Thor is the God of Thunder and one of the original Avengers, but how powerful is he in each movie he’s been in? Over the course of a decade, the Avengers: Endgame.
Thor made his MCU debut in 2011 with his first solo movie, and the following year ed Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok, which brought very necessary changes to the character and revived the Thor film series.
The new and improved Thor then ed the rest of the MCU in Thor: Love and Thunder. The Son of Odin that the audience met in his first movie isn’t the same seen in Avengers: Endgame, as he went through many changes not only physically, but also mentally and in of how powerful he is, getting new weapons and channeling new powers. Here’s how powerful Thor is in each MCU movie.
Thor
When viewers met the hammer Mjolnir to help him focus his ability to control thunder and be his companion once he became king, and he grew up to be a very skilled warrior, but also one with a huge ego. After attempting to start a war against the Frost Giants, Odin banished him to Earth, taking Mjolnir away (as he was not worthy of it anymore) and removing his powers. Thor landed on Earth without the hammer and his powers, and had to go through a personal journey to be worthy of them again. By the end of the movie, Thor had regained Mjolnir and his powers, allowing him to defeat the Destroyer.
Thor’s powers and abilities at this point were superhuman strength, durability, speed, reflexes, agility, and regenerative healing factor, along with all the abilities that came with Mjolnir, such as weather and lightning manipulation and energy projection. And yet, Thor was at his weakest here, and spent most of the movie without any of his powers.
The Avengers
By the time of the events of The Avengers, Thor’s powers were fully restored and he had full control of Mjolnir again, which allowed him to fight the Chitauri – and also Iron and Captain America when they first met. Thor later fought the Hulk as he was the only one who could match him for strength, though it was no easy fight. Thanks to Mjolnir, Thor was able to recover and channel lightning to stop more Chitauri ships from entering through the portal. Thor had the same powers in The Avengers and Thor, only this time he got to use them through the entire movie, showing the audience what he was truly capable of.
Thor: The Dark World
In his second solo movie, Thor came across with Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) and the Dark Elves, who were planning on releasing the Aether and bring darkness to all realms. At that point, Thor seemed to be stuck as there was no development, so his powers remained the same. However, he was able to showcase exactly how strong he was when he survived being exposed to the power of the Nine Realms by Malekith. Thor was the only one able to go through the Aether and get close to Malekith, who he stabbed and sent back to Svartalfheim, where he was later smashed by his own ship. Again, it was an opportunity to show his abilities, but the movie didn’t make him any more powerful than he already was.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
The Avengers reassembled in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where they came across with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, retrieved the scepter, fought against the AI gone-wrong named foreshadowed the destruction of Asgard. Thor once more displayed his strength when he survived the experience of the Water of Sights, where he was taken over by the water spirits and shown the nightmarish visions Scarlet Witch originally unleashed. However, he wasn’t stronger than Ultron (in his new body made of vibranium), as he beat and strangled the God of Thunder, and was only saved by Vision and Mjolnir – but he survived the destruction of Sokovia.
Thor: Ragnarok
After seeing no development since his first movie, Thor went through some much-needed changes in Mjolnir and ended up in Sakaar, where he was captured by the Grandmaster and the only way he could gain his freedom was if he defeated the Contest of Champions’ ultimate champion, who turned out to be the Hulk. Thor fought against the Hulk with the help of a mace, a shield, and retractable swords, though they didn’t last long. Thor once again proved to be the only one who can match him for strength, and was about to defeat him when the Grandmaster intervened.
During the battle, while lying unconscious after being hit by the Hulk, a new power was unlocked within him after having a vision of Odin: electrical powers, and his powers over lightning were enhanced, allowing him to generate big amounts of electrical energy from his own body and summon thunder and lightning without the help of Mjolnir. It was this power that gave him the upper hand during the fight against the Hulk. This new ability also helped him go against Hela, which wasn’t an easy fight as she often overpowered him. This is the most powerful Thor had been at that point, as he unlocked new powers and was able to summon and fight with lightning without Mjolnir.
Avengers: Infinity War
Thor was rescued by the Guardians of the Galaxy after Thanos and the Black Order attacked the ship where he, Loki, Valkyrie, and the rest of Asgard were traveling. After seeing the level of threat that Thanos and company represented, Thor decided he needed a new weapon, and traveled to Nidavellir with Groot and Rocket Raccoon. There, with Efri’s guidance and Rocket and Groot’s help, he built Stormbreaker, a powerful axe nigh-indestructible which can focus and enhance Thor’s powers, channel dimensional energy, summon the Bifrost Bridge, and – most importantly – withstand the energy of the Infinity Stones and defeat Thanos. Unfortunately, Thor didn’t go for the head when attacking Thanos, and so the Mad Titan fulfilled his plan of wiping out half of life in the universe.
Failure aside, Stormbreaker made Thor even more powerful than before (who once more proved how strong he is by being able to hold the iris doors open and resist the star's power), and it’s considered the strongest weapon in Asgard’s history, which combined with his newly found abilities, made him a very powerful hero in the MCU.
Avengers: Endgame
At the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, Thor finally killed Thanos with Stormbreaker, which only sent him deeper into the pit of guilt and depression. After living in seclusion in New Asgard for years and staying far away from superhero life, Thor reed the Avengers for the Time Heist, going back to Asgard in 2013 to take the Aether, a trip he also used to take Mjolnir and bring him back to his time. Now armed with the power of lightning, who proved he was worthy of using Mjolnir, and they switched between both of Thor’s weapons.
Although Thor wasn’t in a good mental and emotional place during the first two-thirds of the movie, he pulled himself together and gave his all in the Battle of Earth. Now with two weapons and all the abilities he already had, Thor had everything he needed to fight alongside the rest of the MCU and was the most powerful he had ever been. He won’t be as powerful in Thor: Love and Thunder, at least not at the beginning, as Captain America took Mjolnir with him when he returned the Infinity Stones to their respective times, and it’s yet to be seen if Mjolnir will somehow return or if he will get a new weapon.
