After a mixed reception to Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor may be due for a change of direction in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, rather than in Thor 5. Throughout his 14-year journey in the MCU, Thor’s character has experienced highs and lows. While the Infinity Saga concluded on a high note for Thor, his character regression in Thor: Love and Thunder calls for a drastic change in tone for his next appearance.
The Avengers movies have been essential for Thor’s evolution, with the best parts of his MCU journey coming in Avengers crossovers. Thor: Ragnarok, in particular, revitalized his character and cemented his role as one of the MCU’s main stars.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars could restore Thor’s popularity before Thor 5 takes the God of Thunder’s MCU story in a new direction. Not only is Thor one of the most experienced Avengers still active in the Multiverse Saga, but he’s also one of the few heroes powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Doctor Doom.
Thor could take his battles seriously once again after realizing he’s facing a threat much bigger than Hela and Thanos. The end of the MCU multiverse could remind Thor of the pain he went through when he witnessed Asgard’s collapse.
The wisdom Thor has acquired from several battles with the Avengers makes him an excellent candidate to inherit the role of a leader in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. His knowledge of both Earthly and cosmic threats is just the cherry on top.
Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars comic storyline will likely provide a large part of the source material for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, as the source material centers around the multiverse’s destruction through incursions, features Doctor Doom as the main antagonist, and uses Molecule Man in a similar capacity as the MCU’s anchor beings introduced in Deadpool & Wolverine.
In the comics, Doctor Doom acquires the Beyonders’ power and creates his own reality following the death of the Marvel multiverse. As Battleworld’s ruler, God Emperor Doom orders Sheriff Strange to form a police force composed of dozens of Thor variants. The “Thor Corps” serve God Emperor Doom and fend off any individual who could threaten the stability of Doom’s post-apocalyptic empire.
The MCU’s Thor Corps could introduce and bring back several Thor characters, including Beta Ray Bill, Jane Foster, Loki, and the Storm variant who wields Mjolnir. Similarly, the MCU’s version of the Thor Corps, assembled by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, could bring back characters such as Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston’s original Loki, Anthony Hopkins’s Odin, Loki season 1’s Throg, and What If…?’s Party Thor, and it could also introduce Thor-related characters like Beta Ray Bill and Thunderstrike.
What If…? season 3 introduces a Mjolnir-wielding Storm as the Goddess of Thunder, meaning that Phase 6’s Thor Corps could also feature a live-action version of Storm, possibly played by X-Men stars Halle Berry or Alexandra Shipp.
Several Multiverse Saga installments have taken advantage of the MCU multiverse to present scenes or full-fledged movies focusing on multiversal fight scenes starring different variants of the same character. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars’ Thor Corps could offer Chris Hemsworth’s Thor the chance to join in the multiversal fun before Thor 5.