Let's get this out of the way, Marvel Studios rules the world. The MCU is now 14 Movies deep with three more to come before the end of the year and there is a growing list of shows across ABC and Netflix.
While there have already been looks at "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming", they have only just released their first trailer for the God of Thunder's third film, "Thor: Ragnarok,"and it definitely looks interesting.
Hela on Earth ... and Asgard
With the first trailer comes the first real look at Thor's newest adversary in action. Hela, played by Cate Blanchett, has broken free of her prison and is set to destroy Asgard, and the trailer doesn't waste anytime showing how powerful she is. Within seconds, she not only stops Thor's attack, but destroys Mjolnir, pretty much stripping him of most of his powers. From there, you get glimpses of her cutting down waves of Asgardian soldiers and laying waste to Thor's home.
Now let's call a spade a spade. Marvel has not had the best track record when it comes to their villains.
While not necessarily bad, very few have been memorable beyond Loki. While this could very well happen with Hela, with Cate Blanchett in that role, it's not wrong to hope for them to turn a corner with them.
Are you not entertained?!
While the first half introduces you to Hela, the other half shows the other "incredible" problem that Thor finds himself in. After loosing his hammer, he gets thrown to another planet and finds himself captured to be used as a gladiator.
This is thanks to the Grandmaster and his "business associate", Valkyrie, played by Jeff Goldblum and Tessa Thompson respectfully. Thor gets a haircut, armed with new weapons and a familiar helmet, and tossed into the arena to face one of the planet's most popular gladiator.
This gladiator just so happens to be his old friend, the Incredible Hulk.
This half of the trailer offers a glimpse at how this isn't just a Ragnarok story, but also a Planet Hulk story. Hulk has been missing since the end of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and somehow found his way to this planet. Due to a strange situation regarding the film rights, doing a standalone film for Hulk would be difficult, but has proven to be one of the most popular characters in the MCU.
While its a shame that fans won't get a standalone one, dedicating so much of "Thor: Ragnarok" to this story reflects the commitment on Marvel's end to give the character his due.
Between "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Justice League," November is shaping up to be a big month for comic book movies, and while "Justice League" made a big splash with their massive team-up, its looks like Marvel won't miss a beat.