Cate Blanchett is the Mysterious & Powerful Villainess HELA!

[Finarfiniel]

It's pronounced like this.

"Stop saying hella, Cartman!"

[YT]QtTj4cramPM[/YT]

I don't think anyone cares about a man fighting a woman. We've been having that in superhero movies going all the way back to Batman Returns.

The poster got singled out because of the specific imagery used (namely a woman being violently strangled), not because it was a woman fighting a man. Nobody said anything about Wolverine vs. Deathstrike or hell the female Terminator in that crappy Terminator 3 movie.

True. Since I posted I've remembered that we've actually seen a fair few male vs. female fights in the MCU itself. Tony Stark vs. Extremis Woman sticks out, as does Black Widow vs. pretty much any guy she's fought.

I guess I just hope they don't de-power Hela too much, her strength and general badassness (not a word, but oh well) is one of the reasons I like her. I want to see her fight Thor, I don't want to see big muscly male underlings (like Skurge) doing all the fighting for her.

 

[Finarfiniel]

My main pondering is whether they will have Hela possess a genuine connection to the afterlife(s), and thus implicitly show that the MCU most definitely has one ( or more ). It doesn't have to be that Hel, the realm, is an afterlife itself, mind. Alternatively, Hel could just be the Realm with the closest connection, and thus the place where gods go when they wish to commune with the dead, or try to bring them back. . . or just wish to contemplate and affiliate themselves with the forces of death.

Which actually makes me sad that it seems none of the human characters will be returning, because I'd love to see the looks on various peoples' faces when Thor just casually drops that bombshell. I suppose Banner can serve that role.

I've been wondering the same, they've held back a little so far in the previous Thor films with the whole magical, mystical side of Asgard and the Nine Realms, but surely they have to go for it full throttle in this one? They're dealing with a realm entirely populated by the embodied souls of dead Asgardians ruled over by a wicked Queen with a penchant for black magic. Go for it or go home, I say.

 

[RoryTate]

On another note, one thing that concerns me following the whole ridiculous X-Men: Apocalypse poster fiasco, is that they'll chicken out of having a proper physical fight between Thor and Hela. Hela has always been crazy strong, so strong that she can fight Thor one on one (and even beat him on occasion), I'll be so disappointed if we don't get a proper showdown between them in this film because they're too scared of having Thor fight a woman.

That would be quite a strange superpower for female heroes and villains to have: cannot be placed in peril or distress lest the manufactured outrage machine descend upon your industry and label it as sexist! Though if they go that route and Thor or the Hulk can't fight Hela, then I guess now we know why Valkyrie is in the movie. t:

Hela's power levels will be difficult to manage/show in a movie I figure. First off, she's been all over the place in the comics: sometimes magical/mystical and other times more a warrior who fights physically. I figure what they'll do is give her some type of death touch/strength, where if she can get a hold of you she will literally suck your life away.

If they choose to combine her with Death for Infinity War, then I figure they'll make her more the manifestation of a universal "force", rather than the ruler of an actual afterlife. Though I also think that at some point she's going to kill the Hulk and Thor, and they're going to have to fight their way out of her "realm", so in order for that to work there will have to be some sort of place for people she kills/claims, or something like that.

 

[metaphysician]

My suspicion is that Hela is going to be a peer of Odin, moreso than Thor. Hence my guess that the "road trip" will involve the pursuit of a way to even the odds against her, that way being an Infinity Stone.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Though if they go that route and Thor or the Hulk can't fight Hela, then I guess now we know why Valkyrie is in the movie. t:

If we're getting a girl fight, it has to be a proper girl fight with face slapping and hair pulling.

Hela's power levels will be difficult to manage/show in a movie I figure. First off, she's been all over the place in the comics: sometimes magical/mystical and other times more a warrior who fights physically. I figure what they'll do is give her some type of death touch/strength, where if she can get a hold of you she will literally suck your life away.

If they choose to combine her with Death for Infinity War, then I figure they'll make her more the manifestation of a universal "force", rather than the ruler of an actual afterlife. Though I also think that at some point she's going to kill the Hulk and Thor, and they're going to have to fight their way out of her "realm", so in order for that to work there will have to be some sort of place for people she kills/claims, or something like that.

I hope we get a bit of both badass fighter Hela and evil sorceress Hela. In the MCU so far, women are either badass fighters (Black Widow, Gamora) or magical chicks (Scarlet Witch), it would be good to see a female (especially a female villain) that combines both forms of attack. They definitely need to keep her 'touch of death', that's her most iconic power, and it makes a pretty damn intimidating villain, one who can kill you just by touching you.

I definitely think we'll see Thor and Co having to escape from Hel in the movie, I also think they'll incorporate in Skurge's epic 'last stand' story from the comics as he will turn on Hela at the end and help them escape.

My suspicion is that Hela is going to be a peer of Odin, moreso than Thor. Hence my guess that the "road trip" will involve the pursuit of a way to even the odds against her, that way being an Infinity Stone.

I agree with this also, I can definitely see them powering her up to Odin's level to make her more of a challenge for the two strongest Avengers. Maybe even more than Odin, if they really are positioning her to take Death's place in Infinity War.

 

[Finarfiniel]

 

[Finarfiniel]

Apparently Cate's youngest son is going to have a cameo in the movie. Lucky kid! 8 years old and being part of a Marvel movie and (I imagine) getting to meet Thor and Loki, e.t.c in costume, must be pretty exciting for him.

