This OG Avengers Will Probably Die In Doomsday, But The MCU Can Improve On Their Comic Book Ending

It’s a fairly widely held belief that Avengers: Doomsday will be filled with deaths, but Marvel Studios faces a glaring opportunity to vastly improve on the death of an original Avenger from Marvel Comics. After all, theories surrounding the decimation of prominent MCU characters center on the stories that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are likely toadapt.

Avengers: Secret Wars is due to adapt the comic book of the same name, taking inspiration from the 1984 and 2015 runs. With incursions already well-established in the Multiverse Saga, it’s likely that Avengers: Doomsday will adapt the cataclysmic events that preceded the 2015 run, putting one Avenger in particular in the firing line.

Clues Point To Thor’s Death In Avengers: Doomsday

Thor wielding an electrified Stormbreaker and Mjolnir in Avengers EndgameImage via Marvel Studios

Chris Hemsworth was the first name to be revealed as part of the 5-and-a-half-hour live stream that revealed 27 cast members confirmed to star in Avengers: Doomsday. Although it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, with Hemsworth’s Thor being among the most esteemed veterans of the Avengers, there could be a deeper meaning to his name appearing first. After all, he bookended the cast line-up with Avengers: Doomsday’s most important character, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom.

While this could simply mean that Thor will play a central role in the upcoming Avengers movie, resuming his duties as one of the iconic team’s founding members, it is interesting that Mark Ruffalo did not feature at all, despite boasting the same credentials. Considering Thor has one of the most fleshed-out arcs in the MCU, being the only Avenger to star in four solo movies (an achievement that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will soon match when Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases), this hints that his arc will soon come to an end.

After all, a worthy ending was afforded to his fellow Big Three members, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, in the last Avengers movie. Chris Hemsworth has himself stoked rumors about this eventuality when, in May 2025, he posted a heartfelt compilation video paying tribute to Thor’s MCU legacy to his social media, accompanied by a suspiciously sincere message of gratitude that many interpreted as a farewell. The message reads:

“Playing Thor has been one of the greatest honors of my life. For the last 15 years I’ve held Mjolnir and then Stormbreaker as the God of Thunder, but what made it truly special…was sharing it with all of you. Your passion, your cheers, and your love for this character have meant everything to me.

Thank you for making my journey through the Marvel Cinematic Universe unforgettable.. Next up, Doomsday!”

Considering that Chris Hemsworth posted this at the height of filming for Avengers: Doomsday, this unsurprisingly led many to suspect that Hemsworth had just learned about Thor’s fate in the movie. Suspicions were further stoked when Hemsworth’s stunt double, Bobby Holland Hanton, posted a video from the Avengers: Doomsday set that resembled the TVA. Considering Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is also suspected to be in the firing line in Avengers: Doomsday, it is possible that the movie will adapt an epic yet tragic fate for Thor and his brother.

Thor Dies In The Lead-Up To Secret Wars In Marvel Comics

The Time Runs Out saga in Marvel Comics depicts the moments leading up to the final incursion that ends the multiverse before Secret Wars. Needless to say, very few characters survive, with many going out in blazes of glory befitting of their heroic tenures in Marvel Comics’ Earth-616. Thor’s ending is one of the most epic, as he joins a host of the most powerful Avengers to trawl the multiverse in the hopes of locating and destroying the entities responsible for heralding this calamity.

The so-called Multiversal Avengers succeed in locating the cause, but aren’t so lucky with their attempts to stop them. After arriving in a fissure between time and space, they confront the nigh-omnipotent Beyonders, who seek to destroy the seventh cosmos and herald the eighth. Alongside Hyperion, Starbrand, Nightmask, Abyss, and Ex Nihilo, Thor enters a doomed battle with the godlike entities, culminating in his and Hyperion’s last stand against a small army before their death occurs off-page.

