  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, strong drug use, extremely traumatic themes, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | You seem like a calm and reasonable person. Are you... a calm and reasonable person? | „ |
| ~ Thor's most famous quote. |
| “ | I've been waiting for this. You're not from here. We got a tradition called "blood payments". It means I get a piece of you, for what you took from my family. You'll pick it up. | „ |
| ~ Thor threatening Kratos before their climactic duel. |
| “ | Was it luck?! Did my sons die to blind, f*cking luck?! Dumbass! You think you can come here, become a daddy, get a clean slate? That ain't how it works. You're a destroyer, like me. | „ |
| ~ Thor when fighting Kratos. |
Thor is the secondary antagonist of the Norse Era of the God of War franchise.
He is the Norse God of Thunder and the figurehead of the Aesir, famed as their Champion. He is also the son of Odin and the Giant Fjörgyn, the husband of the goddess Sif, the half-brother of Baldur and the father of Magni, Modi, and Thrúd.
The mightiest of the Aesir, he earned his infamous reputation as the worst of them for having wiped the Giants out of Midgard on Odin's behalf, a gruesome task he carried out with a great deal of zeal and pride. Destined to fight Jörmungandr in Ragnarök, Thor loathed the Jötnar almost as much as the All-Father, who made him his right-hand and primary enforcer across the Nine Realms. The God of Thunder unsuccessfully sought to gain Odin's favours by all means but ultimately failed his family in the process.
He is depicted in the God of War series as a potbellied and self-loathing drunk haunted by his own failures and experiences. Psychologically broken by the treatments visited upon him by Odin, Thor is a complex character torn between his submission to the All-Father's will and his fatherly love for a daughter who is all he has left.
He is portrayed by Ryan Hurst (who also played Beta in The Walking Dead and Doug Loveless in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) and by Takanori Hoshino in the Japanese dub (who also voiced Donatello Versus in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean and Pantalone in Genshin Impact).
Appearance[]
Although Thor's full appearance is not fully shown in God of War 4, he wears a hooded black cloak and has blue eyes. He has a thick beard and red hair, 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 has a blank and serious expression. According to Mimir, Thor also has several pieces of the stone giant Hrungnir stuck in his skull.
In Ragnarök, Thor is depicted as overweight, with a bulging belly (which Mimir correctly described Thor as the "fat dobber") and unkempt red hair. This reflects his behavior in Norse lore as a heavy drinker and big eater. He also revealed to be roughly taller a head than Kratos. During his first fight with Kratos, Thor gains a scar on his stomach after being slashed by Kratos' axe.
Personality[]
| “ | You think you can come here, become a daddy, get a clean slate? That ain't how it works. You're a DESTROYER, like ME. | „ |
| ~ Thor to Kratos. |
According to many, Thor is known for his violent, destructive, barbaric nature. He was noted to be a pure sadist that took pleasure in killing his enemies, demonstrating no signs of mercy. This reputation of his made him be feared by many and is considered to be the worst amongst Aesir gods. At the same time, his recklessness was known to make a fool of himself, leading him make careless and silly mistakes, as well as be insulted by many.
The reality behind this behavior however is due to Odin's emotional abuse and manipulation he has inflicted upon Thor, as Thor ultimately seeks for his father's love and approval. The number of atrocities that Thor has committed has made him see how cruel and unforgiving Odin truly is, but because of his blind obedience to him, he cannot help but feel that it is too late for him to change his ways. As a result, Thor has lived his whole life feeling great remorse over his actions, causing him to fall into depression.
In battle, he is savage and will relentlessly attack his opponent, as he seen when he unleashed his fury on Kratos and kept reminding the Ghost of Sparta that he was a destroyer just like Thor. When he put the Spartan in a near-death state, he proceeded to revive him with his hammer to continue the fight as he would have been unsatisfied with such a win. He also demanded Kratos lived up his reputation as the Ghost of Sparta and God of War before insulting the latter's son, which caused him to a suffer a beating from him in response. He refused to leave until he sees Kratos' true self. He came to respect Kratos for letting his old self emerge and told him the debt was finished.
| “ | Then Thor is a fool. | „ |
| ~ Kratos as the latter called Thor a fool when not even Mjolnir can break the ice to Thamur's magical chisel tip. |
As a result of Odin's abuse, Thor's intelligence appeared limited to only following orders, making him appear reckless, empty-minded and mindless. His past actions were scrutinized by the likes of Kratos, calling the god of thunder a fool from Mimir's comment on Thamur's ice and Atreus on learning of how Hrungnir's body fell onto Thor. Despite this, he was capable of thinking, as noted when he didn't challenge Starkaðr directly.
