Thor vs Gorr: Who Is The God Butcher?
Tickets for Thor: Love & Thunder (2022) went on sale two weeks ago, and suffice to say this makes me one very happy Marvel fan. It’s my most anticipated Marvel film of the year, so being booked into a screening on opening night brings me one step closer. There’s a long list of reasons why I’m excited for this film, but one of the most important is the film’s antagonist, Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale. This is a villain I’m fascinated by thanks to the comic books, and one I’m happy to see moving onto the big screen. So with less than a week until the film’s release, there’s just enough time to talk about all things Gorr.
When I say that Gorr is one of the biggest reasons to be excited for this film, I’ll admit I’m quite biased. There’s two things to bear in mind:
1. I’m often predisposed to find villains more interesting than heroes. There’s a long history of villains throughout pop culture mediums who are more developed and compelling than their heroic counterparts. It doesn’t mean I’m rooting for the villains or I agree with them, they’re just usually written to be more three dimensional than their respective heroes.
2. Gorr made his debut in the pages of Jason Aaron’s Thor run, which is one of my favourite comic book series of all time. There were a lot of great things to come out of that particular run, but Gorr was undoubtedly one of the best.
My own excitement for this character, or for villains in general, might not be something everyone is totally on board with. Which is perfectly understandable, given this is a new villain on the big screen. When big villains like Green Goblin or Loki appear on screen, it’s an easy sell for wider audiences who know the basics. For new villains however, their first onscreen appearance is a bigger risk. Sometimes a new villain skyrockets to fan favourite status (see Killmonger in Black Panther), sometimes they’re generic and barely memorable (see Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp), and other times they incite online mobs to pick up their pitchforks (see Taskmaster in Black Widow). On this occasion, I have every reason to believe Gorr will soon find himself among the top tier of Marvel villains.
Before Love & Thunder is released, casual viewers and those who don’t read the comic books may be wondering who Gorr the God Butcher is. So what I thought I’d do is provide an overview of the character, explore how they might translate on screen, and how they could fit into the wider MCU. The best way to do this is by answering some of the burning questions fans might have prior to seeing the film. Obviously anything said ahead of time will be based on the original Gorr found in the comic books, and everything beyond that is speculation. I imagine the Gorr we’ll see on screen will be quite different, but at the very least this article will provide a rough blueprint.
Who is Gorr?
Before he broke bad, Gorr is literally a nobody. He’s part of an unnamed species on an unnamed planet, which is subject to extreme drought, famine, earthquakes, and is home to various dangerous creatures. Citizens of the planet are pious folk, who are told to place their trust and love in the gods and all will be well. From a young age, Gorr has an inquisitive nature and isn’t fully convinced, but nonetheless he prays and pledges himself to the gods as instructed. Despite this, Gorr’s life sadly is not all well and he soon develops a hatred of the gods, who seemingly do nothing to prevent his suffering.
What’s Gorr’s deal?
After years of unanswered prayers and losing virtually everyone he loves, Gorr finds a new calling. He’s spent his life going from one moment of tragedy to the next, but is consistently told to love the gods and they will bring salvation. After nothing but loss and suffering, Gorr reaches an initial conclusion: gods do not exist. This causes him to be kicked out of his tribe, further adding to his woes. However, while he’s alone he reaches two MASSIVE conclusions.
Gorr is witness to two gods fighting (one of which is Knull, god of the symbiotes) who crash to the planet’s surface, and lay wounded in a crater. Gorr’s first big realisation is that gods have existed this entire time, contrary to what he’d come to believe after years of dismay. When one of the gods asks for help, Gorr reaches an untethered moment of rage, seizing the All-Black from Knull’s body and using it to kill the second god. This bloody baptism brings Gorr to his second big conclusion, which is that not only do gods exist, but they don’t care about anyone but themselves. He’s spent his life praying for salvation, only to be neglected by gods who are acting in their own interests. Gorr leaves his home planet, in search of all other gods in the universe who must also meet death by his hand. Thus, Gorr’s hunt for the gods began.
How long has Gorr been around?
There’s two ways of answering this question.
In-universe, the character has existed for thousands of years - their origin story in the pages of ‘Thor: God of Thunder’ (2013) issue #6 features a heading which dates the story at “3,000 years ago.” Although he doesn’t actually make contact with Thor until 893 A.D.
In a meta sense however, this is a new character. Gorr made their comic book debut in early 2013, when the Jason Aaron comic book series started.
