The hype train for Thor: Love and Thunder is in full gear. The film’s official trailer treated audiences to the first look at Christian Bale’s Gorr, known best in Marvel Comics as Gorr The God Butcher. By the looks of it, Gorr has a major score to settle with the gods of the MCU, which does not bode well for the God of Thunder. But before we get to Thor 4, let’s examine why Gorr despises the gods and how he became known as the God Butcher.
In the Marvel Comics, per Screen Rant, there are multiple contributing factors to Gorr’s hatred of the gods. First, he spent a long period of his life suffering, with him and his family constantly on the brink of starvation. Nevertheless, he was taught to have faith in the gods — that they would eventually end the miserable existence Gorr and his kin were forced to endure. Gorr’s prayers to the gods went unanswered, breaking Gorr’s faith and making him believe the gods either didn’t exist or didn’t care. Gorr watched as everyone he loved was taken from him, as outlined by Collider, leaving him lonely, angry, and filled with an unquenchable desire for revenge. Whether that will be the same Gorr we see in Thor: Love and Thunder is yet unknown; his motivations may have been triggered by one or more of the chaotic universal and multiversal events that have taken place in the MCU thus far.
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When Gorr discovers that the gods do exist, he embarks on a quest to rid the universe of all gods. Gorr proclaims, “The only ones who gods care about is themselves.” The God Butcher will no doubt have his sights set on Thor as he attempts to fulfill his mission. As such, let’s take a deeper look at Gorr’s motivations.
Prayers Unanswered
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Gorr’s life story is one of great tragedy, loss, and pain. He spent most of his life on a desolate planet, constantly on the brink of starvation. Once a happy, humble family man, Gorr had to watch as all of those he loved died, and his prayers for salvation continued to go unanswered. Gorr was taught to believe that the gods would end their suffering one day. Gorr’s faith was broken after his family was taken from him due to his planet’s harsh, unforgiving nature. Having turned away from faith, Gorr was ostracized for his blasphemy, ultimately leading to his transformation into the terrifying villain Gorr the God Butcher. But this was just one of multiple factors that set Gorr on his god-killing quest in Marvel Comics. We will see how and if Gorr’s backstory is explored in Thor: Love and Thunder and how that ties into his indictment of the gods.
Broken Faith
In the comics, after Gorr has everything taken from him, he is exiled from his tribe for his sacrilegious point of view. He eventually learns of the gods’ existence and, more significantly, that his suffering could have been ended at any point, but the gods chose not to help him. Gorr embarks on a quest — a mission — to rid the universe of all gods because they decided to ignore Gorr’s pleas for help. In the comics, Gorr develops a propensity toward torture and interrogation, meaning he doesn’t just want to kill the gods — he wants to make them suffer like he did.
Feeling absolutely betrayed and abandoned, Gorr embarks on a serial murder spree to eliminate gods he believes did not deserve his praise, worship, or respect. Gorr doesn’t see the point of or need for gods who don’t answer the prayers of their most devoted worshippers. Gorr’s powers come from a necrosword called the All-Black. As the trailer shows, it appears Gorr will have that same weapon (or some MCU variation) of that weapon as his tool for mass slaughter in Thor: Love and Thunder.
A Cosmic Level MCU Event
While in Marvel Comics, Gorr’s motivation for wanting to rid the universe of gods stems from his belief that they are not worthy of our praise and worship due to the fact that they live like, well, like gods, while ignoring the desperate pleas of their most devoted worshippers, there may be other motivations stemming from events that have occurred in the MCU that led to Gorr’s broken faith and eventual ruthless murder spree that earned him the title of “The God Butcher.”
First, we must look at what Thanos did at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos wiped out half of all life in the universe, which could have potentially wiped out Gorr’s family. One would think Gorr would blame the Mad Titan, but he could hold resentment toward the gods for doing nothing to stop Thanos, or he may be aware of the fact that Thor did not “go for the head,” when attempting to stop Thanos. Conversely, Thanos’ snap could have actually benefited Gorr’s planet, removing half the population, but in the process providing he and his family with the ability to thrive on their planet that had previously been overcrowded. Then, the reversal of that snap in Avengers: Endgame could have been what caused him to embark on his murderous quest.
In Eternals, we learned that certain planets are chosen as birthing pods for celestials until they are born; with their birth destroying the planet in the process. Maybe this was a fate that befell Gorr’s home planet, and he somehow survived but could not save his kin. These are all possible motives for Gorr’s cosmic killing spree, but based on what we’ve seen so far, Gorr feels he has been wronged by the gods and wants to make them pay. In addition, we recently learned of the existence of Egyptian gods in Moon Knight. These gods be on Gorr’s radar as well.
Self-Serving Gods
Gorr’s reasons for wanting all gods to die may be rooted in the fact that he felt betrayed by the gods, but as discussed, Gorr has other motivations. Gorr believes the gods are not worthy of their status. Gorr is sickened by their “self-serving” attitudes. His hatred is intensified when he sees how luxuriously and decadently many of the gods live. He sees it as a golden sham, these so-called “gods” thinking only about themselves. It seems interesting that the same film that introduces the God Butcher also introduces Zeus with his beautiful lavish palace.
The trailer for Thor Love and Thunder indicates that the God of Thunder will embark on a quest to find out just who is slaughtering all these gods, and that quest can only lead to one individual: Gorr. We look forward to the epic showdown between these two classic Marvel Comics rivals. Whether Gorr will succeed in his quest is up in the air, but Zeus and the other gods should definitely be worried, because it appears their days may be numbered. As the trailer footage shows us, no god is safe, as Gorr appears to be indiscriminate in his lust for the blood of the gods. Thor will likely have help from Valkyrie and Jane (with her newfound godly powers) when he squares off against the God Butcher. We don’t have much longer to wait as Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8th, 2022.
