Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Characters In Thor: Ragnarok Who Mean More Than You Realized
Marvel isn't just telling a story in their films, they're creating a whole universe.
So if a character makes even the smallest cameo in a movie, chances are there's a lot
more to them than we're seeing on-screen.
Here's a spoiler-filled look at some characters in Thor: Ragnarok with more meaning than you
might've realized.
Valkyrie
Movie fans around the world were thrilled when they learned that the Hulk would be teaming
up with the God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok.
But comic book fans were even more excited to see the Hulk team up with the Marvel Cinematic
Universe's newest superheroine, Valkyrie.
That's because Hulk and Valkyrie were friends and teammates for years in the pages of the
classic Marvel series The Defenders, which also featured Doctor Strange and the Sub-Mariner.
While the Defenders name has been poached by Marvel's TV division, seeing Valkyrie,
Hulk, and Doctor Strange in the same movie keeps the dream of a big-screen Defenders
reunion alive, and further opens the door for the eventual appearance of Namor in the
MCU.
Grandmaster
Known across the galaxies as the Grandmaster, En Dwi Gast is more than just a guy who loves
games and bloodsport.
He's also one of the Elders of the Universe, which, in Marvel Comics, is a group of immortal
beings of immense power who are traditionally the guardians of the Infinity Stones.
Like his fellow Elder, the Collector — who was played by Benicio del Toro in Guardians
of the Galaxy — The Grandmaster is likely to make another appearance when Thanos finally
rears his head in Avengers: Infinity War.
Skurge the Executioner
Hela's minion Skurge the Executioner has a long and curious history in the comics.
A longtime villain and adversary to Thor, Skurge eventually redeemed himself in an epic
storyline, where he held off the armies of Hell armed with a pair of machine guns in
order to save Thor and a group of innocent mortals fleeing from Hela.
That part made it into the film.
But for most of his existence, it wasn't Hela that Skurge was associated with, but rather
his one true love, the immortal Asgardian sorceress known as the Enchantress.
Both an enemy and occasional ally of Thor, the Enchantress is arguably the most important
character from Thor comics who hasn't yet appeared in the MCU.
The appearance of Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok suggests that might be on the verge of finally
changing.
Korg
The rocklike Korg belongs to a species that has actually been teased twice before in the
MCU, first in Thor: The Dark World, and then again in a quick Easter egg in Guardians of
the Galaxy Vol. 2.
And the character contains another secret, as the CGI-created gladiator was played by
Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi himself.
But the real Easter egg behind Korg is a deep cut from the very dawn of Marvel Comics: he's
part of the alien race originally known as the "Stone Men from Saturn," who Thor fought
in his very first comic book appearance in 1962's Journey into Mystery #83.
In fact, in the comics, Korg himself is one of the very alien invaders Thor battled in
his origin story.
How cool is that?
Miek
Poor little Miek is played purely for comic relief in Thor: Ragnarok, but in the comics
he's a much darker figure.
A lot of the plot of Thor: Ragnarok is borrowed from the "Planet Hulk" comic book story, in
which Hulk leads a band of fellow gladiators on the planet Sakaar in a revolution.
Hulk then becomes ruler of the planet, which is where things take a sinister turn for Miek.
Unsatisfied with the new peace Hulk has ushered in, Miek is complicit in a plot that leads
to the death of Hulk's wife and child, sending Hulk on a vengeful rampage across the galaxy.
It's only later that Hulk discovers the base treachery of his supposed friend.
He doesn't seem so cute and goofy now, does he?
Topaz
The Grandmaster's right-hand woman originally wasn't even a Marvel character at all.
Instead, she was created at Malibu Comics as Queen Topaz, the ruler of a race of alien
amazons.
Eventually she ended up as a superhero on Earth.
After Marvel bought Malibu and folded some of its characters into the Marvel Universe,
she was summoned by the Grandmaster to be a pawn in a contest with Loki, losing a fight
against Crystal and Black Widow of the Avengers.
Topaz is the first Malibu character to make it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opening
the door for characters like Hardcase, Firearm, and Prime to potentially make the jump to
the big screen as well.
Beta Ray Bill
Eagle-eyed observers may have noticed that one of the busts adorning the outside of the
Grandmaster's tower is none other than Beta Ray Bill himself.
Who's that, you ask?
Well, you know that inscription on Thor's hammer that says whoever is worthy can lift
the hammer and gain the power of Thor?
In the comics, Beta Ray Bill shocked Thor and fans alike, by proving himself worthy
and lifting the hammer.
He became as powerful as Thor himself, and earned the Thunder God's trust as his sworn
brother from an alien mother.
Beta Ray Bill has been a fan-favorite ever since he first debuted in the early '80s,
so the fact that the film acknowledged his existence is enough to send hardcore Thor
fans over the moon.
It means that somewhere out there in the MCU, Beta Ray Bill exists.
Now it's just a matter of actually putting him into a movie, instead of just a statue
of his head.
Are you listening, Marvel?
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