Warning: SPOILERS for Thor: Ragnarok are ahead!
Although Thor emerged victorious at the end of Thor: Ragnarok like he has in all his previous Marvel Cinematic Universe appearances, it came at a cost. Not only was Asgard destroyed by Surtur after all its citizens were evacuated, but during his battle with Hela, the God of Thunder lost one of his eyes. By the end of the movie, he was wearing an eyepatch, making him even more like his late father, Odin. However, supposedly when we reunite with Thor in Avengers: Infinity War next year, the only sign of this injury will be a light scar.
As was revealed months ahead of time in the first Thor: Ragnarok trailer, Thor Odinson's trusty hammer, Mjolnir, was destroyed by Hela early into the movie. Thor also lost his cape during Ragnarok's chaotic events, so while he may have been holding the magical hammer and wearing the glorious cape in Vanity Fair's MCU photo shoot, that doesn't necessarily mean either of them will be back for Avengers: Infinity War. As for Thor's eye, apparently that scar running down the right side of his face will be "all that remains of the trauma" from his climactic showdown with Hela during Asgard's final moments.
Thor was also featured alongside some of his fellow MCU heroes in one of Vanity Fair's four special Marvel covers. You'll need to click through the main story to actually see that there's a scar on the Asgardian's face, but it's still worth seeing him standing alongside Falcon, Iron Man and Black Widow.
While Thor having a scar isn't surprising given the circumstances in which he lost his eye during Thor: Ragnarok, what's confusing about this latest update is that the eye may still be functional during Avengers: Infinity War. Shortly after Thor: Ragnarok's release, the movie's writer, Eric Pearson, implied that the God of Thunder's impaired vision would carry into Infinity War. While it's possible that Pearson may have just been talking about the scar being left over, another possibility is that by the time the conflict with Thanos erupts, Thor will have ditched the eyepatch, and CGI will be used to make his eye looked cloudy, just like Nick Fury's impaired eye looked in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
However, if that latter option proves to be the case, then obviously the scar wouldn't be the only sign of trauma, as his Avengers buddies would instantly notice that his eye doesn't look the same. It would also be a strange creative choice to keep Thor's eye intact, not only because he is now more visually similar to Odin, but because sweeping away such an injury would feel like a step backward with this character's development. It's one thing for Tony Stark to deal with the shrapnel in his heart five years after he made his cinematic debut, but for Thor to miraculously be healed after less than a year takes away one of Thor: Ragnarok's biggest consequences.
You can see Thor fighting alongside the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy and other heroes when Avengers: Infinity War is released on May 4, 2018.
