Thor’s New Power Has MCU-Breaking Potential

Warning: Spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder!

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) exhibited new powers in Thor: Love and Thunder that have the potential to be MCU-breaking in nature. Despite being one of the strongest figures in the galaxy, the God of Thunder found himself without a clear purpose following the events of Avengers: Endgame. That quickly changed when Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) began wreaking havoc on the universe, pulling Thor out of a semi-retirement. This also led to a surprising reunion with ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who had taken on the moniker of Mighty Thor.

With the help of Jane, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and Korg (Taika Waititi), Thor tracked down Gorr in the Shadow Realm and uncovered his plan of using Eternity to wipe out all of the gods. However, Gorr needed Stormbreaker to fulfill the plan, so he tricked Thor into giving up his weapon by baiting the group with the kidnapped Asgardian children. After a slight defeat that resulted in an injured Valkyrie and weakened Jane, Thor elected to rescue the kids and stop Gorr on his own.

Thor: Love and Thunder's ending included a climactic battle against Gorr, Jane's death, and a wish to Eternity that brought back Love (India Rose Hemsworth), Gorr's daughter. Before that, Thor unveiled a power not seen from the God of Thunder in the MCU. Hemsworth's character was able to bestow his Thor powers to the Asgardian children to fight the shadow monsters. In the past, a figure deemed worthy to wield Mjolnir was granted the powers of Thor, explaining Jane's powers as Mighty Thor. Granted, Mjolnir nor Stormbreaker were involved in the kids gaining yellow-lightning charged powers. Transferring the abilities stemmed from Thor himself.

Thor's New Power In Love & Thunder Explained

Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Love and Thunder

Without Mjolnir or Stormbreaker in Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor relied on Zeus' (Russell Crowe) Thunderbolt as his primary weapon, which generated golden yellow lightning. Upon finding the Asgardian kids, Thor realized he would be outnumbered fighting the shadow monsters, so he quickly decided to utilize the kids. First, he knew he would need to imbue the powers of Thor on all of them. After telling the kids to find any object that could act as a weapon, Thor's yellow electricity spread through the group, giving all of the kids glowing yellow eyes and charged weapons.

When Thor's father, Odin, originally enchanted Mjolnir, he said, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." Thor, who has matured and evolved his capabilities over the course of the MCU, repeated this enchantment on the kids' gathered weapons, but he used a caveat. After saying the Mjolnir enchantment, Thor added, "...for a limited time only," meaning the Thor powers would wane and eventually disappear on the kids. Still, this proved that Thor could enchant beings and weapons at any given moment now.

What Thor's New Power Means: Who Else Could Become Thor In The MCU?

Thor love and thunder Jane Foster Valkyrie

Thor's power bestowal has major implications on the character and the MCU as a whole. If the transfer of power could work on a group of children, Thor could essentially use it on anyone, giving the character a new trick up his sleeve. When looking at who could potentially become Thor in the MCU, it makes sense to assume Thor would be most comfortable using it on his current and closest allies. Using the powers on someone like Valkyrie or members of the Guardians of the Galaxy would make sense since they carry signature weapons that Thor could enchant. Technically, any ally of Thor in the MCU could be a candidate for God of Thunder powers with this new ability.

Another plausible candidate for the next Thor would be Gorr's daughter, Love. The ending of Love and Thunder revealed that Thor took on the responsibility of raising Love. The young girl and her "Uncle Thor" now fight side-by-side, considering she was shown to already possess immense strength after being resurrected by Eternity. Already able to wield Stormbreaker, Thor could bestow his powers on a permanent level once she's fully ready. With Jane in Valhalla, maybe Thor will eventually want to leave his days as a superhero behind for good, giving Love a chance to fill the void as a new Thor.

The MCU might need an army of Thors for the MCU villains on the horizon. While Kang the Conquerer is rumored to be a Thanos-level big bad, Thor: Love and Thunder hinted that Zeus would stop at nothing until Thor is killed, even enlisting his son, Hercules (Brett Goldstein), to carry out the mission. It may have been the first time Thor was shown bestowing superhero powers, but it likely won't be the last.

More: Everything We Know About Thor 5: Story, Setting & Cast

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