Every Thor Movie Ranked

Thor is an original Avenger. He's also very much so part of the current Marvel Cinematic Universe mix, and we can expect to see him again in "Avengers: Doomsday." Chris Hemsworth's character has shown up over and over again across four of his own movies, a quartet of Avengers flicks, and other one-off appearances. While there is a specific way to watch the Thor movies if you want the chronological experience, Thor's character evolves over time, and several of his best appearances are later in his MCU timeline.

Below, we've rounded up every Thor movie sighting and ranked them. Just for clarity (and relative brevity), we won't include non-movie or multiverse moments like Thor's one-shot appearances or his presence in the "What If...?" and "Loki" series. Instead, we'll focus on movies as we wait to rank his next installment in the upcoming fifth Avengers film. Enjoy!

Stephen Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) first solo outing in the MCU is a fun origin story. The time-spanning adventure starts small and ends up out of control as the titular character comes into possession of the Time Stone and uses it to save the Earth from Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), Dormammu, and the Dark Dimension. As the epic action slows down, who should pop up in the end credits but our boy, Thor?

We see the God of Thunder sitting down for a mystical, unending pint of beer in the New York Sanctum as he and Strange discuss current threats, including Loki. It's a fun little back-and-forth as the two heroes interact for the first time, but in reality, it's just a sequence pulled from "Thor: Ragnarok." It was a fun tease at the time, but in the larger scheme of things, it definitely doesn't deserve to rank high on a list like this, so we're tucking it away here at the bottom.

There are a lot of MCU movies out there. And yet, when they're ranked, "Thor: Dark World" is consistently one of, if not the, lowest entries. Its weak, disjointed, meandering story does very little to move Thor's character or arc forward. It has a lot of goopy, mushy stuff between Thor and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), too — and while there are some long-term implications around the smitten pair, it's awkward at best. Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) and the Dark Elves are an odd, non-compelling threat in the larger MCU context, as well. They're almost too big and too unrelatable to even care about.

However, the one thing the second Thor film is not is isolated — thanks to "Avengers: Endgame." The fourth Avengers movie integrates several past Marvel films into its time travel heist. One of the most important of these is — drumroll please — "Thor: Dark World." This gives the movie an intrinsic place in the larger MCU timeline, helping it at least rank above Thor's fun but pointless single end-credit scene to date.

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" is a busy movie. It introduces Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) as serious heroes, sets up the Sokovia Accords drama, and bridges the first gap between different Avengers teams. However, the scattered nature of the movie means it often ranks lowest out of the four Avengers movies to date. It also comes low in the context of Thor's story.

The Son of Odin starts the movie as Avengers muscle, helping in the attack on the HYDRA facility and ends it fending off countless Ultron Sentries. As far as brute strength and battlefield fun go, this one's five stars.

Once he crosses paths with Wanda, though, things get weird. He has visions of Asgard's destruction and heads off to the Water of Sight for more clarity. He helps create Vision and then goes back to tank mode as he helps the Avengers take down Ultron. The movie ends with him shooting off-world to pursue his vision of the Infinity Stones. This would be cool and important if it didn't all get walked back later in the Thor story. Hindsight makes this one fall a bit flat, which is why it's lower on the list.

This is where the Thor ranking starts to jumble the chronological story a bit. The next one on the list is actually the most recent entry in the Thor franchise. "Love and Thunder" was a perfect maelstrom of classic God-of-Thunder fun, cramped storylines, and unsatisfying character development. The Jane Foster Mighty Thor element feels unconvincing and uninspired. Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher is great on the surface, but he lacks depth by the end. The Taika Waititi brand of humor is fun, but it's also relentless and derails the flow of the story too often.

That said, there are some real bright spots here. The Guardians of the Galaxy cameo is classic MCU fun. The trip to Omnipotence City, where Zeus (Russell Crowe) reigns, is cheeky. The movie ends with Thor living his best life with his new sidekick, Love (India Rose Hemsworth). And Korg is just, well, the best. There's a lot to love, but it does feel a little bit like the powers that be in the MCU knew they were working with a beloved character at this point, and they overplayed their hand. The story is crowded and disjointed, and the presentation is wandering and random at times, which is why it is a middling entry on the list.

