Cate Blanchett is the Mysterious & Powerful Villainess HELA! - Part 1

[CaptainMarvel19]

I wonder if she has some type of immortality.

she heals instantly when she is stabbed, she was hit by a sword in the head but nothing happened and there is, like, no blood at all.

 

[Finarfiniel]

I wonder if she has some type of immortality.

she heals instantly when she is stabbed, she was hit by a sword in the head but nothing happened and there is, like, no blood at all.

Watching my digital copy and pausing it in the Hela vs Thor fight in the throne room, I noticed something that escaped me in previous viewings: Hela actually gets stabbed twice in the film. Thor stabs Hela with Gungnir in the throne room fight and the blade goes right into her stomach. When he pulls it out, the wound just closes up automatically and her outfit also heals around it with an orange coloured glow, which is odd because Hela's magic glows a green colour in the rest of the film. To me, getting stabbed with Gungnir is different to getting stabbed with a normal, run of the mill Asgardian sword. Gungnir is the spear of Odin and one of the most powerful artifacts/weapons on Asgard, but Hela just brushes off being stabbed by it like it's nothing. She clearly has insane level healing powers, and like you say, she doesn't bleed at all. Even Thor bleeds, as seen multiple times in the MCU and in Ragnarok itself, but Hela doesn't bleed at all or even bruise it seems. Interesting.

 

[HammerDown]

In the throne room fight Thor also brakes some of Hela's "antlers" with a hit from Gungnir.
They grow back almost instantly but it was still a nice detail.

 

[HammerDown]

A girlfriend reaction when she realizes you forget her birthday.

 

[BigThor]

Watching my digital copy and pausing it in the Hela vs Thor fight in the throne room, I noticed something that escaped me in previous viewings: Hela actually gets stabbed twice in the film. Thor stabs Hela with Gungnir in the throne room fight and the blade goes right into her stomach. When he pulls it out, the wound just closes up automatically and her outfit also heals around it with an orange coloured glow, which is odd because Hela's magic glows a green colour in the rest of the film. To me, getting stabbed with Gungnir is different to getting stabbed with a normal, run of the mill Asgardian sword. Gungnir is the spear of Odin and one of the most powerful artifacts/weapons on Asgard, but Hela just brushes off being stabbed by it like it's nothing. She clearly has insane level healing powers, and like you say, she doesn't bleed at all. Even Thor bleeds, as seen multiple times in the MCU and in Ragnarok itself, but Hela doesn't bleed at all or even bruise it seems. Interesting.

But she's not immune to being knocked out.

 

[Finarfiniel]

But she's not immune to being knocked out.

Didn't actually happen in the final film so it doesn't count.

 

[Wildcard]

A girlfriend reaction when she realizes you forget her birthday.

If the reaction is to be this sexy, I'll gladly take having my ass handed to me.

 

[HammerDown]

If the reaction is to be this sexy, I'll gladly take having my ass handed to me.

Sure she looks sexy but remember what happened after that... She crushed Thor’s hammer with one hand. So you’re basically screwed big time. t:

 

[BigThor]

Didn't actually happen in the final film so it doesn't count.

It does, she's clearly unconscious when she's flung from the balcony after Thor calls down that lightning bolt. She's not waving her arms and legs like people do when they're falling, her body is very limp during the fall.

Just go screenshot the shot of her falling or watch it in slow mo. That way we can end all this back and forth stuff before it starts.

 

[Finarfiniel]

It does, she's clearly unconscious when she's flung from the balcony after Thor calls down that lightning bolt. She's not waving her arms and legs like people do when they're falling, her body is very limp during the fall.

Just go screenshot the shot of her falling or watch it in slow mo. That way we can end all this back and forth stuff before it starts.

Eh, I don't really care tbh, I was only joking with you dude. It really isn't that serious. All I know is that the film doesn't expressly show her being unconscious and in the next shot of her she's perfectly fine without even a single scratch or bruise and Thor himself says that he hit her with 'the biggest' strike of lightning ever and 'it did nothing'. *shrug*

Sure she looks sexy but remember what happened after that... She crushed Thor’s hammer with one hand. So you’re basically screwed big time. t:

Totally worth it. t:

 

[HammerDown]

It's a shame that we didn't have a Hela and Odin reunion. That was a big loss.
Cate Blanchett and Anthony Hopkins sharing a scene would have been amazing.

 

[BigThor]

Eh, I don't really care tbh, I was only joking with you dude. It really isn't that serious. All I know is that the film doesn't expressly show her being unconscious and in the next shot of her she's perfectly fine without even a single scratch or bruise and Thor himself says that he hit her with 'the biggest' strike of lightning ever and 'it did nothing'. *shrug*

 

[Iceman]

It's a shame that we didn't have a Hela and Odin reunion. That was a big loss.
Cate Blanchett and Anthony Hopkins sharing a scene would have been amazing.

