Thor’s Ability To Hear Prayers Belongs in the MCU

In the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, the MCU has the opportunity to introduce Thor’s one power from the comics that truly proves he’s a god. Thor and his fellow Asgardians are considered gods in the Marvel Comics universe – they refer to themselves as gods and most other characters regard them as gods as well, but in a world of superpowered beings, it takes something special to earn this title.

Many other characters share similar traits to Thor yet are not considered gods. Mister Immortal is totally unkillable, Hulk can break entire planets at his strongest, and Franklin Richards (the son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman) can alter reality itself. Most of Thor’s powers can be matched by one of his superhero colleagues, but there’s one metaphysical ability that marks divine beings apart.

Thor’s most godly power is the ability to hear prayers. Fans can see this power at work in the opening pages of Thor: God of Thunder #1 from Jason Arron and Esad Ribic. Here, a girl from a godless planet prays to Thor. Her planet is barren from years without rain, and Thor hears her prayer for a rejuvenating storm. What’s most impressive is that Thor is nowhere near the planet – he hears the prayer seemingly regardless of distance, and rushes to oblige. Thor doesn’t hear the prayer thanks to super senses or other conventional powers, but rather because of his metaphysical role as a storm god.

The ability of gods in the Marvel universe to hear prayers is the launching point for the first story arc of the series. Gorr the God Butcher is on a vendetta to kill all gods after suffering a miserable life and witnessing countless unanswered prayers – prayers which it’s confirmed the gods can hear but choose not to answer. Fans already know that Gorr will appear in Thor: Love and Thunder – portrayed by Christian Bale – so it makes sense the ability would also exist in the MCU. Despite this, the movies have been much cagier than the comics about what it means to be a “god.” Marvel Comics has confirmed many times that Thor is literally divine. For example, in Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena’s Avengers #2, the cosmic being known as Abyss assesses Thor’s biological make-up and confirms he is a “mythic” being who has a different relationship to reality than other heroes.

Thor: Ragnarok made it clear that the God of Thunder had rarely used his full power, but not all power is offensive. Thor: Love and Thunder has the opportunity to draw on this important idea from Thor: God of Thunder and include Thor’s comic ability to hear prayers in the MCU – perhaps even as an ability Jane Foster gains when she lifts Mjolnir that Thor had learned to ignore (or otherwise has not tapped into) over time. Being able to hear prayers marks Thor out as a god, but it’s also key to justifying Gorr’s hatred, as it’s not simply that the gods allowed all the horrors he witnessed, but that they heard their worshipers pleading and did nothing. Hopefully, Thor: Love and Thunder will bring this power into movie canon, since it adds a whole new layer to Thor and makes it clear how his responsibilities surpass those of a regular superhero.

About The Author

Amal Desai
(30 Articles Published)

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Stationed out of the Chicagoland area, Amal Desai letters comics, edits comics, writes comics, and writes about comics. Outside of comics, his primary interests are comics and comics. More details of his comic-related work can be found at https://lettersbyamaldesai.crevado.com/

Everything he does is dedicated to his incredibly supportive wife and son.

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