Thor 4: Valkyrie and Bruce Banner are Still Close Friends

Thor: Love and Thunder is bringing Tessa Thompson back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after she debuted as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok before an appearance in Avengers: Endgame. Now, she’s back in action with a whole new super power (one which she more or less… borrows… from someone else in the MCU) and the team up with Thor, Thor, and Korg might not be the last time we see Valkyrie teaming up with other heroes. Thompson spoke with ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview where she had a bit of fun discussing which heroes she met in Avengers: Endgame that she stays in touch with now and the answer is… Hulk! 

“[Valkyrie and Bruce Banner are] really good friends,” Thompson says. “They’re pen pals and they text each other and, and they’re on various group chats, but they definitely check in. They’ll FaceTime each other occasionally just to see, see how the other is doing.”

Hulk and Valkyrie met in Thor: Ragnarok before reuniting in New Asgard in the beginning of Avengers: Endgame. Together, they were a part of the Revengers squad as they escaped Sakaar and the Grandmaster. Their reunion in New Asgard included Rocket Raccoon, which prompted Valkyrie to question if a raccoon was speaking to her. Now, Valkyrie is the King of New Asgard and Hulk is due for his next appearance in the upcoming She-Hulk series on Disney+. While there are no plans for Hulk and Valkyrie to cross MCU paths that the public has been made aware of yet, it seems like a matter of time until these pen pals hang out in person again.

After all, the comics bring characters together in solo books and crossovers events often. For Thompson, following the inspirations laid out by comics is one of the best parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the case of Thor: Love and Thunder, she enjoys how the film follows Stan Lee’s lead of showing character’s strengths through some of their more personal moments. 

“I mean, it’s also my favorite thing about the comics,” Thompson says. “It’s something that Stan Lee would talk about. This idea of the things that sort of, our trauma is also our source of power. It can be the source of good power or bad power depends on how we decide to wield it. But those things that have happened to us, that we carry with us sort of create who we are and make us extraordinary in our own way. And I always thought that that’s the most inspiring thing to, you know, in comics and why so many people feel seen inside of them. So I really love getting to explore those facets of Valkyrie and of all these characters. And I think in this film in particular, you get to really see kind of the pathos of these characters.

Are you excited to see Valkyrie in action for Thor: Love and Thunder? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Twitter! For more Thor and Ms. Marvel interviews, subscribe to ComicBook.com’s Phase Zero channel on YouTube. Thor: Love and Thunder opens in theaters on July 8.