If contending with one God of Thunder wasn't bad enough, it’s lightning bolts at dawn in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Alongside the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster as the new Mighty Thor wielding Mjolnir, the new trailer for Love and Thunder shows that there’s also a newcomer in the cast in the form of Russell Crowe’s Zeus. The thing is, he’s not the only God from outside Norse mythology who’s destined to cross paths with Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher.
Across its first three phases, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has largely kept its god-centric stories rooted in Norse mythology - with a nod here or there toward Bast, the African Panther God. All of that changed when Moon Knight’s third episode introduced the Ennead - the nine deities of Egyptian myth. Juggling Norse, Egyptian, and Greek gods might be enough for some, but by the looks of Love and Thunder, the whole pantheon of Marvel gods will be showing up to the party.
Although superhero movie fans might associate Zeus, Ares, and Hercules with the DC Extended Universe thanks to Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, Marvel has its own Greek gods waiting in the wings. Similar to Hela, the Norse Goddess of Death, in the comics there’s Hades who serves as her Greek counterpart, while god of the sea Poseidon could tie into Namor’s rumored debut in Black Panther 2.
The head honcho is Zeus, who of course is considered one of the most powerful gods in the universe. In the trailer, he’s lording it over everyone during Thor’s already infamous *flick* scene. Whereas Zeus might be considered a mentor to Thor in the comics, he’s a little more antagonistic in the trailer.
Beyond Zeus, Ares is another of those roughly hewn heroes the MCU loves so much, and even a future recruit for the Avengers (if you go by the comics). Still, there's no word yet on whether the Greek God of War is in Love and Thunder. And then there’s the name Hercules, which has been rumored as a possible surprise cameo in the film. After his introduction in 1965’s Journey Into Mystery Annual #1, Hercules has done everything from leading his own series to suiting up as part of the Avengers. With Hercules effectively seen as Thor’s Greek counterpart, he’s a prime candidate to replace Chris Hemsworth onscreen as the MCU’s resident god Avenger, if the Thor actor ever bows out.
Official photos from Love and Thunder’s pantheon scene feature Jane and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) sitting by Akosia Sabet’s character - who is rumoured to be playing the human-looking version of Bast in a possible tie to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. (We glimpsed the panther version of Bast in the first Black Panther movie’s prologue.) It would be interesting to see someone like Kokou the African God of War take on Ares, but more mythologies are the perfect opportunity to revisit some of Moon Knight’s threads. If only to bring back the fan-favourite hippo, Taweret, or find out what’s going on with Osiris and the rest of the Egyptian Ennead from that show now that they’ve lost their avatars.
It's likely there are more we haven’t met yet, and remember, the Japanese gods have their own God of Thunder in the form of Takemikazuchi. Several Japanese gods were introduced in 2009’s Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1, including Kagutsuchi the God of Fire and Susanoo the God of the Sea and Storm making their debut. Then there’s Amatsu-Mikaboshi - the Japanese God of Evil - who just so happens to be a major enemy of Hercules and Thor.
We’ve already met the Kree and Skrulls in the MCU, so the Skrull gods would be well-timed ahead of the upcoming Secret Invasion series. Zorr'Kiri is the Skrull Goddess of Love, and is a prime candidate for Love and Thunder considering she was one of the many killed by Gorr the God Butcher in the comics. There should also be room for the Shi’ar gods. Those who remember their X-Men comics will know the Shi’ar is an alien race most closely associated with the Phoenix Force. K'ythri and Sharra are the God and Goddess of the Shi’ar, who would be something of a big deal as deity royalty. In the comics, these two gods had a major run-in with Jane Foster during her tenure as Thor.
Other worshipped deities are the Celestials and Eternals, who actually fall under the category of false deities. The latter have already had a whole movie to themselves, which revealed they were little more than Westworld-inspired robots created to do the Celestials’ bidding. In the comics, humanity mistook the Eternals for the Greek gods. It led to an uneasy alliance where Zeus and the “real” gods resided in their Olympian pocket dimension and the Eternals watched over Earth.
Chloé Zhao's Eternals movie took Thena, Ikaris, and company through thousands of years of being worshipped as gods, which might erase the need for the MCU to introduce the Mayan and Aztec gods from the comics.
Other worshipped deities are the Celestials and Eternals, who actually fall under the category of false deities.
Above the Eternals, the Celestials are even bigger ones to watch. Given that the MCU has portrayed them as cosmic beings outside the normal realm of the Norse and Greek gods, it’s doubtful they’ve found a seat at Zeus’ table. Still, with the Greek God of Thunder waging war against them in the comics, a battle of the gods and Celestials could yet come to be in the MCU. Even the Celestials aren’t safe from Gorr because All-Black the Necrosword, which features prominently in the Love and Thunder trailer, is the same weapon in the comics that decapitated a Celestial – that head became Knowhere from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
In terms of world-building, Hercules’ short-lived God Squad included the Inuit god Narya/Snowbird, Greece’s Venus/Siren, and even the all-powerful Ra/Atum from Egypt. Although they might not warrant their own movie, the MCU is building more teams by the day. A quick run through the Marvel pantheon only scratches the surface of the many mythologies that are out there. Remember, Marvel Comics had to produce a whole encyclopedia on them. Either way, we’re moving far beyond the family struggles of the Odinsons and who will be the next Black Panther. Don’t get too attached though, the God Butcher bit of Gorr’s name is a pretty major clue that not all these gods will be making it out of Thor: Love and Thunder alive.