Beyond his savagery, Thor deep down has genuine love for his family. He is shown to be both protective of his wife, Sif and their daughter, Thrúd. Thor initially appeared to have favored Magni as when he was killed by Kratos, Thor was extremely furious and saddened by death, expressing his rage by beating up his younger son, Modi, for cowardly leaving his elder brother to die at the hands of the Ghost of Sparta. However, Thor later claims that he sought out to avenge Modi as well, stating that while he had problems, he was still his son in the end. He has a good relationship with his brother, Baldur and always trusted him, despite of Baldur's disapproval of Thor's bloodlust.
Thor struggled with alcoholism, and most of his actions in legend came about due him becoming inebriated. He drank due to his self-loathing, having lived under the depression and guilt of committing barbaric acts under Odin's will. Following the deaths of Magni and Modi, he and Sif resolved to quit drinking for the sake of Thrúd, but Thor ultimately relapsed following the death of Heimdall, much to his daughter's disappointment. It was implied that his drinking problem was either began or exacerbated by Odin, as seen in the first meeting they had with Kratos, Odin subtly moved another mead to Thor for him to drink; a purpose behind Odin encouraging such an addiction was likely to reinforce his control on Thor, to keep him too inebriated to ever have the clarity about how his father was always using him, as well as preventing Thor from planning to reject the bloody paths he was often sent upon.
Powers and Abilities[]
Thor's power was compounded by Mjölnir.
Powers[]
| “ | He chose to end our fight prematurely. It is good for both of us that it did not reach its conclusion. | „ |
| ~ Kratos' codex page after his first battle with Thor. |
Thor is the second most powerful of the Aesir (and the physically 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. Mimir himself stated that he does not know whether Kratos can kill Thor, with the God of Thunder later proving to be a close match for the Ghost of Sparta in their fights.
- Immesureable Strength: Thor is the physically strongest of the Aesir Gods, surpassing that of Týr, Heimdall, Baldur, Magni, Modi, and even Odin himself. He was able to singlehandedly slaughter the Jötnar to near extinction, even shattering the head of the immensely durable Hrungnir the Brawler with a single blow. Jörmungandr is one of the few Jötnar strong enough to contend with Thor's strength; His first battle against the World Serpent was felt across all the Nine Realms, and Thor later battled Jörmungandr at Ragnarök, with his final strike on the World Serpent violently shaking and splintering Yggdrasil, sending it backward through time before his own birth, a feat which even Kratos deemed as madness. 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. Thor's immense strength proved comparable even to that of Kratos: At no point in their first fight was Kratos able to overpower Thor despite him holding back at that time, with Thor evenly holding back Kratos's shield from striking him when they were both using two hands at once before quickly pushing him back when he tried to summon his axe and evenly locking Mjölnir with the Leviathan Axe as they fought over the air. He could casually lift and throw Kratos over his head with a single hand, even choke and lift him off his feet with a single hand, with Kratos showing visible struggle in breaking free from his grip. Thor's strength allows him to create shockwaves simply by clapping his hands or punching the ground, and he could easily send enemies, even Kratos himself, flying several feet away with simple punches and kicks. He is also able to easily jump high into the air while simultaneously carrying Atreus. With Mjolnir, Thor was able to hit Kratos with sufficient force to send him flying high into the air and great distance away, even shattering the Guardian Shield with only a few blows. Kratos noted in the Codex that the full force of Thor's attack is as heavy as any he had felt.
- Immesureable Durability: Thor possesses tremendous durability, which must have helped him in his massacre of the Jötnar, as he would have to be able to easily withstand their attacks with little to no damage. During his fights with Kratos, Thor was able to easily shrug off powerful blows from the Ghost of Sparta with only little blood and no significant injuries, showing incredible resistance to blunt trauma. After being slashed by the Leviathan Axe on the abdomen, Thor got stabbed to the same spot by both the Blades of Chaos and Draupnir Spear later, but he showed to be more angered rather than harmed. 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. After his final fight with Kratos, Odin was also able to impale and kill him, albeit Thor was exhausted and wounded.
