When Marvel’s Avengers was initially announced, the excitement about its reveal was somewhat dampened. This was due to viewer disappointment with how the characters in Marvel’s Avengers visualslooked. A vocal subset of game players interested in Marvel’s Avengers criticized the game’s characters for their faces and hair, in particular, and today Marvel’s Avengers revealed its new look for Thor, clearly taking the gaming community’s criticism to heart.
In a tweet posted to the official Marvel’s Avengers Twitter account, a new video showcasing Thor and his abilities was posted. This video notably features a new look for Thor. In prior footage, Thor was shown with lanky shoulder-length locks that made him look more like Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski than Thor. The new haircut has his hair done up and in a ponytail, giving him a much younger and stylish look.
The new thor look does appear to be inspired, at least in part, by the character’s appearance in the recent Avengers Endgame film. Not with regards to Thor being overweight, but rather how he ties back his hair. The new look is much shorter than the film look, likely so that Crystal Dynamics can fit Thor’s hairstyle into the various cosmetic helmets that will be available as costumes in Marvel’s Avengers. One such example is even shown in the new trailer.
It’s not immediately clear whether or not changes have been made to Thor’s face. It might take a bit closer of an inspection, or a higher quality video than one embedded on Twitter, to analyze it properly. It would make sense if they made small adjustments to fit the character’s facial features to the new hairstyle, but the hairstyle alone proves to be a significant improvement.
Immediately after criticism of Marvel’s Avengers’ characters started, Crystal Dynamics responded saying there were no plans to make changes. Yet in July, Black Widow’s face and hair were changed, showing that Crystal Dynamics was responding to feedback. At the time, it wasn’t clear if any further changes would be made. Crystal Dynamics likely didn’t want to overpromise, yet here again, Thor’s look has been improved dramatically.
With well over half of a year before Marvel’s Avengers’ launch, there’s still plenty of time left to continue making improvements. Crystal Dynamics may not be able to make any promises regarding what it will be able to finish, but it’s clear the developer is doing what it can.
Marvel’s Avengers releases May 15, 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
