Thor (film)/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


This is a characters page for characters appearing in the Thor Film. For characters from the comic book the film is based on, see here.

Asgardians

When in doubt, every Asgardian (man, woman or child) possesses the Proud Warrior Race Guy trope.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth)

The god of thunder based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. At first he's extremly cocky about everything he does. This creates a conflict, in that his father desires for him to be a good king and not a hot-head.

Darcy: Yaknow... for a crazy homeless guy... he's pretty cut.

  • Fish Out of Water
  • Flying Brick
  • Hair of Gold
  • Hey, It's That Guy!: Kirk's dad from the Star Trek reboot film.
  • Hot-Blooded: Thor is incredibly exuberant about everything, wearing all of his emotions on his sleeve - this makes his Despair Event Horizon all the more noticeable, as after everything falls apart for him he closes up entirely.
  • I Gave My Word: And he'll damn well honor it too!!
  • Immortal Immaturity: Thor is in all likelihood at least 1000 years old, and yet it is only in the 3 days he spent as a mortal that he starts to emotionally mature.
  • Irony: As the first step in his Humiliation Conga, the God of Thunder gets taken down by...a taser.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Thor is a violent musclehead who always keeps his word of honor, not to mention a polite and chivalrous gentleman towards women, even before his Character Development.
  • Large Ham: One of many, but in a good way.
  • Perpetual Smiler: Of a sort. Thor is almost always cheerful, even in the middle of a fight to the death with an army of Frost Giants - this, alongside his vainglorious optimism, is seen by many as a symptom of his childishness. Though by the end of the movie he learns to be truly serious about things and becomes more solemn as a result, according to previews of The Avengers he seems to have retained this cheerful aspect of his character nonetheless.
  • Red Oni: to Loki's Blue Oni
  • Royal Brat: Thor starts out spoiled and selfish, willing to throw two planets into war to prove himself. When not showing his rage by bellowing and throwing things on the floor, he expresses gratitude and enthusiasm by... bellowing and throwing things on the floor.
  • Shirtless Scene
  • Strong as They Need to Be: Used for comedic purposes during the time he's depowered. When it's funny, he can be taken out fairly easily (by Darcy's taser, Jane running him over, getting an injection), but he's also shown curbstomping scores of highly trained SHIELD personnel who are in peak physical condition.
  • Throwing Your Hammer Always Works: Sure, when it comes back to you after you throw it.
  • When All You Have Is a Hammer: ...you get the hammer taken away until you learn to use other tools to solve your problems.
  • When He Smiles: The big cheesy smile he makes when Darcy takes a picture of him.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston)

Thor's brother, who progresses over the course of the story from simply a moody, jealous sibling to an enemy of Asgard. His talents as a magician are well recognized, as is his "silver tongue." He prefers covert action, diplomacy and manipulation to direct action.

