Thor: Love and Thunder is now in theaters, and it’s already made a killing for Marvel. You can watch the trailer here. $302 Million opening weekend, Thor 4It is already a huge success and is only the beginning. But the movie is not perfect, and while it’s certainly better than The Dark World, it’s not quite at the level of Ragnarok. Thor: Love and Thunder also has a massive, Avengers-sized plot hole that’s too big to ignore.
Keep in mind, big Thor 4SpoilersBelow is the link. If you haven’t seen the movie, you might want to read our spoiler-free review instead.
The Avengers are the biggest MCU Phase 4 plot hole
Following the events of Infinity WarAnd EndgameThe Avengers have grown to be too much. They’re immensely popular on Earth, and some of them are probably universal celebrities. This band of super heroes defeated Thanos (Josh Brolin), saving billions of lives. But nobody in these films thinks of calling them for help.
The Avengers are conspicuously absent in most of the action in movies and TV series in Phase 4. That turns them into a big plot hole, and you can’t ignore it once you realize it. The absence of the Avengers is a similar situation. Thor: Love and ThunderIt is a plot hole which somewhat spoils the movie.
The Avengers aren’t omnipresent. They’re not omnipresent. These MCU Phase 4 stories are standalone adventures that focus on the subject and the hero. But given the massive popularity of the Avengers and their desire to continue to intervene, you’ll notice when they don’t show up. Or when Marvel doesn’t explain their absence.
Also, hiring Avengers actors for short cameos might not be in Marvel’s best interest. But Kevin Feige & Co. should find plausible explanations why the Avengers can’t or shouldn’t intervene.
So far Spider-Man, There’s No Way Home is one example where the Avengers aren’t a plot hole. It takes place over several days and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), is already there. Before anyone else could intervene, the Spider-Men had solved the problem.
The Avengers also appear in this movie. Shang-ChiAnd Doctor Strange 2. It’s usually Wong (Benedict Wong) that shows up to deal with the issues, although Shang-ChiAlso, we had Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson).
Why didn’t Thor seek out the Avengers in Love and Thunder?
In Love and Thunder, the Avengers plot hole couldn’t be more obvious. After discovering how dangerous Gorr the God Butcher is, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), sets off to defeat him. Thor plans to build an army to defeat him. He goes to Zeus (Russell Crowe) in hopes of getting his support.
He’s not successful, and he eventually ends up fighting Gorr in the final battle with a bunch of scared Asgardian children before Jane (Natalie Portman) shows up. But that’s only after having fought Gorr and lost against him. Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) sustained severe injuries and Korg, Taika Waititi (Korg) almost died. Thor was also able to see how Mjolnir was hurting Jane during her fight against cancer.
Thor did not attempt to reach the other Avengers at any point during all this. And that’s a big plot hole for Love and Thunder. It was not even Valkyrie’s idea to assemble Avengers on Earth while she was still recovering. Jane is passive even though Thor might not live.
The Avengers beat Thanos again. The universe’s gods didn’t do it. And Love and ThunderThis shows that the gods may not always be well-intentioned. Or powerful.
Thor may have believed that the Avengers wouldn’t be able to match the Gods. The script didn’t give us this explanation. While some of the Earth’s mightiest heroes might not have been able to challenge Gorr, there are a few that stand out.
This is the easy way to fix it Love and ThunderAvengers plot hole
Doctor Strange’s magic and knowledge could have been a valuable asset to the Avengers. And Wong is the planet’s Sorcerer Supreme. Then there’s HulkAnd Captain Marvel, two of the most formidable Avengers out there. Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) gets a pass for this one, considering what she’s dealing with in Doctor Strange and WandaVision.
We have the Guardians of the Galaxy. This left Thor alone to deal with Gorr-like issues.
Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) is the last of the Avengers. You’d think this particular hero would have a thing or two to say when he hears that a God Butcher has kidnapped the children of New Asgard. And, as we’ve seen in Phase 4 so far, news travels fast. People on Earth would have immediately known about Gorr’s attack.
Marvel needs an Avengers stand in, as I have said before. An avatar that resembles Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). This organization might occasionally appear on TV and movies to inform viewers that the Avengers are aware. You might only need a few seconds here to clear up plot holes.
For Thor: Love and Thunder, it’s even simpler. We could have Thor tell Valkyrie and Jane that they’re dealing with space magic, that’s well beyond the pay grade of regular Avengers. Although it would have been an incorrect assessment, it would have been a fantastic one. Endgame Easter egg. It would have immediately fixed the Avengers plot hole.
More Marvel coverage: For more MCU news, visit our Marvel guide.