The God of Thunder has become one of the biggest staples of cinema over the past 18 years. Yes, Thor has found a ton of success through his jump from Marvel Comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it all started with his self-titled flick in 2011. Since then, he has battled gods, defeated dark elves, joined the Avengers, saved half the universe, teamed with the Guardians of the Galaxy and even joined forces with a pair of screaming goats. Thor lives a colorful life, for sure.
One of the most appealing aspects of Thor as a hero is his armor. Like any superhero, a good supersuit can be the distinguishing factor between awesome and legendary. And Thor has had a lot of them in his MCU tenure, donning the most regal Asgardian armor imaginable as he battles his enemies. Chris Hemsworth certainly looked good in all of them, but there were some highs and lows in there.
As we eagerly await Thor's return to the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday (and what his next batch of looks might be), let's look back at all of his suits of armor and rank them.
Note: While flashbacks in Thor: Love and Thunder feature Thor wearing a more simple, straight-forward comic-accurate look, we don't get a good enough look at it to rank it up against the red. As a result, we're giving it a well-deserved Honorable Mention here instead. And it does look fantastic.
10. The Avengers' time travel suit
Appeared in: Avengers: Endgame
For the ultimate mission to save half the universe, Thor and the rest of the Avengers donned white super suits in Avengers: Endgame. Inspired by the Ant-Man suit, they were made out of nanotechnology, which allowed them to shrink into the Quantum Realm and travel through time to save their friends and stop Thanos.
In fairness, this suit is really cool and the red and white color scheme looks great on Chris Hemsworth. It's also probably the most important of all the suits he donned throughout his time on our screens, so don't take its ranking in the bottom spot as a sign that it isn't good. It's really good, and if we were reflecting on a different hero's super-suits, their version would probably be higher. It's just not very Thor, and thus can't compare to the rest of the epic armor that he has worn over the years.
9. Thor: Ragnarok's initial suit
Appeared in: Thor: Ragnarok
Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok is such a colorful movie that it's pretty easy to forget that the first act of it featured some dark, dull colors. That is the case with the very first suit of armor that Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder dons.
This one takes its cues from all of the Thor suits that came before it, adopting the sleeveless look that was officially introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron so points for the continued evolution. However, it suffers from the fact that it chooses a mix of brown and dull green for its primary hues, robbing the hero of the hopeful colors that the Asgardian god is known for. Perhaps that's the point, as the plot of Ragnarok revolves around the character reclaiming his power, so he has to start in a less characteristic place, but this one just doesn't have the identity that its predecessors does.
It's fine for what it is, but it almost comes off as more of a superhero suit than the armor of an all-powerful ancient god prepared for mythical battles. The basic design works as an intro to the movie, but it doesn't feel as Thor-like as it should.
8. The first (full-time) sleeveless suit
Appeared in: Avengers: Age of Ultron
The second Avengers movie is often criticized for various reasons but Avengers: Age of Ultron doesn't get enough credit for the things it did extremely well (and there were a lot of them). It also gets bonus points for being the first film to have to Thor don a sleeveless suit of armor, showing off Chris Hemsworth's impressive biceps in all of the action sequences (and, again, there were a lot of them).
The chest plates on this one were definitely inspired by its predecessor but there are some noticeable changes this time around, marking the most significant departure from what fans had come to expect from the character's suits at that point. They stand out more against the darker body of the suit but on a whole this armor is duller than the previous ones, giving it more of a battle-ready look. The only downside is that it just doesn't feel as majestic as the previous ones.
That being said, Chris Hemsworth pulled it off with ease and it paired well with the long gauntlets on his wrists. It's more of a superhero suit inspired by Thor's classic look and even if it wasn't necessary, it was still very cool.
7. The Sakaar Gladiator suit
Appeared in: Thor: Ragnarok
Although the base suit that Thor wears in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok isn't one of his most exciting, it looks infinitely better later in the movie when it's paired with the Sakaarian gladiator elements. Thor had just undergone his most drastic transformation due to his long locks being cut off, so it made for a major change for audiences. But hey, a Thor that looks even more like Chris Hemsworth than he already did was always going to be a win.
The red paint streaked up the right side of his face - and along the chest and torso of his darker armor - gives him more of a Mad Max appearance, ensuring that this particular look was gritter than his typical triumphant approach. The straps, gauntlets, and weaponry rounded it all out, giving character to what was previously just an okay suit. And the real standout was the helmet, which was incredibly comic-accurate. We had always wondered what the MCU's Thor would look like with the winged helmet he sports in the source material and Ragnarok proved that Hemsworth - unsurprisingly - could pull it off.
It's amazing how a splash of color and a few minor additions can improve a look immensely, but the Thor: Ragnarok suit is the embodiment of that.
6. The first Love and Thunder suit
Appeared in: Thor: Love and Thunder
The Thor: Ragnarok suit makes its third appearance in the MCU when the God of Thunder temporarily returns to wearing it in Thor: Love and Thunder. This time, it's paired with a furry cape - likely due to the fact that he had just been in an extremely icy location - and it looks more regal than ever.
It's quite fitting that a suit which didn't really have all that much to say in its first appearance got increasingly better with each upgrade. This is a more simple one compared to the Gladiator suit, but it's a striking reminder that sometimes less is more - a lesson that Love and Thunder itself never particularly understood.
The suit itself doesn't last long, as Thor decides a wardrobe change is necessary when he encounters another hammer-wielding god, but it's a memorable look that made the most of its minutes of screentime.
