History YMMV / Thor

** Creator/KennethBranagh must have realized this and says in the DVDCommentary that their relationship wasn't meant to be true love, but more a mutual crush and respect based around what they represent to one another, a statement that rings a bit hollow given the BigDamnKiss (a more restrained kiss, like on the hand, would have fit better), and the sequel takes the StrangledByTheRedString to greater levels, though in all fairness Branagh had no say in that happening.

** Creator/KennethBranagh must have realized this and says in the DVDCommentary that their relationship wasn't meant to be true love, but more a mutual crush and respect based around what they represent to one another, a statement that rings a bit hollow given the sequel takes the StrangledByTheRedString to greater levels, though in all fairness Branagh had no say in that happening.

** Is Odin a wise and just king who is simply trying to keep peace between the realms, or an overzealous tyrant who is desperate to hold onto his own power at any cost? Was his initial dismissal of investigating the Frost Giants infiltration simply wanting peace or did he realize he couldn't really pursue it properly due to the Odinsleep being so near?

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Stargate. Both series involve an advanced alien race with space transportation technology who were deemed as gods by humanity.

* LauncherOfAThousandShips: [[PluckyComicRelief Darcy]] is pretty much the fandom bicycle at this point, having been shipped with (among others) Loki, Hawkeye, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, [[OneTrueThreesome Steve and Bucky at the same time]], Bruce Banner, and Coulson. Note that, out of all of them, [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight she's only met Coulson.]]

** Creator/TomHiddleston, who plays Loki, was also in ''Literature/WarHorse''. In Norse mythology, Loki took the form of a female horse and was impregnated. [[{{Squick}} Yeah...]]
*** For bonus points, Tom was asked about his favorite Loki story in Norse mythology at NYCC 2011. He chose this one.

* LauncherOfAThousandShips: [[PluckyComicRelief Darcy]] is pretty much the fandom bicycle at this point, having been shipped with Loki, Hawkeye, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, [[OneTrueThreesome Steve and Bucky at the same time]], Bruce Banner, and Coulson. Note that, out of all of them, [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight she's only met Coulson.]]

** All the human cast to a degree can be this for diehard fans who despise characters such as [[DesignatedLoveInterest Jane]] and [[MadScientist Selvig]] for [[SpotlightStealingSquad taking attention away]] from [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter more popular characters]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse such as Heimdall and Thor's fellow warriors]].

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The effects team created an absolutely perfect Destroyer for the screen.

** Darcy for her quirky personality and for that [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments notable scene]] where she [[MemeticBadass tases Thor]].

* CriticalResearchFailure: Or rather "logical failure". 1000 years in the past, when Asgard was fighting the frost giants, Thor was still a kid. Which hardly makes sense considering the fact that over 1000 years ago, Thor was already venerated as an adult Norse god.
** This is the case in the comics as well, with Thor being seemingly younger than the religion that venerates him. Various explanations exist, such as the Norse religion actually being prophetic, or that the older stories are about a previous version of Asgard that was destroyed in an earlier Ragnarok and replaced with the current one.

** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KURb52giNfM Walk]]''. Considering he's a long haired badass with a BadassBeard, maybe [[Music/FooFighters Dave Grohl]] [[WildMassGuessing is an Asgardian]].

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: For those not familiar with the comics, Hawkeye's cameo could be considered this. A fairly well-known, [[Creator/JeremyRenner Oscar-nominated]] actor shows up for a couple of minutes as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who inexplicably uses a bow and arrow instead of a gun, and then completely drops out of the plot, never to be seen or mentioned again within the film. Comic fans got the significance of the scene and of course it ended up paying off in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', but it must've been pretty confusing for a large portion of the audience.

** The entire film by the time of ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': [[spoiler: with those two films in the books, everyone Thor cared for on Asgard save for Lady Sif (unaccounted for due to RealLifeWritesThePlot, with Jaimie Alexander's TV schedule) is now dead, with only Odin passing away naturally and not brutally murdered, on top of Asgard annihilated from existence, most of the refugee Asgardians slaughtered by the Children of Thanos, and Thor no longer having a relationship with Jane Foster. When Thor wearily tells Rocket in ''Infinity War'' what more could he lose, this film is now a stark reminder of everything he has lost since the audience met him.]]

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: A deleted scene shows Thor and Loki talking to each other before the planned coronation, with the former being very nervous. Then Loki trolls a servant with illusions of several snakes. ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' reveals that snakes are Thor's favorite animals.

** Creator/ZacharyLevi was originally cast to play Fandral, but his commitment to ''{{Series/Chuck}}'' caused him to drop out, giving the role to Josh Dallas. Fast-forward to 2012, when Josh Dallas's commitment to ''Series/OnceUponATime'' caused him to drop out of the sequel. Guess who played Fandral? Zachary Levi.