All I want is something (anything!) of Cate on set as Hela... A picture, a teaser, I'm not fussy... Come on people!

 

[Finarfiniel]

Disappointed with the blurry set pics released today? Console yourself with this sweet fanart posted on twitter:

Click here for a larger version.

 

[Abudefduf]

Disappointed with the blurry set pics released today? Console yourself with this sweet fanart posted on twitter:

Oh gosh, this is beautiful. I hope the movie's version of her looks half as cool as this one. And dat Fenris.
Speaking of which, I wonder if there's any chance that we'll be seeing him in the movie.

 

[MbJ]

I'm pretty sure they confirmed Fenris quite a while ago.

 

[Abudefduf]

Oh they have? I must've missed it then. Cool.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Fenris isn't really 'confirmed', per se. Apparently one of the pieces of concept art they showed at SDCC was of a giant wolf, but there is more than one giant wolf in the ragnarok mythos. Other than Fenris there is also Garm (or Garmr) who is a giant wolf/dog creature that guards the entrance to Hel and is like Hela's pet almost. I think that's who the wolf creature in the fan art is supposed to be. Garm's almighty howling heralds the beginning of ragnarok according to the myths.

 

[Abudefduf]

That's interesting. I don't know, I saw a giant wolf and instantly assumed it was Fenris since he's been associated with Hela in the past... and also because he's the most famous.

 

[scarlet-witch]

That looks so amazing, I can't wait until we see her official costume. (and not a blurry pap photo)

 

[Finarfiniel]

That looks so amazing, I can't wait until we see her official costume. (and not a blurry pap photo)

I may pass out from excitement when we finally get a good, clear look of Cate in costume. I have a horrible feeling though (from them keeping her so well hidden during the Brisbane filming) that Marvel are going to keep her look tightly under wraps until the first teaser trailer drops to build anticipation. If we go by Doctor Strange's timeline for comparison, that may not be until around April next year.

More amazing fan art of Hela and Fenris (or Garm):

I love how Hela appears to have her sword through what looks like Odin's head.

 

[scarlet-witch]

Come on paps, get better at hiding in those bushes!

 

[PelvicSorcery]

PLEASE make Hela a better written character than the horrendous portrayal of Enchantress, ie not wooden, lifeless, and generic. I'm dying for strong female villains in these films but I can't suffer through that tediousness again.

Of course comparing Cate Blanchett to Cara Whatever is like comparing apples and oranges...if the apples were made of gold and the oranges were made of dog ****.

 

[Mike Murdock]

The two have nothing in common - different characters, different type of movie, different premise, different actresses, different writers, different studio. I wouldn't use one as a reason to be concerned about the other.

 

[AlluAllu]

BTW, I didn't see Suicide Squad. Was their Enchantress ever named on screen? I'm wondering if it would be awkward for Amora to call herself Enchantress in MCU.

 

[MbJ]

BTW, I didn't see Suicide Squad. Was their Enchantress ever named on screen? I'm wondering if it would be awkward for Amora to call herself Enchantress in MCU.

The MCU only actually uses the codenames very rarely anyway.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Of course comparing Cate Blanchett to Cara Whatever is like comparing apples and oranges...if the apples were made of gold and the oranges were made of dog ****.

Like others have said, I wouldn't worry too much about Hela being anything like Suicide Squad's Enchantress. Firstly, I imagine Hela will have a much larger role in Ragnarok than Enchantress did in SS. I'm hoping she has an equivalent amount of screen time/focus as Loki did in Thor and TDW so that she can be given some real, vital characterisation and depth. Secondly, the two characters aren't at all similar (other than the fact they're both female and use black magic) and SS and Ragnarok are going to be worlds apart in tone, genre and execution. Thirdly, yeah... Cara Delevingne versus Cate Blanchett... in a theoretical acting cage match, Cate would rip that model chick limb from limb without even breaking a sweat.

 

[bubbadoom]

I'm pretty sure they confirmed Fenris quite a while ago.

here's hoping Jemaine Clement does the voice for Fenris...or he plays Ulik...

 

[bubbadoom]

That's amazing. I don't know if it fits in with the movie's version of Zemo but, come on, that's awesome. I said after the movie I would have been happy with him having fur on his coat a ski mask while in Siberia but, after that, I really want to see that.

That would have been the perfect part of the movie to place a little nod to us fans and then he would discard at least the mask once he got inside - they really missed the ball with this one...

 

[jaqua99]

Fenris isn't really 'confirmed', per se. Apparently one of the pieces of concept art they showed at SDCC was of a giant wolf, but there is more than one giant wolf in the ragnarok mythos. Other than Fenris there is also Garm (or Garmr) who is a giant wolf/dog creature that guards the entrance to Hel and is like Hela's pet almost. I think that's who the wolf creature in the fan art is supposed to be. Garm's almighty howling heralds the beginning of ragnarok according to the myths.

Imagine?

The movie starts with a brief pan of Hel, without showing Hela, as the screen starts to fade into black to "start" the movie, we hear a howl

 

[Finarfiniel]

Imagine?

The movie starts with a brief pan of Hel, without showing Hela, as the screen starts to fade into black to "start" the movie, we hear a howl

That would be awesome. I'd like to see Garm in the movie in some capacity. Someone who was at SDCC mentioned that one piece of concept art showed a throne room that wasn't Odin's throne room in Asgard, I'm hoping that means we'll see Hela's throne room in Hel, and her throne better be made of skulls like it is in the comics. Garm on one side of her throne and Skurge on the other as her muscle. t: