Thor(2011) - Tumblr Posts

There’s something that’s been bugging me about the first Thor film for a while, which is the fact Thor’s great “revelation” is this nebulous thing that is implied to have occurred but isn’t really actually presented to the audience? Like, yes, it would be a great shock to be dropkicked off your home planet and lose your fancy magic powers, but I’m not sure where and how that leads to “I was wrong to re-ignite war against our hereditary enemies, obviously they are people too, and I must stop Loki because Genocide Is WrongTM”. 

Especially since the fate of the Jotnar is never picked up again? It’s just kind of assumed that- well, that no one on Asgard gives a shit if they did all die from delayed effects of the planet getting a hole punched into it. Despite Thor apparently  believing that preventing such warranted smashing the Bifrost?

Granted, Asgard seems to rely on the Bifrost to the exclusion of possessing spaceworthy craft, so they couldn’t render aid if they wanted to? 

But it’s weird that the last act of Thor hinges on Thor having had some great realization and it just-isn’t there?

Why did you change your mind, Thor? 

Was Darcy watching Schindler’s List for one of her classes or something? Considering what is revealed about the war with the Svartalfar, does Asgard even have a concept of genocide, or is it simply considered a “dishonorable” tactic that is nevertheless lauded in practice because “yay, we won’t have to worry about that enemy anymore”.

What made you change your mind, Thor?

Why did you break the bridge when you had gleefully murdered someone for an insult 3 days before?

Why did you change your mind?

What made you change your mind?

…and why didn’t it seem to stick?

 - Do you think the Bifrost is the only way in and out of this realm? There are passages between worlds to which even you, with all your gifts, are blind. But I have need of them no longer, now that I am king. And I say, for your act of treason, you are relieved of your duties as gatekeeper and no longer citizen of Asgard!

-  Then I need no longer obey you!

I think the reason I feel particularly betrayed and embittered by Marvel is because when the MCU first began, there was just so much potential. 

And I’m not just speaking from a Loki fan’s POV (though it’s mostly from that side), but the way Marvel movies handled every aspect of storytelling, all of their characters were finely written and fleshed out, even the seemingly minor side characters (Agent Coulson, anyone?). The plot was interesting and not too convoluted (*side eyes IW and Endgame*), they made room for both serious drama and witty, intelligent humor (which then died completely with Ragnarok). Everyone had someone they could root for, which brings me around to being a Loki fan. 

When Loki was introduced, and in the following years and movies after, he became an idol for anyone who has been shit on repeatedly by society just for being who they are, and who then refused to take it anymore and began to punch back. 

I mean there’s a reason why the vast majority of Loki fans belong to the LGBTQA+ community, as well as being neurodivergent in some way. And the reason that Loki’s story touched us particularly instead of any other character, was because: 

A. We got to see his fall from grace, and we recognized it as something many of us have gone through in the past. We recognize the little pushes and steps that eventually leads someone down a self-destructive and dark path. And the only reason many of us aren’t still down that path is because we have resources and support systems that, unfortunately, Loki didn’t have access too. But that isolation in and of itself was also extremely relatable, because it’s something we all experienced before we found people who helped us back into the light.  

B. Loki’s struggles and feelings of betrayal and ostricization actually brought out the darker aspects of what that can do to a person. We live in this fucked up society that expects people who are abused and bullied and marginalized to remain Good and Kind and Pure, when in reality (and I am speaking from experience) when you are constantly being victimized and targeted, often for reasons you don’t entirely understand, that causes you to lash out. It causes you to become angry, even violent (even if you’re only daydreaming about causing harm to people). People will back you into a corner and then act surprised when you bite back at them. And then once you do all of that, once you start fighting back, society suddenly decides that you are a Villain/Criminal, and that you deserve the punishment you give. But they don’t even think about punishing the people who made you that way. 

So yeah. The fact that we were actually getting to explore what causes so many villains to become villains, and why so many marginalized people identify with villains, was exciting. It was exciting for me, at least, who saw the same kind of anger I harbored towards the world in Loki. 

We were finally going to get our story told but then…. 

Then…. 

Then Infinity War happened. And Gagnarok. And Endgame…. 

And we found ourselves, once again, pushed into the shadows. 

All of the heroes that comply to what society dictates is a hero get their moment in the sun, and we are once again told that all we’ll ever be are just villains and criminals, unworthy (I fucking hate that word) of redemption or love or a chance to prove ourselves. 

Marvel was supposed to be different. Marvel was supposed to be the thing that gave every single person a chance in the spotlight. But Marvel just… let us down. 

….So fuck you, Marvel. 

Ok this is so incredibly ignorant it deserves its own post. @darkelf19

1) Loki had no reason to believe the Einherjar stationed in the Vault could not do their literal job and dispatch the handful of jötnar that snuck inside during the coronation. A poor decision, certainly, but not one born of malice or indifference.

2) The Warriors 3, Sif and Heimdall all committed treason against him. He was perfectly justified in defending his entirely legitimate claim to the throne. (Apparently Thor's friends don't understand how the line of succession works).

3) If you think he felt nothing while sending the Destroyer after and later directly fighting Thor, you didn't watch the same movie I did. Furthermore, Loki would have had no reason to attack Thor if his friends had not (again) committed treason against him. Consider: if he had planned to send the Destroyer all along, why take the time to go down to Midgard and lie to Thor about Odin being dead? Loki was buying time to accomplish his ultimate goal (to "save" his father who at this point he was still desperate to prove himself to, and to destroy the monster inside himself namely by destroying the entire race). The actions of Thor's friends forced his hand. That doesn't negate that his own actions were immoral, but it certainly does negate the argument that he did so because he's just evil.

4) Loki has never tried to kill Odin. Ever. (Though I certainly would not blame him if he had. That abusive bag of dicks has it coming).

5) Unless you're referring to Laufey when you say "his father". In which case... what reason does Loki have to feel any sense of loyalty to the man who allegedly abandoned him as an infant? Laufey is a stranger to him and an enemy of Asgard, to which Loki is now desperate to prove his fidelity. See again: trying to kill the monster inside himself—by literally killing the 'monster' who created him in the first place.

6) He did not "join" Thanos. For fuck's sake. Did you watch these movies at all? He was tortured, coerced, brainwashed, and mentally manipulated by a goddamn infinity stone. Don't assign motives he's never had to him just because you like the idea of him as a "villain". 🙄

Outside of two very specific sets of circumstances (one being a mental breakdown that ends in a suicide attempt, the other being—again—falling into the hands of terrorist organization and surviving the only way he could), Loki has lived more than one thousand years without ever showing a tendency towards evil (mischief, yes; malevolence, no). He has bad qualities, as we all do. He struggles with feelings of envy, he can be spiteful, he can be manipulative; despite his reputation for being a master tactician, he has an unfortunate tendency to have his plans go off the rails. But he also feels things deeply (which is one of the things he despises most about himself, as he thinks it makes him weak); he is loyal to both his loved ones and to Asgard (despite neither his loved ones nor Asgard being loyal to him). He makes some very bad decisions that unfortunately have resulted in a significant loss of life. He bears [some—because again, coerced and brainwashed] responsibility for those decisions and the collateral damage thereof. That is not in question. But nothing he has ever done has been because he's evil or uncaring. If you think it is, you don't know him at all.

I don’t want to piss off other fans, but I’ve been mulling over this for a while.  The whole “Thor loves Loki and Loki loves Thor” “there is not Thor without Loki & no Loki without Thor” thing – I can’t see it.  From Loki, yes, but not from Thor.

TDW was what really killed this supposed relationship for me.  After Loki is put in his cell – to be locked away for the rest of his life, solitary confinement 24/7 – Thor doesn’t mention Loki at all. We’re not shown someone mentioning him, and Thor reacting with some emotion (hurt, anger, grief, nostalgia, regret, ANYTHING).  Loki is out of sight and out of mind, and it’s easy for Thor to get over him. As I said just before, it would make sense if Thor was deliberately shutting down his emotions with regard to Loki, but we’re not shown that, either.  There’s nothing.

The one exception is the deleted scene of a conversation between Frigga & Thor, after Frigga has been secretly visiting Loki.  And that scene horrifies me even more than Thor’s silence does.

In the MCU, Thor explains that magic = science.  He asks his mother if she regrets educating her son.  Her asks why the “indulgences” of books and visits.  Thor believes that Loki should be locked away and left to rot, for the rest of his entire life, and that even his mother shouldn’t bother about him. There is zero compassion, only confusion.  He genuinely doesn’t understand why Frigga is having anything to do with her son anymore. This shows exactly how Thor is feeling about Loki – he doesn’t care.  You would think they were speaking about a random prisoner whom Thor barely knows.

There’s no relationship there.  There’s no love.  Thor isn’t lost without Loki.  He barely spares him a thought.

It’s not just TDW, though.  I was shocked at how the first Thor movie ended.  The focus is on Jane trying to get back to Thor, not Loki’s suicide.  Like in TDW, Thor spends more energy pining over his girlfriend of three days than his brother of a thousand years.  Yes, he’s anguished and grieving and horrified when Loki lets go.  But he gets past that very quickly.  Hell, Sif shows more emotion over Loki after the initial shock of his fall.

I know a lot of Loki fans don’t like Thor: Ragnarok, but unfortunately, it is canon.  And I don’t think that the way Thor treats Loki is out of character for him at all – it’s got worse, sure, but it’s not much different.  Why should the man who refused to acknowledge Loki’s grief for their mother, care about Loki’s feelings after their father’s death?  Thor has already questioned if Loki has literally any good qualities anymore, and threatens to kill him if he “betrays” him again, so why not the electrocution scene?

