In his debut on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor was banished to Earth by his father, Odin – but why was he sent to Earth and not one of the other realms? Although there are many planets, realms, and universes in the MCU, most stories so far have taken place on Earth, even those led by superheroes who aren’t exactly human. Such is the case of Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder who spent most of his debut movie on Earth.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor was released in 2011 and marked not only the MCU debut of the God of Thunder but also his first live-action appearance on the big screen. Thor introduced Chris Hemsworth as the title hero, the crown prince of Asgard whose arrogance and impulsive attitude drove his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), to strip him of his godly power and banished him to Earth as a mortal. Thor was sent to Earth with his hammer, Mjölnir, but with a trick: he could only lift the hammer if he was worthy of his powers again. Later on in the movie, Thor told Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) about Yggdrasil and the Nine Realms, which raises the question of why, out of all realms, did Odin choose Earth.
The Nine Realms are a group of worlds located in separate spiral galaxies and connected by the branches of Yggdrasil or World Tree. These realms are Asgard, Thor's homeworld; Midgard a.k.a. Earth; Jotunheim, home to the Frost Giants; Svartalfheim, home to the Dark elves and also known as the “Dark World”; Vanaheim, home to the Vanir; Nidavellir, homeworld of the Dwarves; Niflheim, where Hel can be found; Muspelheim, home to the Fire Demons and ruled by Surtur; and Alfheim, a yet-to-be explored realm in the MCU. Odin could have exiled Thor anywhere, and if he really wanted to punish him for his actions, Niflheim or Muspelheim would have worked, but he would have also learned the wrong lessons, which wouldn’t have made him worthy of his powers again.
Banishing Thor to Earth wasn’t a random choice, as Odin knew exactly what Thor needed to learn. Thor’s biggest flaws were his ego and arrogance, so the Asgardian prince had to learn a big lesson on humility, and the best place to do so was Earth. Compared to the rest of the realms, Earth (or Midgard) is the most peaceful one, as the rest don’t seem to be quite welcoming with those who come from other worlds. His experience on Earth would have also served to give Thor a lesson of compassion and empathy, which he did learn – when it comes to humility, however, he can still learn a bit more.
Of course, in terms of narrative, Thor had to be sent to Earth in order to set his arc into motion, as that’s where he met Jane, Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), and Darcy (Kat Dennings), which helped make way for his stories in The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World, before finally exploring other planets in Thor: Ragnarok. Although Thor definitely isn’t the arrogant God he was in his first movie, he still has a lot to learn, and if he keeps spending time on Earth, he could use that time and experiences to keep growing.
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