“All gods must die.”
The powerful Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has battled a variety of foes throughout his journeys in the MCU, either on his own or alongside allies like the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The God of Thunder has undergone extensive experience, from his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), his sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) to the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin). And Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who appears in Thor: Love and Thunder, is his toughest opponent to date.
Gorr originally debuted as a strange deity who was slaying pantheons of gods around the universe in Thor: God of Thunder #2 by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic. When the young God of Thunder found the gods’ corpses in Russia and Norway in the ninth century, he would run into Gorr. Thor resolved to face off the dark creature despite the fact that he had not yet proven himself worthy of his signature weapon Mjlonir. He paid a price for his stupidity when Gorr kidnapped him and tried to torture him to reveal the location of Asgard. Gorr was forced to flee after Thor was able to escape and sliced off his arm.
Later, a grown-up Thor would run into Gorr once more. After their previous battle, The God Butcher had become even more powerful, killing other gods and abducting others to create the deadly “Godbomb,” which would send a pulse through time that would wipe out every god who had ever existed if it was set off. With the aid of his granddaughters, younger self, and future self, Thor was able to defeat Gorr.
Gorr would eventually disclose the motivation for his quest to exterminate all gods. He resided on an unnamed planet inhabited by rapacious creatures, with a sun that relentlessly shone its searing rays upon his people. When he was a small child, both his parents passed away, and an earthquake killed his wife. When his son Agar finally perished from malnutrition, Gorr finally lost it and yelled at his clan that the gods had deserted them. After being banished from his tribe for profanity, he soon stumbled across two gods engaged in combat. Gorr picked up the ominous weapon known as the Necrosword and used it to slay both gods after one of them asked for assistance.
Gorr’s origin, which begins Love and Thunder, is roughly consistent with how he first appeared in comic books. One significant variation is that he gives birth to a girl rather than a boy; she is later named Love following her rebirth, which is fairly appropriate considering the movie‘s title. And much like in the movie, Gorr buries Love after a grueling journey across the desert. He uses the Necrosword, which is where the movie veers off course. Finally, Gorr finds himself in an oasis where he meets the sun god that his people worshiped. His faith is initially strengthened by the realization that the object of his belief is genuine, but it is swiftly shaken when the sun god mercilessly disparages him and his people as little more than inconsequential specks. Before chopping off the head of the Sun God, Gorr professes his faith and makes a new vow: “All gods will die.”
Gorr abducts the Asgardian kids in order to accomplish this objective by tricking Thor into pursuing him. When the God of Thunder finally manages to catch up with Gorr, it becomes clear that his true intention was to take Thor’s ax Stormbreaker and use it as a key to the Forge of Eternity, which will give a desire to the earliest person to unlock it. Gorr wants to revive his child, not slay all gods, and that is all he is asking for. Gorr ultimately succumbs to the Necrosword’s curse once it is demolished, but not before pleading with Thor to bring up Love so that she won’t end up abandoned like he did. Although this conclusion diverges from the comics, it is consistent with the movie’s central theme of finding love, whether it iswith a soulmate or with family. While this is a different ending from the comics, it fits with the film’s major theme of finding love – whether it’s a soulmate or family.
