After several long weeks of anticipation, fans have finally gotten their first look at Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. The new adventure, from returning director Taika Waititi, will take the God of Thunder through the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and more importantly, put him in a wide variety of new suits. In the span of just one brief teaser, Chris Hemsworth‘s noble protagonist is shown wearing at least seven new outfits. This may be the highest quantity of costume changes we’ve ever seen a Marvel hero pull off in a single film, except for maybe Iron Man 3, and many of the looks appear to be a far cry from the style Thor had when audiences first met him.
As such, it seems appropriate to take a walk back down memory lane and revisit every single armor the one-time Prince of Asgard has worn during his time in the MCU. From the first time, he raised the hammer in Thor to the last time he laid down the axe in Avengers: Endgame. Let’s get started:
Thor (2011) – the Mighty Thor
The armor that started it all. This look was heavily inspired by the suit designed for Thor’s 2007 comic reboot, created by Olivier Coipel, with chainmail sleeves covering Hemsworth‘s bulky arms and a striking red cape flowing down his back. At the time, it was the signature look associated with the character and made much more sense to adapt in live-action than Thor’s original over-the-top comic look. Kenneth Branagh made good use of the armor’s colored highlights, employing their vibrancy as a way of helping Thor stand out against golden backdrops and in the heat of Shakespearian conflicts. These exact threads have not been worn since his first movie outing, but they’re still some of the most iconic associated with the character.
The Avengers (2012) – Ultimate Thor
The next time we see Thor, in 2012’s monumental The Avengers, he’s wearing an armor notably similar to the one designed by Bryan Hitch for 2002’s The Ultimates. This look is a little sleeker than one may be accustomed to seeing in an Asgardian sport. It’s perhaps a little more “superhero-ish” than its predecessor, likely to help Thor fit in with his Earthly teammates. The suit removed the sleeves and cape and puts the focus on bulky wrist bands, darker red-streaked pants, and silver highlights. It even removes the famous discs from his torso in favor of flashier Asgardian details. Essentially leisure-wear for the God of Thunder.
The Avengers (2012) – Avenging Asgardian
Basically just an evolution of the earlier suit, this is the armor Thor wears after taking a beating from the Hulk and deciding he needs a little more protection for the incoming alien invasion. He summons his hammer and adds an extra layer to the Ultimate-inspired ensemble, bringing back the sleeves, cape, and discs, and adding a little more the wrist bracers. A cool mix of his 2011 and 2012 designs. Who knew hammers also double as a wardrobe summoning.
Thor: The Dark World (2014) – Game of Thor
2014’s Thor: The Dark World was received poorly by fans of the character, but it may have had one of the coolest Thor designs to date. Directed by Game of Thrones creative Alan Taylor, much of the costumes and sets created for the movie were reimagined to bring them away from the first film’s high-concept Shakespearean vibe and closer to the realm of gritty fantasy. As a result, Thor’s armor switched from glistening silver to stained gold, with a leather protective skirt, simplified braces, and added chainmail on the thighs. The color of his cape was also dimmed to match the Earth-colored backdrops of the installment. Other parts of the movie feature the armor without its sleeves or cape, but it’s otherwise the same look.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) – Ultimate Avenging Thor
Avengers: Age of Ultron infamously took Thor on a somewhat confusing, sidetracked journey away from his Earthly compatriots. However, it did serve up some cool garments with a design that seems to be a mix of all the looks that came before it. Sleeveless like The Avengers, silver, and red like Thor, with the leather skirt from The Dark World to tie everything together. Aside from switching into a fancy party suit, Thor basically maintains this look for the whole movie. Weirdly, the first time he goes without chainmail for a final battle.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – God of Thunder
The initial, less-famous armor worn by Thor in the fan-favorite Thor: Ragnarok. It draws heavy inspiration from the suit designed by Essad Ribic for 2012’s Thor: God of Thunder comic, with a much simpler wardrobe combination than viewers had seen the character wear at that point in the MCU. It looks to be mostly just a leather torso piece, with basic wrapped bracelets and a dark brown belt and chest strap. Thor wearing this into a conflict against the Fire Demon Surtur and the Goddess of Death Hela says a lot about how difficult he thought the task at hand would be.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – Sakaarian Gladiator
