The Tragedy of King Thor
Definition
KING… One of the early Human occupations. Also happens to be the greatest one… till the 20th century. Since there was a King, there was something for the people to believe in. The King is there to represent us, a nation, both the land and the people. He’s keeping a lookout for us. He’s as rare as the jewels on the crown and bright as gold. If that describes a King, Thor is THE KING.
Argument
Do you know what are the similarities between Thor, Zeus and Indra? All three are pretty much the Kings of their Mythologies and possess stupendous power of Lightning. It’s not surprising that Marvel is in love with Thor. Norse Mythology is fascinating and obviously, Thor is the better King of all three God-Kings. Zeus and Indra are petty Gods that will do anything and everything to keep their control over the world.
If you imagine the opposite of the King definition above, that’s Zeus and Indra. Both are pompous, narcissistic egomaniacs that happened to be better Gods in their own Mythologies. But Thor… He was a great brother, the good son of the family and by far the best King character I’ve ever read. He spends most of the time among people. He’s kind but fierce. Tempered but reasonable. All perfect ingredients to make a Great King.
Wearing a crown might look cool but the crown bears a tremendous amount of weight. One might be hated for it, by their own brother. The brother you’ve known your entire life has been hating on you silently, waiting for an opportunity to stab you in the back. That’s the everyday life of Thor with Loki.
Maybe, on the deathbed, his Father might tell him about the danger lurking in the shadows waiting to strike. Well, Odin reveals about Hela (Goddess of Death) in his last moments. Hela turns out to be powerful among Odinsons’ and we know how it turns out. Hela breaks the Hammer (this was personal to Thor) making him doubt himself. To save the people, the King might have to give up what makes him the King in the first place. He raises Ragnarok knowing that he’ll destroy Asgard, their home. But such is the duty of the King to put the people first no matter the price he has to pay. He keeps a smile on his face in the worst moments too… Because he can take it. He’s the only one who can.
But tragedy strikes Thor again in the form of the best villain ever seen on a Disney 4K screen. Both in conviction and determination… Thanos. He kills all the remaining Asgardians while making Thor watch the death of his best friend and his brother. Still not enough? How about leaving him floating around in space till some group of misfits called “Guardians of the Galaxy†finds him? Done already…
And he still had to take on a whole star’s heat to start the furnace to create a God-killing weapon (Thanos killing weapon). All this for what?? Many would have died when the family died or the country died. Most would’ve killed themselves when you don’t have ‘your’ people anymore. But The King survives all of them. Because it’s his belief that loss, pain and anger are tremendous motivators. And channeling them in a rationalized way, he wants to get the only thing that matters now… Revenge.
Conclusion
Being a King may not be always this hard, but Great Kings emerge from suffering. Suffering is the blacksmith’s blow on the steel to forge a balanced sword. It is necessary for a King to suffer in order to be great. And it doesn’t have to be physical. Churchill went mad with the stress at the old age, Nero burned down London while playing Fiddle. Kings need to be strong… if not for them, at least for us.
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