- Supernatural Speed and Reflexes: Despite his massive size and overweight body, Thor has proven to be able to move at extremely fast speeds, with stupendous reflexes, being able to evenly match Kratos in direct combat and repeatedly catch Kratos off-guard to physically man-handle him as well as easily react to Kratos's attacks.
- Supernatural Agility: Thor has extraordinary agility, capable of easily jumping great heights and distance and landing without any problems. Despite his massive figure, Thor's can appear and disappear so unreasonably fast he even startled Odin when he come to his father's call.
- Immesureable Stamina: Thor possesses immense stamina. He fought continuously throughout Ragnarök, fend off large numbers of Nine Realms reinforcements, battling both young Jörmungandr and Ragnarök at the same time then went on to fight Kratos immediately after sending Jörmungandr back to the past.
- Tempestakinesis: 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.
- Electrokinesis: 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 has show to 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. He was able to imbue Mjolnir with lightning to throw it and cast waves of electricity. He could rain down bolts of lightning that left behind fields of lightning for some time just by striking the ground with his hammer. While fighting the World Serpent and Surtr, Thor manipulated powerful lightning strikes and disorient Jörmungandr.
- Immortality: As with all Gods, Thor is immortal and cannot be killed by anything not powerful enough.
- Flight: Thor could levitate and fly through the air at extreme speeds using his lightning powers.
Abilities[]
- Master Combatant: Thor is the mightiest warrior in Asgard. As such, he is an extremely skilled fighter with hundreds of years worth of training and experience. He single-handedly killed countless Giants on Midgard and many other powerful beings. Thor's martial prowess is so great, that Mimir was uncertain that Kratos can even defeat him in battle. His fighting style skillfully combines hand-to-hand combat with his usage of Mjolnir. Thor's fighting prowess proved to be a near-indomitable opponent for Kratos, being the only person that was able to fight Kratos to a stalemate in their first fight and only narrowly losing to him in their second fight.
- Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Despite having one of the most powerful weapons in the Nine Realms, Thor is also an exceptionally proficient martial artist, masterfully mixing his unarmed combat with his skill in using Mjolnir, performing powerful, swift and precise punches and kicks as well as being proficient in wrestling and grappling, capable of even suplexing and throwing Kratos around. In the first round of their fight, Thor's unarmed fighting skills alone proved enough to put Kratos with his shield on the ropes and even fought him using his axe for some time before eventually having to use his hammer.
- Hammer Mastery: Thor is incredibly skilled in using his hammer Mjolnir, having used the weapon in battle for centuries and caused mass genocides on the Giants with devastating ease. During his fights with Kratos, Thor was able to evenly match his usage of the Leviathan Axe with his hammer and deliver repeated blows on him, even managing to destroy the Guardian Shield. Further more, Thor can pull himself toward Mjolnir with lightning speed, he often use it to pass through terrain or quickly close the gap between him and his opponent.
Victims[]
| Victims |
|---|
Indirectly[]
|
Quotes[]
| “ | Let it be known that the God of Thunder is good for two things: killing Giants, and PISSING MEAD! Any man who disagrees will greet Mjölnir with his face. | „ |
| ~ Thor's drunken speech |
| “ | I've been waiting for this. You're not from here. We got a tradition called "blood payments." It means I get a piece of you, for what you took from my family. You'll pick it up. | „ |
| ~ Thor attacking Kratos before their fight begins. |
| “ | Thor: That was for Baldur. Now show me this god-killer I've heard so much about. You insult me holding back like this. Kratos: I did not seek that fight with your brother. Thor: I don't care. |
„ |
| ~ Thor to Kratos as their fight begins. |
| “ | Kratos: You know my past? Thor: The "Ghost of Sparta" thing? Yeah. |
„ |
| ~ Thor to Kratos while clashing in their first battle. |
| “ | Sorry about your statue, Týr... you preachy old stiff. | „ |
| ~ Thor when destroying Týr's statue during his fight with Kratos. |
| “ | Thor: This is for Modi! (hurls Mjölnir which clashes against Kratos' Leviathan Axe mid-air) Kratos: You put him last, even in death. Thor: The f*ck you say? Kratos: Modi sought us in fear of you. He died of the wounds you gave to him. Thor: Oh. We got a MODEL FATHER here. |
„ |
| ~ Kratos calls Thor out for mistreating Modi. |
| “ | Thor: I could give a hot shit about your fatherly advice. I wanna see the god of war! Kratos: You started this, I will end it. |
