Thor has long been one of Marvel’s greatest heroes. The God of Thunder has been defending the Earth from all manners of threats for years, both on his own and as an Avenger. He’s proven to be a unique hero, a Viking warrior who is as much at home battling threats from the cosmos as he is from mythology. There’s no challenge that Thor won’t undertake, which is both his greatest strength and sometimes a glaring weakness.
07. His Inability To Save Asgard From Norman Osborn’s Initial Attacks Led To Many Deaths
Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign saw the villain repeatedly outmaneuvering the heroes, spinning even defeats into victories. Osborn worked closely with Loki, who wanted to use the Dark Avengers to take over Asgard. Loki finally got his way and engineered it so Osborn could invade Asgard with the blessing of the national security apparatus.
As Osborn’s forces attacked, Thor ran headlong into the conflict and paid for it. Overwhelmed by the Dark Avengers and the Sentry, he was beaten within an inch of his life. His failure to stop the initial attack resulted in a siege that led to the deaths of many Asgardians and Ares, who realized his mistake in supporting Osborn and was killed by Sentry.
06. He Fell To Warrior Madness And Endangered The Entire Universe
Thor is a mighty warrior and a big reason for that is his Asgardian heritage. It’s lent him the power and the training he needed to become one of the universe’s greatest heroes but it also comes with a drawback: warrior madness. This berzerker state can be quite useful in battle but it’s also dangerous. Thor fell to it, becoming a grave danger to the universe.
He was able to get his hands on the Power Gem and was a threat to everyone, even handily defeating the Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock’s Infinity Watch. With the help of Thanos, he was beaten but his warrior madness could have had grave consequences for the universe.
05. He Played Right Into Kang’s Hands When He Enchanted Jarnbjorn
Thor didn’t always use Mjolnir. For years, his weapon was the ax Jarnbjorn but a battle against Apocalypse in medieval times showed him how deficient it could be. Loki told him of a spell that could allow the weapon to cleave Celestial armor and Thor had the ax enchanted. In reality, Loki was Kang and he wanted Jarnbjorn for a future caper.
Stealing the ax and giving it to the Apocalypse Twins was all part of a scheme that would see the Twins kill a Celestial and bring the Host to the Earth, destroying it and furthering Kang’s own plans of conquest. All of this had its genesis in Thor being tricked by him in the dim past.
04. The Fact He Wasn’t Around During Civil War Wears On Him
Marvel’s heroes fight a lot, but it’s rarely as bad it was during Civil War when Captain America and Iron Man came to blows over ideology and dragged the entire superhero community down with them. Heroes were killed and grudges were formed that would bear poisonous fruit for years, as Iron Man’s side committed terrible acts to ensure their victory, and Cap’s forces retaliated.
Thor and the rest of Asgard were in hibernation at this time after another Ragnarok, and he was unable to intervene. While it’s impossible to know how much of a difference he would have made, he still considers it a failure that he wasn’t there.
Thor: Love and Thunder – Everything you need to know about Thor 4
03. He has Never Been Able To Get Through To Loki
Loki is one of Marvel’s greatest villains and that’s always had a detrimental effect on Thor. The two were once friends in Asgard and the dissolution of their relationship has always worn on Thor. He loves his brother and the bad blood between them is the last thing he wants. Over the years, he’s tried more than once to get Loki to come around and fly right but it’s never worked. If it was up to Thor, he and Loki would be brothers fighting on the same side. While this has happened sometimes, Loki’s jealousy and hatred have always seem them back at each other’s throats.
02. Malekith Cut Off His Arm When He Tried To Prove Himself
Thor has battled many dangerous foes but one of the most twisted is Malekith. Leader of the Dark Elves. He and Thor have had many confrontations, but the worse came after Thor lost his worthiness to Mjolnir. Thor, in a desperate attempt to prove himself, tried to stop one of Malekith’s schemes. This backfired tremendously.
Without the power of Mjolnir, Thor was unable to beat Malekith and the Dark Elves. They held him down, took Jarnbjorn from him, and cut off his arm, teaching Thor a lesson about hubris and desperation.
01. Losing His Worthiness To Mjolnir Led Him Down A Dark Path
Original Sin is an important Marvel story with a bad reputation. So many of the story’s consequences lacked staying power but one was quite important. Nick Fury, using information he’d gathered, was able to convince Thor to doubt his worthiness to Mjolnir. This took away his God of Thunder powers and led him down a path of despair.
While Jane Foster took over as Thor, the Odinson fell into gluttony and drinking. His failure against the Dark Elves lost him his arm and his life was terrible for a while. It took a quest for the Ultimate Universe Mjolnir to drag him out of his funk but it was a dark time for him.
