THOR RAGNAROK

the God of Thunder and the prince of Asgard

In both Norse mythology and the Marvel
comic books, there is a prophesy that a
great battle, instigated by Thor’s brother
Loki, will bring about Asgard’s apocalypse.
Surtur is said to be involved in this
destruction. The cataclysmic event is known
as Ragnarok.
Because Thor is a practically a god, he has some of
the most amazing cosmic superpowers. With his
magical hammer in hand, he can use his cosmic power
to blow pretty much anyone away. He also has super
strength and the ability to fly, including teleporting
through outer space. This is why he is my favorite hero.
Much has been spoken on the myth and lore of the
hero’s journey. The archetypal protagonist
navigating through miles of mud and mire to reach
the pinnacle has been sought, written, and studied
for centuries. Joseph Campbell once spoke about it
in his book, The Hero With A Thousand Faces: “A
hero ventures forth from the world of common day
into a region of supernatural wonder, fabulous
forces are there encountered and a decisive victory
is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious
adventure with the power to bestow boons on his
fellow man.”
Taika Waititi’s take on the Marvel character Thor
completely embodies this narrative. Thor: Ragnarok
meets us where our hero is captured. He’s woeful and
musing on his past, but finds the humor in his almost
gloomish situation. Which is how all great comedies start
–from great tragedy. Throughout the film, Thor dredges
through the comparative mythology, an adventure of
sorts. Campbell describes these three stages of themes
in his monomyth, a simple narratology:
1: Departure. This is where the hero is called on
an adventure. He also has some sort of mentor
in this calling.
2: Initiation. This component “begins with the hero then
traversing the threshold to the unknown or "special
world", where he faces tasks or trials, either alone or
with the assistance of helpers.” He is pursued,
challenged, and must overcome an obstacle that helps
him reach his highest potential.
3. Return. This is the catalyst. The hero must stand on the
bridge of two worlds. He takes his knowledge from the journey
and alchemizes it into the zenith of wisdom and spiritual
strength. The entire process is to strip the hero of everything that
is held dear and close to the heart. The trials and struggles
serve as a means to peel each layer, until the very essence of
who the hero truly is remains. At the end, it is this naked, weary
soul who triumphs in the story.
“The Departure” is at the beginning of Ragnarok. Thor shares how he has nightmares
of his childhood home up in flames. A premonition, if you will. The evil devil that has
him entrapped solidifies that this will in fact happen. Thor laughs in the face of danger.
I want to pause here for a moment: a typical “hero’s journey” encapsulates a hero that
starts at the lowest level with very little hope. The classic hero in this narrative
generally has some sort of a tumultuous beginning. Yet, this isn’t the case with Thor. If
we look at Thor, he had an almost idyllic start. Born with the power to wield thunder,
he knew his strength from day one. His father, Odin, gave him a hammer called Mjolni
to harness this force. It was when Thor was denied the right to become king over his
realm of Asgard, that his journey truly began. In a sense, Thor’s story is almost the
“inverse” hero’s journey, starting when he made the decision to fault from his roots.
When we meet our hero in Thor: Ragnarok, he still has
a bit of his old ways traipsing around his persona. It’s
almost as if Thor knows he can still laugh, charm, and
call upon the trusty hammer daddy gifted to save
himself from any sketchy situation. Which is true in a
sense. Until the wildcard is thrown in.
Thor soon finds his father in exile. Odin is almost delirious,
ready for the end of his days. Remember this: Thor views his
father as the pinnacle of strength and wisdom. As Thor is almost
overcome with grief, Odin shares that there is a long lost sister
who is ready to take down Asgard. And, oh … she’s stronger
than Thor and Odin combined. This is when “The Initiation” of
the story occurs. The lost sister ends up destroying Thor’s
beloved hammer and sends him into the abyss of cosmos, one
of the nine realms of Asgard.
Here, Thor is treated less than human, forced to watch Dharma
Initiative-type propaganda videos and then sold as a slave. This
is the complete antithesis of Thor’s entire life. He is told he can
remain in chains or regain some sort of autonomy by
participating in gladiator games. Thor chooses the latter.
As an homage to 1980’s sci-fi cinema synth score plays, Thor’s beloved hair
is shaven right before he enters the arena. All seems at peace when he
meets an old friend in battle, until the old friend beats him to the brink of
death. The pain pushes Thor to the point of delirium, where he envisions his
beloved father and remembers his strength. Ultimately who he is–The God of
Thunder. This is the exact moment that Carl Jung describes in his idea of the
“center of the field of consciousness”.
It’s tapped when all ego is shredded from the psyche.
It’s when feelings, intuition and memory collide, the
precise moment when the internal meets the external
world. The place that Jung calls “the interaction
between the collective unconscious and one’s personal
growth”. Thor captures this in the arena.
Until now, he thought his powers were only harnessed by the
external. But in his deepest pain, he found the power was within
the internal core of his being. Not in the hammer that was given
to him. Not in his long, blond luscious locks of hair. But in the
center of his consciousness. After this, Thor’s enlightened. He
wants to help others become liberated like he is. He chooses to
run towards his problems and not from them. But literally, he
runs to the very thing that risks the livelihood of himself and his
people. This is “The Return”, the catalyst where Thor stands on
the bridge into his realm.
Armed with all of the wisdom and strength he’s gained, Thor confronts his
sister, The Goddess of Death. She belittles him, pierces one of his eyes out
and tells him he has no right to become king. In the final moments, just as
Thor is about to give up, knowing Asgard will go up in flames, he enters the
same hallucinogenic consciousness he was in before, envisioning himself at
the feet of his father. Odin speaks: “Even when you had two eyes, you only
saw half the picture. Are you “Thor, God of Hammers? That hammer was to
help you control your power, to focus it. It was never your source of strength.”
Thor concedes, saying he won’t ever be as strong as his father.
The next moment is the moment of all cinematic moments: Odin
tells Thor, “No. You are STRONGER.” Thor embodies all of us
as a collective. We all have or will embark on the hero’s journey.
In the end, it’s that very realization when you’re on the journey of
personal growth–when you realize you can see clearer when
your body has been broken and that the strength has been
inside of you all along
You are more conscious when you surrender the walls
of the ego. To lose everything. To break open. To be
brought to your knees. To remember the core of your
strength ... this is the journey.
I perceived that Thor is a film that takes risks - and it
pay off wonderfully. The movie grounds itself in reality
while keeping a mythological and fantasy-esqe tone,
and it never loses sight of the humanity within the
characters, with elevates this above standard
superhero fare. These makes me love Thor Ragnarok,
as a hero.