Thor in Secret Wars: will he lose an arm like Bucky?

A new claim from a Marvel scooper suggests Thor may not come out of Avengers: Secret Wars in one piece. The insider says Thor and Bucky Barnes will have one thing in common after the film, and I read that as Thor losing his arm and getting a metal replacement. He'll probably survive, but he won't come out the same.

For a while it looked like Thor might be the first major casualty of Avengers: Doomsday. Chris Hemsworth appeared to be saying goodbye to the character, and the conversation about who will live and who will die after Avengers: Secret Wars had Thor near the top of the list. That no longer seems to be the plan.

Chris Hemsworth and Kevin Feige on Thor's future in the MCU

Kevin Feige has said he believes Chris Hemsworth is in his prime and could play the character for the next 10 years. Hemsworth also clarified that he wasn't saying goodbye to Thor. It was a thank you to the fans.

I've talked before about Thor's ability to die, go to Valhalla and return. With Feige's comments and Hemsworth's clarification, though, it seems like that's not the plan. That's where this latest insider update comes in, because it points to a specific scene and what it could mean for Thor.

James Mack claims Thor and Bucky will have one thing in common

The update comes from a Twitter scooper named James Mack. He's fairly new to the Marvel scoop game, and a couple of new names crop up every time there's a new Avengers film. We only really know how accurate their track record is in retrospect, so take that as you will.

His claim reads: "After Avengers Secret Wars, Thor and Bucky will have one thing in common." I'm sure you could find 10 things the two characters have in common, but what he's referring to here is that Thor, like Bucky, will lose his arm and get a metal arm replacement.

That would be a big reveal. It also lines up with other leaks and rumors from trusted industry insiders, including a description of Thor that surfaced before filming started. I'll get to that below, because it may set up the exact scene we could see.

Thor has lost his arm in the comics more than once

There's comic book precedent for this, and more than once. One of the first times involves the dark elf Malekith, the villain the MCU used in Thor: The Dark World. In the comics, Malekith cuts off Thor's arm with Jarnbjorn while Thor is in a state of unworthiness and self loathing.

Thor survives that and makes it back to Asgard. At Odin's direction, the dwarves, in the same place where Mjolnir was made, forge him a brand new arm made of black Uru metal. Uru is the metal of Asgard, and it's extremely strong.

The instance I want to focus on, though, is when Thor loses his arm at the hands of the Beyonders. That happened in Avengers #32.

Why Avengers #32 matters for Thor's send off

Months earlier, industry insiders Alex Perez and Lizzie Hill at The Cosmic Circus indicated that Marvel Studios was looking to give Thor a fitting send off, something along the lines of what happened in Avengers #32. In that comic, Thor faces the Beyonders alongside Hyperion and decides to sacrifice himself for the good of the Avengers.

This may be the send off they were implying Marvel wants to give him. Back then, I theorized that Thor could die and return from Valhalla alongside Jane Foster, who comes back as a Valkyrie in the comics. It's not a one way trip for him. So it could still be a poignant death, and he could still be around after Avengers: Secret Wars.

It also ties into the original description of Thor that two separate industry insiders gave, which was corroborated: we would see him in a tattered red cloak. The comic panel shows a longer hairstyle as part of that axe wielding, red cloak look, and he could already have the metal arm on.

On screen or off screen: when Thor could lose the arm

Notice that James Mack says "after" Avengers: Secret Wars. I think this is a much more poignant thing to have happen on screen than off screen.

Thor losing body parts has always been part of his story in the comics. The MCU has alluded to it with him losing his eye in Thor: Ragnarok. In the comics, he goes further and rips out both of his eyes to get the Rune King Thor power, but that's a topic for another time.

Why I think Doctor Doom, not the Beyonders, takes Thor's arm

Does Marvel have the time and space to introduce the Beyonders for this scene and have one of them rip off Thor's arm? I don't think it does. At one point I was all in on Henry Cavill playing the Beyonder. Marvel Studios and the Russos have said they're drawing from the 1984 Secret Wars and the 2015 Jonathan Hickman run, which both included the Beyonders.

Still, I don't think there's enough room in either of the upcoming films to introduce the Beyonders, who the Beyonder is, or his race. It's got to be Doctor Doom. So the scene may play out much like Avengers #32, but with the heroes up against Doombots or Doctor Doom himself, and it may be Doom who rips off Thor's arm instead of the Beyonder.

As much as I'd love to see the Beyonders, we have to be reasonable about what Marvel can achieve from a storytelling point of view. If Doom had been introduced at some point in the Infinity Saga or the Multiverse Saga, maybe there'd be room. But he hasn't appeared in either, so Marvel has to get all the way through explaining and setting him up. I'd say it's a fair argument that they might not have enough time even for that, let alone cosmic characters like the Beyonders. Molecule Man, for example, seems to have been replaced by the term anchor beings.

So while I'd love to see the Beyonders or any of the other characters from the classic Secret Wars stories, I don't think there's room. It's going to be all about Doom. That means it's probably going to be Doom or the Doombots who rip off Thor's arm, and I'd say Doom for sure, to make it even more poignant.