* HoYay: In this [[HoYay/MarvelCinematicUniverse page]].

** Conan O'Brien's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4y7209adbQ&feature=related "I'M THOR"]] from his abridged trailers have gotten some notoriety from fans. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGyznId9qcs See]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk6gwO-ikyk right]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy_xztFfgpI here.]]

* StrangledByTheRedString: This seems to be a widely held opinion on the romance between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Creator/NataliePortman), which really only serves to give Thor a reason to want to get back to Earth. Some have even labeled it a RomanticPlotTumor, which is kind of funny considering that the same thing was said about Portman's character in the ''StarWars'' prequels.
** Creator/KennethBranagh must have realized this and says in the DVD commentary that their relationship wasn't meant to be true love, but more a mutual crush and respect based around what they represent to one another, a statement that rings a bit hollow given the sequel takes the StrangledByTheRedString to greater levels, though in all fairness Branagh had no say in that happening.

** Many jokes have been made that despite the lack of romantic chemistry, there actually ''is'' a good reason Thor and Jane are attracted to each other...namely, because he's Creator/ChrisHemsworth and because she's Creator/NataliePortman. They are ''hot.'' Even WebVideo/HonestTrailers got in on this, with the narrator saying that Jane was in love with Thor for no good reason - only to show the scene where Jane sees Thor shirtless, and correcting himself by saying she's in love with him for "six good reasons - abbs!"

** Was Thor a victim of InformedWrongness for wanting to investigate the Frost Giants infiltrating the palace of Asgard? Was he really just being an arrogant hot head or was he actually justified in wanting to investigate the matter?

* CrossesTheLineTwice: Jane hits Thor with her car, twice. The first time, it's treated as a dramatic, "Oh, no!" moment. The second time, she protests "[[CrowningMomentOfFunny I swear I'm not doing this on purpose!]]"

** Darcy for her quirky personality and for that [[CrowningMomentofFunny notable scene]] where she [[MemeticBadass tases Thor]].

* DieForOurShip: Poor Jane....

** Many jokes have been made that despite the lack of romantic chemistry, there actually ''is'' a good reason Thor and Jane are attracted to each other...namely, because he's Creator/ChrisHemsworth and because she's Creator/NataliePortman. They are ''hot.''

** The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who sees Sif and the Warriors Three walk into town radios in the following: "Uh base, we got Xena, Creator/JackieChan and Mythology/RobinHood..."

* WinBackTheCrowd: While ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' and ''Film/IronMan2'' were by no means critical or commercial failures many fans felt that both films weren't as good as the first Film/IronMan1 film. ''Thor'', while still not as good as ''Iron Man'', was more warmly received by fans. What helped was the introduction of Loki, who would be the main antagonist in ''Film/TheAvengers'' and that the film as a whole had less tie-ins to the rest of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, keeping the story more self-contained.

* WinBackTheCrowd: While The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 were by no means critical or commercial failures many fans felt that both films weren't as good as the first Iron Man film. Thor, while still not as good as Iron Man, was more warmly received by fans. What helped was the introduction of Loki, who would be the main antagonist in Avengers and that the film as a whole had less tie-ins to the rest of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, keeping the story more self-contained.

* AwesomeMusic

*** Laufey yells at Thor that his father is a butcher and a murderer. [[spoiler:''Ragnarok'' reveals that Odin used to be TheConqueror, and a brutal one at that, so Laufey's accusations are actually pretty warranted.]]

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: For those not familiar with the comics, Hawkeye's cameo could be considered this. A fairly well-known, [[Creator/JeremyRenner Oscar-nominated]] actor shows up for a couple of minutes as a {{SHIELD}} agent who inexplicably uses a bow and arrow instead of a gun, and then completely drops out of the plot, never to be seen or mentioned again within the film. Comic fans got the significance of the scene and of course it ended up paying off in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', but it must've been pretty confusing for a large portion of the audience.

** For the same reasons mentioned above, Odin's facial expressions during Thor's supposed coronation: He has tears in his eyes and his voice even cracks when he [[spoiler:calls Thor his firstborn.]]

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The effects team created an absolutely perfect Destroyer for the screen.

** For villain's side, there's Laufey. In the comics, he's been long dead and more or less forgettable. And while he's DiscOneFinalBoss in this film, he has pretty good characterization and is surprisingly favorable thanks to his PragmaticVillainy and being a ReasonableAuthorityFigure (despite still evil). The less can be said for Malekith in [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld the sequel]] who is a BadBoss, FlatCharacter, and GenericDoomsdayVillain.

** Creator/ColmFeore only has about two scenes as Laufey (one of them very brief), but he makes the absolute most of his screen time and proves with little more than a sinister word that he is a very threatening foe of Asgard. When he tells you to leave "while he still allows it," you'd better leave.