Asgardians (of light and dark)

[Flash525]

In Thor 2 Dark World it is heavily implied that the Asgardians are the protectors of the nine realms, and we get to see King Bor defeating the Dark Elves and burying the Aether.

Jump ahead to Ragnarok, and we hear that Odin (alongside Hela) didn't protect the nine realms, but instead ruled over them, slaughtering innocents as they went; Hela even wielding Mjolnir (a weapon only of the worthy).

So my question is this, are Asgardians good, or bad, and is Mjolnir only to the worthy, or anyone else? That, and what is defined as worthy, cause I sure doubt Hela and Thor share the same state of worth.

 

[Finarfiniel]

In Thor 2 Dark World it is heavily implied that the Asgardians are the protectors of the nine realms, and we get to see King Bor defeating the Dark Elves and burying the Aether.

Jump ahead to Ragnarok, and we hear that Odin (alongside Hela) didn't protect the nine realms, but instead ruled over them, slaughtering innocents as they went; Hela even wielding Mjolnir (a weapon only of the worthy).

So my question is this, are Asgardians good, or bad, and is Mjolnir only to the worthy, or anyone else? That, and what is defined as worthy, cause I sure doubt Hela and Thor share the same state of worth.

The Asgardians are both good and bad. The fact that they were formerly cosmic conquerers and colonists doesn't mean that they can't also have achieved good (like protecting the universe from various evils) too. That's certainly the case in human history. For instance, I see you're a Brit, as am I. Look at our own history, we had an empire once too and the British Empire was also built through war, slavery, violence and subjugation, just like the Nine Realms. But we also fought on the right side of history in two world wars too. Us Brits have done numerous good and bad things throughout history, as has any nation. Why should the Asgardians be any different?

As for Mjolnir, Odin only placed the 'only the worthy can lift it' enchantment on the hammer in the first Thor movie, just before he banished Thor for his actions in Jotunheim. I imagine when it belonged to Hela it was still a very powerful, magic weapon but didn't have such an enchantment on it. Hela was likely able to destroy Mjolnir for a couple of reasons, either because it was originally her weapon or her strength (both physical and magical) was greater than Mjolnir's. Probably a bit of both.

 

[Flash525]

The Asgardians are both good and bad. The fact that they were formerly cosmic conquerers and colonists doesn't mean that they can't also have achieved good (like protecting the universe from various evils) too. That's certainly the case in human history. For instance, I see you're a Brit, as am I. Look at our own history, we had an empire once too and the British Empire was also built through war, slavery, violence and subjugation, just like the Nine Realms. But we also fought on the right side of history in two world wars too. Us Brits have done numerous good and bad things throughout history, as has any nation. Why should the Asgardians be any different?

Whilst all true, we've changed because of who's been in charge. Odin was the same person. The notion that he was evil and good would be equivalent to a psychopathic serial killer suddenly signing up to be a soldier and protecting innocent people out of the goodness of his heart. No?

As for Mjolnir, Odin only placed the 'only the worthy can lift it' enchantment on the hammer in the first Thor movie, just before he banished Thor for his actions in Jotunheim. I imagine when it belonged to Hela it was still a very powerful, magic weapon but didn't have such an enchantment on it. Hela was likely able to destroy Mjolnir for a couple of reasons, either because it was originally her weapon or her strength (both physical and magical) was greater than Mjolnir's. Probably a bit of both.

Fair enough on that, I had assumed Mjolnir was simply worthy, and had forgotten about Odin's word placement on it.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Whilst all true, we've changed because of who's been in charge. Odin was the same person. The notion that he was evil and good would be equivalent to a psychopathic serial killer suddenly signing up to be a soldier and protecting innocent people out of the goodness of his heart. No?

I don't agree, we've changed because our culture and attitudes have changed over time, and our leaders have (allegedly) changed to reflect that. There's no reason that the culture and attitudes of Asgard couldn't have changed over literally thousands of years too. Yes, they still had the same ruler during all that time, but I think it's faulty to compare Odin, an alien god who is thousands of years old, to a human being who lives only a miniscule fraction as long as an Asgardian. I also think that Frigga obviously had a very positive influence on Odin, which needs to be taken into account when you consider how he changed his ways. We know from Infinity War that Frigga was not Hela's mother (Thor refers to Hela as his 'half-sister'), so Odin must have met and married her much later, and I think her goodness had a big effect on him.

Oh, and I also don't agree that Odin is a 'psychopath'. A terrible, ****** father and a megalomaniac, yes. A psychopath? No.