The God of Thunder’s got himself some new duds for Thor: Love and Thunder, hitting theaters on July 8th. Thor has worn Earth-style clothes before, but now the thunder god’s really embracing a new look, with jeans and a leather vest over a tank top with some kind of abstract design on it. Now, a new still gives us the clearest look yet at that shirt and its design, and it has surprising significance.
The shirt shows several white circles over a black and red background. The black part looks like the trunk of a tree with stylized roots at the bottom, while the top part with the red circle looks like the canopy of a tree. If you count up the circles, you’ll find there are nine of them (with one hidden by the vest in this particular photo).
A tree with nine symbols on it? That can only be Yggdrasil, the World Tree, holding the Nine Realms!
Thor mentions Yggdrasil in the original Thor movie, and in the Marvel universe, the nine realms are the worlds that make up the Asgardian empire. The world tree and the nine realms are also a huge deal in Norse mythology. According to the Eddas, Yggdrasil is a giant tree that holds the universe. Yggdrasil is home to the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, with one of its roots extending to Asgard (the realm of the gods), another to Jotunheim (the land of the giants), and a third to Niflheim (the land of the dead). The other six worlds are arrayed around its other roots and branches. In common interpretations of Norse lore, Yggdrasil is the tree that Odin hangs himself on in order to receive the wisdom of the runes, and its name means “Odin’s horse.” Yggdrasil is most commonly thought of as an ash tree, although some sources claim it’s a yew.
See? You can learn stuff by watching Marvel movies! Toss out some Yggdrasil trivia next time your partner gets on your case for not immersing yourself in more highbrow cinema.
A couple of other fun things about Thor’s shirt: the design also incorporates the pattern the Bifrost leaves on the ground, and the shape of Yggdrasil resembles Stormbreaker. The costume designer for Thor: Love and Thunder is Mayes C. Rubeo, so although it’s unclear who produced this exact design, we have her to thank for incorporating it into Thor’s costume.
So what are the implications of this holy tank top in Thor: Love and Thunder? I can think of one right off the bat: apparently, in the MCU, someone’s selling some great Asgard merch. Maybe they sell these shirts in a gift shop in New Asgard? After all, their tourism industry seems to be thriving.
If you don’t happen to live in the MCU, I have great news. It looks like you can get yourself one of these shirts in real life! Hot Topic is selling one version, and multiple Etsy sellers are offering them, too. Even if you can’t see Thor wielding Stormbreaker until July 8, you can at least dress like him now.
(image: Marvel)
