Recap / What If…? S1E7 "What If… Thor Were an Only Child?"

"What If… Thor Were an Only Child?"

"Prepare yourselves… for the party prince!"

Alternate take on: Thor

"More than battles won or lost, it's relationships that truly define a hero, the people who shape them, their stories. Thor and Loki: a brotherhood so strong and pivotal, it would change the fate of a universe. Their childhood taught Thor… many lessons, but in another universe, instead of raising the Jotunheim prince Loki as his own son, Odin returned him to his people. Without his trickster brother to keep things, let's say, "lively", Thor grew into a very different prince."

— Uatu

Without a scheming adopted sibling to keep him in line, Thor Odinson, crown prince of Asgard, has grown to be a party animal, and seeks to convert other worlds to his hedonistic ways, including Earth.

---

"What If… Thor Were an Only Child?" contains examples of:

• Actor Allusion:
  • Rocket Raccoon's cameo appearance is him in a similar situation to his voice actor, Bradley Cooper, in The Hangover.
  • This is not the first time Jane Foster has been concerned about diplomatic relations between humans and extra-terrestrials.
  • Humorously, among the major global tourism sites vandalized/compromised by the alien parties, the Sydney Opera House is spared—which may or may not have to do with Chris Hemsworth being an official Tourism Australia ambassador.
• Adaptational Angst Downgrade: We see what things would be like if, instead of adopting him as his son, Odin returned an infant Loki to his father Laufey. Instead of being raised as a back-up heir in Asgard, Loki is the crowned-prince of a version of Jotunheim with a more relaxed relationship with Asgard. Without the baggage of being an Orc Raised by Elves, he doesn't suffer the Sanity Slippage his Sacred Timeline counterpart goes through, going from being an on-again, off-again supervillain with Delusions of Grandeur and a Chronic Backstabbing Disorder to a life-long friend of Thor's who goes along with his zany antics.
• Adaptational Badass: Downplayed with Loki. His Frost Giant variant seen in this episode is a significantly larger and more muscular version of the character compared to the other versions we've seen of him. That being said, he seldom uses this strength for any villainy, merely causing some planet-wide mischief as a party-goer.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • Thor invites pretty much every face in the MCU's cosmic side, friend and foe alike. Well, almost all of them.
  • Like in Episode 3, Captain Marvel appears much earlier than both her meta original debut and in-universe return.
• Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: Much like in the Sacred Timeline, Loki was abandoned by Laufey because he was born a runt, yet he shows up as an adult no smaller than the rest of his kind. Though it's entirely possible that Odin misinterpreted the situation with Loki and he was actually the right size for a newborn, and he would have grown to the size of a regular Frost Giant if Odin hadn't used Asgardian magic on him. That, or Loki figured out how to use his magic to imitate the size of a regular Frost Giant.
• Adaptational Jerkass:
  • Zig-zagged with Thor. On the one hand, he's a rambunctious party-boy who adamantly refuses to listen to any authority that isn't his mother, no matter how much damage and grief he causes on Earth. On the other hand, Thor is far from heartless, and mostly just oblivious (and a bit dim). He is still legitimately in love with Jane in this universe, as fascinated with her mind as he is with her looks despite his apparent shallowness, and doesn't actually mean any ill will to anyone - unlike his main MCU self who is initially a Blood Knight. He even apologizes to Jane for his actions and admits that her tattling on him to his mother was actually the right thing to do.
  • Zig-zagged with Loki also, interestingly enough. While he is considerably nicer than his original incarnation, having never grown up with any of his hangups of feeling like an outsider and being in Thor's shadow, the consequence is arguably even more of a hedonist. Frigga and (begrudgingly) Thor were Loki's Morality Chains in the Sacred Timeline, while here, he's a Fair-Weather Friend through and through.
• Adaptational Nice Guy:
  • Frost Giant Loki is a fun-loving friend of Thor, rather than his scheming brother.
  • This also extends to the likes of Surtur, Nebula, and Yondu, who seem to be much more friendly and personable in this universe. Also, the Grandmaster is either not engaging in slavery, or is perfectly content to let his gladiators like Korg run amok.
  • Laufey appears to be this as well, as when Odin returned Loki to the Frost Giants, Laufey in this timeline had raised his son. Though since returning Loki shouldn't have changed Laufey's decision to abandon Loki, this implies that Odin in the Sacred Timeline misinterpreted the situation when he found Loki, and Laufey always intended to raise Loki despite his small size. Seeing that this version of Loki eventually grew to be the same size as other Frost Giants, this means it was actually Asgardian magic that kept him human-sized and it might even be common for Frost Giants to be born as small as he was.
