In 2012, Marvel comics unveiled the Thor: God of Thunder storyline, which brought with it one of Thor’s most menacing villains to date. Gorr the God Butcher is the main antagonist of Marvel Studios’ latest movie, Thor: Love and Thunder. This character has been memorable ever since the first volume of Thor: God of Thunder, thanks to Jason Aaron and Esad Ribić.
It’s no surprise at this point that Marvel Studios often take creative liberties when it comes to their library of characters from comic pages. Some alterations are due to wanting to tell a different story or for the benefit of the scene. Gorr is a character that falls into the second category, and many aspects of his character, which is played by The Dark Knight’s Christian Bale, are very different from the Marvel comics.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
8 The Necrosword
Thor: Love And Thunder waste no time in showing audiences what weapon Gorr would be using to slay countless gods. When Gorr renounces his god, Rapu, he finds himself being strangled to death by the deity. The Necrosword whispers to Gorr, and he finds it in his hand, ready to strike down all the gods of the universe.
As for the comics, the Necrosword has a much richer history. The sword is created from the very first Symbiote, All-Black. This symbiote was created by Knull, the God of the Symbiotes, the same person who created Venom. Gorr uses the All-Black Necrosword to survive for eternity, and seek out gods to murder, whilst also using its Symbiote abilities. This isn’t seen in the movies, other than a few unnamed shadow monsters and tendrils, mainly because Venom is a Sony character, rather than a Disney one.
7 His Appearance
One of Gorr's most notable visual differences is his appearance. In the movie, Gorr wears a white and tattered robe. His face is heavily scarred, with human features like ears, a nose, hands, and feet. His eyes are also human, with glowing orange hues. His appearance can be unsettling, but it is not scary, nor entirely comic accurate.
As for the comic depiction of Gorr, he is far more terrifying. He lacks a normal nose, as they are slits like a serpent. His eyes are sunken and black. His alien hands and feet are grotesque and large, as are the tendrils on his head. He is a monster, both in appearance and in his actions as God Butcher.
6 Origin Story
The movie opens with Gorr’s daughter dying of starvation and thirst. Burying her, Gorr finds an oasis of forests, water, and fruit, only to be mocked by the god he adores. Gorr slays him and begins his quest. The comic takes a different approach and is far longer and more emotional than how Gorr became the monster he is today.
From a planet with no name, Gorr spends every waking moment on the brink of starvation. His entire life, from his parents to his clan, has told him to trust in the gods and seek prayer. After his pregnant wife’s death, and that of his many children, Gorr is left alone and banished. Under the grueling sun, he sees two God entities crash down before him. Bonding with the darkness, he slays the golden god that asks for him and thus begins his crusade.
5 Grand Scheme
Although both the movie and comic book versions of Gorr have the same goal: to kill all gods, they go about it in vastly different ways. For the movie, viewers barely see Gorr do any god killing. It’s mainly reserved for quick background photos and an injured Lady Sif. Gorr’s impact on the god world isn’t exactly felt until he steals the children of Asgard.
The comic has a far darker Gorr, in an almost R-rated setting. Gorr goes from planet to planet, eradicating all gods that are in his way. His ultimate plan, however, is The Godbomb. This moon-sized explosive was designed by Shadrak, God of Bombs, and built by slave gods to kill all gods across time and space.
4 Wish Of Eternity
With the help of hostages from Asgard and the demand for Stormbreaker, Gorr seeks Eternity. Eternity is an abstract entity that embodies the entire universe. The first to reach Eternity is granted one wish, Gorr’s being to kill all gods. This plotline is exclusive to the movie, as the comic’s depiction is far more sinister.
From the pages of Thor: God of Thunder, when Gorr devises his plan to build a Godbomb, he realizes that he will need the heart of an elder god and a century to do so. This mission sets Gorr on the path of Chronux, a planet inhabited by the Time Gods. After draining their blood in the Pool of Forevers, Gorr travels through the timestream to begin his quest.
3 God Butchering
Gorr's combat abilities aren't really seen much in Thor: Love and Thunder. He has three fights against Thor, Mighty Thor, and Valkyrie, but his impact is not exactly felt when it comes to the other gods across the universe. How many gods he has killed or “butchered” isn’t exactly known, as the gods in Omnipotence City don’t acknowledge him.
Before fans of the comics get to see Gorr in action, viewers are left horrified by whatever has been left in his wake. Gods are butchered aplenty in the comics and in incredibly gruesome ways. Some hang from meathooks, and others are tortured before death. Gorr’s hatred for all gods is truly felt within the comics.
2 God Of Hypocrisy
When Gorr reaches Eternity in Thor: Love and Thunder, his one wish is to be debated. He's finally reached his journey’s end and needs to decide upon his wish. Gorr is dying, as the Necrosword has been destroyed, leaving Gorr without immortality and time is catching up with him. Gorr wishes for his daughter to be resurrected, rather than for all gods to be killed.
This redeeming act from Gorr is something that the comic’s depiction of Gorr would never do. For when Gorr resurrected his son, Agar, his son called him “God of Hypocrisy,” as he murdered his wife. His wife and son, the product of a construct from the Symbiote, All-Black. Gorr’s hatred for gods ran so deep, that he would kill his wife for calling him “her god,” showing how irredeemable Gorr is.
1 Hatred Of Thor
After Gorr first encounters Thor on Earth in the city of New Asgard, he begins to harbor a grudge against the Norse god. Not only is he annoyed that he got thrown over a car, but he sees the potential in Stormbreaker, as it can summon the Bifrost. Gorr’s hatred of Thor does not run too deep, other than the fact that he is a god.
Comic book Gorr despises Thor more than every other god in existence. They first met sometime in the 9th century, when Thor discovers the slain gods of Earth. The two have an epic battle from which Thor emerges victorious after summoning a lightning strike. Gorr hated Thor so much, that he kidnapped the past, present, and future versions of Thor to bear witness to the death of all gods using his creation, the Godbomb.
Thor: Love and Thunder is currently in theaters.