Thor: Ragnarok is the Marvel film that I’ve been most excited to see this year. Why? Because Valkyrie has been the character (aside from Captain Marvel) that I’ve been most excited to see, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I wrote about the importance of having black women in the MCU before, where I briefly mentioned Valkyrie. Now that I’ve seen Thor: Ragnarok. I’m ready to dive in and gush about this diverse, powerful and strong character.
The Ride of the Valkyrie
When Tessa Thompson got cast in Thor: Ragnarok, I couldn’t stop gushing about it! As a woman who is half black-half white, I finally had a superhero in the MCU who looked like me – Thompson is also of a mixed background: she’s Afro-Latina. I was tweeting about her casting so much that I ended up defending her casting, which lead to some not-so-nice Twitter arguments. However, I wasn’t going to let anyone ruin my happiness about Thompson’s casting. I instantly thought about all the brown and black girls who loved superhero films that never got to see themselves. After seeing Thompson’s portrayal of Valkyrie in the film, her casting was a win for representation of women of color and a win for a damn well written Marvel character.
From the moment I met Valkyrie in Ragnarok, I was hooked and couldn’t wait to see her character’s journey in this film. Watching Valkyrie grow from a guilt-stricken warrior in hiding to a warrior confronting her battles, was wonderful to watch. Thompson did such an amazing job breathing life into the role of Valkyrie. Taika Waititi did a fantastic job in casting her and moving the story of Thor and Asgard forward in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Future of the Thor Franchise
Avengers: Infinity War is the next time we’ll see Thor, but will Valkyrie join him in that film? If Thor makes it out of Infinity War and Avengers 4 alive, will we get another Thor installment? Will the mantle of Thor be passed to Valkyrie? In the comics, the mantle of Thor is passed down to Jane Foster, but her return to the MCU seems unlikely at this point. Valkyrie appears to be a worthy contender for the mantle. Either way, I hope we’ll see Valkyrie in the MCU for a while.
In the comics, Valkyrie has been apart of a couple all-female line-up teams. My personal favorite is the Fearless Defenders, with Misty Knight. If only the film side of the MCU would crossover with the Netflix side! Thompson’s Valkyrie and Simone Missick’s Misty Knight leading a team of badass women together would be pretty epic to watch!
Valkyrie Versus…
There’s a character that I’d love to see Thompson’s heroine go up against and that is Amora the Enchantress. Amora hasn’t been introduced in the MCU, but I hope we get to see her down the line. Amora, like Loki, has magical powers and relies more on her wits and magic to survive than her physical strength as well as her hand to hand combat skills. Amora has also tried getting the throne of Asgard – like many of Thor and Asgard’s villains -, but the only difference with Amora is that she’s in love with Thor. Ever since I saw Thor, I’ve been hoping that we’d get to see an Amora and Loki team up. But I can settle for a Amora vs Valkyrie storyline.
We also can’t forget about Thor’s other half-sister, Angela. Angela was reintroduced into the comics in Brian Michael Bendis’ Guardians Of The Galaxy comic series. Angela would be a fun character to introduce into the MCU and would be representation for the LGBTQ community, should the MCU honor her sexuality in the recent comics. Angela is another badass sword-wielding warrior who could team up with Valkyrie. However, I’d love for Lady Sif to return to the MCU one day too.
I hope the MCU will give us more of Thompson’s Valkyrie, more female villains, and just more badass warrior women that all girls of all races and ages can look up to! Valkyrie’s introduction is the stepping off point for so many more great and diverse storytelling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I can’t wait for more!
Thor: Ragnarok is currently in theaters.