Yes, the jokes about "Fat Thor" are problematic, but Fat Thor is not a problem

Avengers: End of the game is reviving something missing from Marvel team films since Age of Ultron: idiotic moments between heroes who are not entirely motivated by the quest for a MacGuffin. Some of these moments, based on a dramatic new look for Thor, do not please many fans.

[[[[Ed. Note: This post contains major spoilers for Avengers: End of the game.]

Marvel Studios

At the beginning of End of Game, we discover that the Decimation hit Thor the hardest of all the Avengers. It makes sense: it has been bleeding friends, family and homeland since Thor: Ragnarokand he was powerless to stop Thanos from personally killing his brother Loki and his friend Heimdall. Thor blames himself for all the slamming. if he had just cut his head to Thanos when he had had the chance, perhaps he could have stopped the inevitable.

It's a heartbreaking human moment for the god of thunder, and although everyone rebadures him that it's not his fault, whoever makes a mistake wounding someone who cares about it knows that this does not happen. it will not help him.

We find Thor five years after the breakup. Hulk and Rocket visit "New Asgard", a Norwegian seaside town where the remaining Asgardians slowly rebuild their lives, to recruit him for the Avengers robbery. They first meet Valkyrie, who shows a huge pile of drums when asked how Thor is doing. These days, he leaves his house only for beer.

When Thor finally shows up, it is clear that he has stopped taking care of himself. His beard and hair are long and tousled, he wears a dirty bathrobe and he has won a belly of considerable beer. He is clearly buzzing and spends his time playing Fortnite with his fellow gladiators Thor: Ragnarok, Korg (played by Ragnarok director Taika Watiti) and Miek.

Hulk brings the warrior back into action, but back at the Avengers' HQ, Thor continues to drink a lot, fainting at a meeting after discussing his ex-girlfriend and cried out of his mother. The rest of the team can not help but notice Thor's transformation and, rather than trying to help their wounded friend, they're joking about his new physique.

End of GameThe portrait of Thor's new look has provoked strong reactions, some accusing the film of shaming fat by playing a big body (and symptoms of depression or PTSD) to laugh. But the mere fact of including a big character is not in itself problematic. I must admit I laughed when the new Lebowski-eque Thor was unveiled – Hemsworth has some physical comedy chops and it's funny. Most of the jokes made at Thor's expense are petty and deserve to be criticized, but they do not bother him. him. It's the damn god of thunder, why does he care about what a raccoon talking about thinks of his body?

As the fight against Thanos continues, Thor regains his self-confidence and, more importantly, fully in who he is. He undergoes an emotional transformation totally foreign to his physical changes.

What really convinced me of this choice for Thor was that when his friends needed him, he cleaned himself up and stood upright, but he was no longer torn by magic. He took a shower, braided his beard and donned a new suit – or the equivalent when you have a magic hammer – and he was really handsome, the belly of beer and all the rest.

End of Game Thor does the complete tour in a rather moving way. In the original version Thor, Odin's son is … a little idiotic. He is arrogant and combative, and struggles to become worthy of Mjolnir after being exiled to Earth. It ends up proving its value, but the next films are struggling to know what this value is. meansespecially after failing to save his mother.

Thor sees Frigga in End of Game, during his jump in time to recover the reality stone. She knows immediately that she is of the future, but not because of her physical changes. She can see it in her eyes. She knows he is in pain and rebadures him that everyone is not living up to his expectations.

"The true measure of a person," she tells him, "is how she manages to be what she is." He then calls Mjolnir; The performance of Hemsworth's "I'm still worthy" line is one of the most moving moments in the film, and perhaps even in the MCU. Frigga's dividing line, reminding Thor to eat a salad from time to time, looked more like a well-meaning advice from a mother to a boredom than a big joke.

While some can see Thor End of Game as a caricature of a drunk man, there is a nuance to performance that complicates reading as pure problematic comedy. More importantly, Thor does not see the comment as a big shame. He takes Frigga's advice to heart. He recognizes that he is not a leader and he does not want to be. When Captain America (finally) takes Mjolnir in the final battle, he lets him keep it. After defeating Thanos, he cedes the title of King of Asgard to Valkyrie and takes off with the "Asgardians of the Galaxy", possessing what he is supposed to be: an adorable thief.

Some of the big jokes of End of Game cruel and useless (maybe we did not need a cheese bad), but finally, Thor's bow leads him from a broken and broken man to somebody who knows himself and accepts, without treating his weight gain as a problem to correct. J & # 39; hope The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lean towards Fat Thor, allowing him to continue rocking his father and ignoring the enemies.