Thor is a fictional superhero character in the popular Marvel comic of the same name. The comic has a movie adaptation, released by Marvel Studios in 2011. Throughout the Marvel comic series, Thor fought several enthralling battles. In one of the last battles in Thor: Ragnarok, the famed God of Thunder lost his eye. But how did Thor get his eye back?
After losing his eye during a battle with his evil sister, Hela, Thor got his eye back from Rocket Racoon. The latter stole it from someone in Nidavellir and then gifted it to Thor. While it wasn’t Thor’s original eye, it was a prosthetic eye that provided sight for the God of Thunder.
How did Thor lose his eye in the first place? We’re going to answer that question and many more. If you want to know all about Thor losing his eye and getting it back, consider reading on. So, let’s get to it!
How Did Thor Lose His Eye?
Thor Odinson wasn’t just a powerful fighter, he was a handsome one too. Every Marvel Comics fan will be familiar with Thor’s many battles against several characters. Yet, he survived these battles unscarred. However that all changed in Thor: Ragnarok where Thor lost his eye during a fight with his sister, Hela. Known as the Goddess of Death, she was a villain to the core.
Odin, their father, had locked Hela away due to her vicious tendency. After Odin died, she escaped prison and did not hold back from destroying Asgard. She decimated the Warrior Three and did not stop there. Her fury got to hundreds of fellow Asgardians, sending them to their graves. Thor who was in far away Sakaar must quickly come back to put out the flames.
Thor escaped from his entrapment in Sakaar and returned home with Hulk, Valkyrie, and Loki. On his return, he had to battle with his evil sister, Hela. The great fight took place in their father’s Throne Room. During the fight, Hela cut out Thor’s eye with her blade. The slash went right across Thor’s face, completely damaging his eye.
After the incident, Hela mentioned how Thor reminded her of their father. Odin had lost an eye while alive and had to wear a patch. Thor had to take after him and started wearing a patch over the lost eye.
In the comic book, Thor’s sacrifices were even greater. In Jason Aaron’s Thor, he sacrificed his left eye in exchange for knowledge on how to beat Malekith the Dark Elf. We see a similar sacrifice in War of Realms #5 where Thor nailed himself to the World Tree to save his home. In the Avengers: Disassembled series, Thor ripped out his eyes to save Asgard and his people from Ragnarok.
How Did Thor Get His Eye Back?
Thor losing his eye during a fight led him to wear an eye patch, just like his father did. However, that didn’t stay that way forever. Thor got his eye back in Avengers: Infinity War. Just before the battle with the great Thanos, Rocket Racoon gifted him with an eye. It wasn’t Thor’s old eye, though. It was a prosthetic eye that worked just as fine as his biological eye.
Avengers: Infinity Wars opens with the Asgardians suffering defeat at the hands of Thanos. Thanos killed Loki and regained the Tesseract, which the latter had kept custody of. After the attack, Thor sent out a distress call, which the spacefaring team responded to. They discovered the wrecked ship and rescued Thor who was still alive by a miracle.
Distraught over the attack, Thor swore to avenge his people by killing Thanos. He left for Nidavellir to replace his mythical hammer, which Hela had destroyed during their batter earlier in Ragnarok. On the ship, Thor lamented his losses and restated his plan to decimate Thanos. Rocket, in a bid to help Thor achieve this great task, gave him the prosthetic eye he had stolen to replace the lost one.
According to Rocket, he got the eye from a guy he won in a bet. Thor inquired if the eye was the reward and Rocket replied that 100 credits were the prize. He then narrated how he stole the eye from the guy at night and smuggled it out. Thor wore the eye on his socket. He felt it wasn’t working and said to Rocket: “Everything seems dark”. However, it wasn’t the eye that brought the darkness. There was darkness all over Nidavellir, where they were.
The prosthetic eye had incredible capabilities insight and durability. It sat well in the user’s socket and adapted to their physiology almost immediately. Regardless of the damage, the user had previously suffered, the eye provided clear sight without a fuss. Also, the eye was able to withstand severe traumas and hits. Even when hit with Eitri’s superhuman power across the face, Thor sustained no damage in the eye. An ordinary eye wouldn’t have survived that.
Where Did Rocket Get Thor’s Eye?
Rocket Racoon had stolen the prosthetic from an individual he met in Contraxia. He noticed the eye during the day and entered the owner’s room at night to steal it. He escaped Contraxia with the eye and never used it after then. It’s apparent that Rocket had no reason for stealing the eye, save for the fun of it. Rocket demonstrated his theft behavior in Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2. In Vol. 1, he stole a prosthetic limb from an inmate for keeps.
Some Marvel fans believe Rocket stole Thor’s eye from Vorker, but that’s not the case. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Groot brought along Vorker’s eye, which Rocket planned to steal. Although he eventually stole the eye, it wasn’t the one he gave Thor. Besides, Vorker’s eye and the one Thor wore looked completely different.
Here’s the conversation Rocket had with Thor on the spaceship when he gave him the eye:
Rocket: Well, if fate does want you to kill that crapsack, you’re gonna need more than one stupid eyeball.
Thor: What’s this?
Rocket: What’s it look like? Some jerk lost a bet with me in Contraxia.
Thor: He gave you his eyes?
Rocket: No, he gave me 100 credits. I snuck into his room later that night and stole his eye.
What Movie Does Thor Get His Eye Back?
Thor got his eye back in Avengers: Infinity Wars. The plot of the movie begins with Thanos and his Black Order intercepting the spaceship carrying Thor and the remaining Asgard’s survivors. Thanos kills Loki, recovers the Tesseract, and subdues Thor. Hulk lands on earth to warn Wong and Stephen Strange about Thanos’ evil plan.
The Guardians of the Galaxy, in response to a distress call from the wrecked ship, rescue Thor. Thor, with Groot and Rocket, heads to Nidavellir to solicit the help of Eitri in remaking his Stormbreaker ax. It’s on this journey that Thor gets his eye back from Rocket.