Does 'Thor: Ragnarok' Set Up Ultimate Asgard?

The latest film in the Thor franchise set up many new developments for the God of Thunder in the [...]

By Joe Schmidt

The latest film in the Thor franchise set up many new developments for the God of Thunder in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But while Thor: Ragnarok hinted at some major changes for Asgard, possibly setting up an adaptation of a classic Marvel Comics storyline, it could also go in a dark and bleak direction for the new king.

Warning: Major spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok below.

After Loki and Thor put the Ragnarok prophecy into motion to stop Hela from conquering the universe, Asgard is destroyed by Surtur. But the Asgardian people live on, escaping in a large transport ship, as Odin originally intended.

Thor, the new King of Asgard, decides to take his people to Earth in hopes that the population will welcome his people of alien refugees. In the post-credits scene, Thor and Loki discuss whether it's a good idea for Loki to return with them when they're interrupted by a large ship looming before them.

Thanos Arrives

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige confirmed the ship belongs to the Mad Titan known as Thanos, who is the primary antagonist of Avengers: Infinity War.

The footage shown during Marvel's presentations during the Disney D23 Expo and San Diego Comic-Con tease some dire plans for Thor, to borrow a phrase from Doctor Strange.

In that footage, the Guardians of the Galaxy find Thor floating amidst some debris, meaning the God of Thunder's first meeting with Thanos isn't exactly a friendly one.

Does Thanos destroy the ship containing the Asgardian people? And does that mean that Thor's allies survived Ragnarok only to be killed by Thanos in a different movie?

If so, it wouldn't be without reference to the Marvel comics. Given how much Marvel Studios has already been influenced by the Ultimate publishing line, it might even be too obvious.

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Ultimate Thor

In Ultimate Comics: Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, Asgard gets laid to waste by an evil Reed Richards known as the Maker. After Reed's army of genetically engineered soldiers kill the Asgardians, they turn their sights to the World Tree and destroy all of Asgard.

Thor's source of power is gone and as the last living Asgardian, he becomes Valhalla. He is then haunted by all of the dead souls of Asgard, including his brother Loki and the Warriors Three who all perished in the battle against The Maker.

It's a very dark turn of events for the God of Thunder, who becomes driven by rage and vengeance in the storyline. And though they eventually best the Maker, Thor's people and homeland remain lost.

If the Marvel movies end up going this route, it would definitely put Thor in a strange, new direction that could make for some interesting storylines in the MCU.

Asgard has been thoroughly explored over the course of the Thor trilogy, and with the death of Odin and the destruction of the planet it seems like its story has been wrapped up.

Then again, Thor: Ragnarok also set up a new direction for Thor as the king of displaced peoples, and it would seem pretty wasteful to take that out of the equation in the next Avengers movie.

Either way, hopefully we learn more about Thor's future and a potential fourth film in the franchise as we get closer to the Infinity War.

Thor: Ragnarok is in theaters now.

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