It's Time Marvel Killed The MCU's Comedy Thor

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Thor: Love & Thunder

Chris Hemsworth's Thor has swapped Mjolnir for Stormbreaker, the Avengers for the Guardians, and Asgard for Earth... but most of all, he swapped seriousness for comedy, and that trade-off must end with Thor: Love & Thunder. It's no secret that the God of Thunder lost his spark in 2013. After well-received appearances in Thor and The Avengers, Alan Taylor's Thor: The Dark World marked a creative nadir for the MCU, widely panned for blandness of plot and character. Marvel responded by recruiting Taika Waititi for 2017's Thor: Ragnarok - a director making a name for himself with a zany, chaotic, unique brand of humor. Comedy Thor has reigned supreme ever since, and the jokes kept flowing with a Guardians of the Galaxy team-up and some divisive weight jibes.

The MCU faithful might've thought Thor couldn't creep any further down the lighter end of Marvel's tonal spectrum. Thor: Love & Thunder proves vehemently otherwise. Brighter, bolder, and funnier than Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi's second MCU effort turns the comedy up to 11, with a joke invariably lurking around every corner. Thor: Love & Thunder doesn't so much embrace the tongue-in-cheek goofiness of its title character, but rather physically assaults it. And that's not necessarily a negative, by the way. The barrage of humor lands for the most part, and whether it be Thor and Jane's breakup banter or the indomitable slab of rocky heart that is Korg, the Thor: Love & Thunder cast execute Waititi's silliness with pitch-perfect awareness.

Thor: Love & Thunder's problem lies in how serious characters and storylines feel undercut by the intensity of Comedy Thor's humor. Despite ranking as arguably the most outright comedic offering Marvel ever put to film, Thor: Love & Thunder tackles deeply grave issues. The God of Thunder is being hunted down by Christian Bale's terrifying Gorr, who not only embarks on a cosmic killing spree but actually kidnaps Asgard's young like a bald version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's Child Catcher. Jane Foster, meanwhile, is living with stage 4 cancer and burning up her remaining life to fuel newfound Asgardian powers. Thor: Love & Thunder's unrelenting comedy prevents these comic-inspired storylines achieving their full potential. Gorr is great, but would've been even more effective had the rest of the film leaned into that dark side rather than committing wholly to Comedy Thor. And Jane Foster's death surely tickled tear ducts, but might've packed a greater punch in a movie that allowed more room for sadness.

Why Ragnarok's Comedy Thor Was So Perfect

Criticizing Thor: Love & Thunder for repeating what worked so well in Thor: Ragnarok might seem redundant, but Taika Waititi approaches Comedy Thor differently in each of his MCU movies.

Thor: Ragnarok's success was, admittedly, partially down to timing. The world (Chris Hemsworth included) was largely sick of blond gods after Thor: The Dark World released to a muted welcome, but Taika Waititi offered a refreshing new twist precious few could resist. Thor: Love & Thunder loses that novelty right off the bat, with 2017's revolutionary flavor now well-established as Thor's MCU personality.

No trick is ever quite as good the second time around, but Thor: Ragnarok's comedic superiority to Thor: Love & Thunder goes deeper than just the year each film released. Whereas Taika Waititi's 2022 sequel represents the culmination of Thor's comedic evolution, Thor: Ragnarok found a more pleasing balance that bridged the gap between the God of Thunder in Kenneth Branagh's 2011 MCU effort and Waititi's new vision. Consequently, the serious moments - Odin's death, Asgard's destruction, etc. - enjoy much greater gravity. Thor: Ragnarok is a tonal rollercoaster, sure, but Thor: Love & Thunder whiplashes between sketch-like laughs and moments that should hit heavy, but wear too much of a glistening smile and a cheeky wink to make a sufficient dent.

Why Thor's MCU Future Has To Become Serious Again

No one wants a return to the dark days of Thor: The Dark World and Chris Hemsworth battling a disinterested Christopher Eccleston, but there is scope for Thor to switch back from God of Fun-der to God of Thunder. Through Gorr's villain story and Jane Foster's demise, Thor: Love & Thunder proves, albeit unintentionally, that Thor Odinson is blessed with just as much darkness and doom and he is joviality and japes. There's a whole side to Thor that Marvel has repressed for over a decade... and perhaps never properly tapped into during any movie. Taika Waititi stepped up when MCU Thor found himself desperately in need of reinvention. After Thor: Love & Thunder that time has simply come again. If Chris Hemsworth's MCU character is to continue into the future (and this latest cinematic entry certainly leaves that door open), Taika Waititi - or, indeed, a different director - must once again forge a new path for the Asgardian.

One might also argue that Thor: Love & Thunder leaves Comedy Thor nowhere further to go. Among the exposed butt cheeks, noisy goats, and hilariously loose Zeus performance, this is Thor Odinson in peak comedy mode. The ceiling of his humorous potential has been fully unlocked, and to keep hitting that same note in Thor 5 or a potential new Avengers 5 movie would be futile. Thor's best path after Thor: Love & Thunder is regaining some semblance of seriousness - to not constantly be among the jokes, but to embrace darkness, spark moral quandaries, and exploit Thor's awesome Asgardian power. The idea of "serious Thor" may seem alien after the 1980s bombast of Thor: Love & Thunder, but as the laughter dies down, it's Chris Hemsworth's very best hope of continuing his MCU journey.

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