Rumor Has It... Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok

This week news broke that Tessa Thompson has been cast for a “key role” in Thor: Ragnarok, which is rumored to be none other than Valkyrie.  Valkyrie has been rumored to appear in Thor: Ragnarok for a while, and we’ve even seen some concept art of what she could look like:

Image Courtesy www.screenrant.com

This afternoon I want to take some time to discuss who Valkyrie is and how she could fit into this movie.

Image Courtesy en.wikipedia.org

The Character

Brunnhilde, a.k.a. Valkyrie, is an Asgardian warrior woman and the leader of the Valkyrior (based on the Valkyrie from Norse mythology).  The Valkyrior is the group tasked by Odin with taking mortally wounded human warriors to Valhalla, where they feast and compete with the spirits of dead Asgardians.

Valkyrie herself is one of the most powerful Asgardian warrior women in comics, right up there with Sif and Angela.  She is one of the best swordswomen in Marvel Comics and carries an enchanted sword named “Dragonfang.”  In the past she has also used the Black Knight’s Ebony Blade.  Valkyrie (and the other Valkyrior) rides a flying horse; hers is named Aragorn and was given to her by the current Black Knight.

Valkyrie’s comic book history is pretty heavily based in Norse mythology and includes at least a couple instances of being incarnated as a human being alongside Thor (something which the MCU has studiously avoided).  She also had her soul stripped from her by Amora the Enchantress, who used her soul to give the Valkyrie’s powers to herself and other women.

In the comics, Valkyrie is a lover of Thor’s on a few occasions, though not in modern-set comics.

The Movie

Image Courtesy www.marvel.com

Well, with rumors swirling that Sif and Jane Foster will not be appearing in Ragnarok, it seems like a safe bet that Valkyrie will be playing the role of Thor’s love interest.  As a side note, I’m curious why Sif won’t be involved in this movie; perhaps they are holding her out so she can be part of a crossover with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. around the release time.  If Sif and the Secret Warriors had to stop some major catastrophe caused by Ragnarok the week after Thor: Ragnarok premiers, I think that would be a really good crossover.  At the very least that would be better than S.H.I.E.L.D. picking up Thor’s trash…

Considering that the premise of this movie is the end of all things and the death of the gods, Thor will probably need all the help he can get to stop Surtur and save Asgard, which means that the Valkyrior could appear as another group of Thor’s allies in the battle, perhaps as an elite squad of female warriors.

After Ragnarok, there are several options for continuing Valkyrie’s story.  The most obvious is for her and all the Valkyrior to be killed in battle—or for all the Asgardians to be wiped out, leaving Asgard completely defenseless when Thanos drops by to borrow the Tesseract.   However, even if all the Asgardians are killed, that doesn’t mean they are necessarily gone; in the comics, the Asgardians were all reincarnated in humans and Thor had to gather them and restore them.

Assuming that Valkyrie does survive Ragnarok in some form, my guess is that she will appear in one of the other of the Avengers: Infinity War movies when all the heroes in the MCU have to band together to defeat Thanos.

A while back I suggested that Valkyrie could appear as one of the Netflix Defenders, something which could certainly happen if she were killed and reincarnated as a human.  I still think that would be cool, but I don’t know how likely it is.

Image Courtesy marvel.wikia.com

Conclusion

Valkyrie is an interesting character with a fascinating comic book history, particularly when it comes to Thor.  I really hope this rumor turns out to be true and she will be appearing in Thor: Ragnarok.  If nothing else, it would be pretty awesome to see a badass swordswoman on a winged horse flying around and slicing up bad guys!

Are you excited about seeing Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok?  Would you be disappointed if Jane and Sif don’t appear?  Let me know in the comments!

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