    • Or maybe the point of divergence is that Loki wasn't born a runt and there was no reason for Odin to adopt him. Or he figured out how to use his magic to imitate the regular Frost Giant size.
• Adapted Out:
  • Despite taking place around the same time as Thor, Dr. Erik Selvig is conspicuously absent, although Jane does talk to him on the phone at one point.
  • It's also notable that the entire Guardians of the Galaxy roster is here except for Peter Quill (possibly because his Sacred Timeline counterpart said he'd never return to Earth, where his mother died) and Groot, who doesn't seem to have met Rocket in this timeline. On the flip side, none of the other Avengers (aside from Thor himself) appear in this episode.
  • Like in Episode 3, Jasper Sitwell is nowhere to be seen in this episode, despite being involved in the events of the first Thor movie alongside Phil Coulson.
  • Thor's party brings all factions from the MCU's cosmic side, with the notable exception of the Kree Empire. Though considering those guys are essentially the Third Reich and Imperial Japan combined, that's probably for the best. The same can be said for Ego, Hela, and the Dark Elves.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Thor and Loki are like close friends and honorary brothers, with them both less serious (than Loki was in the first Thor movie). Plus Laufey seeming to be happy to have his infant son returned to him, and Loki bringing what appeared to be guards with him, suggests that Asgard and the Frost Giants formed a truce after Odin returned Loki to them.
  • Surtur is also apparently on better terms with Asgard in this reality, given that he’s happy to party with Thor.
• All Girls Like Ponies: Jane agrees to accompany Thor for their first date to a planet where everyone (even the waiters) are unicorns.
• All Myths Are True: The resolution of this episode comes from Jane Foster making the Bat Deduction — with the help of resident expert on Norse mythology Dr. Selvig — that if there are Ancient Astronauts named "Thor" and "Loki" who seem vaguely similar to the Norse gods of that name, then other Norse gods must really exist, including Heimdall, and the real Heimdall must share the mythical Heimdall's Super-Senses and can hear when his name is called.
• Almighty Mom: Repeatedly Played for Laughs, but it's shown that the only person whose wrath Thor legitimately fears is his mother, Frigga. The revelation that she learned what he was doing and is coming to Earth is what finally gets Thor in line and forces him to clean up his mess. This extends to the rest of the aliens as well. While they pay Thor's desperate pleas for help no mind, when he threateningly lets them know that Frigga is arriving, they actually help him out.
• Amusing Injuries: The only casualty of Thor's partying we see onscreen is Nick Fury being accidentally knocked into the distance by Korg running for the pool — which apparently leads to him being hospitalized and comatose for the rest of the episode, something only Maria Hill and Carol Danvers treat with the appropriate gravity.
• Apocalypse How: Jane's initial wariness towards Thor is based on a Class X-2 event that happened only a few weeks prior, for which she pins him as the main suspect. While Thor was responsible, the entire incident was an accident, and the planet thought to have been destroyed by its star going supernova was really a lifeless meteor that was already breaking apart.
• Ascended Meme:
  • The way Thor does a Hair Flip when the Love at First Sight happens between him and Jane mirrors countless memes putting him in shampoo ads (such as L'Oréal).
  • During the party montage, one shot features Thor doing the same fist-pumping dance move that Baron Zemo did in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which got heavily memed.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • Thor's appearance in the episode is preceded by Jane's fear of an Alien Invasion, and when the man himself arrives, he's blanketed in smoke and surrounded by numerous figures. His speech towards the people of Vegas begins with menace as he proclaims that their dull lives have come to an end… and commences with the partying, bringing an end to the dullness in the humans' lives. (Well, relative dullness, they were already in Vegas…)
  • Loki, now a fully developed Frost Giant, shows up with his guards, giving the illusion that he will still be launching an invasion of Earth, only for it to be revealed that he's actually Vitriolic Best Buds with Thor and only came to Earth to join the party.
  • When the stern, authoritarian Carol Danvers arrives to break up the party and force the aliens home, Thor comments that Midgardians have a word for women like her… that word being "party-pooper."
• Beard of Sorrow: Totally inverted. While Sacred Timeline Thor has a full beard/mustache, with him sporting an extremely long one after killing Thanos, Party Thor does not sport any facial hair and is having the time of his life.
• Bedmate Reveal: Downplayed. Jane wakes up in a hotel with Thor, the Warriors Three, and Rocket Racoon passed out in various locations, but she has the bed to herself.
• Beneath Notice: Thor gets the idea to visit Earth based on the logic that it's so backwater that Heimdall will never think to look there.
• Berserk Button: When telling her to loosen up during their rematch, Thor suggests that Danvers smile more. Cue her shooting him a Death Glare and preparing to unleash her full power.