„ |
| ~ Thor when he brushes off Kratos words about mistreating his son and wants to see his true self. |
| “ | I see why my sons fell to you. Even this, lesser version of you. But I am not my sons. And your boy? All-Father has plans for him.. | „ |
| ~ Thor taunting Kratos and telling him Odin has plans for Atreus, which causes Kratos to punch him. |
| “ | There he is... There's the god of war. Consider your blood debt paid. Be seeing ya. | „ |
| ~ Thor to Kratos before leaving during the first battle. |
| “ | Take one more step and you're not gonna like how this ends. | „ |
| ~ Thor threatening Heimdall. |
| “ | Modi had some problems, but he was my son. And the only reason you aren't mush right now is because of that broken piece of wood. | „ |
| ~ Thor to Aterus as he holds him with Mjölnir and why he hasn't killed him yet. |
| “ | I am done with you and your son. No more f*cking games! And this time... I'm allowed to kill you. | „ |
| ~ Thor to Kratos as they begin their second battle. |
| “ | Thor: What the f*ck are you waiting for?! Kratos: Your daughter... my son calls her friend. Thor: If you try to hurt her...! Kratos: I would not. Thor: Don't you know... what I've DONE!? Kratos: YES! But what will you do now? Thor: We don't change... We... are destroyers. Kratos: No more. (quietly puts away his axe) No more. For the sake of our children. We. Must. Be. Better. |
„ |
| ~ Kratos inspires Thor to change to better but unintentionally provokes Odin to kill the latter and lash out against him and his companions. |
| “ | Odin: Why isn't he dead? Are you talking, who told you to do that!? You don't talk! You don't think, I think, you kill, it's a simple f*cking concept! Thor: Sif was right about you... I just didn't want to see it. Odin: What is this? Are you broken? I am your father, take the hammer and kill who I tell you to kill! Thor: (turns around and looks at Kratos, then looks back at his father and drops Mjolnir) No. Odin: (without hesitation, stabs Thor with his spear) I didn't want this. I did... not.. want this. |
„ |
| ~ Thor standing up to his father Odin, also his last words before the latter kills him. |
Other Media[]
Astro Bot[]
Thor appears as one of the 300 bots to be saved in the 2024 platform game Astro Bot. Mentionned as the Thunder God, he can be found and rescued alongside his daughter Thrúd in "Bot of War", the final stage of the Tentacular System.
Trivia[]
- He is based on the mythological Norse figure of the same name.
- This is not the first time Thor has been depicted as a villain; he was also portrayed as one in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the cartoon Dave the Barbarian, the comic series Savage Dragon, the JRPG franchise Megami Tensei, and in the poorly received movie Vikingdom. Also, there are Marvel What if...? stories in which Thor plays an antagonistic role.
- Thor from Netflix's Twilight of the Gods is just as villainous as his God of War iteration, as his personality is similar, if not close to the latter prior to meeting Kratos.
- He has red hair like the original Greek god of war, Ares (even though the latter's was typically displayed as fire).
- 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".
- Although, in God of War: Ragnarök, Sif has a heartfelt conversation with Thor about raising the men through childhood, which indicates that either the "sordid story" was a lie or Sif was happy to raise the boys as her own.
- Adaptational villainy aside, this Thor's depiction, while faithful to mythological accounts, brought up misconceptions regarding Norse Mythology which stemmed from Marvel Comics' take on it. The portrayal of said mythology's major figures in both Marvel Comics and (later) Marvel Cinematic Universe series, Thor the Thunder God in particular, proved to be so iconic and well-known that many people were understandably taken aback by how much they contrasted their mythological counterparts in many aspects. This in turn, explained why they were critical regarding God of War's portrayal of the Thunder God despite being closer to his mythical basis as stated previously.
- While the death of Zeus caused chaotic lightning storms across Greece, Thor's death was simply him becoming electricity and then fading away.
- His father, Odin, and brothers, Baldur and Heimdall, all died because they refused to choose a path other than violence, whereas Thor died because he did choose a path without violence, getting murdered by Odin for doing so was no better that act of betrayal in the unfeeling All-Father's eyes.
- Perhaps tragically, the original prophecy revealed that he would likely survive albeit remain unrepentant both because Kratos didn't improve enough to avoid becoming the monster he used to be and wound up killing Thor's wife and daughter, robbing the Nordic Thunder God of those he cherished and finally killed Ghost of Sparta once and for all.
External Links[]
- Thor on the God of War Wiki
