Thor 4 leak gives Thor an unexpected new power

Thor may be the "GOAT," but he isn't a goat. That's where Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder come in. In the 2022 movie Thor: Love and Thunder, two outlandish comic book characters will stampede their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel fans, brace yourselves to meet two goats who are, in fact, the greatest of all time.

What Happened? — On February 1, new set photos of Thor: Love and Thunder from Sydney came online. On the Marvel fan Twitter account @AidarSM, the user uploaded one interesting photo possibly showing a large, white animatronic goat.

@AidarSM accompanied the photo with a page depicting Thor's goats from Thor #82, a 2004 comic book written by Michael Avon Oeming and Daniel Berman and illustrated by Andrea DiVito and Laura Villari.

In case you're wondering, yes, Thor actually does have two loyal goat companions. And based on the set photos of Thor: Love and Thunder, they're making their MCU debut in 2022. (See them in all their animatronic glory here.)

A Chariot Awaits — While Thor can fly with his mighty hammer Mjolnir, he still knows to ride the cosmos in style. There are also times when the God of Thunder needs to transport something across vast distances. He may be the God of Thunder, but he still only has two hands.

In the real Norse mythology, Thor owns and rides a chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir ("teeth-snarler") and Tanngnjóstr ("teeth grinder"). The Marvel Universe takes after the mythology somewhat closely, giving Thor the chariot and goat companions "Toothgnasher" and "Toothgrinder." The two made their first comic book appearance in Thor Annual #5 in 1976.

Because it's comic books, the goats can be summoned at will and come with some superpowers of their own. Both goats are powerful and capable of immense speed and flight. They aren't immortal, but they can be reborn unless their bones are broken.

The Inverse Analysis — There's not a lot to glean from goats when it comes to Thor: Love and Thunder. The second Thor movie directed by acclaimed director Taika Waititi, it's again bound to contain Waititi's improvisational humor mixed with comic book zaniness. Hence, the inclusion of goats.

But what is interesting is that the goats aren't summoned unless Thor needs to get somewhere and to transport something. That gives us an idea about a possible story direction for Thor: Love and Thunder. Is the movie secretly a road trip movie? Will Thor zig-zag across space with Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher? And if so, what is it that Thor is escorting? And to where?

As is typical with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the more we see, the more questions we have. We'll have to find out more when Thor: Love and Thunder comes out next year.

Thor: Love and Thunder will be released in theaters on May 6, 2022.