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| Source: Quora |
Mythology was not an aspect of history I cared about when I was younger. Not that much, anyway. I had some interest in Greek mythology when the Percy Jackson novels were extremely popular. I knew a little about Egyptian mythology simply because it was something eight-year olds were taught in Primary School. Other than that, my knowledge was extremely limited. This would be challenged when I was introduced to Norse mythology, thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The MCU brought Norse mythology into popular culture through the characters of Thor, Loki, Odin, Sif, and many more, who all live on Asgard, home of the gods. It was interesting to see how other cultures understood their deities, and what said deities were like. It was only when I started writing my dissertation 2 years ago that I realised that Marvel's portrayal was far from what what the Scandinavians actually believed.
Let's start with Thor. He's probably the most famous one out of the Norse gods in the MCU. When one thinks of Thor these days, they picture Chris Hemsworth with flowing blond hair and a blond beard. The original understanding of Thor in Norse mythology was that he was a red-head. Apparently Stan Lee had the intention of originally having Thor be a red-head, but he changed his mind. The MCU also points out that only those who are worthy can wield the Mjölnir, Thor's trusty hammer. In the films, only four people have managed to lift it: Thor, Odin, Hela, Vision, and Captain America. The reality is very different. The legends suggest that actually anyone can hold the hammer, and that there is no magical presence about the hammer that mean that only certain people can hold it. However, the Prose Edda, a piece of Norse literature, suggests that while there is no requirement to be "worthy" to hold the hammer, using it requires the Járngreipr, a set of gloves that allow the wielder to be able to handle the hammer's power in the first place. Perhaps that is where the idea of "being worthy" originated. On another note, the MCU places scientist Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, as Thor's love interest. Actually, he was married to Sif, a goddess who was known for her golden long hair. Interestingly, Sif fell into a deep depression when Loki, the god of mischief, cut her hair off, which prompted Thor to threaten Loki's life if he didn't fix it; this event brought about the construction of the Mjölnir, along with a new set of hair for Sif. The MCU depicts Sif as just an Asgardian warrior who works with Thor.
Something that struck me about Thor's character in the MCU was how light-hearted he was. He is depicted is a somewhat comedic warrior, one who after the events of Avengers: Infinity War turned into a obese couch potato obsessed with Fortnite. He is still the war-loving hero, but with an awkward comical twist. Norse literature suggests that Thor was actually far from comedic in anyway. He was known to be a benevolent god and a defender of the people, but also one that inspired fear so that none would think to cross him. His aggressive personality was not to be understated. At his brother's funeral, a dwarf happened to walk in front of him, and out of anger, he kicks the dwarf into the funeral pyre. We definitely wouldn't see something like this in an MCU film. He has threatened death before, but not in a way that the audience wouldn't see it as unjustified. Usually it's against a supernatural villain of some sort.
The God of Mischief, Loki, brings to mind Tom Hiddleston - yet bizarrely, he doesn't display much mischief in the MCU films. He does occasionally, but he is known as the villain of the first Avengers film, hell-bent on being a domineering tyrant. The Norse depiction couldn't be further from the truth. Loki is depicted in the MCU as being Thor's adoptive brother, but one of the oldest surviving texts, the Lokasenna, speaks of how Loki was actually a blood-brother of Odin, by virtue of blood mixing and bonding. Odin is also bound by a vow that he cannot drink at a table unless Loki is welcome. There even isn't a contest for the throne because they all know they are bound for death due to Ragnorok, so Loki doesn't even attempt to steal the throne. A true trickster, Loki causes chaos through all manner of pranks. They can be villainous occasionally, such as when Loki tricks Balder's blind brother to throw a spear made of mistletoe, the only material that can kill Balder, at him, but initially goes unpunished as the gods blame Balder's brother. When the gods do discover that Loki was to blame, he is bound to three stones as venom slowly drips onto him; his wife holds a bucket over him to protect him, but when she goes to empty the bucket, the venom falls onto him, which causes him to convulse in immeasurable pain, sparking earthquakes of great magnitude.
So, Thor: Ragnarok shows the villain in the form of Hela, the Goddess of Death, who is depicted as Odin's banished daughter. As the film goes, it results in a combined effort between Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, the Hulk, and the Executioner leading an attack with a group of aliens against Hela and her forces, until Thor and Loki win by releasing Surtur to wreak havoc on Asgard. Let me just point out first that this story was very much far from the Norse legends. For starters, Hela is actually one of Loki's children. Loki is a father to Hela, Fenrir (who is destined to kill Odin and devour the sun during Ragnarok), and the Midgard Serpent (who kills Thor during Ragnorok). Here's something a little more interesting: Loki is mother to Sleipnir, Odin's eight-legged horse. How did that happen? General gist, the gods challenged a man to build a very specific war within a certain time frame that was supposed to be impossible in exchange for Freya and the sun and the moon, but as he neared completion, thanks to his horse, Loki prevented his success by turning into a female horse to seduce his horse, leading to him falling pregnant.
