Hela (character)
Hela | |
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Partnerships | Fenris Wolf |
Notable aliases | Goddess of Death The Death Queen Mistress of the Darkness Miss Halja |
Abilities |
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Hela (
Hela made her live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Ragnarok (2017), portrayed by Cate Blanchett.
Publication history
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Hela was adapted from Norse myths by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Journey into Mystery #102 (March 1964).[1]
Fictional character biography
Hela was born in
Queen of Hel
Hela often tried to expand her power to the dead who dwell in Valhalla as well. These attempts often brought Hela into conflict with Odin or his son Thor. She once appeared to Thor while he was on the verge of death after battling the Wrecker, who knocked a building onto him while he was depowered.[3] She failed to tempt Thor into entering Valhalla, despite an image of one that dwelled there.[4]
Later, she stole a portion of the sleeping Odin's soul while he was on the Sea of Eternal Night due to Loki planning to take over Asgard, thus creating a powerful entity known as Infinity.
Hela later battled the Olympian Death-god Pluto for the right to claim Odin's soul, as Odin had been killed by the monster Mangog.[9] As a result, Hela restored Odin to life to prevent Pluto from claiming him.[10] Some time later, Hela confronted Thor.[11] Some time after that, she confronted Odin.[12] She then plotted with Loki to bring about Ragnarök by slaying the god Balder then attacking Asgard. She summoned Volla's spirit before this to tell her and Loki about Ragnarok, after which she prepared an army of monsters to attack Asgard. However Odin used his powers to prevent Balder dying.[13] Later Balder was restored after the Asgardian's death and resurrection battling the Celestials.[14]
Hela then summoned the
Hela later allied with
During this fight with Thor, in revenge for his defiance and invasion of her realm, Hela cursed Thor with a dark form of eternal life, making him incapable of dying while also making his bones weak and brittle so that they would break more easily and wouldn't heal from the damage inflicted, Hela reflecting in satisfaction at the image of Thor coming to long for death while she refuses to grant it.
From time to time, Odin would enter a magical sleep in order to bolster his powers. It was during one of these sleeps that Hela made a plan for power. She corrupted the
Conflict with various forces brought Bruce Banner, also known as the
Hela on Earth
Hela was awakened from her mortal guise after Ragnarök by Thor, albeit due to Loki's machinations.[32] She now lives in Las Vegas, maintaining a lair where she can feed on the souls of random unlucky people, and agrees to use her powers to aid Loki in bringing him back in time to Asgard to complete his own sinister plans for Asgard.[33]
She is seen attending a meeting with
When Norman Osborn attempts to subdue the X-Men, Cyclops sends Danielle Moonstar to Las Vegas where she approaches Hela for a boon. Hela warns her that the price of the boon is a heavy one, but Dani accepts, requesting "a new ride home and a big ol' sword."[35] Later, Hela is summoned to Utopia by Hrimhari to save a pregnant Rahne and their child, which is neither human nor mutant. Faced with a moral dilemma, to save his child or Rahne; Hrimhari asks Hela to restore Elixir to full health so Elixir may heal them both and to take him instead. Hela agrees and takes Hrimhari away.[36]
Siege of Asgard
During the Siege of Asgard, Loki appears before Hela asking if she has made arrangements for the dead. Hela points out she is without a Hel so she cannot take them in and plans to let the dead wander Midgard forever. Loki provides her with proof of the Disir, banished, cannibalistic Valkyries who once belonged to Bor whom he cursed for dining on the flesh of other Asgardians to only be able to feed on the souls of gods. Using his extraordinary swordsmanship skills Loki was able to make a group of 13 submit to him. Meeting with Mephisto, Loki strikes up a deal granting a portion of his netherworld to Hela for one thousand and one years, as her new Hel. In exchange for this, Hela erases Loki from the Books of Hel, thus he is no longer tied to Hel or Asgard, gaining absolute freedom. Unknown to Hela, Loki had manipulated these events in his favor as he had the Disir in his services and had leased them out to Mephisto for one hundred and one days after demonstrating their skill to the demon lord.[37] Hela summons Danielle Moonstar to repay her debt and to gather the spirits of the Asgardians that fell in battle with Norman Osborn's forces as quickly as possible so they do not fall prey to the Disir.[38]
