The God of Thunder learns in Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok that Tony Stark gave him "Point Break" as his Quinjet activation code name. Here's why.
Though Thor optimistically thinks of himself as the "strongest Avenger," the Quinjet password programmed for him by Tony Stark in Thor: Ragnarok is the rather less flattering "Point Break." The Taika Waititi-directed Thor sequel essentially overhauled the God of Thunder and his film series. Instead of the moody aesthetic and darker tone, the threequel went in the total opposite direction by giving the movie a psychedelic look reminiscent of Jack Kirby's illustrations and a much more comedic tone. As is par for the MCU, it also featured plenty of references to the God of Thunder's previous adventures in the franchise.
One of them is Thor's activation name for the Quinjet that Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) used at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron to travel to Sakaar. As the then-Asgardian prince attempted to escape the junk planet to save Asgard from his long-lost sister, Hela (Cate Blancett), he stumbled on the aircraft. Somewhat familiar with the ship considering the time he spent on Earth with the Avengers and Nick Fury, he revved it up - but the onboard computer demanded a passcode. Thor tried a few other codenames such as "Thor," "Son of Odin," and "Strongest Avenger" to no avail. Frustrated, he cursed Tony before reluctantly trying "Point Break" - which worked.
This reference harkens back to Iron Man and Thor's very first meeting in 2012's The Avengers. With Loki leading the Chitauri army in an attempt to take over Earth, Fury stealthily assembled his best superheroes for the Avengers Initiative. Aside from his previous run-ins with SHIELD, Thor was also personally involved since it was his adoptive brother causing all the commotion. At one point during the team's first group meeting in the Hellicarrier, Tony assured Thor that everything is good between them after their previous encounter in the park, but true to the billionaire's penchant for nicknames, he also dubbed him "Point Break."
Tony's chosen moniker for the God of Thunder is a reference to the 1991 film Point Break. Directed by Katherine Bigelow, it's about an FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), who goes undercover to investigate a group of bank robbers led by Bodhi (Patrick Swayze). As he spent more time with the criminals, he develops a complex relationship with the gang, particularly their leader. While the story of Point Break doesn't seem to have any connection with Thor or his story in the MCU up until that point, Tony chose the nickname purely because the God of Thunder sported the same middle-length blonde hair that Swayze was rocking in the film.
It's worth noting that during Ragnarok, Tony had yet to see Thor's shorter hairdo. 11 years later during the events of Avengers: Endgame, Tony gave Thor (who had gained a bit of weight during the five-year time-jump since Thanos' snap) a brand new nickname: Lebowski. This a reference to the 1998 movie, The Big Lebowski, since the God of Thunder's drastically-changed look was reminiscent of Jeff Bridges' character in that film.
Thor isn't the only MCU character that Tony has given a nickname to. In The Avengers he called Clint Barton/Hawkeye "Legolas," and he dubbed Peter Quill/Star-Lord "Flash Gordon" in Avengers: Infinity War. What's curious with Thor is whether or not he actually understood why he was given those nicknames, since Tony tended to use pop culture references that aren't exactly in vogue on Asgard. He seemed to know, however, that "Point Break" was somehow also a mockery of his appearance, as he very begrudgingly used it to start up the Quinjet in Thor: Ragnarok. Perhaps Thor at one point borrowed Cap's notepad full of essential pop culture from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
More: Endgame Hinted At Fat Thor Before The Avengers Killed Thanos The First Time