Click on over for even more on the ultimate beings of the MCU.
Continue reading...
Across its first three phases, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has largely kept its god-centric stories rooted in Norse mythology - with a nod here or there toward Bast, the African Panther God. All of that changed when Moon Knight’s third episode introduced the Ennead - the nine deities of Egyptian myth. Juggling Norse, Egyptian, and Greek gods might be enough for some, but by the looks of Love and Thunder, the whole pantheon of Marvel gods will be showing up to the party.
Hercules, Zeus and the Greek Gods of Marvel
Although superhero movie fans might associate Zeus, Ares, and Hercules with the DC Extended Universe thanks to Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, Marvel has its own Greek gods waiting in the wings. Similar to Hela, the Norse Goddess of Death, in the comics there’s Hades who serves as her Greek counterpart, while god of the sea Poseidon could tie into Namor’s rumored debut in Black Panther 2.
The head honcho is Zeus, who of course is considered one of the most powerful gods in the universe. In the trailer, he’s lording it over everyone during Thor’s already infamous *flick* scene. Whereas Zeus might be considered a mentor to Thor in the comics, he’s a little more antagonistic in the trailer.
Beyond Zeus, Ares is another of those roughly hewn heroes the MCU loves so much, and even a future recruit for the Avengers (if you go by the comics). Still, there's no word yet on whether the Greek God of War is in Love and Thunder. And then there’s the name Hercules, which has been rumored as a possible surprise cameo in the film. After his introduction in 1965’s Journey Into Mystery Annual #1, Hercules has done everything from leading his own series to suiting up as part of the Avengers. With Hercules effectively seen as Thor’s Greek counterpart, he’s a prime candidate to replace Chris Hemsworth onscreen as the MCU’s resident god Avenger, if the Thor actor ever bows out.
Marvel’s African, Egyptian, Japanese, Skrull, and Shi’ar gods
Official photos from Love and Thunder’s pantheon scene feature Jane and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) sitting by Akosia Sabet’s character - who is rumoured to be playing the human-looking version of Bast in a possible tie to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. (We glimpsed the panther version of Bast in the first Black Panther movie’s prologue.) It would be interesting to see someone like Kokou the African God of War take on Ares, but more mythologies are the perfect opportunity to revisit some of Moon Knight’s threads. If only to bring back the fan-favourite hippo, Taweret, or find out what’s going on with Osiris and the rest of the Egyptian Ennead from that show now that they’ve lost their avatars.
It's likely there are more we haven’t met yet, and remember, the Japanese gods have their own God of Thunder in the form of Takemikazuchi. Several Japanese gods were introduced in 2009’s Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1, including Kagutsuchi the God of Fire and Susanoo the God of the Sea and Storm making their debut. Then there’s Amatsu-Mikaboshi - the Japanese God of Evil - who just so happens to be a major enemy of Hercules and Thor.
We’ve already met the Kree and Skrulls in the MCU, so the Skrull gods would be well-timed ahead of the upcoming Secret Invasion series. Zorr'Kiri is the Skrull Goddess of Love, and is a prime candidate for Love and Thunder considering she was one of the many killed by Gorr the God Butcher in the comics. There should also be room for the Shi’ar gods. Those who remember their X-Men comics will know the Shi’ar is an alien race most closely associated with the Phoenix Force. K'ythri and Sharra are the God and Goddess of the Shi’ar, who would be something of a big deal as deity royalty. In the comics, these two gods had a major run-in with Jane Foster during her tenure as Thor.
False Deities: The Celestials and Eternals
Other worshipped deities are the Celestials and Eternals, who actually fall under the category of false deities. The latter have already had a whole movie to themselves, which revealed they were little more than Westworld-inspired robots created to do the Celestials’ bidding. In the comics, humanity mistook the Eternals for the Greek gods. It led to an uneasy alliance where Zeus and the “real” gods resided in their Olympian pocket dimension and the Eternals watched over Earth.
Chloé Zhao's Eternals movie took Thena, Ikaris, and company through thousands of years of being worshipped as gods, which might erase the need for the MCU to introduce the Mayan and Aztec gods from the comics.
Other worshipped deities are the Celestials and Eternals, who actually fall under the category of false deities.
Above the Eternals, the Celestials are even bigger ones to watch. Given that the MCU has portrayed them as cosmic beings outside the normal realm of the Norse and Greek gods, it’s doubtful they’ve found a seat at Zeus’ table. Still, with the Greek God of Thunder waging war against them in the comics, a battle of the gods and Celestials could yet come to be in the MCU. Even the Celestials aren’t safe from Gorr because All-Black the Necrosword, which features prominently in the Love and Thunder trailer, is the same weapon in the comics that decapitated a Celestial – that head became Knowhere from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
In terms of world-building, Hercules’ short-lived God Squad included the Inuit god Narya/Snowbird, Greece’s Venus/Siren, and even the all-powerful Ra/Atum from Egypt. Although they might not warrant their own movie, the MCU is building more teams by the day. A quick run through the Marvel pantheon only scratches the surface of the many mythologies that are out there. Remember, Marvel Comics had to produce a whole encyclopedia on them. Either way, we’re moving far beyond the family struggles of the Odinsons and who will be the next Black Panther. Don’t get too attached though, the God Butcher bit of Gorr’s name is a pretty major clue that not all these gods will be making it out of Thor: Love and Thunder alive.
Click on over for even more on the ultimate beings of the MCU.
Continue reading...