Now we're getting to the good stuff. Thor's role in the climactic Thanos showdown is both important and entertaining. Thor is one of the original Avengers, and in many ways, his arc peaks during this story. In the lead-up to "Endgame," Thor is tortured in countless ways. He loses most of his family, his girlfriend, his world, and his war with Thanos. Heck, he even loses an eye. The guy is put through the wringer only to watch everything fall apart at the end of "Infinity War."

This makes his role in "Endgame" special. We see him rise from despondency to hope again. He bands together with his friends and traipses across time and space to bring the Mad Titan down. He also revels in the joy of battle as he, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) take on Thanos on their own.

Really, the only thing that pulls this one down in the rankings is the fact that "Engame" isn't really Thor's movie. In a lot of ways, he's an important side character with a lot of screen time while Stark, Rogers, and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) take center stage and wrap up their stories. Thor redeems himself and helps lead the charge, but this isn't his finest moment, nor the end of his story.

The first "Avengers" movie is the first time we see Thor thriving as a genuine superhero. This is the second time we see Odin's son after his origin story transformation in "Thor," and he enters the story already on hero mode. He takes responsibility for his brother's actions and helps to stop Thanos' mad dash for power via the Mind Stone controlled Loki.

As with most Avengers movies, Thor isn't the main character, but he soaks up a lot of screen time in this one — and with some really fun moments, too. The fight with Hulk on the helicarrier is particularly entertaining. His run-in with Iron Man when he arrives on Earth early in the movie is also great fun. Fast forward, and he plays a key role in the Battle of New York, too. Watching Thor bond with the team that will come to define much of his later activity is genuinely enjoyable, and his prominent role in the story — along with his relationship with the antagonist — make this one a high-level Thor experience.

We've seen a lot of great origin stories in the MCU to date. "Guardians of the Galaxy" is a rip-roaring introduction to the gnarly galaxy-trekking crew. "Captain America: The First Avenger" is a great setup for Steve Rogers. "Iron Man" kicked the whole MCU off with a bang.

If there's one origin story that takes the cake, though, it's "Thor." This is the first time we meet Hemsworth's iteration of the God of Thunder. The movie is over the top with its alien-mythical introduction before focusing in on a very terrestrially-grounded storyline.

We really get to bond with the lovable Prince of Asgard as he blunders through the backwater of one of Asgard's less-than-savory provinces, navigating exile, confronting his shortcomings, and learning to be a selfless leader. While there are other outings where Thor is more pulled together and he certainly gets more dramatic and fun later on, this is arguably the best introduction of an early MCU character, and one of Thor's finest MCU outings.

Three words. Bring. Me. Thanos. If there's one "Avengers" movie where Thor truly shines, it's "Infinity War." Right from the opening bell, Odinson is heavily involved in the universe-spanning carnage as Thanos and company attack his ship, halve his surviving people, and kill Loki before his eyes.

This is the last straw for Thor. The poor guy. We already listed his grievances earlier. Lost his family. Body parts missing. Home planet gone. Favorite hammer crumbled to dust.

This movie pushes him over the edge. Thor's side quest during "Infinity War" includes traveling to a star where he faces the brunt of the celestial body's power to create Stormbreaker. From there, he summons the Bifrost to go straight to Thanos. Thor's arrival in Wakanda in the knick of time, and his summons of Thanos is practically flawless. Thor's role in "Infinity War" will have shivers going down your back every time. It's peak God of Thunder territory. Even so, there's one movie that tops it in the Thor story.

Third time's the charm. The third Thor solo film is the absolute best Thor experience to date. His solo film is a fun introduction, and "Avengers: Infinity War" has some of the God of Thunder's deepest storyline beats. But "Thor: Ragnarok" takes the cake for several reasons.

First, the movie is all about "Thor." Second, while things come to a head for the Asgardian in "Infinity War" and are more or less resolved in "Endgame," "Ragnarok is where the crap really hits the fan. This is the movie where Thor loses his father, his hammer, and his eye. He has to defeat his own sister and watch his planet explode at the hands of a fiery, oversized demon.

Despite the sobering subject matter, director Taika Waititi still maintains a light, almost frivolous tone. The entire sequence on Sakaar with the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) is genius comedy, and the duel with Hulk is to die for.

This movie single-handedly rehabilitates Thor's struggling franchise. It makes the titular character compelling, and feeds perfectly into the larger MCU timeline that surrounds it. Say what you will about the other movies in the Asgardian's repertoire. This one is the chef's kiss of the Thor story and a no-brainer for the top spot.