Is Gorr a dangerous villain?
This is always worth asking, because some comic book villains aren’t a big deal and can be beaten quite easily. We’ve all seen examples of low ranking villains who can be triumphed by a simple shot of Spider-Man’s webbing for example. However in the case of Gorr, he is immensely powerful. His possession of the Necrosword (AKA the All-Black, as mentioned previously) grants him unnaturally long life, but also additional powers well beyond his species. Remember this is a weapon which originates from a dead celestial and the king of the symbiotes, and is a weapon of living darkness. Place said weapon in the hands of someone who has made it their life’s mission to kill every god they can find, and you’ve got yourself one heck of a threat.
On the other hand, I don’t think physical power is the only factor to consider when assessing if a villain is dangerous. As we so often see with other villains, the most dangerous part of Gorr is his mind. He’s incredibly intelligent and creative, and he uses these strengths in the most sadistic of ways. Look no further than the pages of ‘Thor: God of Thunder’ (2013) issue #4, when Gorr says to Thor:
“I am not exactly a novice in the ways of torture, you understand. I once tortured a god of torture. After an evening alone with me, he told me where his own children were hiding.”
So the real danger of Gorr is not just the raw power he harnesses, but his unwavering hatred of the gods and his high intellect. His first grand scheme in the comic books is to construct a bomb which can detonate throughout the timeline, killing any gods who have ever existed and any who will ever exist. It’s genius and terrifying in equal measure.
Is Gorr a match for Thor?
Undoubtedly so. When a god is going up against someone whose moniker is “The God Butcher”, it was never going to be a walk in the park. In fact, when Gorr is first introduced and begins enacting his radical scheme to construct the god bomb, it’s not a fight that Thor can handle by himself. It takes three Thors from different points of the timeline to fight against Gorr, and even then they can barely fight him to a standstill. This is a great example of a Marvel villain who can’t simply be overpowered, but also has to be outmatched in terms of intellect, strategy and cunning. Which makes this even better because it presents a genuine challenge for Thor. Strong villains who need only be overpowered are very much Thor’s M.O, however if you pit him against someone who can’t simply be hit really hard with a hammer and instead needs to be outsmarted, it’s a new level of difficulty.
It’s no surprise that Thor is going to have a few allies around him in this film, like Korg, Valkyrie, Sif and Jane Foster’s Thor. Let’s face it, Thor will need all of the help he can get.
Is Gorr a compelling villain?
Again, this is another important question to ask, because some comic book villains are one dimensional. Plus, the title of “The God Butcher” doesn’t sound too complicated to an outsider. Thankfully, this character has far more to offer than their name would suggest at face value. In fact I would argue this is one of the most compelling Thor villains I’ve ever read. Not only because they’re powerful and they are a genuine threat, but because their backstory and their mission are both so tragic. This isn’t a character who is evil for the sake of being evil, this is someone whose life is defined by tragedy and loss, and who goes through a crushing crisis of faith. Their actions are motivated by a life of suffering, and a devotion to the gods which brought them nothing but misery. That isn’t something just comic book characters experience, it’s something a lot of people around the world can relate to. A crisis of faith is something anyone could go through, and it completely changes your life, so it makes a solid foundation for any character, let alone a villain. Whether you agree with Gorr’s methods or his cause isn’t so important, because the simple fact remains: he is a very tragic character, who experiences something real people unfortunately go through outside the pages of a comic book.
Furthermore, Gorr is a character whose journey is complicated, in the sense that he inevitably contradicts himself. He dedicates himself to eradicating all gods, but in doing that he achieves god status (or near enough), because his quest has led him to become the god of god butchering. If we’re heading into the territory of self-sabotage, self-scrutiny, hubris, and a seemingly endless search for happiness and meaning, then there’s unfortunately bound to be some members of the audience who can relate.
Is Christian Bale a good fit for the role?
Absolutely yes. Christian Bale is one of the best actors working today, and is renowned for his intense style. It’s rare to see someone commit so heavily to a role, whilst staying incredibly humble. If there’s a better actor who could play this role, they are yet to reveal them self.
Interestingly, I recall a time when Marvel Studios hadn’t announced the villain for this film. Christian Bale was supposedly in talks to star, but they hadn’t said who he was playing or even if he’d be playing a villain. I immediately started telling friends of how he could easily play Gorr the God Butcher, especially because this film is heavily inspired by the Jason Aaron comic books. Well lo and behold, when Disney Investor Day in December 2020 rolled around, it was confirmed Christian Bale would indeed be playing Gorr, thus making my dream come true.
