Shortly after his introduction to the MCU and his attitude shift toward Earth as more than a backwater province of Asgard, Thor finds himself back in the Marvel action — not in his own franchise, but in the premiere of the group that he becomes the most closely associated with: the Avengers.
In the first “Avengers” movie, Thor arrives on Earth trying to contain a Loki who has run wild (influenced by the Mind Stone-infused Scepter). In his pursuit, he bumps (literally) into Iron Man, Captain America, and the fledgling Avengers team. Together, this nascent group teams up to stop Thor’s brother. Thor’s role in “Avengers” isn’t particularly profound. The amped up Asgardian spends most of this story as the Avengers’ muscle, working to contain the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and stop Loki’s army. However, the film does sow the seeds for future Avengers adventures that will impact the God of Thunder profoundly.