Warning: SPOILERS for War of the Realms #3
The evolution of Thor in the MCU has shown he's a force of nature (pun intended) when at his peak strength. But comic fans know that Marvel has held off showing a truly unhinged Thor, one filled with pure bloodlust and viking butchery... until now.
When unleashing lightning in the epic Rainbow Bridge fighting in Thor: Ragnarok, or obliterating the battlefield in Avengers: Infinity War, fans can appreciate the payoff of seeing Thor in his true, "badass god of thunder" mode. But that's all he truly is: the god of thunder, throwing lightning bolts at his enemies. If they're lucky, maybe even knock a few bad guys with the blunt end of his hammer or axe. The good news? Marvel's latest comic event unveils 'Berserker Thor' in all his glory. The bad news? Fans will never get to see it on the big screen, because it's WAY too gory to film.
Marvel is putting together a truly epic run with its War of the Realms series and tie-ins. From the first issue featuring Loki being eaten by his father, to the former Thor Jane Foster being named All-Mother of Asgard, the event has shaken the Marvel universe to its core - and all seems lost on Midgard. Earth's heroes are outmatched and caught off guard, facing an invasion of the worst monsters of the other nine Realms. Even worse, the Asgardian hero most suited to fighting the monsters is missing.
After realizing the battle of New York City is lost, Earth's mightiest heroes accept that they cannot win the war without Thor, and hatch a plan to rescue him from the home planet of the Frost Giants (where he has been stranded by the villain, Malekith, to leave New York unprotected). The rescue team assembled to find and return Thor--Captain America with an axe, Spider-man with his own shield, Luke Cage with a hammer, Iron Fist with a sword, and Wolverine with a... cowboy hat--all ride to Jotunheim by way of Bifrost on each of their own winged horses.
After battling their way through their own set of frost giants, the rescue team begin to hear screams coming from beyond a Jotunheim mountain range (which is soon revealed to be mountains of fallen frost giant bodies). When the team finds their lost friend, it's Wolverine who points out that he knows the look on Thor's face. It shows the pure, wild, vicious bloodlust they're witnessing that only Wolverine recognizes the true 'berserker rage' that he himself is better known for.
Then, still screaming for more frost giants to kill, Thor is revealed: covered in blood, hammer destroyed but still clutched in his hand, and his magical prosthetic arm seemingly torn away in the battle, leaving him once again one-handed. Proving he can defeat countless frost giants single-handedly--literally--when embracing his own berserker rage. It's almost fitting that Malekith, the one who cut off his arm in the first place, had a direct hand in Thor losing his golden prosthetic after stranding him on Jotunheim among frost giants.
As epic as this moment may be, fans know they must enjoy it solely in comic form. Not only would this be too bloody and graphic of an event for the MCU, it would also not work to have such a powerful hero, truly unstoppable in the MCU without having a way to throttle back his power.
War of the Realms #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.