Is Thor's Daughter In 'Avengers: Doomsday'?
I realize I’m in the minority when I say that I mostly liked Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). I haven’t rewatched it recently to see if my opinions have changed. However, at the time, I remember really liking its attempts to be a romantic comedy within the walls of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also felt good to see Natalie Portman step back into Jane Foster’s shoes, especially as she became The Mighty Thor. I also remember being completely devastated by and terrified of Christian Bale’s performance as Gorr, the movie’s villain.
I never could have anticipated that his character’s daughter, Love (India Rose Hemsworth), would become as important as she did by the movie’s end. I definitely never would have guessed, in 2026, that we’d be wondering about her return. However, that has a lot less to do with her and a whole lot more to do with the fact that I thought Thor: Love and Thunder was it for Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in the MCU. The ending felt happy and hopeful after Avengers: Endgame (2019). Instead, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) seems to want to disrupt that peace for both characters.
Who Is Thor’s Daughter?
It’s been four years since Love debuted in Thor: Love and Thunder, so a refresher feels right. The character is introduced in the movie’s opening, a choice I like, by the way. Sometimes, the villains in these superhero movies fall flat because their motives aren’t clearly defined or felt. This movie starts with Gorr carrying his daughter, Love, who is dying from starvation. Their planet has become barren and entirely unlivable. It’s a rather tragic state to meet these two characters, but it instantly makes me feel like I know and understand them.
After meeting and killing the unempathetic god, Rapu (Jonny Brugh), Gorr becomes the God Butcher, wielding the Necrosword to avenge Love’s death. The visual effects of him moving through shadows are still so eerie to me! Regardless, the weapon’s dark powers eventually kill Gorr. When he meets the cosmic entity, Eternity, during his death, Gorr finally lets go of his deadly quest and wishes for his daughter’s resurrection. Gorr gets to see and hold Love one last time before he passes away. It’s the inverse of before: Love watches her father die, just as he did her at the start of the movie. It’s still so sad to me that they couldn’t have a happy ending together.
Before his death, Gorr also entrusts Thor to take care of Love. Thor: Love and Thunder reveals that Thor is doing just that, training her and treating her like his own daughter. They share pancakes and bicker about which footwear is best. Love even draws on Mjølnir, and it’s also incredibly cool that Love wields Stormbreaker. Do I still sometimes wonder if the MCU’s arc with Thor necessarily earns him becoming an adoptive father to a child whose parent tried to kill him? Honestly, yes. Do I also think that the movie’s themes make it clear that Love needs Thor as much as Thor needs Love (pun absolutely intended)? Yes. Both things are true.
Will Love Be In 'Avengers: Doomsday'?
Therefore, it’s a bit worrisome that Avengers: Doomsday is rocking the foundation these two characters have after Thor: Love and Thunder. The Thor-centric teaser for the Avengers movie, which was released in December 2025, does some heavy lifting for their father/daughter dynamic. Again, it’s been years since they’ve been on screen, so it’s relevant to hear and see Thor’s love for Love. Also, this teaser completely reframes his role in Avengers: Doomsday. In the teaser, he speaks to Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and says, “Father, all my life, I have answered to every call to honor, duty, to war. But now fate has given me something I never sought…”
That’s when the teaser reveals Thor sitting by Love’s bedside. Thor continues, “…a child, a life untouched by the storm. Lend me the strength of the All-Fathers so that I might fight once more, defeat one more enemy, and return home to her. Not as a warrior but as warmth. To teach her not battle but stillness. The kind I never knew. Please, Father, heed my words.” So, Thor is entering this dangerous, multiversal, incursion-filled fight because he doesn’t want anything else to interfere with the life that he’s built with Love. My heart is already breaking at the thought of that.
After all, in the most recent Avengers: Doomsday trailer, their life is one of those shown when Victor Von Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) says that these characters “have lived stolen lives.” That assertion is tied to a story about Doom that the movie will have to reveal. But there’s no denying that Love got a second chance when, presumably, the people that Doom lost didn’t. It doesn’t help that I’m apprehensive about any MCU “legacy” characters (or actors in Robert Downey Jr.’s case) appearing in this movie. I’m not convinced that they’re all going to make it through it or Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). So, I’m very nervous that Thor will do whatever it takes to get back to Love when Doom can hold back Stormbreaker with two fingers. Needless to say, after everything they’ve both been through, I need Thor and Love to have their happy ending... again.
