour of Thor) has a goat head design.
• The soundtrack during the epilogue of God of War (2018) refer to Thor as Banamaður Þórr (Slayer/Killer/Murderer Thor), referring to his role during Odin's genocidal campaign against the Jötnar.
• According to God of War Lore and Legends, Mimir is unsure about whether or not Kratos can beat Thor.

Gallery

Thor's Hammer.jpg

Thor's Mjöllnir

Kratos encounters Thor outside his home.

Thor's Face

Tattoo on Thor's neck