Avengers: Endgame: 5 most shocking moments from the film

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4. Thor’s Transformation

Up until Thor: Ragnarok, Thor was rarely taken seriously. The first Avengers film to give the character his due was Avengers: Infinity War. Which is why Thor’s characterization in Endgame is so offensive. Despite getting an amazing character moment early on in the film, the rest of Thor’s character arc is problematic.

After decapitating Thanos, Thor’s guilt for allowing the Mad Titan to win turns him into a negligent king of New Asgard. Given that Thor has sacrificed and lost so much, it seems out of character for him to ignore his duties as king. Thor allowed Asgard to be destroyed, he wouldn’t let his people down.

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Along with Korg and Miek, Thor spends his entire time eating, drinking and playing video games. He’s an overweight slob with unkempt hair – in other words the worst kind of stereotype. One could write an entire article on how popular media perpetuates fatphobia, but that is for another day. It was bad enough that Peter Quill was at the receiving end of fat jokes in Infinity War, but the reveal of Thor’s transformation from a literal god into a schlub in this film is so regressive. The camera caresses the digitally altered body of Chris Hemsworth for the sole purpose of objectifying the fat form. The additional fat-shaming by Rocket Raccoon and the “eat a salad” remark by Frigga don’t help the film’s case. The directors’ restraint at not giving Thor’s weight gain an easy fix (lightning doesn’t give him abs), was the only good decision. It’s 2019, we need to do better than sizeism in the MCU.