The major villain of Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr the God-Butcher, does not appear in the film’s recently released trailer, while it does show Jane Foster as Thor and the rest of the ensemble. In some ways, Gorr’s omission from the trailer fits with his strange entrance into the MCU thus far.
Christian Bale’s casting in Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth installment of the Thor film franchise, signaled to fans that the veteran superhero movie actor would play a significant role in the film, with theories ranging from legendary Thor ally Beta Ray Bill (whose hammer Stormbreaker is already in the MCU) to Thor’s own brother Balder the Brave.
Despite rumors that Bale will play a hero alongside Thor, Marvel Studios had other ideas (as they often do).
Though fans were correct in assuming he would be portraying a well-known character from the start of a highly praised run, the popular prediction of Beta-Ray Bill was made thirty years too early, as Bale actually signed on to play Gorr the God Butcher.
You might have let out a “Who!” that would make Korath the Pursuer pleased if you haven’t read a Thor comic in the previous decade.
Gorr, like this comic book inspiration, is described as a “galactic murderer” in Marvel Studios’ new Thor: Love and Thunder storyline that accompanies the first teaser trailer.
Thor is accompanied by King Valkyrie, Korg, and his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who now wields Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor, on a “harrowing cosmic quest to solve the secret of the God Butcher’s revenge and stop him before it’s too late,” when Gorr interrupts his “retirement.
What does all of this mean? We here at Newsarama, as cosmic experts of Asgardian literature and tradition, have all you need to know about the wicked Gorr, who more than lives up to his moniker of ‘God Butcher,’ including his origins, powers, and even his surprise link to Spider- Man’s arch-enemy, Venom, to be precise.
Who is Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder?
Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic developed Gorr the God Butcher in the first arc of their Thor: God of Thunder book in 2012. Gorr was born nearly 3000 years ago on an unnamed planet, and his early life was filled with misery and hardship.
Gorr’s inhabitants became nomadic as a result of the planet’s weather conditions, migrating from place to place to find refuge and hunt for any food they could find. Day after day, the heat blazed down on them as they battled hungrily, tiredness, thirst, and the fauna that continuously threatened their survival. They believed in their gods, but they rarely (if ever) delivered.
Gorr’s mother and father died while he was young, but he continued to live the way they taught him when he grew older and started a family of his own. However, the harsh environment made it difficult for the children to survive, and the death of Gorr’s pregnant partner, Arra, and the subsequent death of his last remaining son, Agar, would drive Gorr to despair, wishing for a world without gods because gods had never given him anything – only taken it away.
Gorr was expelled from his tribe by the rest of his tribe. Gorr’s prayers seemed to be answered when he was traversing the desert in exile. Two ostensibly divine entities descended into Gorr’s homeworld, perhaps proving to Gorr that gods do exist after all.
The two, one in black armor and the other in gold, appeared to have fallen from the skies while engaged in a fight. Faced with loss, the gold-clad individual sought out to Gorr for assistance. Gorr, however, resisted, drawing upon the strength of the black-clad being’s weapon, a powerful blade of amorphous black energy (more on this sword later – it’s crucial).
The enigmatic black sword bonded to Gorr, allowing him to strike the deity in gold with the deathblow, and ultimately giving him the all-powerful means to take his savage retribution on every divine entity in the Marvel Universe, even the mighty Thor.
Gorr the God Butcher in the Marvel Universe
Gorr’s passion for revenge takes him to Earth in the distant past, where he continues his goal to murder every deity in existence by assassinating gods from different Earthly pantheons, ultimately garnering the notice of Thor and his human Viking companions.
Thor and Gorr fight and Gorr kidnaps Thor and tortures him for weeks. In the end, Thor’s allies save him, with Thor severing Gorr’s arm with the Asgardian ax Jarnbjorn (also known as the Wrecker of Worlds) during his escape, causing Gorr’s amorphous black sword to join even more closely with him and take the place of his arm.
Gorr travels to Chronux, the Palace of Infinity, where he can roam beyond all of time and space, realizing he’ll need a lot more strength to take down the gods of Earth, whose might much outclasses that of his past victims.
Gorr travels across time, putting together the parts of a ‘Godbomb,’ which has the ability to wipe out all divine creatures in an instant.
Gorr kidnaps Shadrach, the god of explosives, and transports the Godbomb components and his hostage to a distant future, where an elder iteration of his ancient foe Thor reigns over a shattered and dying Asgard.
Gorr’s black sword gets stronger as he exploits the Asgardians of this century as a resource, allowing him to defeat three versions of Thor: the youthful god he once battled, the mainstream Avenger Thor, and Old King Thor, the old king of the future planet where Gorr created his bomb.
Gorr can even bring back his deceased wife and son, Arra and Agar, using magic. But, even as Gorr achieves the zenith of his power, the magically manufactured facsimiles of his family turn against him, exacerbating Gorr’s religious hate of the gods by dubbing Gorr a deity as a result of his newfound power.
Gorr kills Arra in a fit of rage, prompting Agar to flee and seek out the mainstream Thor, who finally confronts Gorr and defeats him by absorbing the entirety of the Godbomb’s explosion using the power of dual-wielding both his own Mjolnir and the Mjolnir of the future – Gorr is destroyed, and his dire weapon appears to be lost.
Gorr says something in his final moments that resonate with Thor in some way, telling him “All you’ve brought this universe is misery. Gods didn’t create mankind, but someday, if they’re not stopped… they will end it. Mark my words.”
Thor would then become unworthy of carrying Mjolnir, allowing Jane Foster to pick it up and become Thor, precisely as she will in Thor: Ragnarok. In his place, Love and Thunder
Will All-Black the Necrosword be in Thor: Love and Thunder?
At the same time, Gorr’s essence was discovered in the sword he had wielded, indicating that he was not truly gone. Following Gorr’s apparent death, it’s revealed that the sword has a name and a terrible origin tied to a distinct Marvel mythos.
The blade is really called ‘All-Black the Necrosword,’ as it turns out. The initial wielder of this mighty heavenly sword was none other than the malevolent entity known as Knull. He’s the deity of the Klyntar, a race of extraterrestrial symbiotes that Venom belongs to. That implies one of Thor’s greatest foes is inextricably linked to the Spider-Man and Venom universes.
The story of Gorr’s fall is presented in Jason Aaron’s farewell to the Thor series, King Thor, in which Loki unites with the Necrosword in the far future, squaring up against Old King Thor in an epic confrontation.
Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder / the MCU
With so much mystique and history behind him, it’s unlikely that Marvel Studios would attempt to recount the full Gorr storyline through Christian Bale‘s portrayal in Thor: Love and Thunder, but his presence as the story’s apparent major adversary sets the ground for Jane Foster to pick up Mjolnir.
We’ll most certainly witness Gorr rip apart some MCU gods since actor Russell Crowe is set to play Zeus of the Olympian gods, who might be an incoming victim of the God Butcher.
Then there’s Gorr’s weapon, the All-Black the Necrosword, and its link to Venom, who has his own movie series in the Sony movie universe’s other world – though he did briefly crossover in Spider-Man: No Way Home, leaving a piece of his symbiote behind.
Could this have an impact on what happens next for Thor and his battle with Gorr the God Butcher? When Thor: Love and Thunder opens in theaters in July, these questions will be answered.
