I'm really looking forward to Thor: Ragnarok. My excitement is mostly focused on my obsession with Cate Blanchett, but I'm also pretty intrigued to see how Tess Thompson's portrayal of Valkyrie will be. I honestly don't have a fixed opinion on how Valkyrie should act. I have a generic impression of her being humorless gruff warrior, but it's a vague idea (and likely outdated). The one aspect of Valkyrie I did have a solid idea on was her appearance. I won't lie and say I wasn't hoping for a more traditional Valkyrie; super-tall, broad-shouldered, blonde-braided Brienne-of-Tarth Norse warrior type. This is purely based on my nostalgia for the comic design. But I am very open-minded and excited to see this new envisioning of the character in action. Hopefully she isn't just a replacement for Sif and gets a chance to shine and be an individual. It can be tough being a supporting character in a big superhero movie. (And if she's popular enough, we might even get a figure of her in her white armor!) Let's check out Valkyrie below!
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The daggers on her thighs are molded on and not removable.
Although I wish Valkyrie had a giant oversized sword like in the comics, I can't deny that this translucent blue blade and intricate scabbard aren't awesome.
I like almost everything about this character design. Her hair, her armor (love all the buckle details!), and her weapon are all great. The one thing I don't like is the facepaint. It just doesn't seem Asgardian at all. I'm hoping they give it an explanation in the movie. I just need to know that it has some meaning and I can start to accept it.
Her sword's scabbard doesn't fit well anywhere on her body, but it can tuck inside her belt. I might not keep it like this though because it seems like the belt will easily stretch out of shape.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here is Valkyrie with her Pack-mate Thor. He is a great looking figure.
And here is Valkyrie with her two other Marvel Legends figures: The 2010 2-Pack version (with slightly modified/repainted eyes) and the 2015 version.
And here she is with Hela from the Ragnarok line.
Cheers!
Love this figure and I like Tessa, but I agree with you. Besides the fact that this incarnation do not push the classic Brunhilde to the forefront of the comics, I am totally puzzle how Norse gods can be black, thou I get its for diversity, etc (see also Heimdall). You don't see any white Wakandans in the upcoming Black Panther...To me it's a little too much in the nose.
ReplyDeleteI kind of hope she will be revealed to be from Heven and actually more a Valkyrie/Sera hybrid. The facepaint would make sense then. Also, she could allude to knowing Thor's sister Angela on Heven and set up a cool premise for another movie. Wishful thinking I know.
DeleteAnd I'm perfectly fine with racial diversity in Asgard. Scandanavia may be pretty Caucasian, but across the rainbow bridge is another realm entirely. I'm just lamenting the idea that we'll likely never see the busty, horn-helmeted, giantess (who I always though looked like she stepped right off the opera stage) on the big screen.
DeleteI'm having trouble proving this, but I'm also pretty sure the Valkyries in the 80's New Mutants storylines were often represented as a variety of races. Dani was Native American obviously and I think one of the villainous Valkyries was Asian. I'm curious to dig out those old issues and check.
And I'm not sure how Tessa identifies, but she is of Mexican, European, and Afro-Panamanian descent. So I'm glad that if they chose not to cast a typical nordic looking woman that they went with someone who embodies a number of different cultures.
I am obsessed with how they took her old cone boob design and translated it on-screen. It also looks like her other outfit looks like her golden defender outfit from the 70's.
ReplyDeleteI'm into the warpaint, but it kinda made me think she might have been Angela instead at first.
That's my thought too! I think maybe she was originally Angela or Sera. And who knows, considering there are actual valkyries shown flying around in the trailers, perhaps she will never be outwardly named "Valkyrie." I always use the example of Anne Hathaway in Dark Knight Rises - not once do they refer to her as Catwoman. All the merchandise and promotional material label her that, but the actual film and credits, no.
DeleteWith the cone design, are you talking about the metallic ribbing on her skirt and ribs? Or just the fact that her tunic is metallic looking?
Marvel Valkyrie has long been a favorite character of mine as well and although I'm all for diversity I think because of that I'm more than a little disappointed with Tessa Thompson being cast in the role. So far, ib all the pics and clips I've seen her in I'm just not really sold on her as Brunnhilde. MAYBE another valkyrie, but not the classic character I've been accustomed to for about the last 40 years. My one big concern is that next, in the comics, Marvel will suddenly make her a black woman as well, which would be fine if she's an alternate universe version (not sure Val has made an appearance since the end of the Secret Wars event) or a new character (there was this whole confusing thing with there being 2 Valkyries back in the early/mid 00s that I think never really was "resolved", so you might possibly have the Asgardian Brunnhilde OR mortal Samantha Parrington in a story or series, sometimes it wasn't clear which was involved). Anyway, my dear is that if that happens it will either be akin to that 60s Lois Lane lives as a black woman for a day story, or be explained as "I was originally a black woman but because of racism decided to live as a hot, white, blonde Scandinavian woman for a few millennia, but now I'm my true self again and totally legit", both of which would be completely cringeworthy in the best case scenario. Hoping they don't make that mistake.
ReplyDeleteAs for the figure itself, idk, I got it a couple weeks ago and while the details are nicely done I'm just not all that impressed. For one, the face doesn't really look that much like Thompson imo, kinda looks more like some random middle aged woman from my workplace. Again, like with my complaint about the BvS Wonder Woman, seems the legs are a bit short and small, especially when compared to the arms. I've already been thinking about possibly chopping the legs off a 6" Spiral figure and making this Val into a movie/comic hybrid (costume seems based on her most recent comic design).