Avengers: Infinity War was one of the most highly anticipated superhero movies of all time, and for good reason. The movie ended a decade-long process of movie making by beginning the closure of the first ever series arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For a long time, fans had been waiting for the Mad Titan known only as Thanos to get up off of his ass and come for the Avengers. We see Thanos do just that in Infinity War when the tyrant of the dark quadrant descends from his throne and disintegrates half the universe on a whim. The argument of Thanos that all of the civilization needs him to balance existence out to continue its perpetual nature is probably as hollow as the premise of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But keeping the mediocre movie bashing aside, Infinity War truly did something that no other Marvel movie has been able to do. The movie gave a formidable villain who is expected to last more than one movie; we just hope that the writers and the creative team don’t decide to change their track come Avengers 4. Although we have no control over the creative process that goes on inside the closed doors of Marvel studios, we as fans are still free to speculate the occurrences and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after all we identify and love these characters just as much as the man who created them. Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe has miserably failed in providing us with a completely crazy and dominant villain there were still some that came pretty close to the ideal picture of a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Let’s take Loki for example. The Asgardian God of Mischief is the master of mystic arts and blessed with nigh unlimited magical power. He is capable of reality shaping feats to the point that he can fool all your senses on a whim. The God of mischief has the led the charge against both the Avengers and Thor individually ever since phase one. We have seen the God die twice already and he’s been defeated more times than we can count, but it’s his popularity that makes him come back to the franchise every time.
Another example of a Marvel Cinematic Universe villain who made an impact would be Hela. The Asgardian Goddess of death lived up to her name when she first defeated Thor by destroying his hammer and then proceeded to a hostile takeover over of the Godly realm of Asgard.
Our heroes were barely able to slip by Hela’s crazed spree of madness and mayhem on the refugee ship (thanks to some apocalypse level distraction by Surtur and his rebirth because of the eternal flame) but it remains unclear whether Hela survived Surtur’s assault on Asgard or not. What if I told you that I have an Avengers 4 theory that not only confirms that Hela is alive but also tells us that she will fight in Thor’s army collected against Thanos? What would you say then? Do you wish to know what i am talking about? Well then, read on to find out.
The theory starts off exactly where Infinity War ended, at the snap. It is assumed that Thanos is now residing on titan where he is farming alone in peace and the universe is just as destroyed (or half destroyed) as he left it. Since we know that Avengers 4 is going to be a time travel movie, we can assume that the remaining Avengers will be divided into two units. It is expected that one of these units vis-a-vis the stronger heavy hitters like Thor and captain Marvel will stay in the present and amass a force for an all out assault on the Mad Titan, and the other unit (The leftover Avengers) will travel back in time and use their knowledge of the past to collect infinity stones so that they can stop the snap from ever occurring or return to the future and correct the damage Thanos has done.
The interesting bit comes when we realise that there are not many people out there who will help Thor battle the strongest being in the universe who also happens to be equipped with the universe’s most powerful artefacts. Nothing is wrong, but the fact remains that it will be hard to find volunteers for a losing battle, especially when the people have lost half of their loved ones just a moment ago. Every realm was under the protection of Asgard, the Gods failed us, they abandoned us and now they will get no help from us. So, what is the God of thunder to do?
He decides that it is time to visit the ruins of Asgard and determine whether there were any artifacts left in the vault of Odin after Surtur’s attack, so he can maybe use them to get an edge on Thanos. The God of Thunder goes in seeking weapons, but he finds something (Or rather someone) way more useful. The theory suggests that Hela can never completely die as long as death (And especially the death of Odin) persist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is also one of the primordial entities of the Norse mythology, she exists and persists for as long as Asgard does. And the only one left of Asgard is Odinson God of thunder Thor himself.
The theory suggests that when in Avengers 4, Thor enters Asgard once again (Or rather the ruins of Asgard) to look for a viable weapon against Thanos, he encounters Hela. Not necessarily a defeated Hela, but one who is heavily injured. We’re unclear on the how but it seems likely that the God of thunder will use his newfound kingly powers to restore the Goddess of death to her old glorious form. Once that happens it is likely that the Goddess of death will join up with Thor to defeat the Mad Titan once and for all.
The theory also suggests that Hela is the only being in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who knows where Valhalla is. Valhalla is like the hall of fame for all of Norse heroes and warriors, it’s a realm beyond realms that houses the bravest warriors of their time, who drink, feast and fight up until Ragnarok comes along. When the nurse version of apocalypse does occur the warriors of Valhalla are called upon by the King of Gods using the tablet of life and death. This tablet allows for a temporary resurrection of all these warriors ensuring a massive overpowered army at Odin’s disposal as one last resort in the all father’s arsenal.
This is exactly what we hope Thor will come to do in Avengers 4. We are hoping that even though no one else in the entire 9 realms would help the God of thunder, his own fallen army of Ragnarok still might. But to harness the power of Valhalla Thor first needs to know where it is. Even if Thor has the key (The tablet of life and death) he still needs to find the lock (The door to Valhalla and the hall of champions).
This is where Hela will be useful once again. Not only is she the one who killed all the Valkyries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but she is also the only remaining source to the secrets of all MCU related Norse secrets. If Thor can just convince her to play well with the God of thunder, we might get an army of Gods and warriors battling the outriders and the Chitauri. We may even see Freya return along with a much-matured Loki (Given the fact that the Asgardian God of mischief dies in a battle against Thanos it is likely that his spirit ascended to Valhalla). The entire premise seems heart-warming to say the least and we cannot wait to see it on screen. May 4, come fast.
