Character Analysis
Of all the Avengers, Thor has the most personal stake in the fight…both because he's pitted against his evil bro and because he still isn't quote the hero he should be. Sure, he did a lot of growing up in Thor by learning how to set aside his whole frat-boy bro-whiner shtick and grow into a more selfless hero…
…but Thor still hasn't quite learned all of the lessons in Being A Hero 101.
His jerkface-football-captain side still comes out from time to time—you know, the aspects of his character that make him seem a bit like a grinning bully who looks down at anyone weaker (or less Norse god-ly) than he is.
Case in point: his comment after a bickering session with some of his fellow heroes.
THOR: You people are so petty… and tiny.
Some of that stems from the influence of his adopted brother Loki, who's the cause of all the trouble and the reason Thor is once again kicking around on planet Earth. Enemies don't get more personal than your adoptive half-brother.
That may cloud his reason a little bit, and—what with all the evil mojo leaking out of Loki's staff—may cause Thor to revert to his old schoolyard bully ways when he needs to be focused on the big picture.
Thor's learning process actually pays dividends in a later movie—Thor: The Dark World—which ends with him saying he really doesn't want to be a leader. But we see that movement going on in The Avengers when (like Tony) Thor has to chow down on a little slice of humble pie to get with the program.
From Manna From Heaven to Humble Pie
When he first arrives, he's not interested in listening, either to Earth's claim on Loki or the powers of any nearby authority figures. That's why he and Tony butt heads over Loki's fate in the forest—he's so used to being the Big Man on Campus (or is that Asgard?) that he doesn't quite believe that anyone else has anything of worth to say.
But, like Tony, he learns from his mistakes.
Thor has a habit of shooting first and asking questions later, which makes it very easy for the ostensibly weaker Loki to get the best of him. Case in point: Loki tricking him into the anti-Hulk pen and then dropping said pen from the SHIELD Helicarrier at 30,000 feet:
LOKI: Are you ever not going to fall for that?
He survives the experience, but returns to the fight both shaken and stirred. That makes him more of a team player—he's reminded himself that he still has shortcomings. Joining the Avengers means surrendering his absolute authority in favor of the greater good, and following someone else's orders instead of just doing what he feels like.
Luckily, he clambers down off his high horse just as the evil space monsters show up:
THOR: I have unfinished business with Loki.
HAWKEYE: Yeah? Well get in line.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: Save it. Loki wants to keep the fight focused on us, and that's what we need.
In exchange, Thor gets pretty much everything he wants: Loki—alive—going back to Asgard to face justice there instead of staying on Earth, the Tesseract out of human hands (and really, that's for the best), and a gang of new buddies who will help him fight for truth, justice, and the Nordic way whenever he needs them to.
It's amazing what a little humility and a key learning experience will do for you.