• Big Blackout: Surtur causes one by accident when he attempts to limbo under some power lines, but catches his helmet horns on them. Thankfully, Thor manages to return power to the affected area while fixing the various party messes.
• Blatant Lies: Thor claims to be in Asgard, but we know that he is lying. The appearance of a polar bear reveals this to Frigga. Even Danvers finds this funny!
• Bling of War: Thor's armor is gilded in this reality.
• Boomerang Comeback: During their first confrontation, Carol dodges Mjölnir and scoffs, "Smooth move, bro". The hammer then hits her on the back of the head on its way back to Thor's hand.
• Bootstrapped Leitmotif: The episode makes heavy use of the synth-y parts of the Thor: Ragnarok soundtrack to represent the partygoers.
• Breather Episode: The episode is far more lighthearted and goofy than the previous installments, especially the last four episodes, with the general plotline focusing on Thor's party-like antics on Earth rather than tragic revenge plots or some horrifying world-ending threat. At least, until the last ten seconds or so…
• Call-Back:
  • Once again, someone tells Thor to "put the hammer down". Bonus points for it coming from a "Captain" both times.
    • Potentially (the powers are a bit ambiguous), she also easily absorbs a blast of lightning he directs at her, as Iron Man did in the same scene.
    • Also from that film, Brock Rumlow grumbles about how they never get to use the nukes.
  • Thor's line about how "magic" and "science" are the same in Asgard from Thor is referenced by Jane and Thor getting "MAGIC" and "SCIENCE" matching tattoos.
  • Thor restrains Carol by placing Mjölnir on her chest the same way he did to Loki in his first solo movie.
  • Rocket Raccoon is once again referred to as a "rabbit", like how Thor called him in Infinity War and the Asgardian Guards in Endgame.
  • The shot of Nebula rolling the dice on the craps table is shot the exact same way Tony rolled dice in the beginning of Iron Man.
  • During their initial confrontation, Thor summons Mjölnir from behind Carol Danvers, the same way he did with Stormbreaker at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame. This time, instead of his weapon flying past her, it clocks her on the back of the head.
  • In her fight with Thor, Carol ends up in a desert in the American Southwest. Her climactic curb-stomp of Yon-Rogg at the end of Captain Marvel also occurred in a similar setting.
  • Thor makes a point that the guests can drink as much as they want because the drinks keep refilling magically, much like his own drink did when he met Doctor Strange.
• The Cameo: As far as the cosmic sphere of the MCU is concerned, it may be easier to list the characters that didn't show up. As well as most of the main cast of Thor, this episode featured appearances by the Grandmaster, Surtur, Nebula, Mantis, Ayesha, Yondu, Korg, Skurge, Drax, and Rocket Raccoon, just to name some.
• Can't Get Away with Nuthin': After cleaning up and repairing all the damage caused by their planet-wide party, it seems like Thor has successfully convinced Frigga that he and his “friends” were on Earth for educational purposes. Just before they return to Asgard, Thor realizes he forgot Mjolnir and summons it. Mjolnir returns…covered in graffiti.
• Circle of Shame: The fight between Carol and Thor is broken when the former is pinned under Mjölnir, where the alien party guests can freely mock her for being a party pooper.
• Circle of Standing Stones: When Carol arrives at Stonehenge, she slides into one of them and it starts to topple. She catches it, but Thor arrives and "accidentally" knocks the rest of them over, a la National Lampoon's European Vacation. However, the actual Stonehenge stones are not sitting on the surface, but buried into the ground.
• Cliffhanger: Ultron, with the body of Vision and all six Infinity Stones, along with an army of drones, emerges from a portal. Even Uatu didn't see him coming. The multiverse might be in danger…
• The Comically Serious: S.H.I.E.L.D. treats Thor's planet-wide party with the same gravitas as, if not more than, the Sacred Timeline's Chitauri invasion. It is a worldwide alien invasion and the Avengers have not yet formed in this timeline, but S.H.I.E.L.D. is aware of the aliens' intentions and are still dead-serious. After all, Thor's last party apparently coincided with the destruction of a planet.
  Coulson: The party atmosphere seems to be spreading.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Subverted. For the first time in the MCU, Carol Danvers refers to herself as Captain Marvel.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Maria Hill points out that Thor's arrival was not Earth's first encounter with an alien lifeform, and pulls out Captain Marvel's pager.
  • Darcy expected a male Captain Marvel before she met Carol. The first Marvel in the original comics was a Kree officer known as Mar-Vell.
  • The second episode of Loki establishes that at least one variant of the God of Mischief stays primarily in his Frost Giant form. This show introduces us to one of those variants, albeit significantly larger than expected.
• Crack Pairing: In-Universe, no less. By way of a Vegas wedding, Darcy Lewis ends up married to Howard the Duck, of all beings.