Speaking of Ragnarok, the film is vastly different to how the actual events turn out. Ragnarok is foretold to begin in midst of a long winter, Fimbulwinter. The earth will shake, freeing the Midgard Serpent and Fenrir. The wolves that chase the sun and the moon will finally catch their prey. As the sky splits, Surtr rushes forward to burn the earth. Honestly, that's the only detail that is accurate in the film adaptation, but even then, the details are wrong. Surtr destroys Asgard, and kills Hela in the film; in the legends, Surtr destroys the bifrost, a specific bridge that links Asgard to Midgard (aka Earth), as well as burns a ton of stuff. In the actual Ragnarok event, the warriors take to their final battle. Thor and the Midgard Serpent kill each other; Heimdall and Loki will be each other's end; Fenrir swallows Odin, but is then killed by Odin's son, Vidar. Not that the details matter, almost everyone dies!
In the aftermath of Ragnarok, the film depicts Asgard exploding before the survivors' eyes. These survivors are Thor, Loki, Heimdall, Valkyrie, and a number of other aliens. As we've already seen, this didn't actually happen, and there was no Thanos to suddenly appear and steal the Space Stone. Instead, Neil Gaiman describes the following:
"The woman and the man, Life and Life's Yearning, will come out from the inside the ash tree that holds the worlds together. They will feed upon the dew on the green earth, and they will make love, and from their love will spring mankind.
"Asgard will be gone, but Idavoll will stand where Asgard stood, splendid and continual.
"Odin's sons Vidar and Vali will arrive in Idavoll. Next will come Thor's sons, Modi and Magni. They will bring Mjollnir between them, because now that Thor is gone it will take two of them to carry it. Balder and Hod will return from the underworld, and the six of them will sit in the light of the new sun and talk among themselves, remembering mysteries and discussing what could have been done differently and whether the outcome of the game was inevitable."
So, all in all, the MCU had a very different depiction of Norse mythology and its contents. It was all very entertaining as it happened, but one couldn't help but feel a slight annoyance that the details were off. In a way, it was like comparing a book to a film adaptation. Though, in a way, it makes sense that they couldn't keep true to the myths and legends. After all, it made for a very educational revelation.
Let's start with Thor. He's probably the most famous one out of the Norse gods in the MCU. When one thinks of Thor these days, they picture Chris Hemsworth with flowing blond hair and a blond beard. The original understanding of Thor in Norse mythology was that he was a red-head. Apparently Stan Lee had the intention of originally having Thor be a red-head, but he changed his mind. The MCU also points out that only those who are worthy can wield the Mjölnir, Thor's trusty hammer. In the films, only four people have managed to lift it: Thor, Odin, Hela, Vision, and Captain America. The reality is very different. The legends suggest that actually anyone can hold the hammer, and that there is no magical presence about the hammer that mean that only certain people can hold it. However, the Prose Edda, a piece of Norse literature, suggests that while there is no requirement to be "worthy" to hold the hammer, using it requires the Járngreipr, a set of gloves that allow the wielder to be able to handle the hammer's power in the first place. Perhaps that is where the idea of "being worthy" originated. On another note, the MCU places scientist Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, as Thor's love interest. Actually, he was married to Sif, a goddess who was known for her golden long hair. Interestingly, Sif fell into a deep depression when Loki, the god of mischief, cut her hair off, which prompted Thor to threaten Loki's life if he didn't fix it; this event brought about the construction of the Mjölnir, along with a new set of hair for Sif. The MCU depicts Sif as just an Asgardian warrior who works with Thor.
Something that struck me about Thor's character in the MCU was how light-hearted he was. He is depicted is a somewhat comedic warrior, one who after the events of Avengers: Infinity War turned into a obese couch potato obsessed with Fortnite. He is still the war-loving hero, but with an awkward comical twist. Norse literature suggests that Thor was actually far from comedic in anyway. He was known to be a benevolent god and a defender of the people, but also one that inspired fear so that none would think to cross him. His aggressive personality was not to be understated. At his brother's funeral, a dwarf happened to walk in front of him, and out of anger, he kicks the dwarf into the funeral pyre. We definitely wouldn't see something like this in an MCU film. He has threatened death before, but not in a way that the audience wouldn't see it as unjustified. Usually it's against a supernatural villain of some sort.