I would have loved to see Odin’s reaction to her and how she’d act towards him.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Lately, I've been wondering how Odin managed to imprison Hela in the first place, not to mention where she was all this time. Also, considering that Odin was in a weakened state apparently, why would his death be the catalyst for her release?

The possible answer to all of those questions came to me in the form of Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz's Thor Vol 1 #400.

As you can see here, following Surtur's defeat at the hands of Thor, Odin uses his very own body to imprison the demon. I like to think that Hela was contained much in the same way.

 

[Finarfiniel]

It's a shame that we didn't have a Hela and Odin reunion. That was a big loss.
Cate Blanchett and Anthony Hopkins sharing a scene would have been amazing.

I know. Especially considering we know that a scene was definitely filmed between the two of them! Marvel passed up having two of the greatest living actors facing off against each other in one of their films, what a shame.

Lately, I've been wondering how Odin managed to imprison Hela in the first place, not to mention where she was all this time. Also, considering that Odin was in a weakened state apparently, why would his death be the catalyst for her release?

The possible answer to all of those questions came to me in the form of Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz's Thor Vol 1 #400.

As you can see here, following Surtur's defeat at the hands of Thor, Odin uses his very own body to imprison the demon. I like to think that Hela was contained much in the same way.

That's a good question, I've thought about that myself. I like your theory too, but I'm not sure if it's correct in this instance for two reasons. Firstly, Taika Waititi said they used a little known Thor villain called Perrikus as part inspiration for Hela's back story. In the comics he was a powerful and evil Elder God that Odin imprisoned in another dimension and then magically wiped knowledge of his existence because his memory was so traumatic to the Asgardians. That sounds very similar to Hela and why no one in Asgard knew that she existed. Secondly, in the flashback scene where Odin sends in the Valkyries to fight Hela back, they seem to be in another strange looking realm (it certainly doesn't look like Asgard), there are barren looking rocky mountains and a weird dreamy kinda fog:

My personal theory is that Odin trapped Hela in the realm of Hel and his magic meant that she physically couldn't leave that realm (much like the legend that Hela cannot leave Hel if she is separated from her magical cloak in the comics). We know that Hel exists in the MCU (both Thor and Loki refer to it in TDW and AoU) so it's certainly feasible. Maybe she even conquered Hel during her time there and became it's ruler, making her much closer to her comics counterpart. There's also the question of why Odin named her Hela, did he name her after the realm, or was the realm named after her?

Sadly, we may never know if no one at Marvel Studios never addresses it directly so we can only theorise.

 

[lostzilla]

Eh, I don't really care tbh, I was only joking with you dude. It really isn't that serious. All I know is that the film doesn't expressly show her being unconscious and in the next shot of her she's perfectly fine without even a single scratch or bruise and Thor himself says that he hit her with 'the biggest' strike of lightning ever and 'it did nothing'. *shrug*



Totally worth it. t:

I'm very disappointed that we didn't get more Hela in this costume in the blu ray extras or those delete scenes with Odin and Loki

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

That's a good question, I've thought about that myself. I like your theory too, but I'm not sure if it's correct in this instance for two reasons. Firstly, Taika Waititi said they used a little known Thor villain called Perrikus as part inspiration for Hela's back story. In the comics he was a powerful and evil Elder God that Odin imprisoned in another dimension and then magically wiped knowledge of his existence because his memory was so traumatic to the Asgardians. That sounds very similar to Hela and why no one in Asgard knew that she existed. Secondly, in the flashback scene where Odin sends in the Valkyries to fight Hela back, they seem to be in another strange looking realm (it certainly doesn't look like Asgard), there are barren looking rocky mountains and a weird dreamy kinda fog:

My personal theory is that Odin trapped Hela in the realm of Hel and his magic meant that she physically couldn't leave that realm (much like the legend that Hela cannot leave Hel if she is separated from her magical cloak in the comics). We know that Hel exists in the MCU (both Thor and Loki refer to it in TDW and AoU) so it's certainly feasible. Maybe she even conquered Hel during her time there and became it's ruler, making her much closer to her comics counterpart. There's also the question of why Odin named her Hela, did he name her after the realm, or was the realm named after her?

Yeah, I recall Waitii mentioning that Perrikus was the antagonist he initially had in mind for the film, although I haven't been able to find anything where he specifically talks about Blanchett's Hela taking inspiration from the character. Still, I can see why you believe he might have done just that in light of how similar their respective backstories are (like you said).

I like your theory as well, but isn't it interesting that Odin doesn't use words like "spell" or "enchantment" when speaking of Hela's imprisonment? Instead, he says, "My life was the only thing that held her back." Also, I don't imagine that his death nullifies all of his previous/existing enchantments. That said, if Perrikus was indeed the inspiration for her backstory (much in the same way that her powers were influenced by Gorr), that could be precisely what Waititi intended.