• Crowd Chant: Thor gets everyone to start chanting "Pooper! Pooper! Pooper!" after calling Captain Marvel a "party pooper".
• Cruel Twist Ending: Lampshaded. Just as The Watcher proclaims that Thor and Jane "lived Happily Ever After", he suddenly adds, "Wait, what?" as a portal opens up to reveal an army of Ultron drones led by Ultron in the Vision body he prepared wielding the Infinity Stones.
• Demoted to Extra: Fury suffers this for plot-related reasons, having the unfortunate luck of being in Korg's way.
• Denser and Wackier: Compared to the more somber and more serious previous episodes, this universe just has Thor and his interstellar group of partygoers cause some mischief on Earth for their own pure enjoyment (the very end notwithstanding). As such, the comedy racks up to Ragnarok levels of silliness and levity.
• Diabolus ex Machina: At the end of the episode, after everything has been cleaned up, Ultron in the body of Vision and an army of drones shows up out of nowhere with all six Infinity Stones. Usually the twist endings for What If…? involve a logical consequence of the characters' actions or the point of divergence, but Infinity Ultron shows up without any foreshadowing whatsoever. Even Uatu is surprised by this turn of events.
• Didn't See That Coming: Uatu, the freakin' Watcher, didn't see the ending with Ultron (in the Vision body he made) randomly appearing coming. He even gives a quick "Wait, what?" right before he appears.
• Disaster Dominoes: Quite literally with Stonehenge. Carol crashes into the historical monument but supports it in time to prevent it from toppling. Thor, being a playboy (and simply because Carol warned him not to), lightly pushes the structure with his finger and causes the whole monument to collapse in a domino-like manner.
• The Dreaded:
  • Played for Laughs. Thor manages to convince the leaving party attendees to help him clean up the Earth by telling them that his mother Frigga is coming, and everyone immediately agrees to help him. This includes powerful and influential beings like the Sovereign, the Grandmaster, and Surtur, Lord of the freakin' Fire Giants. Apparently every single person in this reality is terrified of Frigga.
  • Played straight with Uatu at the episode's end. Despite appearing with zero foreshadowing beforehand, even he knows that Ultron in Vision's body wielding the Infinity Stones and leading an army of drones is absolutely bad news.
• Easily Forgiven:
  • Even though Jane tattled on Thor to his mother, he forgives her and shows he does indeed love her by asking her out afterwards, saying that even if what she did wasn't a "cool" thing to do, it was the "right" thing.
  • The fact Thor's party is, in fact, wrecking the planet gets glossed over as soon as he agrees to clean it up.
• Elvis Impersonator: The party's in Vegas, having one here is a given. The same impersonator officiates the wedding between Darcy and Howard and later appears with the other partygoers in Sydney.
• Endearingly Dorky: Thor is surprisingly sweet and awkward when it comes to Jane.
• Energy Absorption: Possibly. MCU Captain Marvel's powers are a touch ambiguous, so it's unclear whether it's this or a straight No-Sell when Thor blasts Captain Marvel with a lightning bolt from Mjölnir, she simply shrugs it off. Thor then doubles down until he's firing a massive torrent of electricity at her, while she stands smirking with her hands on her hips.
• "Eureka!" Moment: After Darcy compares the situation with Thor to a Wild Teen Party and laments they can't use the usual solution of calling his mom to stop it, Jane realizes they can, since if Thor is real then other mythological figures must also be real, including Odin, Heimdall, and Frigga.
• Evil Is Bigger: Inverted by Loki, who is as tall as his fellow Frost Giants in this universe but is far more amicable and friendly.
• Exact Words:
  • How Loki tries getting out of cleaning up Earth after the nonstop partying before Frigga arrives: he and Thor may be brothers from another mother, but they're still from different mothers.
  • Thor declares that he's going to bring an end to the Midgardians' dull lives. He does...by bringing an end to the dullness, not their lives.
• Fair-Weather Friend: Loki, the Frost Giants, and pretty much the aliens at large all qualify. They're all on good terms with Thor and pay no mind about the chaos caused by their constant partying, but every single one bails on him when he's in a bind. Thor manages to threaten them into line by invoking his thunder powers and Frigga.
• Famed In-Story: Her exploits across the galaxy have given Carol quite the reputation. Darcy calls herself a fan (though admits she thought "Captain Marvel" was a man), and Frigga has nothing but respect for Carol when they meet in person.
• Feet-First Introduction: The Frost Giants, with Loki leading them, are introduced with the camera panning up from the ground.
• Formula-Breaking Episode: In contrast to all previous episodes wherein the state of Earth (or a significant quadrant of the galaxy, or at worst the whole of reality) is at risk, the main story of the episode is essentially a large-scale alien house party going Off the Rails—with only the very end swinging it back to something more Multiverse-related.
