Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) made his first appearance in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) – but he made his first appearance in the comics almost 10 years earlier. The complicated supervillain first terrified audiences in Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic’s comic, Thor: God of Thunder #1 (2013), which kicks off one of the most important series of the Thor comics. Much of Thor: Love and Thunder is inspired by Aaron’s acclaimed comics’ run, with Waititi’s unique comedic twist.
Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson in the MCU, has a history that goes back further than Gorr’s, all the way to AVENGERS #83 (1963), where she was the villain Enchantress in disguise. The MCU’s newest god – Zeus, memorably played by Russell Crowe – has been flinging thunderbolts at Thor in the comics since 1979.