The God of Mischief, Loki, brings to mind Tom Hiddleston - yet bizarrely, he doesn't display much mischief in the MCU films. He does occasionally, but he is known as the villain of the first Avengers film, hell-bent on being a domineering tyrant. The Norse depiction couldn't be further from the truth. Loki is depicted in the MCU as being Thor's adoptive brother, but one of the oldest surviving texts, the Lokasenna, speaks of how Loki was actually a blood-brother of Odin, by virtue of blood mixing and bonding. Odin is also bound by a vow that he cannot drink at a table unless Loki is welcome. There even isn't a contest for the throne because they all know they are bound for death due to Ragnorok, so Loki doesn't even attempt to steal the throne. A true trickster, Loki causes chaos through all manner of pranks. They can be villainous occasionally, such as when Loki tricks Balder's blind brother to throw a spear made of mistletoe, the only material that can kill Balder, at him, but initially goes unpunished as the gods blame Balder's brother. When the gods do discover that Loki was to blame, he is bound to three stones as venom slowly drips onto him; his wife holds a bucket over him to protect him, but when she goes to empty the bucket, the venom falls onto him, which causes him to convulse in immeasurable pain, sparking earthquakes of great magnitude.
So, Thor: Ragnarok shows the villain in the form of Hela, the Goddess of Death, who is depicted as Odin's banished daughter. As the film goes, it results in a combined effort between Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, the Hulk, and the Executioner leading an attack with a group of aliens against Hela and her forces, until Thor and Loki win by releasing Surtur to wreak havoc on Asgard. Let me just point out first that this story was very much far from the Norse legends. For starters, Hela is actually one of Loki's children. Loki is a father to Hela, Fenrir (who is destined to kill Odin and devour the sun during Ragnarok), and the Midgard Serpent (who kills Thor during Ragnorok). Here's something a little more interesting: Loki is mother to Sleipnir, Odin's eight-legged horse. How did that happen? General gist, the gods challenged a man to build a very specific war within a certain time frame that was supposed to be impossible in exchange for Freya and the sun and the moon, but as he neared completion, thanks to his horse, Loki prevented his success by turning into a female horse to seduce his horse, leading to him falling pregnant.
Speaking of Ragnarok, the film is vastly different to how the actual events turn out. Ragnarok is foretold to begin in midst of a long winter, Fimbulwinter. The earth will shake, freeing the Midgard Serpent and Fenrir. The wolves that chase the sun and the moon will finally catch their prey. As the sky splits, Surtr rushes forward to burn the earth. Honestly, that's the only detail that is accurate in the film adaptation, but even then, the details are wrong. Surtr destroys Asgard, and kills Hela in the film; in the legends, Surtr destroys the bifrost, a specific bridge that links Asgard to Midgard (aka Earth), as well as burns a ton of stuff. In the actual Ragnarok event, the warriors take to their final battle. Thor and the Midgard Serpent kill each other; Heimdall and Loki will be each other's end; Fenrir swallows Odin, but is then killed by Odin's son, Vidar. Not that the details matter, almost everyone dies!
In the aftermath of Ragnarok, the film depicts Asgard exploding before the survivors' eyes. These survivors are Thor, Loki, Heimdall, Valkyrie, and a number of other aliens. As we've already seen, this didn't actually happen, and there was no Thanos to suddenly appear and steal the Space Stone. Instead, Neil Gaiman describes the following:
"The woman and the man, Life and Life's Yearning, will come out from the inside the ash tree that holds the worlds together. They will feed upon the dew on the green earth, and they will make love, and from their love will spring mankind.
"Asgard will be gone, but Idavoll will stand where Asgard stood, splendid and continual.
"Odin's sons Vidar and Vali will arrive in Idavoll. Next will come Thor's sons, Modi and Magni. They will bring Mjollnir between them, because now that Thor is gone it will take two of them to carry it. Balder and Hod will return from the underworld, and the six of them will sit in the light of the new sun and talk among themselves, remembering mysteries and discussing what could have been done differently and whether the outcome of the game was inevitable."
So, all in all, the MCU had a very different depiction of Norse mythology and its contents. It was all very entertaining as it happened, but one couldn't help but feel a slight annoyance that the details were off. In a way, it was like comparing a book to a film adaptation. Though, in a way, it makes sense that they couldn't keep true to the myths and legends. After all, it made for a very educational revelation.
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