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Darcy and Howard the Duck get married the same night they meet.
• Genre Savvy: Darcy states that this entire thing with Thor is a Wild Teen Party and the only way to stop it is by calling his mom.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: A variant of Ultron with Vision’s body and the Infinity Stones shows up at the very end of the episode with absolutely zero foreshadowing beforehand. Even Uatu seems to be taken aback by his sudden appearance.
• Girl's Night Out Episode: Frigga is having one offscreen after Odin begins his Deep Sleep. But then Jane shows up to call her away.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Several party attendees are cheerfully fraternizing with each other when in the Sacred Timeline they would be at each other's throats on sight — obviously including villains like the Frost Giants or Surtur upon seeing Thor and the Asgardians (see Adaptational Nice Guy) but also including Drax hanging out with Nebula at a point in the timeline when she's still serving his sworn enemy.
• Godzilla Threshold: In adherence with the Sacred Timeline, the beeper that summons Captain Marvel. Rumlow presents it in a sealed briefcase and calls it "the last resort" to put an end to the party.
• Good vs. Good: Thor and Captain Marvel have a big fight that spans several countries. Even though Thor does not have his Sacred Timeline equivalent's character development, he is still far from being a villain. He even made sure that there weren't any casualities on Alpha Icarus, not even Gary the Goat!
• Goofy Print Underwear: When Thor calls Mjölnir back after cleaning Earth up, it returns covered in graffiti, colorful beads, and white boxers with pink hearts.
• Happily Ever After: Subverted. The Watcher says this at the end of the episode. At first it appears so, with all the party mess cleaned up and Thor asking Jane out on a date, which she accepts, until the Ultron drones appear in front of Thor with the leader being what appears to be Ultron himself with Vision's face as well as all six Infinity Stones.
• Helping Another Save Face: Just after Frigga arrives, Captain Marvel drops by with a tablet of "study material" to help Thor sell his "cultural study group" story.
• Hero Antagonist: S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain Marvel fill this role as Thor’s party has gotten dangerous.
• Hurricane of Euphemisms: Darcy lampoons the setting's appeal towards good-looking Human Aliens when Jane identifies Thor as the first of the aliens to arrive on Earth.
  Jane: I expected him to look more like…
  Darcy: Like what, ET? And not like a Hottie McScottie? Beach Body Ken? Old-school Abercrombie catalog? I could go on, let me.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: Carol's first fight with Thor effectively ended in a stalemate after Thor used Mjölnir to pin her down as neither was making progress. Afterward, Maria Hill accosts Carol over her power level not living up to the story that Fury had relayed to her. Carol then reveals that she was intentionally holding back during the entire fight because she didn't want to risk endangering the population in a fight with a glorified frat boy. The rematch is interrupted by Frigga before both Thor and Carol can fully unleash their might, but it's implied that the consequences would have been disastrous.
• I Need a Freaking Drink:
  • While trying to explain the situation with Thor to Frigga, Jane downs multiple cups of the wine she was drinking during her visit to her sister. As in, she gulps one down with every other word.
  • At the end of the first fight between Thor and Captain Marvel, when he pins her beneath Mjölnir:
    Thor: You know what you need?
    Captain Marvel: A stiff drink and two weeks in Hawaii?
• I Need to Go Iron My Dog: When Thor’s party-goers are dispersing as he begs them for help, he turns to Nebula, who awkwardly claims that she hears her (presumably still abusive based on her numerous cybernetic enhancements) father calling her and tries to slink away.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: Thor tries to break up the party by telling everyone to leave, and when they start to do so tries to tell them to stay and clean up the mess.
• In Medias Res: The episode begins with Thor’s arrival on Earth, and then flashes back to Odin's sleep.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Much like the first Thor movie, the plot is facilitated by Odin going into his Odinsleep, allowing Thor to do something he's not supposed to do.
  • Jane still detects the disturbance signaling Thor's arrival on Earth, and despite all the craziness Thor gets into, he and Jane still fall in love.
  • In his own way, Loki's presence still pushes Thor to take responsibility for himself and become a proper ruler.
  • While Odin gave Loki his name in the Sacred Timeline, that's still his name here.
  • Despite Thor's attack on the Jotuns not occurring in this universe, Odin still placed the worthiness enchantment on Mjölnir at some point.
• Insignificant Little Blue Planet: Thor chooses Earth to throw his intergalactic party, because it’s a backwards planet that would be beneath Heimdall's notice.
• Ironic Echo:
  • Thor calls Captain Marvel a "party pooper" when she tries to break up the party. When Thor himself tries to end the party and get his friends to help him clean up the mess:
    Drax: Look who's pooping the party now. It is you! You are pooping the party.