  • Adaptational Badass: In addition to his usual magical tricks, he's much more of a physical threat to Thor than in the comics. He's not quite as good as his brother in a straight fight, but he's close.
  • Anti-Villain
  • An Ice Person: Much to his surprise.
  • Badass Bookworm
  • Big Bad
  • Blade on a Stick: When Odin is in the Odinsleep, Loki takes up his spear Gungnir as both a scepter and a weapon.
  • Blue Oni: To Thor's red
  • Brains Evil, Brawn Good: In comparison to Thor.
  • Cain
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder
  • Consummate Liar
  • Cry for the Devil: He may be evil, but watching him slide there is painful.
  • Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: Loki was never really that straight-minded (he was plenty jealous of his brother, even if his plot to screw up the coronation was also with the intent to keep Thor from ruining the throne) but hearing he was of Frost Giant descent took him beyond the point of no return.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: While it's not his motivation, Loki is consumed by his envy of Thor and has a hell of a time hiding it in the first act.
  • Green Eyes: At least in the marketing, apropos for the above. (In the film itself, his eyes are blue; Tom Hiddleston didn't wear contacts and his eyes weren't altered in post-production.)
  • Horny Vikings
  • I Am Who?: He's actually a Frost Giant and Laufey's son, rescued from Jotunheim when Odin last defeated the Frost Giants. He doesn't take The Reveal very well.
  • I Lied: About Odin's death.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Sure, he ruins Thor's big day for "a bit of fun", but he also did it to reveal how unfit to rule his brother was. He may eventually become the villain, but at the time he spared Asgard a massive headache.
  • Large Ham: Far less hammy than Thor or Odin, but he has his moments.
    • To wit, the final confrontation between the brothers shows Loki fighting almost gleefully and even laughing maniacally at one point. To be fair, he had been repressing it for a while...
  • Love Makes You Evil
  • Energy Ball: His magic/energy knife things.
  • Manipulative Bastard
  • Master of Illusion: He's fond of using illusionary copies of himself to distract his enemies.
  • Pretty Boy: While his appearance in the comics is very much Depending on the Artist and has ranged from withered and ugly all the way to smolderingly handsome, this is probably the most daintily good-looking Loki incarnation ever.
    • This is (completely coincidentally) in line with descriptions of Loki in Norse myth.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • Royal Brat: Like Thor, Loki has overtones of this. He has no problem getting guards and jotuns killed for the sake of a prank on his brother.
  • The Resenter
  • Self-Made Orphan: By killing Laufey, his real father.
    • It's more understandable in the script where Laufey finds out he's his "bastard son" and went on saying Odin should have killed him. Not that he didn't leave him to die in the movie anyway.
    • But it makes more sense in the finished movie, where Loki doesn't even tell Laufey about their relation before killing him, because he doesn't care about Laufey and why should he? He only cares about Odin.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: When he appears before the imprisoned Thor in Midgard.
  • Tall, Dark and Snarky
  • Tomato in the Mirror
  • Tragic Villain
  • Trickster Archetype: A villainous example, naturally.
  • The Unfavourite: He sees himself as such.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The scene with young Loki show him and Thor being absolutely adorable as they listen to Odin telling them a story about the war with the Jotun.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Even though he is FURIOUS that Odin lied to him about his parentage, his ultimate goal is still his love and approval rather than his throne.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
  • Yandere: When his daddy becomes ill just thinking about warring with the Ice Giants, Loki concludes that the quickest way to please his father is to blow up the Ice Giants' planet. Just imagine young Loki suggesting this with an adorable grin, while Thor is content with beating a few up to scare them. Do it.
  • Zig Zagged Trope: Loki's entire character is a dance between Dark Is Not Evil, Obviously Evil, The Evil Prince, and "Well Done, Son" Guy. Ultimately, the movie sets him up as a bad guy who's playing both sides against the middle...to win his father's approval.

Odin (Anthony Hopkins)

The ruler of Asgard, father of Thor, and adoptive father of Loki, based on the mythological deity and comic book character of the same name.

  • Badass Grandpa
  • Blade on a Stick: Gungnir, the "Spear of Heaven" that also doubles as a Boom Stick.
  • Cool Horse
  • Determinator: He's been putting off the Odinsleep for quite a while.
  • Eye Patch of Wisdom
  • Good Parents: Loves both his sons even if Loki is an adopted Frost Giant, a racial enemy and gives Thor a much needed object-lesson (IE, being made mortal) to teach him the value of kindness and compassion. His main failure is loving and being too prideful in his sons to teach them the lessons they needed to learn until it was too late, resulting in Thor becoming a boisterous warmonger and Loki in becoming a repressed ball of jealousy. Only one of them gets better.
  • Hot Dad: A well kept old gentleman.
  • Large Ham: Competes with Thor for first prize. To emphasize, Brian Blessed was considered for the role before Mr. Hopkins.
  • Orcus on His Throne: The Odinsleep is pretty much responsible for the entire plotline here.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Wants to avoid war, and does a good job of handling things when he's not in the Odinsleep. Just mind the Hair-Trigger Temper.
  • Papa Wolf

The Destroyer

Fandral (Josh Dallas)

A member of the Warriors Three, a group of three Asgardian adventurers who are among Thor's closest comrades. He's the irrepressible swashbuckler and romantic of the group.