Sadly, we may never know if no one at Marvel Studios never addresses it directly so we can only theorise.

Maybe it's for the best that they left things a bit open-ended, as it allows for good discussions like this one.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Yeah, I recall Waitii mentioning that Perrikus was the antagonist he initially had in mind for the film, although I haven't been able to find anything where he specifically talks about Blanchett's Hela taking inspiration from the character. Still, I can see why you believe he might have done just that in light of how similar their respective backstories are (like you said).

I don't think Waititi ever said anything about Perrikus initially being the antagonist, he simply said he was going to be in the film at some stage. Kevin Feige has confirmed separately that the very first thing they decided about Ragnarok (before the plot was even decided) was that Hela would be the villain.

I like your theory as well, but isn't it interesting that Odin doesn't use words like "spell" or "enchantment" when speaking of Hela's imprisonment? Instead, he says, "My life was the only thing that held her back." Also, I don't imagine that his death nullifies all of his previous/existing enchantments. That said, if Perrikus was indeed the inspiration for her backstory (much in the same way that her powers were influenced by Gorr), that could be precisely what Waititi intended.

That is interesting, but I always took it to mean that it was his 'life force' (for lack of a better word) that was holding Hela back and keeping her imprisoned, hence when he died that life force was gone and it allowed Hela to escape her imprisonment through that portal that (presumably) she opened.

Maybe it's for the best that they left things a bit open-ended, as it allows for good discussions like this one.

True. t:

 

[Finarfiniel]

Omg.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I don't think Waititi ever said anything about Perrikus initially being the antagonist, he simply said he was going to be in the film at some stage. Kevin Feige has confirmed separately that the very first thing they decided about Ragnarok (before the plot was even decided) was that Hela would be the villain.

Ah, okay. I stand corrected.

That is interesting, but I always took it to mean that it was his 'life force' (for lack of a better word) that was holding Hela back and keeping her imprisoned, hence when he died that life force was gone and it allowed Hela to escape her imprisonment through that portal that (presumably) she opened.

This never hindered her in the past, though. She's Odin's first-born child; they, in fact, roamed the nine worlds together. So, something definitely changed in their dynamic between then and now. I suppose we can infer that he did cast a spell/enchantment of some kind after all, one that was tied to his life force (even though he doesn't explicitly say so). I'm fine with that.

True. t:

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Cate's butt is hella bootylicious.

If you haven't already seen it, do yourself a favor and check out The Shipping News. It's one of Cate's earlier films. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Finarfiniel]

This never hindered her in the past, though. She's Odin's first-born child; they, in fact, roamed the nine worlds together. So, something definitely changed in their dynamic between then and now. I suppose we can infer that he did cast a spell/enchantment of some kind after all, one that was tied to his life force (even though he doesn't explicitly say so). I'm fine with that.

The change in Odin and Hela's relationship was actually explained in the film. After conquering the Nine Realms together, Odin decided to stop there (rather than try and conquest the rest of the universe), but Hela didn't want to stop so she tried to violently overthrow Odin's rule and take over Asgard by massacring everyone in the palace. That's why Odin decided to imprison her, because he couldn't stop her and he was either unable or unwilling to kill her.

If you haven't already seen it, do yourself a favor and check out The Shipping News. It's one of Cate's earlier films. You won't be disappointed.

*perfectly innocent face*

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

The change in Odin and Hela's relationship was actually explained in the film. After conquering the Nine Realms together, Odin decided to stop there (rather than try and conquest the rest of the universe), but Hela didn't want to stop so she tried to violently overthrow Odin's rule and take over Asgard by massacring everyone in the palace. That's why Odin decided to imprison her, because he couldn't stop her and he was either unable or unwilling to kill her.

I know. I meant in the physical sense. In other words, Odin's "life force" clearly wasn't always an impediment to her. So, I'm guessing that he later cast a spell (even though he doesn't say as much) to keep her at bay. The spell in question was likely just tied/connected to his aforementioned life force somehow.

 

[Finarfiniel]

I know. I meant in the physical sense. In other words, Odin's "life force" clearly wasn't always an impediment to her. So, I'm guessing that he later cast a spell (even though he doesn't say as much) to keep her at bay. The spell in question was likely just tied/connected to his aforementioned life force somehow.

Ah, I understand what you mean now. t: And yep, that was my interpretation anyway.

In other news, all this new bts stuff from the DVD/Blu-ray is just awesome:

 

[Ragnaroknroll]

Ah, I understand what you mean now. t: And yep, that was my interpretation anyway.

In other news, all this new bts stuff from the DVD/Blu-ray is just awesome:

That strut is pure ownage! Man she totally needs to come back.