Our hero has Refused the Call to Adventure and so invoked the help of a Mentor to encourage him to embark on his Hero’s Journey. This stage is the turning point at the end of Act 1 where the hero Crosses the Threshold from their Ordinary World into the Special World of the story.

The hero has finally, reluctantly or not, agreed to face the challenge or problem that came up with the Call to Adventure. This usually happens as a result of the stakes being raised. The hero realises he can’t go on as he has and doesn’t really have a choice but to go into this new world and deal with whatever happens there. It is a leap of faith.

Thor: Crossing the Threshold

Thor has been exiled from his Ordinary World of Asgard and his Crossing of the Threshold couldn’t be more dramatic. He crashes into another realm, Earth, during a magnetic storm.

In the film we’re back where we started with Jane Foster, astrophysicist, and friends Erik Selvig and Darcy, studying the storm. What they don’t know is that the storm is a kind of delivery system for transporting the exiled Asgardian. Thor lands in New Mexico and is promptly hit by Jane’s car.

Oops!

Thor arrives in the Special World of Earth completely disoriented and extremely pissed off. But mostly he is bewildered. His father has just disowned him and exiled him from the life he knows. How will he cope in this new world?

Next: Thor meets Tests, Allies and Enemies