Humility and Thor

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By Ian Gustafson, 19, USA

It’s amazing how you can sometimes feel the way God tweaks life’s lessons to personalize them according to the individual He made you. When you’re a comic book nerd, like me, such revelations seem to showcase God’s quirky side and sense of humor. It’s fun to be a comic book nerd. This article is for my kindred spirits.

Who would have guessed that in entering the cinema to see the new Thor movie I’d exit with a lesson in humility. I feel like this was humorously ironic on the Holy Spirit’s part. All of us superhero fanboys (and fangirls) know the feeling of cynicism and passionate arrogance when we venture to see our favorite tights-wearing character adapted for the big screen. Thoughts like “It won’t be as good as the books” or “If they don’t respect the source material so help me…” flood our minds with a rage worthy of the incredible Hulk. Such opinions are innocent enough. I just find that my geeky dedication to my comic book heroes often parallels my attitude when I have real life disagreements with friends or family. It’s my pride. Needless to
say, pride isn’t nearly as good a tool to help win a fight as a magic hammer or Iron Man suit.

We all get ourselves into countless fixes thanks to our need for lessons to be repeated . . . and repeated, and repeated. It’s nice learning from a fictional character’s mistakes instead of my own for a change. We “true believers” (it’s a comic book term) know the story of Thor. On Earth, he’s known as the mythological Norse god of thunder but in his home world Asgard, he is heir to the throne and a fierce warrior armed with his trademark magic hammer. The problem is that never has Proverbs 16:32 been better illustrated in a fantasy world. “Better is a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” Thor’s (also trademark) bullheadedness results in him starting a war. Hence his father banishes him to Earth, stripping his son of his powers and hammer. The king of Asgard hopes his son will learn a lesson in humility.

Come to think of it, several verses in Proverbs 16 seem to apply to Thor. Verse 30 perfectly describes the hero’s sinister brother, Loki—“With narrowed eyes, people plot evil; with a smirk, they plan their mischief.” And the vision of wisdom painted in verse 31 reminds me of the character of their father, Odin. But most importantly, the values God so ironically used Thor to reinforce in my head are evident in Christ and in people He has placed in my life.

Thor learned his lesson and saved the day in the end. God saves my day in the end but I would do well to learn my lesson anyway.