Yesterday I wrote about the glut of new Infinity War toys that will soon be hitting the market, and the secrets they had to tell. But I missed something that you brilliant Mary Sue denizens were quick to spot.
In discussing the Infinity War Thor toys made by Hasbro and Funko, I focused on the conundrum of Thor’s missing eye, which is shown on some toys and promotional materials while it seems to have been healed/restored on others. In zooming in on the eye issue, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to Thor’s weapons.
Sure, we got a good look at his apparent Mjolnir replacement, the axe Stormbreaker (one fan theory that I love is that the handle is made from Groot’s wood). But in the other (eye-less) Thor figure, he’s seen holding a sword. An extremely important sword.
Commenter TheMongoose saw this and quickly created what I will refer to going forward as “the sword discourse”:
What I’m worried about is that Thor appears to have Heimdall’s sword.
Please, not Heimdall. I’ve been advocating him for Prime Minister of Asgard since Thor 2. I was going to print pamphlets and everything, Korg was helping out. Down with the monarchy!
FancyViking noticed the sword as well and suggested the best course of action in response to this foreboding sight:
That sword Thor is carrying is Heimdall’s sword, the one that used to open the bifrost portal.
If they kill off Heimdall I swear I’m gonna riot.
As our sharp-eyed readers found, Thor is indeed wielding Heimdall’s fabled sword Hofund, which has been a plot point in the Thor films since the beginning. It was especially crucial in Ragnarok, with Heimdall stealing the sword from the Bifrost antechamber so that Hela couldn’t lead her conquering army of the undead out of Asgard.
The point here is that the sword is Heimdall‘s. It’s deeply associated with him—his attribute, like a hammer for Thor or horned helmet for Loki. So while I’d love to believe the Thor toy has Heimdall’s sword because there’s a sweet action sequence where Heimdall tosses Thor the sword to use temporarily, this detail makes me sad and/or scared.
I don’t want to think about Thor wielding Hofund because Heimdall’s not around to use it. We will riot at dawn if you take Idris Elba from us, MCU.
Yet we may need to start organizing. I know this is wild speculation and it’s just a toy and just a tiny toy sword, but it can still pierce our hearts. If I were a betting person (and I am) I wouldn’t put my money on the Asgardian refugee ship faring well in Infinity War.
We already know from trailers that Loki looks distressed about the Tesseract and may end up with Thanos for reasons unclear, that the Hulk crashlands back on Earth, and that somehow Thor is going to end up floating around like so much space trash for the Guardians to pick up. I think something pretty terrible is going to happen where the Asgardians are concerned. When we last saw them, Thanos’ ship Sanctuary II was bearing down and I don’t believe he’s there to seek out new life and new civilizations.
While it will make me cry a lot in the theater because I love the Thorverse, sacrificing some or all of the Asgardians makes sense plot and business-wise. For all intents and purposes, there will be no more Thor films unless the principals re-sign; Hemsworth and Hiddleston are contractually done after Avengers 4, and we don’t even know if they’re properly “alive” in that movie (they’ve been seen in Avengers-era flashback costumes).
So it would follow that since well-known characters must die in Infinity War, to make it, well, a war, some of them will be out of Asgard. The Thor characters have been around for long enough to have a resonant history with the audience, and Ragnarok is fresh in mind
And where Heimdall is concerned, Elba’s star has grown exponentially since Thor in 2011. He’s a household name now. A heroic death for him would pack a big emotional punch. Even though none of us want that punch. Even though that punch would hurt.
Thanks for always keeping me on my toes, Mary Suevians. See you at the riot.
(images: Marvel/Hasbro)
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