  • Loki referring to Thor as his "brother from another mother." It's cute at first, but then it sinks in when he repeats it while ditching Thor that this Loki doesn't actually have the same reverence for Frigga as he did in the Sacred Timeline, since she never raised him.
• Ironic Last Words: Fury doesn't die in this episode, but he suffers the indignity of demanding Thor shut down his party "before somebody gets hurt", seconds before he is, in fact, the first one to get hurt.
  Nick Fury: (knocked away and sent flying) MOTHERFUUUUUUUU—
• Let's You and Him Fight: The entire first half of the episode is essentially an Excuse Plot to set up a knock-down-drag-out super-fight between Thor and Captain Marvel.
• Life of the Party: Thor becomes exactly this in a universe where he grew up without an adopted brother by his side. He brings parties and destructive merriment across the galaxy, accompanied by an array of aliens wherever he goes.
• Lighter and Softer: The previous four episodes included universes that had Loki conquering the Earth after Hank Pym killed the Avengers, a Zombie Apocalypse breaking out on Earth during Thanos' conquest for the Infinity Stones, Killmonger killing T’Challa and Tony Stark before engineering a war between the US and Wakanda, and Doctor Strange Supreme accidentally destroying the whole universe. By contrast, this episode is significantly more lighthearted, with only the last few seconds hinting at something sinister. Plus there’s not one single case of Death by Adaptation, and the worst casualty we get is Nick Fury being knocked unconscious by Korg.
• Literal-Minded: When Thor finds he needs to clean up the entire planet in a hurry, Carol mockingly suggests he start in the corners and work his way out. Thor protests that he can't do that; it's a sphere.
• The Maiden Name Debate: While it's not made clear whether she kept her last name after getting married, and his last name in the comics is Duckson, according to Howard, Darcy is now "Mrs. the Duck".
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone is horrified when Thor announces that his mother Frigga is on her way to Earth, and she is not happy.
• Me's a Crowd: Sort of. When a bunch of shapeshifting Skrulls turn up to the party, Thor gleefully has them all transform to look like him.
• Megaton Punch: Thor and Captain Marvel punch each other across continents, eventually fighting completely around the world.
• Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: Thor seems to be one of these. All he actually wants is to party and have a good time, but his parties are of such massive scale and get so far out of hand they cause serious damage to the Earth in a very short time, and have apparently completely destroyed at least one planet in the past (though Thor claims that the planet in question was already dying anyway and that they were just throwing it a last hurrah).
• Monumental Damage:
  • Once the party spreads across the planet, monuments like the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and the Gateway Arch are all part of the collateral damage, but get fixed when Thor learns that Frigga is checking up on him. The Sydney Opera House almost gets taken down as well, but Carol intervenes before Thor can do a slide down its roofs.
  • Thor topples Stonehenge over just because Carol warns him not to.
  • Inverted with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which Thor manages to upright and clean the graffiti off of.
• Mood Whiplash: The opening scene on Asgard is Frigga and Thor somberly seeing Odin off into the Odinsleep, complete with a chorus on the sidelines vocalizing reverently. Then, once he falls asleep, Frigga immediately perks up to announce her trip to her sister. Clearly Thor gets his sneaky party side from her.
• Mundane Object Amazement: Thor is fascinated by a computer tablet and claims it'd take an entire team of Asgardians to make anything like it. Presuming that Jane made it by herself is partially what impresses him so much about her.
• Musical Nod: The Grandmaster's theme plays in the background during Thor’s Vegas party. Fittingly, the Grandmaster himself is also there. In Ragnarok, the Grandmaster’s theme is specifically music he plays. Captain Marvel's theme also plays when she shows up to confront Thor on Earth. Sakaar Chase from Ragnarok plays in Thor’s first fight with Carol. Thor’s theme from Ragnarok also plays very briefly when he gets the partygoers to help him clean up.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Darcy assumed that Captain Marvel was a man. The Legacy Character did indeed start out that way in the comics, with Carol spending 35 years as the offshoot hero Ms. Marvel before taking the title herself in 2012.
  • This version of Thor has no beard and no chainmail under his armor, giving him more a resemblance to his classic look in the comics.
  • In a more literal nod to Norse Mythology, Party Thor's characterization here (enjoying parties and, essentially, breaking into other people's property) is a PG-level rendition of the bulk of Wacky Fratboy Hijinx he has actually been responsible for in the Prose Edda. For a particular example, Thor invites the partygoers to drink all the beer they want since the cups magically refill themselves; Thor in mythology was challenged (and failed to) empty a similar drinking horn that was connected to the ocean.
• No Antagonist: The first episode to not feature an Arc Villain, discounting the sudden Ultron.
