WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Die-hard Marvel fans have been waiting for Thor: Love and Thunder not just because of Chris Hemsworth's return as the Mighty Thor, but also because it will be the debut of one of the most menacing villains from Marvel Comics, Gorr The God Butcher — a villain originally tied to Knull, one of the most powerful beings in the source material.
Despite the costume modification for Gorr's live-action appearance, Christian Bale still pulled off a spine-chilling look and, hands down, delivered a compelling performance as a Marvel villain for the first time. Sadly, it appears that there are more changes to Gorr that directly affect the character's origin.
In Marvel Comics, Gorr is a mere mortal from a distant planet that's on the brink of starvation. Given his situation, he worshipped and entirely places his faith in the gods to save himself and his family from dying. Sadly, his family still starved to death causing him to despise all the gods in the universe. While traveling in the desert, Gorr witnessed a battle between a gold-armored (Celestial) god and a black entity (Knull). While two gods are incapacitated from an exhausting battle, Gorr snatched Knull's All Black Necrosword, which grants him godlike abilities. Gorr then vowed to murder all gods in the universe, claiming the title God Butcher.
While in Thor: Love and Thunder, they still somehow kept the exact backstory for Gorr. However, they totally severed his connection to Knull. After her daughter died, Gorr continued traveling and stumbled upon an extremely arrogant god, whom he murdered after he got his hands on the All Black Necrosword. The film did not specify any connection to Knull and showed a brief shot of a dismembered god who doesn't look like Knull at all. Thor: Love and Thunder did not also discuss the sword's origin, aside from verifying that it is widely known in the main MCU timeline and that it is ancient.
Gorr The God Butcher's debut is undoubtedly a missed opportunity to briefly introduce Knull in the MCU. Gorr's power didn't really come from the All Black Necrosword but was just a tiny extension of Knull's tremendous power.
Knull’s abilities are so vast that it easily makes him one of the most powerful beings in Marvel Comics. Knull has divine physiology, Living abyss manipulation, symbiote creation, symbiote domination, temporal manipulation, dark energy manipulation, shapeshifting, flight, self-sustenance, and Godlike strength, speed, and durability.
Hopefully, Knull still gets a more prominent debut in the future of the MCU. For now, Phase 4 revolves around the Multiverse storyline and seemingly foreshadows Secret Wars as the next Avengers saga, which surprisingly points at Kang The Conqueror as the next Thanos-level threat.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now showing in theaters worldwide.
Also read: Fans Can't Get Enough of Christian Bale's Gorr The God Butcher Following Thor: Love and Thunder Premiere