Thor May Finally Unlock the Odinforce in Avengers: Doomsday – And It’s About Time
I’ve been looking at some of the latest Avengers: Doomsday artwork and there’s something about Thor that’s caught my attention. Normally when we see the God of Thunder throwing lightning around, it’s that familiar blue colour we’ve had since the early Marvel films. But in some of the new promotional material, his lightning looks more golden, almost like the energy we associate with Odin. It might be nothing more than an artistic choice, but knowing Marvel and how much they enjoy hiding little clues in plain sight, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to it.
There’s been quite a bit of speculation that Thor could finally unlock the Odinforce in Doomsday, and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. We’ve watched Thor grow from an arrogant prince who had his powers taken away into one of the most powerful Avengers, but we’ve never really seen him become the All-Father his dad was. He’s been a warrior, a king, an Avenger and now a father, although I think he’d probably admit he’s made a few questionable decisions along the way.
And with Doctor Doom apparently becoming one of the biggest threats the Avengers have ever faced, I think Thor might need something more than another impressive entrance with Stormbreaker. As much as I loved his arrival in Wakanda during Infinity War, we all know how that ended. He nearly stopped Thanos, but nearly wasn’t enough.
What Exactly Is the Odinforce?
For anyone who hasn’t followed Thor’s comic book stories, the Odinforce is an incredibly powerful source of magical and cosmic energy associated with Odin, the All-Father of Asgard. It’s what allows him to do far more than simply control lightning or swing a weapon around. We’re talking about manipulating enormous amounts of energy, creating powerful enchantments, healing and performing feats that put him on a completely different level from most Asgardians.
In the comics, Odin’s powers are so immense that he sometimes needs to enter the Odinsleep to restore his strength. It’s also the power behind many of the things we associate with Asgard, including Odin’s ability to enchant Mjolnir. When Thor eventually inherits the power and takes his father’s place as All-Father, it becomes known as the Thorforce, and some of his comic book appearances are absolutely ridiculous in terms of how powerful he becomes.
Now I don’t expect Marvel to suddenly turn Thor into somebody who can solve every problem by clicking his fingers. That wouldn’t make for a particularly interesting Avengers film, especially when we’ve got Doctor Doom causing trouble. But I do think there’s an opportunity to show us a version of Thor who has finally reached the level of power and responsibility his father once carried.
And before anyone says Thor already inherited Odin’s powers when he died in Ragnarok, I think there’s a difference between Thor realising his own strength and actually learning to control the full power of the All-Father. We’ve seen glimpses of what he can do without Mjolnir, but I don’t think we’ve seen everything he’s capable of yet.
Thor’s Prayer to Odin Might Be Our Biggest Clue
One of the things I really liked about the Thor teaser for Avengers: Doomsday was how different it felt from some of his more recent appearances. Instead of cracking jokes or charging into battle, we see him speaking to his father and asking for the strength of the All-Fathers so he can fight another enemy and return home to his daughter.
That’s quite a change from the Thor we first met back in 2011, who was desperate to prove himself worthy of becoming king and seemed to think hitting things with a hammer was the answer to just about everything. This version of Thor isn’t asking for power because he wants to be the strongest person in the room. He’s asking because he’s got somebody waiting for him at home, and for once he’s got something to lose that isn’t connected to being an Avenger.
Then there’s the golden lightning in the promotional artwork. In the MCU, Odin has often been associated with golden energy, particularly when he passed away in Thor: Ragnarok. So seeing Thor surrounded by something similar has naturally got fans wondering whether he’s finally going to inherit that power. It hasn’t been confirmed, and promotional artwork isn’t always a reliable guide to what happens in the finished film, but it’s an interesting detail when you put it alongside his prayer.
What if Thor actually receives an answer from Odin? We’ve already seen Jane Foster arrive in Valhalla at the end of Love and Thunder, so Marvel has established that the Asgardian afterlife is more than just something characters talk about. I’m not suggesting Odin is suddenly going to walk out of Valhalla and hand Thor a shiny new power-up, but perhaps his connection to his father and the All-Fathers could become important when the multiverse is threatened.
Love Could Be the Reason Thor Finally Becomes the All-Father
I’ve always thought Thor has one of the saddest stories in the MCU when you actually sit down and look at everything he’s lost. His mother was killed in The Dark World, Odin died in Ragnarok, Loki was murdered by Thanos, Heimdall was killed and Asgard was destroyed. Then he lost Jane in Love and Thunder, just when it seemed like they might finally have another chance together.
And that’s without getting into everything that happened after Infinity War. Thor blamed himself for failing to stop Thanos, struggled with what he’d lost and spent a good part of Endgame trying to figure out who he was supposed to be. I know some fans weren’t particularly happy with the direction Marvel took him, especially the amount of comedy, but underneath all that was somebody who’d been through an awful lot.
