Fat Thor is the most accurate depiction of disordered eating in film

Examining superheroes, weight, and eating as a result to trauma

Note: This essay contains spoilers for many films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe including, most recently, Avengers: Endgame.

A couple weeks ago I about wrote why there are no fat superheroes. I did not mention is Thor from the film Avengers: Engame. Many people wrote hot takes and thoughtful pieces on Fat Thor when the film came out, but I needed time to process Fat Thor and how he represents fat people in general. At the beginning of Endgame, Thor is a traumatized hero unable to cope with the trauma of losing family, home world, and identity. Thor may be the most realistic example of a fat character in cinema.

In the first Thor film, Chris Hemsworth plays the Norse god with long blonde hair and wields an oversize hammer. He’s gorgeous. He’s arrogant. He’s the epitome of white, straight, male, upper class privilege in many ways. Everyone seems to love Thor yet he’s oblivious to the needs and feelings of those around him. In order to teach him a lesson, his father, Odin, cast him down to Earth to live as a mortal. Stripped of powers, notoriety, and the privilege of power, Thor must learn empathy to save the world for the first time from danger. Thor puts his life on the…