5. The Infinity War look
Appeared in: Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame
Thor got such a major reinvention in Avengers: Infinity War that we're calling this one "a look" instead of just a suit. It was his second drastic reinvention after the haircut in Thor: Rangarok and this one had even more meaning behind it. After his ship was destroyed by Thanos and his brother Loki was killed right before his eyes, the God of Thunder went back to basics, forged a new, more powerful weapon and went straight for Thanos.
This one takes a lot of cues from his earlier suits, a callback to the fact that he is indeed a god. Therefore, the chainmail sleeves returned, as did the metal plates up and down the chest and abdomen area. Although the sleeves were bright silver like they once were, the actual armor itself adopted a much darker color to signify that Thor meant business in his hunt for Thanos. And it stood out extremely well against the silver arms.
The sight of Thor standing there in Wakanda, brandishing Stormbreaker with anger and focus in his eyes, is one of the greatest sights in MCU history. And it isn't hard to see why. This became Thor's signature look for a long period time. That's one of the many reasons why fans are so excited to see it stage something of a comeback in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.
4. Endgame's Final Battle look
Appeared in: Avengers: Endgame
Before we begin this entry, we should point out that this Avengers: Endgame suit is technically the same suit that Thor wore in Avengers: Infinity War. The all-black armor with the silver chainmail-esque sleeves is still very much on show, but the changes lie within Thor himself. The God of Thunder had grown his hair out again in the five years between the team's original loss to Thanos and their Endgame battle and he had stopped looking after himself, meaning that both the hair and his beard were shabbier than before. Although his unkempt look was played for laughs early on in the movie, it made his final battle look all the more formidable.
Seeing Thor back in his Infinity War suit five years later with his long hair braided back and that long beard hanging from his face; it was like seeing a phoenix rise from the ashes for one last shot at redemption. He truly looked like a Viking here, an angry one - one that would stop at nothing to avenge the losses he suffered and the struggles he and his friends had faced.
This was, in many ways, the greatest hits look necessary for a grand finale movie like Avengers: Endgame. And, to no one's surprise, Hemsworth pulled it off to perfection.
3. The original Thor and The Avengers suit
Appeared in: Thor, The Avengers
When Thor was due to make his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he needed to be memorable, striking, and powerful; he was all of those things. Chris Hemsworth made an emphatic arrival on the scene as the God of Thunder, looking every bit as convincing as we hoped. He also sported an incredibly convincing suit of armor too.
The first Thor suit had a very larger-than-life, godly feel to it. Majestic and battle-ready at the same time, it was fit for king and a warrior; which made complete sense given he was set to become Asgard's future king and relished battle at the same time. It was almost all silver, with some black accents in there too, and was the first to feature those six large circular plates on its chest and abdomen. The chainmail on the arms was exquisite (and it looked extremely cool when it all piled back onto his arms in the final act), ensuring that he looked like the regal, respected warrior that he was.
Speaking of regal. the signature red cape sat highly off his shoulders. It might seem a little odd given that might make the suit look a bit heavier, but it went a long way in highlighting that this wasn't a superhero suit he was wearing; it was an esteemed suit of armor designed for a king to do battle in.
The suit returned for The Avengers (along with a sleeveless, capeless variation) and it looked even better when Hemsworth had the longer, more comic-accurate hairstyle. It was also the perfect look for the God of Thunder's first meeting with The Avengers.
2. The Love and Thunder upgrade
Appeared in: Thor: Love and Thunder
Few people love to show off more than Thor, so when he discovers that there is another Asgardian hero making waves in New Asgard - who turns out to be his former love Jane Foster - he decides that a quick costume upgrade is in order. And, with a flash of the lightning, that upgrade came to life. To say that it was his most extra look would be an understatement.
A more classic version of his suit (minus the sleeves, of course), the chest and abdomen are flooded in regal gold and blue shades, with large black discs scattered throughout. The top two attach to the majestic red cape that flows down his back - the grandeur of which really highlights how godly Thor can still look in the modern day MCU. Yes, even in a movie as unserious as Thor: Love and Thunder.
What's also fascinating about this one is that it features a full Asgardian mask/helmet combination, which marks the first time Thor obscures his face in the MCU. Seeing Hemsworth's God of Thunder in his full comic-accurate glory is truly a sight to behold and it really does highlight that the franchise could do with leaning into the more godly elements of the Asgardian lore once again.
1. Thor: The Dark World suit
Appeared in: Thor: The Dark World
Never has Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder looked more majestic than he did in Thor: The Dark World. That might have something to do with the fact that it's the only movie in which he gets to sport his actual long hair (and not the varying sized wigs he wore in the others), but it certainly complements the absolute god-like look Thor exudes on a regular basis.
The armor that he sports in the movie is pretty godly too. It's essentially the same design as the armor he wore in both the previous Thor movie and The Avengers, but the mild alterations make it pop a bit more. For starters, it's a slightly neater fit, which makes the character look even more like a Greek sculpture, highlighting his physique and arms to perfection. The cloak also doesn't sit as highly off the shoulders, and that results in a much smoother look, too.
This is the first of Thor's suits to feature some golden accents, as the disks on the abdomen (and on the shoulder area to hold the cloak in place bear the change, and they pop so well against the beautiful silver armor.
Thor: The Dark World is a movie that doesn't get enough love in general, but Chris Hemsworth's incredible look (which obviously includes Thor's armor) is one of the biggest reasons it deserves more attention. He has never looked more Thor.