Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor
The Thor trilogy within the Marvel Cinematic Universe Presents the audience with a dichotomy pitting Thor’s status as an Asgardian prince/god and his position within a higher functioning society against his arrogant and barbaric attitude. This is first shown through his treatment of the frost trolls who he rules over with an iron fist and always views with suspicion. Odin, Thor’s father, sees this imbalance within Thor and sends him on a spiritual journey to earth to discover his humanity and the ability to accept and respect other cultures and ways of life as he will eventually be expected to rule over these people. Once one earth, Thor initially struggles to adapt to the culture shock of meeting people who do not respect or acknowledge his authority as a god before his arrogance is broken when he discovers he is no longer worthy of wielding his hammer Mjolnir. He eventually meets Jane Foster who helps show him how humility can help him become a better leader by leading from a position where he is able to relate to and understand the people he is expected to protect. Throughout all three films, Thor struggles to grasp what it means to be a proper king of Asgard first learning how to accept new cultures in the first film before eventually learning how to preserve his own in the third. This reminds me of Black Panther for a multitude of reasons beyond the obvious similarity of them being from the same fictional world. Both T’Challa and Thor start off well respected in their own cultures but are not nearly as known to the ‘real’ world. They are forced to confront the shortcomings of the bigger world they are a part of and what it takes for them to help the human race while still protecting their own culture. These stories show the growth of two leaders as they extend a helping hand to the struggling world around them while they try to keep their own cultures from being dragged down to this level. They decide to lend knowledge, technology, and power, so that the people may protect themselves and improve their lives without tainting either the culture of the struggling world or their own cultures.