Current Events > Why does Iron Man call Thor a demigod in The Avengers?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Arent both of his parents gods?
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Thor isnt a god in the MCU. Hes an Asgardian prince.
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So, technically hes the Demigod of Thunder?
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Maybe Tony wasn't well-versed in mythology?

Simple denial, science obsessed types are infamous for it

Both Stan Lee and Jack Kerby said that Marvel's Thor isn't a God. His character is based off of the Norse God of Thunder.
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Well Ironman wouldn't know this but MCU Odin said they're not gods. They're pretty obviously not.

They sure act like gods. Not to mention, Hela is the Goddess of Death and Thor is her brother. Unless there was another mother?
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au_gold posted...

They sure act like gods. Not to mention, Hela is the Goddess of Death and Thor is her brother. Unless there was another mother?

Compared to omnipotent gods they're extremely weak.

Well, yeah, but compared to humans they might as well be gods.
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ButteryMales posted...

au_gold posted...

They sure act like gods. Not to mention, Hela is the Goddess of Death and Thor is her brother. Unless there was another mother?

Compared to omnipotent gods they're extremely weak.

which ones are you talking about no other gods before introduced on the MCU
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au_gold posted...

Well, yeah, but compared to humans they might as well be gods.

That's pretty much it though. They're a highly advanced humanoid race of aliens, whose technology is so far above ours that it appears to be magic.

And of course they have magic too. They're extremely durable and strong for the most part and have incredibly long lifespans. Coupled with their ability to travel faster than light to multiple different worlds, including ours, primitive or not as learned humans would definitely have seen them as gods.

But no, as Freya, Odin, and many others have shown, they can get injured and die just like humans, it just takes a lot more.
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The definition of being a God is that you cant die now?
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Yeah, even in Norse mythology the gods were not completely invincible. Several individuals lost body parts and even their lives throughout the stories. Hell, Ragnarok is literally all about the gods getting slaughtered wholesale.

Anyway, the use of "demi" god seems a bit confusing at first given how many mythologies use it to refer to half god/half mortal offspring, but it's worth noting that demi can mean "lesser" as well, so in this context it could refer to someone "a level above mortals but beneath an actual deity".
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Gods are generally anyone who cannot be touched in any aspect by a mere mortal.

Thor gets owned by Jane Foster.

But Loki is a "puny god"!

The point being that Loki identifies himself as a god.
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I never got that at all.
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Inferno Dive Dragoon posted...

Yeah, even in Norse mythology the gods were not completely invincible. Several individuals lost body parts and even their lives throughout the stories. Hell, Ragnarok is literally all about the gods getting slaughtered wholesale.

Anyway, the use of "demi" god seems a bit confusing at first given how many mythologies use it to refer to half god/half mortal offspring, but it's worth noting that demi can mean "lesser" as well, so in this context it could refer to someone "a level above mortals but beneath an actual deity".

This is the correct answer, fwiw
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men struggling with marvel films
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gunplagirl posted...

Inferno Dive Dragoon posted...

Yeah, even in Norse mythology the gods were not completely invincible. Several individuals lost body parts and even their lives throughout the stories. Hell, Ragnarok is literally all about the gods getting slaughtered wholesale.

Anyway, the use of "demi" god seems a bit confusing at first given how many mythologies use it to refer to half god/half mortal offspring, but it's worth noting that demi can mean "lesser" as well, so in this context it could refer to someone "a level above mortals but beneath an actual deity".

This is the correct answer, fwiw

Yeah, that seems to make the most sense.
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Sariana21 posted...

But Loki is a "puny god"!

The point being that Loki identifies himself as a god.

Damn, good point. It sucks that Loki is such an honest and stand up guy that we have to accept his statements as facts.

JE19426 posted...

Sariana21 posted...

But Loki is a "puny god"!

The point being that Loki identifies himself as a god.

Damn, good point. It sucks that Loki is such an honest and stand up guy that we have to accept his statements as facts.

Well, the more relevant point is that he is adopted and thus not biologically a god at all. Not to take anything away from adoptees, but in this case it's actually relevant.
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Sariana21 posted...

JE19426 posted...

Sariana21 posted...

But Loki is a "puny god"!

The point being that Loki identifies himself as a god.

Damn, good point. It sucks that Loki is such an honest and stand up guy that we have to accept his statements as facts.

Well, the more relevant point is that he is adopted and thus not biologically a god at all. Not to take anything away from adoptees, but in this case it's actually relevant.

Not relevant in Norse Mythology actually.

Most gods are of mixed parentage and still described the same.

Thor is 3/4 Jotunn, and Odin is 1/2.

Being a god in Norse mythology, is not the same as being an Aesir.
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The_Ivory_Man posted...

Sariana21 posted...

JE19426 posted...

Sariana21 posted...

But Loki is a "puny god"!

The point being that Loki identifies himself as a god.

Damn, good point. It sucks that Loki is such an honest and stand up guy that we have to accept his statements as facts.

Well, the more relevant point is that he is adopted and thus not biologically a god at all. Not to take anything away from adoptees, but in this case it's actually relevant.

Not relevant in Norse Mythology actually.

Most gods are of mixed parentage and still described the same.

Thor is 3/4 Jotunn, and Odin is 1/2.

Being a god in Norse mythology, is not the same as being an Aesir.

What does that have to do with Loki, though? He's not biologically related to Thor or Odin.
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Sariana21 posted...

The_Ivory_Man posted...

Sariana21 posted...

JE19426 posted...

Sariana21 posted...

But Loki is a "puny god"!

The point being that Loki identifies himself as a god.

Damn, good point. It sucks that Loki is such an honest and stand up guy that we have to accept his statements as facts.

Well, the more relevant point is that he is adopted and thus not biologically a god at all. Not to take anything away from adoptees, but in this case it's actually relevant.

Not relevant in Norse Mythology actually.

Most gods are of mixed parentage and still described the same.

Thor is 3/4 Jotunn, and Odin is 1/2.

Being a god in Norse mythology, is not the same as being an Aesir.

What does that have to do with Loki, though? He's not biologically related to Thor or Odin.

If "Loki isn't Aesir so he isn't a god" is the argument, then virtually nobody counts.

Freyja isn't Aesir, neither is Tyr (by most accounts anyhow), Hel, and so on.

Buri, Odin's grandpa literally came from salt being locked by a giant cow.
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I just rewatched Thor 2 and one of the first lines Odin says to Loki is, none of us are gods.

Now Im even more confused.
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au_gold posted...

I just rewatched Thor 2 and one of the first lines Odin says to Loki is, none of us are gods.

Now Im even more confused.

Im not sure what the proper definition of god is.

There are other beings, namely Ego (presumably other Celestials too?), who claim to be gods, but hes cut from a rather different cloth than the Asgardians.

In the Norse mythology context gods seem to be beings that control, or are personifications of, certain natural aspects. Thor controls storms and the elements, Loki - illusions and sorcery, etc. In that sense the MCU Asgardians might as well be gods.

I think Odin saying that they arent gods is supposed to mean that they arent some omnipotent, immortal beings who should be worshipped by other races. Particularly in the MCU, the Asgardians are simply stronger and more advanced than humans, and not even that special compared to some aliens like Thanos.
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