The Disir, still hungry, attack Hela's new Hel as it was not the true Hel they were banished from. Sensing the Disir's assault on the dead Asgardians, Hela attempts to protect them using the sword Eir-Gram, but she is disarmed and her arm sliced off brutally. Hela is quickly overwhelmed and her own remaining power insufficient to counter theirs. Absorbing the dead into her body, Hela creates a fortress around herself to protect them and asks Thor for help through the recently deceased body of an Asgardian.[39] With the help of Thor and Tyr, they manage to slay and banish the remaining Disir, whose souls are claimed by the triumphant Mephisto.[40]
Avengers Prime
In the aftermath of the Siege of Asgard, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor are mysteriously drawn into one of the other Nine Realms, eventually revealed to be the Hel-realm of Hela.[41] Thor, after a fierce struggle with the Enchantress, engages in open combat with the Nightsword-armed Hela, and though managing to hold his own against her and her forces for some time, ultimately falls to her immense and evidently vastly enhanced power.[42] Amora, after teleporting herself and Hela away to save Thor's life, herself challenges Hela using all her strength, but Hela defeats her twice in quick succession, attempts and fails to destroy Mjolnir, despite summoning Bor himself to her aid, and apparently slays the Enchantress after revealing that she now wields the Twilight Sword of Surtur.[43]
After Thor reunites with Iron Man and Captain America, he manages to persuade many of his former Asgardian enemies into rallying behind him into an army against Hela and her own forces. Hela attacks Thor and his allies, defeating and nearly slaying him with the power of the Twilight Sword, but the Enchantress intervenes and saves him, teleporting him away to re-claim Mjolnir and using her own powers to help Thor fight Hela. Thor ultimately manages to claim the Twilight Sword and uses it to restore the Nine Worlds back to their former harmony and order while banishing Hela, but refuses to set Asgard back into the sky, as Amora asks, claiming that using such unholy power for his own ends would make him the same as Hela herself. A grateful and healed Amora then returns Thor and his friends back to Midgard after Thor promises her that her allegiance will not be forgotten.[44]
Chaos War
During the
"Fear Itself"
During the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, Cyclops sends Danielle Moonstar to what is left of Las Vegas (after what Juggernaut in the form of Kuurth: Breaker of Stone did to it) to look for Hela while the X-Men fight Kuurth. Hela had taken to living in a Las Vegas casino. When Moonstar does find Hela, she teleports Moonstar to Hel in order to defend it.[47] When her teammates try to invoke a dark magic to summon a portal to follow Danielle, they end up in Hell instead of Hel. They encounter Mephisto, who says that he will get them to Hel if Magma goes out with him.[48]
Queen No More
Following the death of her lover, Sera,
A greatly weakened Hela later escapes captivity and makes her way to the Triskelion on Earth, where
Powers and abilities
Although Hela is classified as an Asgardian and has the physical stature of an Asgardian, her actual heritage is as a full blooded giant of Jötunheimr, even though both races share similar attributes. Hela possesses attributes common to Asgardian gods. She possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes and durability at levels far surpassing those of the vast majority of either race. Her vast strength has allowed her to engage in sustained hand-to-hand combat with Thor.[52] Like all Asgardians she has resistance to magic.
Hela has vast mystical powers which she can use for various effects like limitless astral projection while retaining many of her powers and abilities, firing deadly bolts of energy from her hands which can age or even kill Asgardians, levitation and the creation of illusions, she can manipulate the dark magic. Her most powerful ability is her Hand of Glory, a technique that uses mystical energy to enhance the strength of her punch to kill even an Asgardian.
As a Death Goddess, Hela has a pact with
Hela always wears her magical cloak which enhances her strength and keeps her young and healthy. The goddess has jet black hair and bright green eyes. Without the cloak, Hela reverts to her true form: in this form half of her body is healthy and beautiful, while the other half is decaying, though it appears alive and beautifully healthy while she wears her cloak. Without the cloak Hela is very weak and can barely move, and her powers are greatly reduced; she is unable to levitate or even stand, and cannot project mystical bolts. Hela doesn't need to wear the cloak; simply touching it is enough to restore her to her stronger form.