It is a deservedly epic end for Odinson, who gleefully faces his end alongside his “brother,” knowing that they did all they could to stave off the inevitable multiversal collapse. Nevertheless, while Avengers: Doomsday will likely feature a similar collapse, culminating in the final incursion of Earth-616, there are some glaring absentees from the MCU’s roster. This could mean that the MCU will deviate significantly from the comics, but it will at least make Thor’s death all the more epic.

Thor’s Death In The MCU Will Be Even More Epic

Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Love and Thunder
Image via Jasin Boland / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection

The MCU is devoid of some key players in Marvel Comics’ Time Runs Out story. Besides Thor, none of the Multiversal Avengers have yet been introduced to the cinematic franchise. At the same time, the Beyonders haven’t been so much as teased, with many suspecting that other characters, like Doctor Doom himself, will take their place. Loki, as the nigh-omnipotent being now holding the multiverse together, is another clear contender for their replacement.

Whatever the case, if Thor’s demise is indeed on the cards, then it looks like he’ll be going out alone. Given that he will be appearing in the TVA, which operates in a similar space outside of time where the Beyonders appeared in Marvel Comics, this will likely be the staging area for Thor’s demise. Deadpool & Wolverine also established Deadpool’s connection to the TVA, as well as a future moment in which Thor weeps over an apparently dying Deadpool. Should this be where that scene occurs, then it further lends credence to the notion that Thor will be left to defend the TVA on his own.

This is arguably a fitting end for the God of Thunder. While he shared his glory with Hyperion in Marvel Comics, there are few with whom he shares a similar relationship in the MCU. A central part of Thor’s arc is how seriously he takes his role as one of the strongest superheroes in the MCU, and his worthiness of Mjolnir seems directly tied to his willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of others. It will, of course, be a bittersweet end for the character who has also wrestled with the gravity of his failure against Thanos.

Nevertheless, taking on whatever universe-ending threat that is due to herald the events of Avengers: Secret Wars alone means Thor won’t need to share the heroic spotlight. Instead, he’ll draw a line beneath his MCU arc in a similar fashion to Tony Stark, sacrificing himself for the sake of the universe and earning his place in Valhalla alongside the likes of Jane Foster and Heimdall.

Thor’s Death In Avengers: Doomsday May Not Be The End Of The Character

On a more positive note, comic book precedent also dictates that Avengers: Doomsday won’t be the last that audiences see of Thor. The character is one of the most prominent in Secret Wars, as an army of Thor variants from across the multiverse is tasked by the God Emperor Doom with being the global police force of his cobbled-together Battleworld, dubbed the Thors Corps. In fact, all the characters who met their end in Earth-616’s final incursion still feature in Secret Wars as variants living their lives on the same planet ruled by a nigh-omnipotent Doom.

Still, Hemsworth’s suspiciously eulogistic post suggests that this could be his final appearance in the role. The Multiverse Saga has established that variants of the same character can look wildly different, with Loki’s variants in his self-titled show adopting several wildly different looks, such as Alligator Loki. Should the Thor Corps be introduced in Avengers: Secret Wars, they could follow suit and be portrayed by several new actors, or even deliver on some of the more outlandish Thor variants like Throg.

After 15 years portraying Thor, it would be entirely fair for Chris Hemsworth–as beloved as he may be–to consider stepping away from the MCU. Although Robert Downey Jr. arguably holds the title of the actor most synonymous with the franchise, Hemsworth’s tenure has been far more enduring, with him appearing in more MCU productions than his Avengers co-star. The actor has still scored plenty of roles outside the franchise, including his acclaimed appearance as Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, but he is still inexorably tied to his role as Thor.

This would also fit with the MCU’s current trajectory. It has been confirmed that the MCU will undergo a soft reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars, with subsequent sagas spotlighting all-new characters, such as a new cast of X-Men. Kevin Feige has also suggested that longstanding MCU characters, like Steve Rogers and Iron Man, will be recast, and it stands to reason that Thor could be among them. Still, without more light being shed on the narrative of Avengers: Doomsday, we can only hope that Thor will ultimately survive the ordeal.