Thor: Odin's enforcer, killed by Odin

Thor, also known as Thor Odinson, was the Norse Aesir God of Thunder and Prince of Asgard. The firstborn son of Odin and the giantess Fjorgyn, he was the husband of Sif, the father of Magni, Modi, and Thrud, and the older half-brother of Tyr, Heimdall, and Baldur. Wielding the hammer Mjolnir, he became the symbol of the Aesir's rampage across the Nine Realms and the All-Father's most feared enforcer. Behind his cruelty lay a tragic figure, raised in fear and warped into a weapon by his own father. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

Birth and the making of a weapon#

Thor was born to Odin and the giantess Fjorgyn, the firstborn of the All-Father's sons. He was raised in a violent household, taught fear and obedience, and had a hatred of the giants instilled in him as part of Odin's design to break his spirit and make him malleable. After his mother's death he rejected his maternal heritage and took up his place as the Aesir's chosen fighter. Odin commissioned the dwarves Brok and Sindri to forge Mjolnir for him, a weapon they would come to regret making as Thor used it to spread death across the realms. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

In his youth Thor killed the stone giant Hrungnir at a feast in Asgard, smashing the giant's head with Mjolnir, though the corpse fell upon him and no Aesir could lift it until his young sons Magni and Modi freed him. He also slew the giant stonemason Thamur, whose falling body crushed a fishing village, and murdered the Vanir poet Kvasir in a drunken rage. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

The genocide of the giants#

After the giants discovered Odin trying to steal their knowledge of the future and expelled him from Jotunheim, the All-Father ordered Thor to use Mjolnir to slaughter every giant in Midgard he could find. By the time the giant Laufey died, Thor had already killed most of the giants of Midgard, with Jormungandr the one he could not finish. His reputation as the strongest god in the Nine Realms was built on this slaughter. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

Thor's hatred reached its peak when the Aesir confronted the World Serpent Jormungandr in Midgard. The two fought a brutal battle that ended in a stalemate, forcing Thor to return to Odin empty-handed. The two were destined to slay one another at Ragnarok, and their rivalry endured ever after. (God of War (2018))

The duel with the Ghost of Sparta#

Three years after Fimbulwinter began, Thor appeared at the door of Kratos, summoning a storm and revealing Mjolnir before unexpectedly offering a drink of mead. Odin soon joined them to negotiate, and when Kratos refused the All-Father's terms, Odin gave Thor the signal to fight. Thor caught Kratos with an uppercut that sent him soaring across Midgard and introduced him to the Aesir tradition of "blood payments," demanding payment for the deaths of his sons. (God of War Ragnarök)

The two fought a ferocious duel. Thor goaded Kratos, hoping to see the true Ghost of Sparta, and even revived him with Mjolnir after a near-fatal blow rather than let him die. When Thor threatened Atreus, Kratos lost control and struck him hard enough to knock out a tooth. Satisfied at last that Kratos lived up to his reputation, Thor declared the blood debt paid and departed. (God of War Ragnarök)

Servitude and breaking point#

Back in Asgard, Odin set Thor to escort Atreus on the hunt for the pieces of the mask. Thor reluctantly served as the young man's bodyguard, threatening him in private yet honoring the mission, only to be denied any credit by Odin, who openly mocked him and remarked that he preferred Thor as a drunk. Belittled at every turn, Thor relapsed into drinking, and his daughter Thrud and wife Sif both pleaded with him to stand up to the All-Father. (God of War Ragnarök)

The breaking point came on Niflheim, when the completed mask drew Odin's congratulations to Atreus while Thor was ignored. When Sif arrived and reminded Thor that Odin had sacrificed their sons, Thor lacked the courage to face his father. Instead he turned his rage on Atreus, swinging a fatal strike that was foiled only by a teleportation device. His impulsiveness forced Atreus to flee with the mask, forced Odin back into his disguise as Tyr, and helped drive Kratos to trigger Ragnarok early. (God of War Ragnarök)

The final battle and death#

When Ragnarok came to Asgard, Odin ordered Thor to deal with Kratos after he had finished Jormungandr. Thor fought the World Serpent through the burning city, eventually hitting it hard enough to splinter Yggdrasil and send the creature back in time, removing it from the battle. Seeing Kratos standing beside Thrud and wrongly believing the Spartan was attacking her, Thor flew to engage Kratos one last time before the Great Lodge. (God of War Ragnarök)

This time Kratos was battle-hardened and wary. Thor unleashed the full extent of his power, cloaking himself in lightning, but Kratos wore him down, disarmed him, and pinned his hand to neutralize his powers. Exhausted and beaten, Thor expected to be killed, but Kratos sheathed his axe and urged him to change for the sake of their children. Thor finally stood down. When Odin appeared and ordered him to resume the fight, Thor at last realized his father had never cared for him. He dropped Mjolnir and openly refused, and Odin immediately impaled him through the chest with Gungnir. In his dying moments Thor reached out toward his daughter Thrud before fading away. (God of War Ragnarök)

After Asgard's destruction, Thrud recovered Mjolnir on Alfheim and claimed it for herself, vowing to make her father proud. The dwarf Lunda hoped the hammer had at last found a worthier bearer than Thor. (God of War Ragnarök)