Thor franchise was perhaps the weakest link in the MCU, but Ragnarok totally changed that perception. Since the beginning, the complicated sibling relationship between Thor (God of Thunder) and Loki (God of Mischief) has been at the heart of the overall narrative. Loki would do terrible things and Thor would clean up his mess hoping that this is the last time but it’s never.
In 2011’s Thor, his brother Loki plotted to kill him when he was banished by his father Odin and stripped off his powers as he proved to be unworthy. In ‘The Avengers’, Loki invaded Earth along with powerful Chittauri army at the behest of Thanos.
He was gifted Tesseract by the Mad Titan, he activated it by a power source (Stark tower) which led to the creation of a portal used to transport alien army onto the Earth. Well, Thor had to join the Earth’s mightiest heroes ‘The Avengers’ to take his brother down.
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Guess what, the original script also has Thor’s brother Balder but he couldn’t make it to the final cut. Charlie Wen, CEO (TenSky Entertainment) who is responsible for setting up of Marvel’s Visual Development department shared picture of Thor’s third brother Balder on his Instagram account and wrote:
“Thor almost had Balder!! We were so close. Balder, Thor’s half-brother, was in the script at one point and had a pretty crucial role. I painted this preliminary keyframe of him before finding out that he would be taken out of the film. Balder does add another layer of complexity to Thor’s relationships with Loki, and it was probably a good idea to have him taken out of the first film, but if there was more time to weave out a longer story arc, and Thor had an HBO or Netflix saga, Balder would be a must!”
Balder is also a son of Odin, one of the powerful figures in Norse mythology. He can’t be beaten by an ordinary mortal as he was literally made invulnerable through magic. So only someone who deeply understands magic and mysticism can possibly give him a tough fight.
In 1962, he was seen briefly with Thor in Marvel comics but then again he went MIA, only to be resurfaced as Kind of Hel.
Some fans are of the view that Thor’s brother Balder not being there is a good thing as he would have been a distraction in the conflict between the two brothers which has been the catalyst influencing their character arcs. Since he hasn’t been introduced into the MCU, there is scope to bring him in the future provided there is the right script that does justice to such Asgardian stalwart.
The official movie synopsis of ‘Thor’ is as follows:
“As the son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of the Norse gods, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) will soon inherit the throne of Asgard from his aging father. However, on the day that he is to be crowned, Thor reacts with brutality when the gods’ enemies, the Frost Giants, enter the palace in violation of their treaty. As punishment, Odin banishes Thor to Earth. While Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s brother, plots mischief in Asgard, Thor, now stripped of his powers, faces his greatest threat”.
Here is the movie synopsis of Thor: The Dark World:
“In ancient times, the gods of Asgard fought and won a war against an evil race known as the Dark Elves. The survivors were neutralized, and their ultimate weapon — the Aether — was buried in a secret location. Hundreds of years later, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) finds the Aether and becomes its host, forcing Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to bring her to Asgard before Dark Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) captures her and uses the weapon to destroy the Nine Realms — including Earth”.
The official synopsis for Thor: Ragnarok can be read below:
“Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor’s quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilization”.
