Thor: Ragnarok's Heroine
The film follows the "strongest Avenger" as he tries to save his homeworld, Asgard from Ragnarok, its total destruction at the hands of his evil sister, Hela, Goddess of Death (played brilliantly by Cate Blanchett.) Thor is joined on his journey by Bruce Banner/the Hulk and a bountyhunter known only as "Scrapper 42", but is listed in the credits as Valkyrie.
Valkyrie, played by American actress Tessa Thompson, is a former Valkryie who watched her sister Valkyries decimated by Hela years earlier. Despite a fondness for alcohol, the character is smart, resourceful, and tough as nails.
The film version of Valkyrie is a combination of several versions of the character that appeared in the comics. The original Valkyrie was based off of Brynhildr, a figure from Norse Mythology, and had the appearance of a stereotypical inhabitant of the Nordic region: fair hair and white skin. In tje movie, she is mixed race, looking predominantly African American.
On her character, Thompson said that the various versions of the character in the comics "left us a lot of leeway" in creating the film version and that director Taika Waititi "wanted to make sure we weren't making a female character that was boring and pretty." Thompson was inspired by pictures of Linda Hamilton from "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" while training and worked with dialect coach Andrew Jack to create a unique Asgardian accent that sounded like the character had been away for awhile. The character is set to make appearances in future movies.
When I learned that Natalie Portman would not be returning I was disappointed, because I had really liked her, but Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie blew me away, and I agree that she is more Thor's equal than Jane. I normally take issue when a character's race is changed, because I know that it causes issues; I feel like in this instance it worked well. It was nice to see a strong woman of color kicking ass. I look forward to seeing more of Valkyrie in further Marvel movies.
Comments
Post a Comment