Thor’s Forgotten Power is the One Most Worthy of a God

Thor is one of Marvel’s mightiest warriors, with powers that can unleash massive amounts of destruction. He’s incredibly strong, he’s invulnerable to most attacks, and he can summon powerful blasts of lightning. Whether fighting alone or with his fellow Avengers, the God of Thunder has proven time and again that he can stand up to even the strongest villain. With such impressive powers, it’s easy to forget that Thor has other abilities that are more useful off the battlefield.

When Thor is trying to communicate with aliens and beings from other worlds, one power that comes in handy is the Allspeak. The Allspeak (or All-Tongue) allows Thor to communicate in any language. In other words, anything he hears is automatically translated for him to understand and anything he says can be understood by a group as if Thor were speaking in their own language. It’s a gift that all Asgardians share, and it certainly comes in handy for many diplomatic situations.

Given the amount of off-world adventures that Thor embarks on, it makes sense for him to have an ability like the Allspeak. After all, it wouldn’t make much sense for beings across the galaxy to speak English as a primary language. Even so, Marvel does have some other ways of getting around language barriers. Devices like universal translators and translator implants help many of Marvel’s cosmic characters interact with other alien races. The X-Men even have a mutant called Cypher, who can subconsciously translate different languages. Clearly, the importance of communication is not lost on Marvel’s writers.

Amidst all of the action that occurs in comics, it’s easy for the Allspeak to slip by unnoticed. After all, fans don’t tend to see it in action nearly as much as Thor’s other powers. Still, it serves as a good reminder that Thor is more than just a fierce warrior. As the King of Asgard, Thor has to think of what’s best for his people, which often means working toward peaceful resolutions with other civilizations. Using the Allspeak tends to make for a better first impression than diving headfirst into battle with a swing of Mjolnir.

The Allspeak will likely remain one of Thor’s lesser known powers, but it’s still an important one. Even the MCU has hinted at Thor’s language-based skills, showing that he understands Groot in Avengers: Infinity War. Chris Hemworth’s version of the character explains that it was an elective on Asgard though, so the Allspeak still has yet to make its movie debut. All in all, despite not being a popular power, the Allspeak is certainly convenient for a galaxy-travelling hero like Thor, and would probably be more useful in real life than even the mightiest hammer blow.

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