[THOR RAGNARÖK SPOLERS]
In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is the event where Asgard, the home of gods such as Thor, Loki, and Odin, is destroyed. However, the story of Asgard and Scandinavian gods doesn’t end there. After Ragnarök, Asgard is renewed.
Variations of these Norse myths are told throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) through the heroic God of Thunder, Thor, an original member of the Avengers. In Thor Ragnarok, well, you can guess what transpires. After Odin’s death, Thor’s sister Hela escapes her imprisonment in the underworld and tries to take over Asgard. Several other events lead to the inevitable destruction of Asgard–Ragnarök itself. Luckily, many Asgardians are saved through the likes of timeless and unlikely heroes (and their large spaceship borrowed from a distant planet).
During Ragnarök, the great Heimdall–the gatekeeper god who can see and hear throughout the cosmos while controlling the Bifröst (rainbow bridge that connects worlds)–assures Thor of what his father, Odin, conveyed in his final moments:
“Asgard is not a place, it’s a people.”
Heimdall to Thor
And so Asgardians were saved even though Asgard was destroyed. They were together on the safe harbor of their ship until their inevitable and unfortunate encounter with Thanos. After the events of Infinity War & Endgame, Asgardians set up a new home in the town of Tønsberg, Norway. A long way of Asgard–in a different realm, but enough of them to remember who they are.
What’s the moral of the story? No matter where you go, you will bring your people with you. Your family, your ancestors, the people who sacrificed so that you could be alive. They are you and you, them. People are not determined by where they live in the cosmos but by who they are. While your location impacts how you live, that you are alive will always unite you with your people, your culture, your home.
Asgard is a people, not a place. Asgard was destroyed, but Asgardians not. Now in the MCU, there is hope for Asgardians under their new leader, Valkyrie. They are rebuilding their home because they never lost it–it just changed location.
Moving away from home–be it destroyed or intact–doesn’t change your cosmic identity. While it may change how you live your life, you will always be the sum of all the people and choices that made you, both throughout the past and during your lifetime. You are quite a marvel, and you will always be more than your address.