• Noodle Incident: All we know about the "Alpha Icarus incident" is that a star went out — a disaster visible all the way from Earth — and that it was Thor's fault. Thor protests that whatever happened was going to happen anyway and all they did was "help it along", and that, somehow, nobody actually got hurt, but he has every reason to be an Unreliable Narrator.
• Nuke 'em: S.H.I.E.L.D. is still as nuke-happy as they were before, relying on them as a failsafe to put down Thor in case Carol isn't enough, despite her having the upper hand in their prior showings. When Frigga intervenes and says she's heading to Earth to check on Thor, the S.H.I.E.L.D. staff stand down, to Rumlow's dismay.
  Rumlow: (groans) We never get to fire the nukes…
• Only Sane Man: Agent Coulson seems to be the only character in the episode who isn't irrationally fond of Thor nor irrationally incensed by him (with the possible exception of Carol, who was more initially annoyed by him, before becoming fairly incensed), protesting both that they can't just let the destruction he causes go but that it's also probably not worth releasing nuclear-level force to get rid of him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Uatu lets out a startled "Wait, what?" when the Ultron drones appear, showing that even his omniscience has its limits.
• Overly Narrow Superlative: Thor calls Jane and tells her she's "the nicest, prettiest Midgardian woman I've ever met". When Jane asks, he admits that he's met two (her and Captain Marvel).
• Painting the Medium: Whenever Earth is seen from space in this episode the countries are clearly labeled in English, like a Looney Tunes cartoon.
• Pair the Spares: Openly parodied, with Thor and Jane's romance leading to Howard the Duck and Darcy — who openly tell each other to their face that they're each other's second choice — getting married. (Later on, Loki, unaware of this fact, tries to pair himself with Darcy by asking Jane and Thor on a double date.)
• Pet the Dog: Captain Marvel leaves Thor to clean up his mess before Frigga arrives, but shows up after to help sell his lie about a cultural visit.
• Point of Divergence: The episode's main divergence is Odin returning Loki to his Frost Giant family. As a result of this small decision, Thor never learns humility or kindness, so he chooses to become the God of Parties.
• Present-Day Past: Like with the third episode, the technology shown in this episode is shown to reflect the modern day, in spite of the events of the first Thor film taking place in 2010, where that kind of technology hadn’t been introduced to the general public yet.
• Punched Across the Room: Exaggerated in the fights between Captain Marvel and Thor with their Super-Strength. Whenever the two trade blows, it sends one of them across continents and high up in the Earth's atmosphere. Given their Super-Toughness, they don't seem to be worse for wear, though Thor remarks that Captain Marvel's punch hurts.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Naturally, this version of Ultron has glowing red eyes, in case the Vision's body and six Infinity Stones didn't clue you in to him being bad news.
• Rushmore Refacement: Loki and the Frost Giants use the Casket of Ancient Winters to do some Mustache Vandalism on Mount Rushmore.
• Sadly Mythtaken: Jane gets the idea to call Frigga because if Thor and Loki are real then the other mythical deities including his mom would be too. The issue is that Frigga/Frigg isn't Thor's mother in the myths (with that role going to the giantess known as either Jord, Fjörgyn or Hlödyn), only in the Marvel canon.
• Series Continuity Error: Mjölnir still has the worthiness enchantment on it even though the events of the first Thor movie never happened and the current Thor is clearly not worthy.
• Shout-Out:
  • After watching the Asgardians streak across the sky in a beam of light, Darcy remarks, "They're heeeeere…", in the same tone as Carol Anne from Poltergeist after she watches a beam of ghost mist shoot from the TV into the wall across the room.
  • When Jane first lays eyes on Thor, Darcy asks if Jane was expecting him to look "like what, ET?"
  • Maria Hill mentions Goose the Flerkin, and Darcy catches the Top Gun reference:
    Maria: Your cat could devour whole armies!
    Darcy: You've got a cat? What's its name?
    Carol: Goose.
    Darcy: Ooh, Top Gun! You're Maverick! Is your ego writing checks that your skills can't cash?
    Carol/Maria: [simultaneously] No./Yes.
  • Not only do Loki and the Frost giants vandalize Mount Rushmore like General Zod, Non, and Ursa, Thor takes a page from another demigod in a red cape and straightens the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
  • Nick Fury and Carol Danvers, who, despite appearances, are about the same age, both make references from The '80s when they first see Thor — Nick calls him "Spicoli", while Carol calls him Whitesnake.
  • When Fury tells Thor he needs to shut his party down, Thor gestures to him with his martini glass similarly to the way Jay Gatsby did in The Great Gatsby.
