Thor’s MCU Tragedy Means His Avengers 5 Or 6 Death Would Be Too Far

Thor is one of the last original Avengers who is still active in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as such, he’s expected to return in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, this has also fueled theories about his death, but given his tragic MCU history so far, killing him in the upcoming Avengers movies would be too far. Following the events of the Infinity Saga, the MCU has been introducing new heroes and villains in the Multiverse Saga, while also continuing the stories of already established characters, among them Thor (Chris Hemsworth).

After some much-needed changes to the character and his story in Thor: Ragnarok, the God of Thunder’s popularity rose, leading him to become the first character in the MCU to get four solo movies. Although Thor: Love & Thunder wasn’t the success the studio was hoping for, it set up an interesting future for Thor, but it went through a big shake-up after Hemsworth announced his plans to take an indefinite break from acting. Still, he’s expected to show up in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars in order to give Thor a proper ending, which is rumored to be his death – and while that would be fitting, it would also be unfair given the tragedy of his MCU history so far.

Thor Is The Most Tragic Avenger In The MCU

The MCU’s heroes don’t have easy lives, and they are constantly facing either their inner demons or other threats, and in some cases, all this happened before they became heroes. However, even though they have all gone through highs and lows, Thor stands as the most tragic Avenger due to everything he has gone through so far. When the audience met him in Thor, the God of Thunder was a self-centered and spoiled Asgardian prince about to inherit the throne of Asgard from his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Unfortunately, Thor quickly showed that, contrary to what he believed, he wasn’t ready to become king, leading Odin to banish him to Earth and strip him of his mighty hammer, Mjolnir.

Although his time on Earth helped him overcome his ego and become a much better person, it also fractured Thor and Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) relationship as brothers, as the latter took a villainous turn, becoming his brother’s antagonist. Later, in Thor: The Dark World, Thor’s mother, Frigga, was killed while protecting Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and at the end of the movie, he believed Loki had died as well. The tragedy of Thor’s story in the MCU continued in Thor: Ragnarok, where he saw Odin die and witnessed the destruction of Asgard. Immediately after, in Avengers: Infinity War, Thor saw Thanos kill Heimdall and Loki, and he failed to stop the Mad Titan from snapping his fingers as he infamously didn’t “go for the head”.

While Thor’s failure to stop Thanos is seen as the reason why Thor fell into a deep depression and became “Fat Thor” in Avengers: Endgame, the truth is that Thor was already carrying a lot of trauma, and Thanos’ snap was the last straw. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of Thor’s tragedies, as even though he overcame his depression and grief in Thor: Love and Thunder, that same movie saw him losing Jane Foster. On top of all that, Thor has also dealt with the loss of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), and Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) retirement, so even though his latest adventures have infused him with a lot of comedy, he’s the Avenger with the most tragic history.

Why Thor Might Die In Avengers 5 Or 6

The MCU is no stranger to giving tragic endings to some of its most beloved characters, but theories about Thor dying in the upcoming crossover events in The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars gained force after Love and Thunder introduced Valhalla, the afterlife for Asgardians. The post-credits scene for Thor: Love and Thunder saw Jane Foster arriving at the gates of Valhalla despite not being an Asgardian, where she was greeted by Heimdall. The introduction of Valhalla gives some hope for a happy ending amidst a tragic one for Thor, who even though would die in the physical world, would carry on in the afterlife with his loved ones.

Adding to the theories about Thor’s potential death in The Kang Dynasty or Secret Wars is the fact that Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) is unlike any other villain the MCU’s characters have faced before, and killing a big hero like Thor would make a huge statement about Kang’s power. Thor’s death could be what triggers the formation of the Young Avengers, as he’s now the guardian of Love, Gorr’s daughter, who could take his place in this new team and could be driven by the need of avenging her guardian’s death and carry on with his legacy. It’s also possible that Marvel will repeat its Avengers: Endgame formula and have an original Avenger sacrifice himself at the end of Secret Wars in order to save the multiverse, and the only one who could do that and make a huge impact is Thor.

Thor Dying In Avengers 5 Or 6 Would Be A Mistake

While it makes sense that Thor could die in The Kang Dynasty or Secret Wars, and it would be fitting with the endings that some of his fellow Avengers got, it would be a mistake given everything Thor has gone through. As explained above, Thor’s MCU history has been defined by tragedy, but he has already learned his lessons, unlike Tony Stark, who still had the need to prove himself and still had some demons to overcome. Thor’s personal journey is now complete, so much so that he’s moving forward as Love’s guardian and mentor, and killing him wouldn’t be fair, more so if it’s to show Kang’s power or to bring another Avengers group together and give them a reason to fight even harder.

What Thor’s MCU Ending Should Be Instead Of His Death

The original Avengers team already had its tragic deaths and one strange retirement with Captain America staying in the past with Peggy Carter, while Hawkeye and Hulk seem to be more on the path to retirement than a tragic death. Instead of killing Thor, the God of Thunder could follow the steps of Hawkeye and Hulk and retire with Love, which would be a nice way to make up for everything he has lost, to an extent. Another, more heartwarming possibility would be that Thor and Loki’s current variant survive Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars and retire together, which would also give Loki a much better and fitting ending as he has now redeemed himself in ways that the original Loki couldn’t. Thor’s death would be shocking and devastating, but that doesn’t mean it would be good or fair to one of the MCU’s most beloved characters.