It looks as though Thor is about to get a major power-up in Avengers: Doomsday. The next Avengers movie will be the most ambitious yet, with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes colliding with the Fantastic Four and Fox’s original X-Men. Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom promises to be the biggest villain the MCU has ever unleashed, and that means the heroes are naturally going to get some power-ups too. Surprisingly, Marvel may well have just revealed a massive one.
Avengers: Doomsday concept art shows many of the key heroes assembling against Doom, including Thor Odinson. But the truly remarkable thing only some fans have noticed? The concept art subtly hints at a major change in Thor’s status quo, one where he taps into the full power of the Odinforce.
The Avengers: Doomsday concept art clearly positions Thor as a power player, and he’s shown wielding Stormbreaker rather than Mjolnir (which has been passed back to Steve Rogers). Notice, though, that the lightning effect around Stormbreaker is deliberately different to anything we’ve seen in the MCU before. Thor’s lightning is normally electric blue or sometimes white, but this time it’s orange. This is official concept art, which means this wasn’t just done for artistic purposes; it’s a hint Thor’s powers are going to be slightly different. As it happens, there’s precedent from the comics that explains this.
Thor's lightning in the MCU has always been blue-white pure electrical power channeled through Mjolnir or Stormbreaker.
The yellow-gold lightning in this promotional poster is completely different from anything we have seen before.
In the comics the Odinforce manifests as… pic.twitter.com/4JQKlPte14
Thor’s powers may traditionally be blue or yellow, but there’s another Asgardian noted for the orange colorscheme in both the comics and the MCU: Odin himself. The implication here is that Thor is wielding what the comics call “the Odinforce,” the vast power of the All-Father himself. As in the comics, when Thor proved himself worthy and became true ruler of Asgard, he became bearer of all the All-Father’s power; it became known as the Thorforce, and made King Thor the most powerful version of the Odinson we’d ever seen. That orange lightning teases something very similar.
Last Christmas, Marvel released four teaser trailers for Avengers: Doomsday alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash. Two of these trailers – one centered on Thor, the other on Wakanda – explicitly discussed the afterlife, and Thor was shown praying to his father that he might be lent “the strength of the All-Fathers so that I might fight once more.” Thunder rumbled in the background, and it’s safe to assume this indicates Thor’s prayer will be granted. Odin will indeed choose to grant Thor all the power of the All-Fathers – presumably turning his lightning a very different color as he gets the power-up.
Thor: Love and Thunder‘s post-credits scenes set this up wonderfully. Jane Foster found herself in the Norse afterlife, Valhalla, where it’s reasonable to assume all the other Asgardian heroes have found themselves after death. Moon Knight, likewise, confirmed afterlives are a place for the gods and their believers. So it makes sense for the All-Father to be able to respond to his son’s plea, granting him a (possibly only temporary) boon so he can take on Doctor Doom and the threat of the incursions. Given the scale Thor has already operated on, this power-up could easily make him the most powerful hero in the entire MCU… but it’s safe to assume he still won’t be enough.
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