• Something We Forgot: Thor and his fellow partygoers manage to clean up most of their mess before Frigga arrives, and manage to make their trip actually seem like a study session and cultural visit. But when Thor summons Mjölnir when preparing to leave, it is decked out in party decorations, showing it is the one thing they forgot to clean. Cue Thor telling his mother I Can Explain.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Frigga, the Warriors Three, Loki, Yondu, and Skurge still live in this version, albeit this is well before any of them died in the Sacred Timeline.
• Spreading Disaster Map Graphic: Played for Laughs. SHIELD's digital map showing the spreading disaster is showing the "party atmosphere" slowly causing the whole world to succumb to revelry.
• Sudden Downer Ending: Just as Thor has managed to score a date with Jane Foster, an army of Ultron drones led by Ultron in Vision's body with the six Infinity Stones appears right in front of him.
• Take That!: Carol points out that she can't keep fighting Thor without severe collateral damage. Darcy suggests taking the fight to one of the Dakotas, which she can’t tell apart.
• Tilting Tower of Pisa: Thor, in his hurry to clean up the mess he caused with his worldwide party before his mother arrives, straightens the tower of Pisa, clearly thinking that he or his friends did something that caused it to tilt.
• Travelling at the Speed of Plot: The Bifrost has been generally shown to transport people anywhere in seconds. Yet, to allow Thor and his guests to clean up an entire planet, Frigga's trip lasts exactly as long as necessary for Thor to pretend that his visit was entirely educational. Given she knows he's lying, it's possible Frigga asked Heimdall to wait until Thor had finished cleaning up before sending her.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The people of Vegas are surprisingly chill about aliens showing up to have a party. Granted, it is Vegas, but still…
• The Voiceless: Heimdall appears several times throughout the episode and doesn’t say a word in any of them, except for a brief "Hmm".
• Themed Tattoos: During a Binge Montage, "Party Thor" and his universe's Jane Foster get tattoos of a microscope and the word "Science" and Mjolnir with the word "Magic" respectively, representing the resolution of their Magic Versus Science argument and acceptance of Clarke's Third Law.
• Vomit Discretion Shot: Drax has one over Thor's shoulder, during the party.
• Waxing Lyrical: Thor tells the alien partygoers, "You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here," a line from the song, "Closing Time" by Semisonic.
• Wham Line: Uatu suddenly says "Wait, what?", showing that even he didn't see Vision-as-Ultron coming.
• Wham Shot: The sudden appearance of the Ultron drones, with no foreshadowing at all, arriving at the last minute, and for a wham shot in a wham shot, their leader is Ultron in Vision's body controlling a suit of Powered Armor with all six Infinity Stones in his possession.
• Wild Teen Party: Thor's party is a planet-wide one of these, only minus the "teen" part (even though he's a Manchild). When Darcy points out that it's too bad they can't call Thor's mother to stop the party, Jane has a "Eureka!" Moment.
• Witch with a Capital "B": When Loki is first introduced, he calls Thor a "son of a witch." Played With, since Frigga is an actual witch.
• Worf Had the Flu: After being defeated by Thor in battle, Captain Marvel admits that she was holding back because unleashing her full power would result in a lot of collateral damage and civilian casualties, and Thor is not a big enough threat to warrant such sacrifices. For their rematch, she overpowers him and drags him to a remote location in Siberia, leading to Thor remarking with some dismay that her punch actually hurt, though the fight is stopped before it can truly begin.
• World of Ham: Or rather Universe of Ham. Compared to the mainstream MCU or the various other universes established, the plot of this episode is a lot more light-hearted and ridiculous, with the various gods, giants, Galactic Conquerors, Space Pirates and other intergalactic people of interest acting like a bunch of teenagers getting wasted and dancing to rave music.
• Would Hit a Girl: Thor has no problem with hitting Carol with Mjölnir, and they spend part of the episode in an intercontinental fistfight.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Darcy's experience watching Alien Invasion movies led her to expect something for more dangerous than an Asgardian frat boy throwing an intergalactic party in Vegas.
  Darcy: Hollywood movies did not prepare me for this. Shouldn't there be more lasers? Probing? A flying cow?
• You Are in Command Now: Maria Hill is promoted to Acting Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Nick Fury got accidentally knocked out cold by Korg when trying to ask Party Thor and his guests to leave the planet. Fury himself is still alive, but unconscious, and never appears again for the rest of the episode.
• You Don't Look Like You: A minor example, but when Ayesha is taking a selfie with Thor he's shown to stand One Head Taller than her, while their live action actors are the same height.

---

"A world restored, love blossoming. As children both human and Asgardian say, together, they lived happily ever after."
*(cue the sudden Ultron army out of nowhere)*
"…Wait, what?
Oh, dear… Perhaps I spoke too soon."