Hey guys! RebelVulcan here. You may remember that a few months ago I wrote an article about 5 ways Batman V Superman could improve on Man of Steel. I’ve been planning to do a follow-up to that by turning 5 Ways into a series for a while, but just haven’t got round to doing it. Now however, I can finally bring you the second instalment in the 5 Ways series, this time focusing on the third instalment in the cinematic adventures of a certain thunder god…..
I don’t think I’ll upset a lot of people by saying that Thor: The Dark World was one of Marvel’s weaker outings. On the upside, it had great performances from Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, some witty dialogue and gorgeous effects and production design. On the downside however, the villains were extremely underdeveloped, the plot was clumsy and exposition-heavy, the humour got overstuffed and the whole thing just felt remarkably inconsequential- as if the whole thing could have not happened and the MCU wouldn’t be any different for it.
That’s all set to change however with Thor: Ragnarok, the recently announced third instalment in the Thor franchise. Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Fiege has promised that the film will take the franchise to a new level and really shake things up for the Marvel universe, much like Cap 2 did with the fall of SHIELD and the re-emergence of HYDRA. So with that in mind, I’ve decided to put together a list of 5 things Thor: Ragnarok can do to improve on its predecessor. Let’s get started!
5. Tone Down The Humour
The Marvel movies have always had humour in them to a lesser or greater extent. Sometimes this works really well and is a great tool to help build the characters and their personalities- I think
Guardians of the Galaxy is a great example of this. In
The Dark World however, I think they went overboard with the humour. It got to the point where it was actually holding back the development of the characters and the plot, and I think prevented the movie from being greater. Now, I’m not suggesting they get rid of it entirely- but I do believe that this time around, the humour should be toned down a lot. Also, hey should make the humour come from the characters and their interactions with each other. Have it arise as a side effect of the different personalities of the characters clashing, like
GOTG did. If they do it well, the humour could help further define the characters and their personalities, as opposed to holding them back.
4. Ditch The Human Characters
When
Thor first came out, it was considered to be Marvel’s biggest risk so far. Up until then, the studio had stayed firmly on Earth with
Iron Man 1/2 and
The Incredible Hulk- so venturing out into other dimensions of space and introducing crazy science-magic stuff seemed incredibly out there. This is why most of the film takes place on Earth and centres around human characters- Marvel felt the need to use them to ground the movie on earth and thus make it more relatable for audiences. Now however, with two hit films and the character of Thor firmly established in the public eye, it’s time to ditch the human characters and focus solely on the inhabitants of the other Nine Realms.
I never really liked them to begin with. Darcy was kind of funny in
Thor, but was given way too much screen time in
The Dark World. Jane was always a bit flat, and Natalie Portman has voiced her dissatisfaction with her character. Selvig was probably the most interesting, but was reduced to being a punchline in
The Dark World- which is a shame, as I liked his character in
Thor and
The Avengers. To be honest, I reckon they’re all gonna bite the dust in
Age of Ultron anyway.
3. Explore The Nine Realms
One thing I think the previous two Thor films have failed to do is give us a proper look at the vast universe this character inhabits. Thor is the only character who actively explores all Nine Realms of Yggdrasil, and it’s a real shame that we haven’t got to see more of them. We’ve remained mostly in the realms of Asgard and Midgard, with only the occasional voyage to Jotunheim or Svartelfheim. Which is a shame, as there’s a ton of awesome locales and creatures and landscapes to be explored in the rest of the Nine Realms.
If they’re serious about doing Ragnarok, then they need to show us more of the Nine Realms. Let’s see the fiery ravages of Mispelheim, the icy wastes of Jotunheim, the desolate plains of Hel in all their glory. Let’s see some Fire Demons and Hel ghosts and Light Elves and Rock Trolls brought to life with motion-capture tech- not practical effects. I love practical effects, but there comes a time when they’re not enough. I have to go with OdinSon2K14 on this one- Marvel should get in some big-league CGI guys for this movie.
2. Better Villains
Many people lament
The Dark World for its under-developed villain Malekith, but often forget that the Thor movies have brought us Marvel’s most endearing villain in the form of trickster god Loki. If you look at this, it’s kind of funny- the Thor movies have brought us Marvel’s best villain and their worst. Given that we’re heading to Ragnarok this time around, it’s pretty obvious that the main villain will be none other than the king of the Fire Demons, Surtur.
What Bane is to Batman or Doomsday is to Superman, Surtur is to Thor-he is the biggest threat the Thunder God has ever faced. He may not be his main villain, but he is the villain that poses the biggest threat to him- he is the villain that has broken the hero. My personal choice for Surtur is Ian McShane, but that’s a topic for a different article. On top of this, I’d also like to see the Enchantress and the Executioner. We were already introduced to her sister in
Agents of Shield, so I think that she’d be a great villain for the Thunder God threequel. The best villains I think are ones that can challenge the hero not just physically but mentally and spiritually. Surtur represents everything Thor fears the most- the destruction of his people and his home, the collapse of civilisation etc. The Enchantress could be like an evil Scarlet Witch- get inside people’s heads, manipulate people, that sort of thing. Loki should not be a villain in this one. I think it would be cool to see that he’s actually done a great job ruling Asgard, and wants to protect it instead of destroy it.
1. Conclude Thor’s Character Arc
My biggest problem with
The Dark World is the lack of consequence- not just for the MCU overall, but for the character of Thor. He didn’t really change that much or go through any specific character arc, basically remaining the same character he was at the end of
Avengers. This cannot be the case in
Ragnarok. I already mentioned my theory that Darcy, Jane and Selvig will be killed in AOU, which ties into my theory about where he will be at the start of
Ragnarok.
My idea is that at the beginning of
Ragnarok, we’ll see Thor at his lowest point. His mum is dead, his brother is ‘dead’, his friends are dead, his girlfriend is dead- basically everyone around him is dead. He’ll be like Bruce Wayne at the beginning of TDKR- a broken, bitter soul who was lost everything and can’t think of a reason to go on. So through the course of the film, we see him rise to his highest point and become the true God of Thunder, see him become the king of Asgard.
Anyway, those were 5 ways I think
Thor: Ragnarok can improve on
Thor: The Dark World. Disagree with my suggestions? Have any of your own? Let me know in the comments below! Live long and prosper!