Thor: Love and Thunder will be striking theatres in just over two weeks from now, and one of the major talking points surrounding the film is Christian Bale’s performance as Gorr the God Butcher, with director Taika Waititi having stated that he’s the best villain the MCU has ever seen.
Relative to many of the MCU’s characters, Gorr is a newer one, having first appeared in the Thor: God of Thunder comic line in 2012, where he first sought revenge against all gods for never answering his prayers.
It’s unknown how closely the film will adapt Gorr’s comic origins, but there’s a different question on everyone’s mind right now. How does Gorr know who is a god and who isn’t?
A ragtag team of r/marvelstudios frequenters took it upon themselves to answer that question, a seemingly difficult one given the topsy-turvy cosmic hierarchy in the MCU. Nevertheless, they were up to the task.
One responder attempted to address most of these nuances in one answer, noting how a god is classified as someone who is worshiped, regardless of which belief system they belong to.
A second user echoed this answer, but with the added note that the likes of Arishem and Dormammu would be considered above gods, since their presence and influence extend throughout the multiverse, whereas the likes of Khonshu or the Asgardians are more-or-less rooted in one universe.
But one user, in particular, suggested that Gorr has a much more proactive, entirely foolproof approach to figuring out one’s status as a god.
Regardless of one’s god status, it’s safe to say that Gorr isn’t above butchering anyone that stands in the way of his ultimate goal, and we’ll just have to wait and see how close he gets to it when Thor: Love and Thunder releases in theaters on July 8.