Hela first appeared in 1964 in the comic book 'Journey to Mystery' No. 102 and she was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. She is based on the Doddess Hel from Norse mythology. Hela rules Nifleheim, where souls who died without honor go after death. She also rules Hel, where souls who died neither with nor without honor go.
Hela was born in the land of the Frost Giants and is the daughter of Loki and the giant/sorcerer, Angrboda. Odin named her as the Goddess of Death when she was of age and she often tries to extend her powers by attempting to rule the souls who died with honor in Valhalla. Odin rules Valhalla and as a result, Thor and Odin often cross paths with Hela while protecting the realm.
In the comics, she also has been known to mess with Ragnarok. Hela and Loki have tried to start Ragnarok, the Asgardian Apocalypse, by attempting to kill the Asgardian, Balder. It is prophesied that once Balder is killed, the Ragnarok apocalypse will begin. Hela and Loki failed in beginning Ragnarok, but that won’t stop them from trying again.
Hela is excellent in hand-to-hand combat, resistant to magic and has mystical abilities. She is also in possession of a cloak that gives her strength. However, without her cloak she is very weak and the left side of her body becomes dead and decayed. Another object she possesses is the Nightsword, which allows her to command an army of the undead. Since Hela is the Goddess of Death, she can easily kill mortals and claim their souls with the Touch of Death. To add to that, she has an Allspeak that allows her to communicate in all know languages across the cosmos.
Hela is a very powerful and smart villain and it will be great seeing a female main villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time. However, Hela probably won’t be identical to her comic book counterpart. For example, she will probably not be the daughter of Loki in the MCU. It is also unknown if Hela will be given her title in the movie or if she will already own the title as the Goddess of Death. Either way, Cate Blanchett will be a welcome addition to the MCU.
THOR: RAGNAROK started filming on July 4 in Australia.
Written by James Philbrick, Character Profiles
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