Hela is often armed with her "Nightsword," and is a proficient swordswoman.
Hela can command all of the dead who dwell in
.Reception
Accolades
- In 2018,
- In 2018,
- In 2018, Screen Rant ranked Hela 21st in their "Marvel Vs DC: The 30 Most Powerful Villains" list.[55]
- In 2021, Looper ranked Hela 12th in their "Strongest Supervillains In History" list.[56]
- In 2021, CBR.com ranked Hela 8th in their "10 Strongest Female Gods" list.[57]
- In 2022, The A.V. Club ranked Hela 42nd in their "100 best Marvel characters" list.[58]
- In 2022, CBR.com ranked Hela 4th in their "10 Strongest Female Villains" list.[59]
- In 2022, IGN ranked Hela 2nd in their "Most Powerful Characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Villains" list.[60]
- In 2022,
- In 2022,
Other versions
Loki
Hela appears in the four-issue series Loki, in which Loki has claimed leadership of Asgard. It is revealed that Hela was one of the Asgardians that helped him to the throne, but is now demanding payment for her assistance, along with the seductress Lorelei.[63]
Marvel 2099
In the Marvel 2099 series of stories, the megacorporation Alchemax tried transforming people into false versions of the Norse Aesir in order to gain advantage of the worldwide worship of these beings. A supporting character in Ravage 2099 named Tiana, the love interest of the titular hero, was turned into Hela via technological means for this project.[64]
Marvel Zombies
In the alternate Marvel Zombies universe, Loki seeking more mischief has induced a zombie wide apocalypse during World War II. A curious Odin makes the decision to investigate personally and is bitten by a zombie. As Odin shares a magical lifeblood with all Asgardians, they all also become zombies, including Hela.[65]
Ultimate Marvel
In the
She appears in Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates, telling Thor she will release him in exchange for giving her a son.[68] The next issue has a vision shown to Valkyrie by Amora where Thor is having sex with Hela, as he had no other choice.[69] Thor then demands his freedom, however he is informed another deed is still required to release him. Thor, being incapable of killing Hela, is released instead by Valkyrie who is killed in battle with the Defenders, who now have superpowers due to Loki's intervention.[70] After she discovers that Thor had murdered their son, Modi, Hela displayed an immense fit of rage; Thor explained to her that Modi had been corrupted by the World Tree and that he had been left with no other option.[71]
X-Men: The End
In
In other media
Television
- Hela appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "The Fall of Asgard", voiced by Nika Futterman.[73]
- Hela appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Valhalla Can Wait", voiced by Vanessa Marshall.[73] This version is the ruler of Valhalla.
- Hela appears in the Guardians of the Galaxy episode "Killer Queen", voiced by Kari Wahlgren.[73] This version is the ruler of Niflheim whose powers are locked in a chest she is unable to open herself.
Film
Hela appears in
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Hela appears in media set in the
- In the live-action film Surtur to initiate Ragnarök. Hela attempts to fight Surtur, but is ultimately killed by his Twilight Sword.
- Alternate timeline variants of Hela appear in the Doctor Strange Suprememake minor appearances in the episodes "What If... the Avengers Assembled in 1602?" and "What If... Strange Supreme Intervened?" respectively.
