Thor - The Pivitol Storyline
Thor - the Demi-God
A Universe in Turmoil
Once you get past the part where Thor rarely wears a helmet, let alone one with bird wings on its exterior, you are ready to engage the Hollywood interpretation of the God of Thunder.
Thor is stripped of his armored exterior, and, more importantly his hammer -- almost a being in itself. Odin condemns his favored son to the lesser world of mere mortals with the hope that his son might regain a sense of humility worthy of the most formidable weapon in the universe.
What happens to Thor on earth is peripheral to the main storyline, which is about a conflict between himself and his half-brother Loki. Whatever Loki lacks, it's not in the realm of ego. His ego, in reality, far exceeds that of Thor. Loki's jealously and egotism leaves no room for rapprochement. If not for Odin, than for himself, he must prove himself the better of Thor, and the movie puts him on his way to realms unknown, for mischief unforeseen.
Thor vows to return to earth, and this will become an imperative in The Avengers. Whatever Loki conjures up will put the entire earth in jeopardy, requiring the entire talents of The Avengers (including the Incredible Hulk) to somehow nullify. Tony Stark (as Iron Man) professes, "If we can't save the earth we can avenge it." Terrific Marvel Comics dialogue proffered in the most stick-it-to-you fashion.
Presumably The Avengers have the stuff to abate Loki's onslaught ... or for it to continue into Thor II.
Choosing Loki as the nemesis really will put The Avengers on their heels, as most of them will be unfamiliar with the supernatural. But, given that the supernatural is their nemesis, The Avengers will do everything within their power to overcome the onslaught. If Loki relies upon natural enemies in the earthly realm, then he will be in for a big surprise -- not knowing that earth possesses beings of superhuman abilities.
The end is bound to leave a few holes -- which will be taken up in Thor II.
If all goes right The Avengers should be the definitive super-hero movie of the decade. This is a high benchmark and none of us knows whether it will fail or succeed. But, I have a lot of enthusiasm for the film, and I think it was a wise kick off from Thor to the first Avengers flick. This opens up the universe to all sorts of perils and unknown dangers. Given that The Avengers will hardly be a tightly knit team of heroes, their inner squabbles against the backdrop of unimaginable destruction should leave most of us gasping for breath.