Hogun (Tadanobu Asano)

A member of the Warriors Three, primarily identified by his grim demeanor.

Volstagg (Ray Stevenson)

A member of the Warriors Three; known for both his hearty appetite and wide girth.

Fandral: Our dearest friend missing, Loki on the throne, Asgard on the brink of war, and yet you've managed to consume four wild boars, six pheasants, a side of beef, and six gallons of ale. Shame on you! Don't you care?
[Knocks Volstagg's plate off]
Volstagg: Do not mistake my appetite for apathy!

Sif (Jaimie Alexander)

A warrior and Thor's childhood friend based on the mythological deity and comic book character of the same name. She's a very talented, skilled warrior and can stand on her own against any villain. She is very loyal to Thor and cares a lot about protecting him and protecting Asgard.

Frigga (Rene Russo)

Mother of Thor, adoptive mother of Loki, and wife of Odin.

  • Action Mom
  • Badass Grandma
  • Good Parents: Even though Loki is not a child of her blood, she loves and dotes on him as if he were.
  • Hot Mom: Very well kept and beautiful for a lady of her years.
    • Well, she is an immortal.
  • Lady of War
  • Mama Bear: Check out the ferocity she defends her husband with while he is in the Odinsleep.

Heimdall (Idris Elba)

The all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian sentry of the Bifröst bridge, based on the mythological deity and comic book character of the same name.

  • Big Scary Black Man
  • Black Vikings
  • Composite Character: Also has some elements from Balder.
  • Cool Sword: His sword can control the Bifröst bridge.
  • Exact Words: Uses this to go against Loki's orders not to grant anyone passage on the Bifröst, by letting Sif & the Warriors Three use it to head to Midgard - He was told not to open it, Loki said nothing about leaving the key in the ignition, as it were.

Fandral: Complicated fellow, isn't he?

  • Genius Bonus: A man of African descent playing Heimdall, "the whitest of the gods" according to Norse mythology. In context, by "whitest" they mean "brightest", as in shining, but it's still funny.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: As he is The Driver and functionally an Almighty Janitor. However, his and his job's importance is played up thoroughly, and he's implied to be near or superior to Odin in power.
  • Race Lift: He's white in the comics. This was a point of contention for some fans, applied rather inconsistently (see Hogun). The actor and producers called out the fans on how ridiculous it is to say that a human actor playing a comic book character based on a mythological concept doesn't look like how the fans wanted.
  • Retroactive Recognition: For Americans, rewatching the film might invoke a "Hey, it's Luther!"
  • Super Senses: The other characters' actions imply that he is near-omniscient.
  • Unflappable Guardian: For all of Asgard! Though he's more prone to employing silence than the typical Obfuscating Stupidity and friendliness.

Earth, aka Midgard

Jane Foster (Natalie Portman)

A scientist and Thor's love interest.

Dr Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard)

A scientist doing research in New Mexico who encounters Thor.

Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings)

A co-worker of Jane Foster.

Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg)

  • Last-Name Basis: His first name is Phil but we rarely, if ever, hear it.
  • Seen It All: Hints of Type 1, as is typical of MIB. He also has a bit of Type 2's Genre Savviness as he orders his men to let Thor try and lift his hammer, and realized just in time that Destroyer's head opening and glowing is a very bad thing.
  • That Makes Me Feel Angry:

Coulson: You've made my men, highly trained professionals, look like a bunch of minimum-wage mall cops. That's hurtful.

Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)

Jotunheim

King Laufey (Colm Feore)

"You have no idea what you would unleash. (Beat). I do."

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Thor_(film)/Characters?oldid=1531452"