For the rest of the movie, Thor wears this now-iconic look inspired by the colorful early Marvel designs of Jack Kirby and the 2006 Planet Hulk aesthetic created by Carlo Pagulayan and Aaron Lopresti. A mish-mash of armor jumbled together from items found on the junk planet Sakaar, thrown over the torso piece Thor was wearing earlier in the film. This look also gets super extra bonus points for actually including a version of the character’s famed helmet, which he hadn’t worn since the first Thor and had never been seen being used in a fight.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) & Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – Eyepatch Thor
Debuting in the post-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok before becoming his main look for most of Avengers: Infinity War, this design features the beloved hero in all-black and with an eye patch. He’s rocking the eye patch because, of course, he lost an eye in the fight against Hela. Plus, the cool, dark color scheme of his armor is a good indicator of things to come. Nothing good happens to Thor while he’s adorned in these threads, but its further exploration of the Ultimates style in the MCU is something to admire.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019) – Stormbreaker
A look that tells Thor fans something really cool is about to happen. Keeping with the all-black theme established in Infinity War, it’s a little heavier and battle-ready than the casual armor used for the galactic adventuring happening earlier in the movie. Even the iconic chainmail is turned black for Thor’s vengeful hunt for Thanos. It brings back the cape to show things are getting serious and features the hero wielding Stormbreaker for the first time. Those black discs light up blue as Thor achieves his full Godly potential for the Battle of Wakanda and the eventual death of his timeline’s Mad Titan.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) – Quantum Suit
The five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame finds Thor depressed and having let himself go. He doesn’t wear any armor for a large chunk of the film, but he does put on the specialized Quantum Realm suit made for him by Tony Stark for interdimensional time travel. It acts as armor against the effects of the microscopic realm, so it gets the nod on this list.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) – Viking Thor
In the final battle for Earth, Thor puts on a new set of armor that more accurately reflects his new image. Looking like something of a Viking, the character’s new torso armor is rounded to fit his stomach, and flanked by warrior braids in both his hair and beard. It’s not that different from the black ensemble worn in the previous Avengers flick, just modified for the occasion. It still remains a memorable addition, especially as even in his condition he was keeping up quite the fight.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) – Classic Thor
It’s only a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance, but the trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder do show a teenage Thor dressed in the classic Kirby design from his original comic outings. It’s ripped straight from the comics, and it’s beautiful. Marvel Studios continues its trend in Phase 4 of bringing back some more comic-accurate designs.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) – Norse God
Another set of duds inspired by the legend Ribic, this is a sleeveless get-up Thor looks to be wearing in some sort of northern village. The fur around the shoulders is a nice touch to give the otherwise simple chest piece a bit of flare. This is presumably the look of a man who is learning that a bunch of other gods is being slaughtered. Maybe.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) – Battle Armor
Last but not least is this cool, brightly colored, gold, and blue fit that was previously leaked via concept art. It appears to be inspired by the character’s enchanted “Battle Armor” from 1987’s The Mighty Thor #378, designed by Sal Buscema. We here at Murphy’s Multiverse have our own theories about the armor’s MCU origins, but only time will tell if they’re correct.
That completes our journey into the mystery. Oh wait, I meant to write a journey through Thor’s massive wardrobe. The character has had quite a few awesome outfits, and the trailer for Love and Thunder indicates he won’t stop outdoing his fellow Avengers anytime soon. Here’s hoping Thor’s MCU future continues to thrive, and fellow God of Thunder Jane Foster is able to keep up the tradition of battle-worthy attire.