You could say – oh, “you don’t understand what you love until you lose it”, but Thor has “lost” Loki 2x before his real death, and didn’t come away from that with any more appreciation for his brother.  And the scenes where he grieves over Loki’s body are moving, but who wouldn’t react that way if a family member was killed in front of them – whether they were close to them or not??  Hell, I suspect I’d react that way if my father was killed like that, and I certainly do not love him.

Grief over a person – even the amount that Thor shows – does not necessarily mean a genuine, heartfelt love for them.  There are all sorts of reasons we mourn a person.  Often, it’s for ourselves rather than for them.

I’m sure that at one point Thor loved Loki.  But he’s mourning for the past, not for Loki himself.  As he says before letting him out his cell, the Loki he once knew is gone.  But that’s always the case – we change, we grow, we become better, we become worse.  I’m not saying Thor has to love Loki.  Sometimes, because people change, we can’t love them any more.  But Thor got over Loki pretty easily – his deaths, his imprisonment, even his relief at finding he was alive after all.  Which suggests to me that his love for Loki wasn’t all that strong in the first place.

Maybe the script-writers didn’t intend it to be that way.  Maybe the intention was to show that close, brotherly relationship that TH goes on about in interviews.  But if so, they failed at making it happen, and this is what we were given instead.

please don’t hate me

You know, another thing that struck me about Thor: Ragnarok, and this is something I was suspicious and concerned about since long before the film actually came out, just from the news we were hearing about it at the time, and which was horribly confirmed when it actually was released, was that in all the reviews for the film (and I read dozens of reviews), I realized it was the first Marvel film, and certainly the first Thor film, that Loki had appeared in, in which he goes almost totally unmentioned in the reviews.  And across the board, if he was mentioned at all, it’s the first time we don’t see the critics praising Tom Hiddelston’s performance, or talking about how Loki is a more interesting character than Thor.  I knew that was going to happen, because the director kept making it a point, really, shoving in down people’s throats in interviews, that this was going to be “Thor’s film”, that Thor was going to be made front and center.  As if he wasn’t front and center in the last two THOR films, and gee and wow, Loki just happened to be a more powerful and impactful character, despite his far lesser screen time.  I knew the second I heard that, that Taika Waititi’s solution to the Thor problem would be to aggressively make Loki seem inferior to Thor, despite the fact that it would utterly ignore and even destroy previously established characterization for BOTH of them.  Talk about uncreative, lazy writing.  There’s a reason Tom Hiddleston and Loki don’t get even a fraction of the attention each was given in the previous reviews of the first two films, and also even The Avengers film.  It’s because Waititi purposefully wrote a character who was both insignificant and flimsy, who was emasculated and idiotic.  Basically, a character who had nothing whatever to do with the Loki of the first films.  And yet I still see people trying to claim Loki progressed as a character, that he grew, etc…  LOL, no.  It was total character assassination is what it was, because Taika Waititi’s ass had a very real agenda in wanting to steal the spot light from Tom Hiddleston and give it to Chris Hemsworth.  And I guess he succeeded, because again, look back over reviews of this film, and compare them to reviews of “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World”, and notice the absolutely glaring difference in regards to Loki and how he’s perceived.  In reviews for the first two films, Loki absolutely captivates the critics, many of them talking about how he’s the most interesting and complex character in the whole MCU.  In reviews of Ragnarok, he’s either not mentioned at all, or he’s mentioned as being a wasted opportunity and inconsequential to the plot and story.  That was purposeful on the director’s part.  I absolutely know it was.  

You know what’s the saddest part about Thor: Ragnarok? The fact that this is probably the happiest we’ve seen Loki. Stuck in a foreign planet when he was sure all his family had died and he could never go back to Asgard.

And is in that moment when he decides to get rid of the green aesthetic, which has always been Disney’s color for both evil and magic. He lets himself drink and laugh and goes for Prussian Blue and Yellow, which represent royalty and were most common for Frigga and the royal guard of Asgard.

He’s trapped on a planet where no one cares about who he is or whatever he’s done in the past. In Sakaar the Grandmaster has grown fond of him and he can use his silvertongue skills to climb to the top. He goes to parties and talks to people and they don’t side-eye him or wonder about whatever might be his next evil deed.

He’s acknowledged but not questioned. 

He’s not perpetually teary-eyed or spitting hurtful words to people and while he is completely alone and without a family, he seems relaxed for once and happy.

“To know what a person has done, and to know who a person is, are very different things.”

— Hannah Kent, Burial Rites (via books-n-quotes)

You think you could make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?

“Your torrid gaze tells me many things, little one. An underlying need to be conquered being the most intense. Shall I answer this need, hmm? Shall your body be my next conquest? Simply beseech your King and all shall be given.” #personalquote #tomhiddleston #smoldertongue #smolderstyle #smolderpoetry #artistsoninstagram #writersofinstagram #thor2011 #lokiedit #tomhiddlestonedit #godofmischief #lokisarmy #lokisdirtywhispers #lokisarmy #hiddlesarmy #talldarkandhandsome #thedevilsinthedetails #diablo #pervertbychoice #kingofasgard (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/BownKivAJNI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18of8ya3u4wyg