Attention! The following contains SPOILERS for the movie “Thor: Love and Thunder”.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor Odinson quickly dealt with Zeus by angrily throwing lightning into the heart of the Greek god — but how did Zeus survive this? Zeus even falls hard after his own weapon pushed him aside. Yet somehow, not only does Zeus reappear to complain about humans and superheroes, but Russell Crowe’s Zeus also seems virtually unscathed in Thor: Love and Thunder after the credits. The answer to the question of how Zeus survived in Thor: Love and Thunder is how Zeus is depicted in the original Marvel Comics source material.
As in real Greek mythology, Zeus from Marvel comics is the sixth son of the titan Kronos. Although Marvel’s Kronos only banishes and does not eat his children, Kronos’ wife Rhea also hides that she is pregnant with Zeus, who eventually overthrows Kronos to rule the Olympians. As the Heavenly Father of the Olympian Gods, Zeus possesses much more perfect versions of the superhuman qualities inherent in the physiology of the Olympian deity. This includes not only invulnerability, but also the ability to regenerate missing limbs or even organs faster than any other Olympian.
Zeus ignoring what looked like Thor’s death blow in “Love and Thunder” is a reference to how cool Zeus is in the comics. Unlike the other characters in Thor: Love and Thunder, Zeus has no physical weaknesses, and he takes full advantage of this in the source material. Zeus withstood the full explosion of Galactus and was hit by Mjolnir to no avail. Zeus also inflicted a beating on the Hulk in his life to the point that it disabled the Hulk’s healing abilities. Thanos even considers Zeus equal to Galactus and Odin in terms of brute force. That’s why Thanos took a more tactical approach, planting Zeus, Odin and other gods in Asgard, even though Thanos already had the Infinity Gauntlet.
Can anything kill Zeus Russell Crowe?
Depending on how much Russell Crowe’s Zeus from Thor: Love and Thunder was inspired by Marvel comics, it’s possible that Zeus can be killed—but only the way Thor dealt with Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Thor 5 could see Zeus coming face to face with Nyx, a rogue goddess “born in darkness before the creation of the world”, whom Zeus imprisoned in ancient times. After a contest between the Elders of the Universe, the Earth is temporarily removed from its solar orbit, destroying the spell that Zeus used to restrain Nyx and her children. Nyx kills not only Zeus, but the entire Greek pantheon. However, in the end, Nyx is defeated by a ragtag team of superheroes. Since the Olympians are fundamental aspects of reality, they are reincarnated in their “true forms” — as savage warmongers destroying planets and demanding tribute under the leadership of Zeus. Even if Zeus from the MCU can be killed, he can also just return in a more dangerous version of himself.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” also hid the decision against Zeus in plain sight: Guardians of the Galaxy. Although they only had brief roles that didn’t really affect the outcome of the “Thor: Love and Thunder” finale, it was the Guardians who eventually defeated Zeus in the comics. When the Guardians attack the floating city of New Olympus, trying to put an end to the bloody intergalactic rampage of Zeus, the Star Lord and the Moon Dragon fill a Black Hole Bullet with their own forces, and then shoot it at Zeus using a liquid Kree weapon. Athena, the half—sister of Hercules, understands that the reincarnated Greek gods have no place in this universe, so she fights with Zeus so that the bullet hits the target. Zeus and Athena are absorbed by the light and disappear, banished to another dimension— at least temporarily.
Although “Thor: Love and Thunder” initially presents Zeus as a silly character, the fact that he was practically unharmed after Thor’s “Lightning Strike” shot shows that he can be as invulnerable as his Marvel comics counterpart. Zeus’ growing contempt for humanity and the way he orders Hercules to kill The Torah certainly shows that he is just as dangerous. In any case, it seems that Zeus will be the key antagonist in Phase 4 of the MCU, and although Zeus has his eye on Thor, perhaps he should care more about the Guardians of the Galaxy…