Is Gorr the right villain for this film?
A question like this always comes down to a matter of opinion, but I personally think yes. This is a great time to introduce Gorr into the MCU, for three main reasons:
1. The universe is expanding and allowing numerous mythologies to co-exist. Norse gods are already accounted for, Zeus and the Greek gods are being introduced, the Wakandan goddess Bast is rumoured to feature in this film, and recently Moon Knight opened the doors to Egyptian gods. With all of these gods making their way to the MCU party, it not only means there’s some connective tissue forming between different areas of the Marvel universe, but there are also a lot of target signs for Gorr to aim at.
2. Gorr is a great villain for Thor to face when he’s going on a journey of self-discovery. He’s heading out to find who he is and his place in the universe, and then faces a villain who has utter contempt for any and every god. So Thor is already going through an identity crisis, and then battles a villain who makes him ask even more questions of himself, his family and his friends. Not to sound mean, but that is perfect timing for us as the audience.
3. The one thing the MCU should never turn down is a good villain. Part of what makes the prospect of Gorr so exciting is linked to MCU history. Unfortunately, there hasn’t always been a good track record of villains in the MCU. It’s something which thankfully has improved over time, but that’s an upward trend we want to see continue.
Asking whether this film is the right time for Gorr to arrive is a strange question, because there are actually two answers. In fact they’re the same two answers for questioning if there’s ever a good time for any villain to be introduced.
In-universe, no - There’s never a good time for characters to encounter a new villain.
For the audience, yes - Any time is a good time for a new villain to arrive on the scene and create dramatic tension. We don’t watch these films to see heroes living unopposed, we’re here to see them triumph over evil.
In the case of Gorr however, the timing is perfect.
Is Taika Waititi the right person to tackle this villain?
The reason I’ve included this question is because it’s something I was asking in my own mind previously. Knowing Taika’s style of comedy, and knowing this film is a colourful love letter to 80s culture, at first glance it does seem like a mismatch. However, I am convinced Taika Waititi is a good choice to take on Gorr. Based on his previous films, he is clearly very good at walking the line between comedy and sincerity, so having a dark character like Gorr acts as an interesting counterbalance to the film’s otherwise colourful tone. Plus, this is the director who starred as Hitler, so he knows a thing or two about when to stop joking and when to turn sinister.
Could Gorr re-appear in the MCU?
I would like to think so. For a number of reasons:
1. Marvel have already had too many disposable villains who scarcely leave an impact beyond the one film they appear in. Follow the same rule as the comic books: if you have a good villain, let them stick around.
2. Christian Bale is a great actor, so I always welcome the chance to see him do his thing.
3. As I mentioned above, the current status of the MCU is heading into some really interesting territory in terms of mythologies. With the existence of more gods confirmed, it makes sense to keep Gorr in the picture so he can spar with as many of them as possible. It would certainly show the scope of this character’s power and plans, rather than just have him fight Thor once and lose. If that’s all they have planned for Gorr, they’d have to change his name to “Gorr the God Botherer” for the sake of accuracy.
Unfortunately I don’t think it’s a guarantee, and I think it’s more likely this will be Gorr’s only appearance in the MCU. There’s an entire spectrum between Gorr getting their own spin-off series on Disney Plus, and the character never being seen again, so hopefully Marvel can strike the middle ground.
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So there you have it, a crash course in the God Butcher. Hopefully this article has achieved three things for anyone reading:
1. It made you feel even more excited for Thor: Love & Thunder, and especially to see Gorr.
2. It provided answers for some questions and filled in a few gaps, so you’re not going into the film totally blind.
3. It inspired you to read Jason Aaron’s Thor comic books, or re-read them like I am right now.
We’re thankfully very close to the film releasing, so until then it’s just a case of patience. And re-reading the comic books to quench my thirst. Whether you read comic books or not, I would thoroughly recommend reading the Thor comic books by Jason Aaron. Even if it’s just the first couple of volumes which introduce Gorr and tell his origin story, it’s still very accessible and so damn readable. Either way, we’re only a matter of days away from the film’s release, so we’ll all have our fair share of Gorr in good time.
*I’m well aware they don’t all have the same cover/ spine design. However, based on how hard it was to obtain some of these, my desire to keep reading easily superseded my usual desire for uniformity on my bookshelves.
‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ releases in UK cinemas on July 7th.
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