Then Love and Thunder gave him something he hadn’t expected. A daughter. Love might not be his biological child, but that doesn’t make their relationship any less important. After spending years losing the people closest to him, Thor finally has somebody he can look after, somebody who needs him to come home rather than another universe that needs him to save it.
And I think that’s what makes the Doomsday teaser so interesting. Thor isn’t talking about glory, revenge or proving himself worthy. He wants to defeat one more enemy and return to his daughter. It’s probably the most human motivation we’ve seen from him in years, which is rather funny considering he’s an actual god.
What if becoming the All-Father isn’t simply about inheriting Odin’s power? What if Thor has to understand what it means to protect somebody rather than just fight for them? Odin spent years trying to teach him that being a king was about responsibility, and perhaps becoming a father himself is what finally makes everything click.
That would be a much better reason for Thor to unlock the Odinforce than simply needing a bigger lightning attack because Doom is too powerful.
Would the Odinforce Be Enough to Fight Doctor Doom?
Now this is where things could get interesting, because Doctor Doom isn’t somebody I’d expect Thor to defeat by simply throwing Stormbreaker a little harder. Doom has always been dangerous in the comics because he’s more than just a man wearing armour. He’s incredibly intelligent, understands technology and magic, and has an ego that could probably give Tony Stark a run for his money.
We’ve already seen promotional footage suggesting Thor and Doom are going to clash, and I really hope Marvel gives them a proper fight. Thor is one of the few original Avengers still around who has faced enemies on this sort of scale, and he’s got the experience to know that charging in without a plan doesn’t always work. Although knowing Thor, I suspect he’ll still give it a go at least once.
In the comics, the Odinforce makes Thor considerably more powerful, but Doom has also achieved some absolutely ridiculous things over the years, particularly when he’s managed to get his hands on powers that were never meant to belong to him. If Marvel takes inspiration from the Secret Wars storyline, where Doom becomes God Emperor Doom, even an All-Father Thor might struggle to stop him.
And that’s what I actually hope happens. Not that Thor loses, but that Marvel doesn’t treat the Odinforce as an easy solution to everything. We’ve already seen how powerful characters can become a problem when writers have to keep finding reasons they can’t simply end the fight in five minutes. I’d much rather see Thor finally reach his potential and still have to rely on the other Avengers to defeat Doom.
Imagine Thor going into battle with the full power of the All-Father, fighting alongside characters like Captain America, Doctor Strange and the Fantastic Four. That’s the sort of scale I want from Doomsday, especially after waiting so long for another proper Avengers film.
Is Marvel Finally Giving Us the Thor We’ve Been Waiting For?
I enjoyed parts of Love and Thunder, but I do think Marvel leaned a little too heavily into the comedy. Thor has always had a sense of humour, and Chris Hemsworth is brilliant at it, but sometimes I miss the more serious version we saw in Infinity War. The Thor who arrived in Wakanda with Stormbreaker felt like somebody you really wouldn’t want to annoy, and I’d love to see some of that presence return.
That doesn’t mean he needs to stop being funny or spend the entire film looking miserable. I just think there’s a balance between the Thor who makes us laugh and the God of Thunder who’s supposed to be one of the most powerful beings in the MCU. The Doomsday teaser gives me hope that Marvel understands that, because there’s a maturity to Thor that we haven’t always seen in his recent adventures.
And perhaps that’s the whole point of the Odinforce theory. Thor has spent so much of his life trying to live up to Odin, then trying to escape the responsibility of being king, and now he’s finally found something worth accepting that responsibility for. He’s not becoming his father because he wants Odin’s throne. He’s becoming the person Odin always hoped he would be.
Of course, we could all be reading far too much into a bit of golden lightning on a poster. Marvel might have simply decided it looked better against the background, and we’ll get to December and discover Thor’s powers haven’t changed at all. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time I’ve convinced myself a tiny detail was going to change the entire MCU.
But I do think the timing makes sense. We’re heading towards Doomsday and Secret Wars, the original Avengers are getting older, and Marvel has been exploring what happens when heroes become parents and start thinking about the next generation. We’ve already been looking at Steve Rogers and the possibility of James Rogers, and now Thor’s story seems to be heading in a similar direction with Love.
Perhaps this is how Thor’s story finally comes full circle. He started out as a prince who wanted to become king, lost almost everything along the way and now has the chance to become something greater than either of those things. Not just the God of Thunder, but the All-Father of Asgard.
And if that means we finally get to see Chris Hemsworth unleash the full Odinforce against Doctor Doom, I’m absolutely here for it. Just please, Marvel, let him have a proper fight before somebody makes another joke about his hammer.
What do you think, Fandom? Is Thor’s golden lightning our first proper look at the Odinforce, or are we getting carried away with another Marvel fan theory? And if he does unlock his father’s power, could he actually stand a chance against Doctor Doom?
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