The Marvel Cinematic Universe has earned legions of dedicated fans since its inception with 2008’s Iron Man. As each new film is churned out, the debates grow with the catalog. “Which is your favorite?” “Which is the best?” “Which has the best action sequences?” Another popular subject is “Who is the best villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?” The ever-growing roster of bad guys just expanded via a heavy Hollywood hitter with Thor: Love and Thunder.
Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale, has been hyped up from the moment the casting was announced. It wasn’t so much the character itself as it was the actor putting on the pasty complexion and wielding the Necrosword. Bale joining the MCU is a pretty big deal and stamp of legitimacy on a franchise derided by some as a lesser form of movie-making.
Debuting in Marvel Comics in 2013, Gorr came from an impoverished and baron planet that claimed his entire family. Learning that the gods stood by and let this happen, he vows to kill them all. The tragic backstory of Gorr is more or less adapted in Thor: Love and Thunder, with his daughter’s death stirring his rage and campaign for revenge against indifferent deities. It makes for a relatable and sympathetic villain, not simply a pure antagonist carrying on for glory or power.
How does Gorr the God Butcher stand up to other villains in the MCU?
What Makes Gorr Unique?
Some MCU bad guys are cookie-cutter villains. There isn’t much that distinguishes them from the rest of the ranks or your typical antagonist tropes. There’s a refined list of great and unique villains that really stand out from their peers. They have been scary and relentless, silently mowing down everything in their path like the Winter Soldier. They’ve done it with a quip, a smirk, and a lot of charm like Loki. They’ve shifted from soft-spoken to unhinged rage like Wilson Fisk. And there have been some who have been raving and over the top like Green Goblin.
There are two main factors that make Gorr unique. His mission is one based on a tragic and preventable loss. He’s not seeking power for power’s sake; he’s using that power to direct his rage and pain. This puts him in a place similar to Thanos, who wanted to acquire power to bring balance to a universe he felt was off its axis. An inherently noble mission, but with the pretty glaring asterisk of killing trillions to accomplish it. Gorr is similar in that he genuinely feels like he’s doing the just thing to right a wrong.
The other factor that sets Gorr apart is that he’s just creepy. He’s an eerie, Michael Myers-esque horror movie killer stalking you from the shadows. He’s not so much scary but skirts around those edges with a precision only an actor like Christian Bale can accomplish. Nuance isn’t exactly in high supply in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so seeing a main character use it so extensively is a refreshing and different take. Gorr is also a long, dark shadow on a blindingly sunny day. Placing such a stark contrast in what amounts to a light-hearted, superhero comedy-romance movie makes Gorr’s presence sharply prevalent.
The Quality of the Role
A checkmark in the negative column is that Gorr’s just not in the movie enough. He’s an intriguing character that deserves more screen time and involvement than he got. His story and his motivations are mostly background in a film with a lot of moving parts. Another 15 or 20 minutes of screen time dedicated to his character would have fleshed him out considerably more than Love and Thunder did. Director Taika Waititi seemed to be going for the Hannibal Lecter treatment, showing a potentially great character sparingly to make his appearances that much more effective.
We know Thor. We know his story and what they’re trying to accomplish this time around. He’s directionless but otherwise content, just going with everything thrown his way in post-Avengers life. Gorr is new to us, and like the aforementioned Thanos, we only learned the CliffsNotes version of his motivations versus the whole novel. It was a notable flaw in the overall greatness of Josh Brolin and the Russo Brothers’ take on the Mad Titan in Avengers Infinity War. His planet was starved and overpopulated, so halving the population and, eventually, the universe would fix everything. A backstory that complex deserves more than the elevator speech; we would have gladly listened past the lobby. The same goes for Gorr and his mission to rid the universe of its gods.
Overall, Gorr Delivered
Gorr the God Butcher had the potential to rank among the elite villains in the MCU. You had a great premise and an even better actor known for delivering something new and different with every role. The leanness of Thor: Love and Thunder and the de-emphasizing of Gorr nicked off too much meat from the character and performance. Overall though, Gorr can be ranked in one of the higher MCU villain percentiles.