Why Did Iron Man Use Point Break As A Nickname For Thor?
Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers, would become the backbone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe beginning in 2012. The original lineup — Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) — came together in "The Avengers" to put a stop to Loki's (Tom Hiddleston) plan for world domination. While they eventually worked together like a well-oiled machine, their creation didn't occur without some initial tension. In some cases, they even wound up on opposite sides of the battlefield.
Take, for instance, the first time shaky allies Captain American and Iron Man encountered Thor, who'd come to Earth in search of his brother. He forcefully freed Loki from their custody in hopes of convincing him to give up on his crusade. Naturally, this led to a brief skirmish between the God of Thunder, Cap, and Iron Man, seeing as the latter two wanted Loki under their supervision. Luckily, everyone walked away relatively unscathed following their fight, and they reconciled after the fact. In doing so, the ever-snarky Tony Stark referred to Thor as "Point Break" — a running gag in the MCU from that point on.
So, what's the meaning behind Stark's "Point Break" nickname for Thor? Odds are, if you're a fan of decades-old action movies, you already know why.
Iron Man pointed out the resemblance between Thor and Patrick Swayze
Iron Man's nickname for Thor stems from one of the most recognizable action flicks of the 1990s: "Point Break." Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the 1991 film follows undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as he infiltrates a crew of surfers who've become notorious for their bank robberies — dubbed the Ex-Presidents for their decision to wear masks of former United States Presidents while doing so. Their leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), dons a scruffy beard and has grown out his blonde hair, making him a close visual match to Thor himself. The nickname would return in "Thor: Ragnarok," too, as Thor attempts to unlock the controls to the Avengers' Quinjet.
All in all, Tony Stark's "Point Break" nickname is far from the most inspired one he could've given Thor, and it's far from the only moniker he's dished out during his time in the MCU. Thanks to YouTuber SuperDuo, fans can look back on all of Iron Man's nicknames for his friends as well as his enemies. Among the most notable are him calling Hawkeye "Legolas" — the bow-wielding Elf played by Orlando Bloom in the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies — and referring to Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) as "Squidward" for his resemblance to Rodger Bumpass' "SpongeBob SquarePants" character.
"Avengers: Endgame" even saw Stark give Thor a second nickname, "Lebowski." Due to his lazy nature and unkempt look, he wasn't too far off from Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) from 1998's "The Big Lebowski." One has to imagine that if Iron Man somehow returns to the MCU down the road, he'll bring plenty of new nicknames with him.