Video games
- Hela makes a cameo appearance in Hsien Ko's ending in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.[citation needed]
- Hela appears as a boss in the Nintendo DS version of Thor: God of Thunder.[citation needed]
- Hela appears as a boss in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.[citation needed]
- Hela appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.[79]
- Hela appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, voiced by Kate Kennedy.[80]
- Hela appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.[81]
- Hela appears as a boss in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, voiced again by Nika Futterman.[73]
- Hela appears in Marvel Future Revolution as part of the "Dark Domain" storyline.[82]
Miscellaneous
Hela appears in Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers, voiced by Katharine Chesterton.[73]
References
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
- ^ Marvel Graphic Novel 15: The Raven Banner
- ^ Thor #150
- ^ Thor #154
- ^ Thor #177
- ^ Thor #184
- ^ Thor #186
- ^ Thor #189-190
- ^ Thor #199-200
- ^ Thor #201
- ^ Thor #251
- ^ Thor #274
- ^ Thor #277-278
- ^ Thor #301
- ^ The Defenders #66-68
- ^ Thor #312-314
- ^ Thor Annual #10
- ^ Thor #345
- ^ Thor #354
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men Annual #9
- ^ Thor #361
- ^ Thor #362
- ^ Thor #373
- ^ Mephisto #4
- ^ Thor #378 (April 1987)
- ^ Thor #380 (June 1987)
- ^ Thor #382
- ^ The New Mutants #77-78
- ^ The New Mutants #79
- ^ The New Mutants #80, 82-85
- ^ The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #423
- ^ Thor vol. 3 #5
- ^ Thor vol. 3 #12
- ^ X-Infernus #1
- ^ Dark Avengers #8
- ^ X-Force vol. 3 #23
- ^ Siege: Loki #1
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #11
- ^ Thor #611
- ^ Thor #612-614
- ^ Avengers Prime #1
- ^ Avengers Prime #2-3
- ^ Avengers Prime #4
- ^ Avengers Prime #5
- ^ Chaos War #2
- ^ Chaos War: Ares #1
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #29
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #30
- ^ Angela: Queen of Hel #1-5
- ^ The Unworthy Thor #2
- ^ The Unworthy Thor #3-5
- ^ The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe vol. 2 #5
- ^ Miller, Staci (2018-11-12). "10 Most Powerful Villains In The MCU". CBR. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
- ^ Grubbs, Victor (2018-05-06). "Infinity Warriors: The 20 Most Physically Powerful MCU Villains Ranked". CBR. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ "Marvel Vs DC: The 30 Most Powerful Villains, Officially Ranked". ScreenRant. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
- ^ Hinton, Chris (2021-10-20). "Strongest Supervillains In History Ranked". Looper.com. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ Garcia, Mayra (2021-12-04). "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Female Gods". CBR. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ "The 100 best Marvel characters ranked: 60-41". The A.V. Club. 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ Garcia, Mayra (2022-03-07). "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Female Villains". CBR. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ Fowler, Matt (2022-05-21). "The Most Powerful Characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Villains". IGN. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
- ^ Gaughan, Liam (2022-07-24). "The Most Powerful Aliens In The MCU Ranked". SlashFilm.com. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ Laman, Douglas (2022-07-26). "The Most Powerful MCU Villains Ranked". SlashFilm.com. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ Loki #1 (August 2004). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ravage 2099 #8. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Marvel Zombies Return #5 (September 2009). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimatum #2. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimatum #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates #1
- ^ Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates #2
- ^ Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Men: The End, Heroes and Martyrs #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c d e f "Hela Voice - Mighty Thor franchise | Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Strom, Mark (May 20, 2016). "Marvel Studios Confirms Stellar New Cast Members of the Highly Anticipated 'Thor: Ragnarok'". Marvel Studios. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ Kyriazis, Stefan (18 October 2017). "Thor Ragnarok: 'MORON' TV host reveals MASSIVE Hela spoiler – Chris Hemsworth and fan fury". express.co.uk.
- ^ McMillan, Graeme (November 6, 2017). "Where Did the 'Thor: Ragnarok' Hela Twist Come From?". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
- ^ "First Look at Cate Blanchett's Hela Return Design for Season 2 of What if". 6 March 2023.
- ^ "What If...? Season 2: Cate Blanchett to return to Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hela? Here's all we know so far". The Economic Times. 2 January 2023.
- ^ "'Thor: Ragnarok' Takes Marvel Games By Storm". News - Marvel.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ "Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2". harveyvoices.co.uk. November 16, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "Piecing Together Marvel Puzzle Quest: Hela".
- ^ "MDarkness continues to fall on Primary Earth as Hela challenges all who dare face her. Is your squad up for this challenge in #MARVELFutureRevolution?". Marvel Future Revolution. Twitter. January 19, 2022.